The Washington Demons cruised to a sweep of a softball doubleheader last night at conference rival Keokuk. Washington’s eight runs in the third inning of Game One broke a 1-1 tie, and another three runs in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth gave the Demons a 16-4 victory.

Emery Walton had two hits, including a double, and two runs batted in for Washington while also scoring three runs. Fellow senior Rylee Libe also scored three times and came up with four RBI despite having just one hit.

Sophomore Leighton Salazar also needed only one hit to drive in four and score twice for the Demons, while Ella Greiner came up with three runs batted in and fellow juniors Bella Salazar and Alyvia Anderson had two hits each. Bella Salazar also pitched all five innings to get her 11th win of the season in the circle.

Washington seized the lead much earlier in Game Two by putting up three runs in the first and another five in the third. Five more runs in the fifth allowed the Demons to get a 14-1 win that only took five frames.

Anderson blasted her second home run of the season and had three runs batted in, while Greiner had a double as part of a three-hit, three-RBI game. Greiner also scored twice, while Leighton Salazar crossed home plate four times in a two-hit effort and Bella Salazar had a double on her way to two knocks and three driven in.

Junior Halle Cuddeback had three hits and two runs batted in, while Walton also drove in a pair on two hits. Junior Kendall Hinrichsen added a double and one RBI, while freshman Colbie Greiner mixed in another double and scored a run.

Colbie Greiner also got the complete-game victory, allowing only five hits and picking up a pair of strikeouts. The wins help Washington improve to 19-4, including a 10-0 mark in the Southeast Conference that has them all alone in first place in the league.

The Demons, ranked seventh in the state in Class 3A, face a stiff test in their next game when they host Central Lee tonight. The Hawks are 14-4 and ranked 15th in 3A behind a dynamic lineup that averages 10 runs per game.

Washington defeated Central Lee 10-1 last season in the Class 3A Region 8 playoffs and has won the last two meetings. You can catch Demon softball in a battle of state-ranked teams this evening on 106.1 FM KCII and streaming on the KCII1 app and KCIIradio.com, starting with the Roder Epoxy Pregame Show at 7 o’clock.