ARKANSAS CITY — Allen Community College had a tough go of it on the baseball diamond Thursday.
The Red Devils saw host Cowley County Community College score a pair of decisive runs on a wild pitch and fielding error in a 7-5 loss in the first game of a doubleheader. A pair of Tiger pitchers combined for a one-hitter over eight innings in a 10-0 shutout.
The losses put ACC at 14-10 on the season, with the four-game series set to wrap up with a home doubleheader Saturday. Games are slated to start at 1 and about 3 p.m. Allen also will host Northern Oklahoma College-Enid for a single game at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Thursday’s opener was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Red Devils spot Cowley a 3-0 lead before scoring thrice in the top of the fourth to even the score. Meese Robberse started things with a two-run double to score Anthony Talpa and Garrett Rusch. Zach Henry chased Robberse home with an RBI single two batters later.
Colton Ayres then put Allen ahead in the top of the fifth, without the benefit of a hit, when he walked, stole second, moved to third on a ground ball and then stole home on a strikeout.
After Cowley evened the score at 4-4 on a bases-loaded walk in its half of the fifth, Allen rallied to retake a 5-4 lead on Colton Shepherd’s two-out RBI single.
But the Tigers took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth. Cade Baldredge, whose three-run home run got things started for Cowley, smacked an RBI single to knot the game at 5-5. A fielding error to the next batter allowed Cowley to a 6-5 lead before a wild pitch sent Baldridge scampering home for the final run.
The Red Devils went down in order in the top of the seventh to end the game.
Saul Bolivar got the start on the mound for ACC, tossing 4.2 innings, while striking out five and allowing four hits. Elias Muller, Brayden Thompson and Nicholas Walter combined to allow one hit with two strikeouts over 1.1 innings of relief.
Robberse paced Allen’s offense with a single and double, while Parker Martin had a double. Talpa, Henry and Shepherd added singles.
THE SECOND game started out as a pitcher’s duel.
Allen’s Jack Bland got the start, allowing runs in the first and third innings, but otherwise holding Cowley’s offense in check for the rest of his five innings of work.
Problem was, Cowley’s Cody Arington was even better. He allowed only a single baserunner on a walk over six innings.
Allen’s first, and only, hit of the game came on pinch hitter Jack Harris’s one-out single in the top of the seventh.
Cowley took control with a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth, scoring five times while taking advantage of a pair of ACC fielding errors.
