The Washington softball team had chances to capture a doubleheader sweep against Southeast Conference foe Keokuk, but the Demons managed a split in the battle for third place in the league.

As heard on KCII, the two games were completely opposite in nature as game one was a pitcher’s dual with game two being an offensive juggernaut. In the first game the Demons led much of the way but ultimately fell to the Chiefs 4-2. The Demons managed all their scoring early as they grabbed one run in the first off of a RBI fielder’s choice by Brooke Stout and then a RBI double off the bat of senior Jessie Buchholz. After home runs by the Chiefs’ Jakayla Hall and Jaylin Wood, the game was all notched up at 2-2 heading into the final inning. Grace Koeber delivered the final blow with a RBI double that allowed the Chiefs to squeak out the 4-2 victory. Buchholz finished game one going 1-2 with a RBI. Outside of a few pitches that got away, Molly Sparks had another strong outing in the circle going all seven innings with four earned runs.

With many runners stranded for the Demons in game one, the offense broke out in game two as they held onto a wild 10-8 win. The Demons jumped out early with eight runs in the first three innings. The comfortable lead quickly diminished as another three run home run by Jakayla Hall and then later a two RBI double found the score all tied heading into the fifth. The Demons hung tough and managed a sac fly by Kaitlyn Mitchell to plate Buchholz and capture a lead they would never relinquish. After Alexa Mitchell pitched the first five frames, Molly Sparks managed a six out save by shutting down the Chiefs offense and salvage the split. Morgan Brinning had a productive day at the plate going 3-for-4 with a RBI. Mitchell got the win in five innings of work.

After the split, the Demons move to 17-15 on the year as the Chiefs are just behind in the standings with a 17-16 record. The Demons get back on the diamond tomorrow night when they host Lone Tree (3-14).