The Washington Demons knocked off the Highland Huskies 4-3 in six innings in the Eddie Jones Memorial Softball Tournament they hosted Saturday. Washington took the lead with a run in the second inning, but Highland came back to tie the game in the third. Two runs in the fifth put the Demons back in front, but the Huskies had two of their own in the top of the sixth to again even things. It would be a walk-off Washington run in the bottom of the sixth that proved to be the difference.
Sophomore outfielder Ella Greiner paced the Demon lineup with three hits, including one run scored and one run batted in. Freshman catcher Leighton Salazar also scored a run and had an RBI on two hits. Sophomore infielder Lilly Barre hit two doubles and drove in two runs to lead Highland, but the Huskies still fell to 16-9 ahead of their regular-season finale tonight against Columbus.
Washington nearly picked up a second victory, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after an inning of play against Davenport West in their second game Saturday. But the Falcons scored four times in the top of the fourth to go in front. The Demons got three runs in the bottom half of the inning to lead 5-4, but two more runs in the fifth would prove enough to give Davenport West the 6-5 win.
Greiner had two more hits and another run batted in, while fellow sophomore Alyvia Anderson cranked a double for one of her two hits and posted three RBI. Salazar, junior Emery Walton and eighth-grader Colbie Greiner each had one hit and one run scored for Washington, which moved their record to 19-11.
The Demons are 10-2 in the Southeast Conference this season and still stand a shot at winning the league headed into the final week of the regular season. Washington will need to sweep the three-game series with Burlington, which is ranked twelfth in the state in Class 4A and is 17-7 to go with an unbeaten record in conference play.
You can hear the Demons take on the Greyhounds this week on 106.1 FM KCII, starting with a doubleheader tonight. Coverage begins this evening with the Dino’s Pizza & Steakhouse Pregame Show at 5 o’clock.