The Washington Demons had their 2024 baseball season wrap up Friday night with a 10-2 loss at Central DeWitt in the Class 3A Substate 5 quarterfinals. Washington fell behind by surrendering three runs in the first inning and another in the second, but the Demons would cut the 4-0 deficit in half by scoring twice in the third.

Washington had a chance to tie the game in the top of the fourth but could not do so, and committing four errors in the bottom half would be a big part of why Central DeWitt would score four times to extend the lead to 8-2 and never look back.

After the game, Demons head coach T.J. Rausch talked with KCII Sports about how this was another opportunity for his young team to learn about what it takes to be a winner.

“In the long run, it is big,” Rausch said. “Tonight was just being in situations and understanding what play we’re needing to make, and we just weren’t making them. I think it comes from experience [and] we got more experience tonight.”

Freshman Blayze Richardson led the Washington lineup with three hits while also scoring one run, while Luke Beenblossom and Caleb Zieglowsky, the two lone seniors for the Demons, each had one hit and one run batted in in their final career games. With the defeat, the season ends for Washington with a record of 5-21.