The Southeast Conference opener did not go as planned for the Washington softball team on Monday night, as they dropped a pair of games against Fort Madison 14-2 and 17-16. 

As heard on KCII, game one started out perfectly for the Demons after the first five batters reached including a solo shot to left center by Kinsey Duwa to open the bottom of the first. A batter interference call put a damper on a possible big inning and the Demons had to settle for a pair of runs. The script immediately flipped, as Washington did not record a hit the rest of game and Fort Madison belted out 10 knocks. They tallied five runs in the second, three in the third, and tacked on six more in the fourth to capture the mercy-rule win. The Bloodhounds had two dingers including one by Neeley Rehm, who also picked up the win in the circle. Cara Linnenkamp took the loss for Washington in four innings of work.

Spectators were in for a wild ride in the nightcap, as the game featured five lead changes and many crooked number innings. Washington plated one in the first only to have Fort Madison answer right back with four in the second. The Demon offense was finally able to breakthrough in the fourth with eight tallies headlined by two RBI singles from Duwa and Cameron Malichky. The craziness continued when the Bloodhounds plated 10 in the fifth and the Demons got seven back in the bottom half to regain a 16-15 advantage. Lexi Whaley’s RBI knock in the sixth proved to be the difference, as the Washington bats went down quietly in the final two frames to suffer the loss. Duwa, Malichky, and Anna Venenga each had a pair of hits with two RBI while Kellie Dallmeyer brought in four runs. Freshman Haley Mitchell picked up the loss in relief despite calming the Bloodhound bats in the final two-plus innings. 

The sweep snapped a 13-game win streak for the Demons against the Bloodhounds. 

Washington falls to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the SEC. They look to bounce back Thursday at Burlington.