For a second straight season, the Washington Demon baseball team (5-8 overall; 4-4 Southeast) swept a season series with a conference foe. As heard on AM/FM KCII and KCIIRadio.com, the Demons welcomed the Fort Madison Bloodhounds (0-15 overall) to Dick Sojka Memorial Field for a Southeast Conference doubleheader. For a second straight season, the Demons swept the Bloodhounds after a 14-1 victory in game one in five innings, and a 2-1 victory in game two.

The Demons caught an early break in game one. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the third, creative base running by junior Michael Ellingson helped the Demons score their first two runs of the game. What should have been a routine put out by Fort Madison senior Billy Coppage went off line and took first baseman Bill Young off the bag at first base. Young missed the tag on Ellingson, and allowed two runs to score in the process, giving Washington the lead for good. The Demons batted around twice in the third inning, scoring 12 runs on nine hits for a 14-1 lead. Fort Madison couldn’t trim the deficit as the Bloodhounds fell by 13 runs in five innings.

Game two proved to be a pitchers’ duel between the squads. Washington overcame a 12 strike out performance from Coppage, who had a one-run lead heading into the fifth inning. The Bloodhound ace allowed sophomore Michael Gier to reach base on a lead off walk, and gave up a Blake Weidman double in the inning. Passed balls would help the two Demons advance around the bases, taking a 2-1 lead into the sixth inning. Fort Madison’s offense couldn’t produce any additional runs, falling 2-1.

The victories end Washington’s six-game losing streak, improving the Demons to 5-8 overall on the season. The Demons return to Southeast Conference play on Monday, traveling to Fairfield for a league doubleheader against the No. 9 Trojans (7-3 overall).