ROAD SPLIT: Red Devils take series opener in Chanute

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Sports

March 24, 2017 - 12:00 AM

CHANUTE — The Red Devil baseball team got off to a hot start in game one on Thursday in Chanute with a big six-run second inning to take a quick lead against Neosho County Community College.
Allen Community College’s Sky-Lar Culver and Robby Enriquez each homered in the inning, and Chase Gooding was dealing for the Red Devils early.
The sophomore right-hander shutout the Panthers through the first four innings and in the top of the fifth, Allen tacked on another run to build the lead to 7-0 and appeared to be cruising toward an easy victory.
Neosho County didn’t let Allen get their 25th win that easily though and finally were able to get to Gooding in the bottom of the fifth.
The Panthers scored six runs with a three-run homer by freshman Nolan Beets capping the scoring.
“You always anticipate that good clubs, like they are, aren’t going to stop fighting,” Allen coach Clint Stoy said.
The Red Devils responded in the top of the sixth inning with a single by sophomore Nathan Best scoring Culver.
The Panthers answered with a run in the bottom of the seventh and got back to within 8-7, but Red Devil freshman Connor Darnell entered the game to record the final two outs to notch the save and preserve the win.
“It is always nice when you can take the first game of any series, but especially on the road,” Stoy said. “If you can split on the road then you give yourself a chance to win a series and that is what we try to do… We got a win and that is always nice.”
Culver was the team’s top hitter in game one by going 3-for-3.

GAME TWO
The Red Devils got off to a strong start in game two with a home run by sophomore Mason Gifford in the first inning and tacked on another run with a Kole McKinnon RBI single, but the tide quickly shifted in the bottom of the first.
Neosho County bounced back with three runs off of Allen ace Jake Butterfield.
“They took some momentum from game one and that is ok, but we have to find a way to combat that momentum,” Stoy said. “This is (Butterfield’s) second outing in a row where he hasn’t been very sharp so we are going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure something out.”
The momentum never shifted back in the favor of the Red Devils as the Panthers rattled off 15-straight runs and run-ruled Allen 15-2 after seven innings.
McKinnon and Cody Wolfe each had two hits for the Red Devils.
The split makes Allen 25-6 this season while Neosho County is now 16-11.

UP NEXT
The Panthers and Red Devils will continue their series today in Iola with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

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