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Prep softball: Greiner leads Washington past Mustangs
Prep softball: Greiner leads Washington past Mustangs
- Prep softball: Greiner leads Washington past Mustangs
BLOOMFIELD — The final week of the season began for the Washington softball team began by nearly knocking off one of the top teams in the state.
It ended the same way.
Washington earned an opportunity to knock off a top-10 opponent on their home diamond, using power at the plate and in the pitching circle to put away a 7-4 win at Davis County in the Class 3A, Region 8 quarterfinals. Colbie Greiner hit her program-record ninth home run of the season at the plate while striking out 13 batters in the pitching circle, including five in a row to open the contest.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I definitely started off throwing hard and spinning the ball. That's a big thing for me," Greiner said. "We had a lot of confidence coming into this game. On Monday, we had fifth-ranked (2A) Louisa-Muscatine down 7-4 going into the seventh and couldn't put the game away. That experience gave me the confidence to get through this game."
Washington carried a 10-game winning streak into Monday's contest with Louisa-Muscatine, playing with confidence that led to a three-run opening inning that helped the Demons carry a late lead into the contest with the fifth-ranked (2A) Falcons. The 8-7 loss to Louisa-Muscatine gave Washington plenty of confidence going into the regional semifinal at No. 10 (4A) West Liberty.
"Louisa-Muscatine actually ended beat West Liberty by eight runs last week, so knowing that we could have beaten Louisa-Muscatine and we should have beaten Louisa-Muscatine gives us a ton of confidence," Greiner said. "Being the underdogs also pushes us. We were underdogs last year in the postseason. We went to (Davenport) Assumption and we won to get to the state tournament. That helps us a lot to never give up and know what we can do."
Washington began its bid to earn a return trip to the state by jumping out to a 4-0 lead after the first two innings against Davis County. While Greiner retired the first six Mustang hitters, including the opening five strikeouts, the Demons (19-16) began to make noise at the plate with three extra-base hits in the second inning including a two-run home run by Kaleah Gerdes.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"It kind of made us upset finding out that we had an away game, but it's also great to come in and try to beat someone on their home field," Greiner said. "I think it kind of helps playing with nothing to lose and giving it our all."
Davis County (10-16) battled back at the plate, cutting Washington's lead in half on a two-run single by Ally Batterson. Three straight doubles in the fifth inning gave the Mustangs a chance to completely erase Washington's four-run lead, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate before Greiner was able to end the threat forcing Lydia Barker to fly out to left field.
"You'd like to think that one or two more hits could have changed how this game wound up," Davis County head softball coach Joe Rasmussen said. "Our girls did what they've done all year. They battled back. They weren't getting cheap hits. Our girls were making some really solid contact to give ourselves a chance."
Greiner ended the game retiring the last seven Davis County hitters, adding four more strikeouts over the final two innings. At the plate, Greiner opened the seventh inning with a solo home run to right center to put the game away.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"When I stop spinning the softball, it makes my pitches go flat and high. With the speed I throw the ball, it's going to allow hitters to drive the ball into the outfield," Greiner said. "I just had to talk with my coaches. I needed to stay back on my pitches and make sure my rise ball was working. My rise ball and change-ups were what really worked for me."
Washington's bid to return to state ended in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday as a throwing error led to a run in the bottom of the eighth allowing West Liberty to edge the Demons, 3-2, in an extra-inning thriller. Reagan Miller singled in a run before scoring the tying run in the sixth on an RBI hit by Keagyn Coleman.
Davis County will look continue growing after a season of ups and downs. The Mustangs graduate three seniors (Noelle Hill, Halle Husted, Barker) but also have three freshmen starters (Lydia DeKraai, Addison McCall, Batterson) that gained plenty of experience having started over 20 games this past season.
"For those girls to get plenty of trips to the plate and plenty of time on the field this season, it's nice to see what they can do moving forward," Rasmussen said. "Our seniors have been great leaders this year right across the diamond. I'm sure our young players have really looked up to them."
Story byOttumwa Courier, Iowa