Photo Courtesy of Washington Demon Softball Social Media

The Washington Demons didn’t add another win to the start of the softball season Tuesday night, but Washington once again proved its mettle by pushing the eleventh-ranked team in Class 4A to extra innings during a 5-4 loss at Clear Creek Amana.

Washington responded from trailing 1-0 by scoring twice in the second inning, and the Demons added one more run in the fifth while sophomore pitcher Bella Salazar shut the door on Clear Creek most of the evening. But the Clippers wouldn’t be contained forever, putting up three runs in the sixth to jump in front 4-3. Washington came up with the tying run in the top of the seventh to force the game into extras, but Clear Creek scored the winning run before there was ever an out recorded in the bottom of the eighth for a walk-off win.

Despite the loss, Salazar had an overall strong night in the circle, giving up only three earned runs in seven innings and racking up six strikeouts. Salazar also finished with two hits, one run scored and one batted in, while fellow sophomore Ella Greiner finished with two hits and two RBI. Even with a setback, Washington still has a record of 10-5. The Demons are also undefeated in conference play and will look to stay in first place in the Southeast Conference later tonight when they try for a series sweep of Fort Madison.