The Demon softball team kicks off the state semi-finals tonight when they take on No. 4 Carlisle, the team they beat in the first round last year 5-2.

Washington was the only lower seed in the first round to win, beating Solon 6-1, while Carlisle squeaked by Waverly-Shell Rock 3-1.

Washington is hitting .351 this season, and their top 10 ranking in all of the state combined in strikeouts against is becoming a key factor to their offense more then their average. Kaitlin Buchholz still leads the way at the plate with a .447 average, 50 RBI’s and four homeruns, but with the way the Demons hit against Solon they now have their top four in their lineup hitting over .400, and the rest are a couple of hits away from .300 on the season.

Rausch moves to 17-9 on the season with a 2.19 ERA, 106 strikeouts and opponents hitting .206 off of her, and has thrown two complete seven inning games in a row that the Demons have led the entire time in.

Carlisle is 33-7 this year and is hitting .351 as a team. The top hitter for Carlisle is Payton Mercer who is hitting .482 this year with 50 RBI’s and three homeruns, followed by Chyanne Dubois who is hitting .447 with 30 RBI’s and seven home runs. In the circle it is Gabby Schnathorst or Shyanne Dubois, both have low ERAs and opponents hitting around .150. Combined they have a 1.43 ERA , 259 strikeouts and opponents are hitting .154.

Last year when these two teams played in the first round, the Demons were led by Chayse Jaspering who went 2-3 and Lauran Vittetoe who graduated, while Payton Mercer was the top bat for Carlisle going 2-3 with a homerun.

Today’s game will be at 5:30 and you can hear it right here on AM and FM KCII and KCIIradio.com under radio plus with pregame at 5 and first pitch at 5:30, the one to count on for today’s local sports coverage is AM and FM KCII and KCIIradio.com.