It was opening night in Washington for the Demon softball team on Tuesday and West Branch spoiled the festivities by edging the orange and black 4-3 in extras.

As heard on KCII, the game lasted three hours with a 45 minute lightning delay that put a halt to the bottom of the seventh inning. The Bears (1-2) struck first in the opening inning with a RBI groundout, but Cara Linnenkamp tied it up in the third with a walk that plated Ella Greiner. Despite both teams having numerous opportunities for big innings, neither squad could breakthrough and that 1-1 tally stayed true into the eighth. The game’s big blast came from the Bears’ Lany Meyer with a three run shot to right field to take a 4-1 advantage. The Washington offense went back to work by plating a few runs and having the bases loaded with just one out and the heart of the order coming up. A fielder’s choice and fly out ended the threat and West Branch hung on by the slightest of margins. Washington scattered six hits led by Greiner, an eighth grader going 2-for-4 with one RBI. Linnenkamp tossed all eight innings in the circle giving up four runs on four hits and striking out eight. Head Coach Ben Obermann tells KCII Sports they were looking for that one big hit. “We had plenty of opportunities with bases loaded. A couple times we hit balls hard, but right at people and that happens. That is no excuse though we have to better in those situations and that is something that comes with experience.”

The Demons start the season 0-1 and look for their first win tomorrow when they travel to Oskaloosa for a doubleheader.