The Allen Red Devils are 3-3 in the Jayhawk Conference after splitting a doubleheader while hosting Labette Community College Thursday.
After opening with a 6-3 loss to the Cardinals, the Red Devils rebounded with a 20-10 victory and head on the road Saturday for another doubleheader against Labette.
Despite pitchers Doc Needham and Jacob Doty combining for seven strikeouts over seven innings, a five-run fourth inning sank Allen.
Sophomore first baseman Nicky Moretto, sophomore shortstop Martin Malick and sophomore designated hitter Carson McCormac each had RBIs for the Red Devils. Moretto had a team-leading two hits while Malic, McCormac and sophomore outfielder Marquee Williams had one hit each.
The Red Devils secured a win in the finale after a game-changing fourth inning. McCormac got Allen going in the opening frame with a bases-loaded double to drive in three runs.
Freshman outfielder Cooper Bates kept the Red Devils rolling with a two-run double. Moretto plated Bates with a single, then a pair of bases-loaded walks preceded an RBI single from freshman third baseman Nathan Villarreal and a sacrifice fly by sophomore second baseman Kaden Wint.
The floodgates opened for Allen in the fourth inning when McCormac uncorked the first of his two homers. A Wint single, then another Bates RBI double and another Moretto RBI single further extended Allen’s lead before homers by sophomore designated hitter Krue Lowe and McCormac went yard one last time.
McCormac ended the day with a team-leading seven RBIs hitting in 3 of 3 at-bats. Bates had four RBIs while hitting in 3 of 4 at bats and Villarreal hit in 3 of 5 at-bats.
Sophomore pitcher Miller Tavaglione picked up the win. He allowed three runs in the first inning after a Labette homer but settled to tally eight strikeouts over five innings while allowing five hits and four walks. Sophomore Keaton Hartman picked up a strikeout while coming on in relief and sophomore Brannock Blankship also tallied a strikeout while picking up the save.
With the win, the Red Devils evened their record to 5-5 and 3-3 in conference play. With Labette sitting at 2-4, wins Saturday would separate Allen from the middle of the pack in the conference standings. Johnson County Community College currently has the top spot, 6-0, followed by Kansas City Kansas Community College (5-1) and archrival Neosho Community College (3-1) in third place.
First pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader is at 1 p.m. with a 3 p.m. first pitch set for the finale.
