ACCC falls short of playoffs

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Sports

May 3, 2011 - 12:00 AM

HIGHLAND — There was little margin for error. Allen County Community College’s baseball team had to win at least three games in their final weekend series to have a shot at postseason play.
The Red Devils won two out of four games against host Highland Community College Scotties. The Scotties went into the Jayhawk Eastern Division series two games in front of Allen County for the eighth-place position — the final spot for the playoffs.
On Saturday, Highland put the pressure on Allen County by winning the first game 18-7 in five innings. The Red Devils responded by claiming a 9-8 victory in 10 innings.
Then Sunday, the Scotties secured their spot in the Jayhawk Conference Super Regional with an 11-10 win.
Allen County could have folded. The Red Devils found themselves down 10-3 after six innings of the final nine-inning game.
They rallied for nine runs in the seventh on their way to an 18-12 win.
Allen County ended a disappointing Jayhawk East season on a winning note. The Red Devils finished 13-23 in conference play in ninth place.
The Red Devils take a 21-29 record into today’s final games of the season at Seminole, Okla.
At Highland, the Scotties had two big innings in the first game of the series. They scored eight runs in the second.
Allen County used two home runs to get back in the game. Curtiss Bunch had a three-run blast in the second inning. Riley Price cranked out a two-run shot in the fourth. The Red Devils trailed 8-7 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
Unfortunately, Highland plated seven runs in that inning as it went on for an 18-7 win. Cody Wren and Zak Mickens pitched for ACCC and combined to give up 15 hits and issued six walks.
Besides the home runs by Price and Bunch, Allen County got a single and a double from Nick Fountain and a double from Bryce Williams. Hitting a single each were Michael Schell, Kyle Johnston, Brad Alberts and Eric Seymour.
The Scotties had a six-run inning in the second game Saturday to lead 7-2. Allen County battled back to lead 8-7 but Highland scored a run in the eighth to tie it up.
Fountain was the ACCC starter but gave way to Brandon Spear after eight innings. It was Fountain’s solo home run — his 14th of the season — that put ACCC up 9-8 in the 10th. The Red Devils retired the Scotties in the bottom of the inning for the win.
Bunch was 4-for-4 with three singles and a double.  Price and Alberts had a single and a double apiece. Schell and Brayden Brumley each had two base hits.
Williams, Kaleb Hoffman and Seymour had a single each.
The Red Devils fell behind early in Sunday’s first game. They scored four runs in the fifth to make it 9-4. Down 11-4, Allen County rallied for six runs in the seventh but were stopped, losing 11-10.
Mickens took the loss in relief of ACCC starter Dylan Bowman.
Alberts connected for two singles and a double and Williams had three singles. Schell hit a single and a double. Hitting a single each were Price, Fountain, Kyle Johnston, Bunch and Seymour.
Fountain had a three-run home run with Schell and Williams aboard in the third inning of the final game. Highland pushed out to a 10-3 lead through six innings.
Allen County finally did to Highland what the Scotties had been doing all weekend — it had a big inning. With seven hits, the  Red Devils scored nine runs.
Johnston and Price each had two-run doubles and Fountain hit a two-run home run. The Red Devils continued the onslaught scoring four more runs in the eighth and two in the ninth.
Patrick Garner, Spear, Tanner Wittman and Tevin Kendall pitched for ACCC. Wittman got the win and Kendall picked up a save.
Fountain had two home runs and a single while Price had two doubles and a single. Williams, Johnston, Bunch and Miles Sanderson each hit a single and a double. Schell, Seymour and Alberts each had two singles.

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