HUMBOLDT — Allen Community College’s baseball team took care of business early and late in their late start Monday.
The Red Devils played a doubleheader with the first game starting at 6:30 p.m., and the second close to 9 o’clock against Ottawa University’s junior varsity squad.
The Red Devils plated four runs in the first inning, courtesy of a Colton Patterson grand slam, and never looked back in a 16-1 victory.
Allen then erupted for seven runs over the final two innings of the nightcap, a 9-2 victory, with the final out recorded shortly before 11 o’clock.
The wins give ACC a nine-game winning streak entering Jayhawk Conference play, which begins with a four-game set Thursday and Saturday at Neosho County Community College in Chanute.
The key, Allen head coach Clint Stoy noted, comes down to the Red Devil pitching.
Allen sent 13 pitchers to the mound over the doubleheader, with none of the hurlers getting more than an inning combined.
“This is one of the deeper pitching staffs we’ve had,” Stoy noted. “We needed to get some guys some work with conference play coming up.”
The script was for each pitcher to toss an inning in the doubleader, garnering them the nickname “Johnny Wholestaff.”
The strategy worked, with the pitchers combining to strike out 23 batters over 12 innings, while walking just two and allowing a combined six hits.
The Red Devils (10-2) still have yet to play a true home game this season because of ongoing work to install a new turf infield at the Allen baseball diamond. Monday’s doubleheader was held at the Humboldt Sports Complex, which has become ACC’s true home away from home.
Class schedules and high school baseball practice after school prompted Monday’s late start.
Patterson’s two-out blast into a blustery south wind in the first inning came after Jonah Weisner and Alec Roberts sandwiched walks around an infield single by Lukas Rich.
“Jacob has really been swinging the bat well,” Stoy said, which has set the tone so far on ACC’s season.
Ottawa’s fielding misadventures helped the Red Devils extend the lead.
Lucas McCain’s leadoff double in the second led to ACC’s fifth run after he stole third and scored on Weisner’s sacrifice fly. Rich doubled, and then scored after an error by the Ottawa center fielder on Caleb Easterling’s fly ball.
