Conference play for Washington Demon softball begins tonight with a doubleheader against defending Southeast Conference champion Burlington, and you can catch all the action on KCII.

Despite winning 24 games in each of the last two seasons, Washington has also finished second place to Burlington each time, and they are looking to get a leg up in league play while also extending a four-game winning streak as they prepare to host the Grayhounds this evening.

The Demons have bounced back from dropping their 2025 season opener thanks to the emergence of their lineup that led the Southeast Conference in scoring in each of the last two years.

Junior Leighton Salazar leads the team in hits, runs and stolen bases through five games after posting a .524 batting average, 54 runs scored and a school-record 36 steals in 2024 on her way to a second straight all-state selection and Southeast Conference Player of the Year honors.

Ella Greiner is also swinging it well for Washington with a .312 average, a home run and a team-high six runs batted in so far, while fellow senior Alyvia Anderson is hitting .444 with a double, a homer and five RBI.

Mix in the stellar pitching of sophomore Colbie Greiner, who has a 1.24 earned-run average and 31 strikeouts in 17 innings, and it’s been a good start to the season for the Demons, ranked 10th in the state in Class 3A. But head coach Ben Obermann tells KCII Sports that tonight’s games versus Burlington are their toughest test to date.

“They’re a very good team, and they’re the standard right now in the Southeast Conference and it goes through them,” Obermann says. “But we’re ready for the challenge. These girls aren’t afraid of competition.”

The Grayhounds have back-to-back conference championships, 23 wins in 2024 and a current number-14 ranking in Class 4A in no small part thanks to Kylee Hill.

The sophomore had a 2.31 ERA as the ‘Hounds’ number-two pitcher last season and has only allowed two earned runs in 21 innings so far this summer, but she’s also a force of nature at the plate with 19 career home runs.

Washington has lost three straight to Burlington. You can catch both games of the doubleheader between the Demons and the Grayhounds this evening on 106.1 FM and streaming on KCIIradio.com and the KCII1 app, starting with the Countdown to First Pitch at 5 o’clock.