The No. 9 in Class 3A Washington Demon softball team earned their 24th victory of the season last night by holding off a late rally by rival Mid-Prairie in a 5-3 final score in a game heard live on KCII.

Washington would begin the night hot on the bats, landing a three-spot in their opening inning to take an early 3-0 lead. That advantage would last until the bottom of the fifth, when the Demons plated two more runs to their lead to swell the gap to five runs. Mid-Prairie began to awaken in the sixth, scoring their first run of the game on just one hit in the frame, aided by a pair of Washington defensive errors. The Golden Hawk defense would stand tall in the bottom half to give themselves a chance in the seventh, but they would ultimately fall short of upending their rivals on the road when the charge was ended by a routine 4-3 putout from second basewoman Colbie Greiner to first basewoman Bella Salazar to secure the win for the Demons.

Unofficially, Washington finished the night being outhit 8-6 by the Golden Hawks, but committed one less error at 3-2. Senior Ella Greiner led Washington at the plate with two singles, an RBI and two runs scored, while fellow senior Salazar brought in a pair of runs and had a single at the dish. Another senior, Halle Cuddeback, picked up the win in the circle, tossing the complete game, allowing all three Mid-Prairie runs, two earned, on all eight of their hits, a walk and nine punchouts. The quartet of Washington seniors, Cuddeback, Salazar, Greiner and Alyvia Anderson joined KCII Sports live on the postgame show to talk about their Senior Night win.

“(On her pitching), It was really nice, especially because that’s not something that I normally do. Most of the time I’m just making sure that I know the defense behind me will get everything they need to,” Cuddeback said.

“(On the win), It feels really good,” Greiner said. “This group of seniors has put so much work into this sport over the years, and I’m just really glad we got the win on Senior Night.”

“(On winning on Senior Night and fan support), [It feels] amazing,” Salazar said. “I know how much work all of these girls have put in, so seeing all the supporters come out feels amazing.”

“(On what she’s brought to the team), I just try to do my best. Bring the energy,” Anderson said. “Bring all that I can to the defensive side too.”

Mid-Prairie was led by two hits from junior Kadence Grout. Alena Snider was hit with the loss, also in a complete game, allowing all Washington runs, four earned, on all hits, five walks and two strikeouts.

With the win, Washington improves to 24-8 on the season ahead of a road matchup in Keokuk tonight. Mid-Prairie drops to 6-19 and has a home date with Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont this evening in Kalona.