Red Devils split home opener

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Sports

February 15, 2017 - 12:00 AM

The Allen Community College softball team made its home debut for 2017 on Tuesday afternoon and a mixture of new and old faces led the Red Devils to a game one win over MCC-Maple Woods, 11-3 in five innings.
A familiar face was starting pitcher Raegan Beckley.
The sophomore threw a complete game and allowed only two earned runs on eight hits to earn the win. She also had one strikeout and one walk.
“It was good to see us perform the way we did and to see Raegan pitch as many innings as she did,” Allen coach Jaime Jensen said. “She has been struggling with stamina a little bit.”
A fresh face was new shortstop and leadoff hitter Winter Henry.
The Rock Creek graduate was 4-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored in game one. She also flashed her leather at shortstop with several nice putouts.
“Winter is huge for us,” Jensen said. “She is an athlete who can play any position on the field… She is a triple threat at the plate. She can hit the long ball, but she can also lay it down and her speed is tremendous.”
Another new player is freshman Chelsea Lake.
The Topeka native hit the Red Devils’ first home run in friendly confines with a deep shot in the fifth inning of game one.
Lake finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two  runs scored.
Sophomores Marissa Lilly and Caitlin Burns also had a pair of hits each in the lopsided win.
Game two was a different story. Maple Woods jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third inning and Allen’s young pitchers behind Beckley struggled to contain their opponent’s offense.
“We need to get those freshmen to believe in themselves and step up,” Jensen said.
The lead was up to 8-3 when the Red Devil bats thawed and were able to score five runs after five consecutive runners reached with two outs. The biggest hit was a triple from Julia Keating.
The game-tying hit was off the bat of Henry.
The Red Devils brought in Beckley to try and seal the win but after two shutout innings, she allowed a run in the seventh and Allen was unable to answer as they fell 9-8.
“We battled back,” Jensen said. “It was good to see our girls fight, because last weekend in Texas, there wasn’t much fight in them.”
Henry, Lake and Alexis Ramos each had two hits in the loss.

TRACK & FIELD
The Allen track and field team traveled to Pittsburg for the Gorilla Classic last weekend and saw three school records fall.
Freshman Hannah Johnson set the school record in the 800 meters with a 2:27.48.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Shoemaker continued her banner year with a 10:21.59 to set the 3,000 meter record.
On the men’s side, sophomore Phillip Langemann set the mile record with a 4:20.22.

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