PRATT — The Allen Red Devils hope to win the season series against Pratt Community College Saturday after splitting with the Beavers Thursday.
Falling in the opener 13-9, the Pratt Beavers rallied to take the finale 11-10 thanks to a seven-run seventh inning.
Freshman pitcher Doc Needham picked up his fourth win of the season while striking out a pair of batters in 5 1/3 innings on the mound. Pitching for contact, Needham heavily relied on his defense, which stood firm aside from a pair of costly errors.
A bases-loaded walk put the Red Devils on the scoreboard in the second inning, then Allen scored again on another mound miscue to take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth inning, sophomore second baseman Kaden Wint gave Allen a 3-1 advantage with a sacrifice fly.
In the fifth inning, sophomore first baseman Nicky Moretto and sophomore outfielder Marquee Williams drove in a pair of runs on a single and a triple respectively. Sophomore outfielder Gavin Richardson kept the hot streak going with an RBI single. Richardson, Williams and freshman shortstop Cash Messenger added enough RBIs to all but seal the victory.
Wint and Williams tied for the team lead in RBIs with three each. Richardson had a team-leading four hits while successful in 4 of 5 at-bats. Williams hit 3 of 3 at-bats.
After a slow start, the Red Devils put six runs on the board in the sixth inning. Sophomore outfielder Jose Zorilla homered in the first, then Messenger homered in the second. Aside from a Zorilla RBI double in the fifth, Allen’s scoring ground to a halt until exploding in the sixth off RBIs from Messenger, Wint, freshman designated hitter Carson McCormac and freshman catcher Shane Smith.
It wasn’t enough. Pratt rallied in its final at-bat for the win, which dropped Allen’s record to 13-16 overall. They hope to get back above .500 with a pair of wins over the weekend against Pratt, then one last tuneup against Missouri West Plains Tuesday before hosting No. 1 ranked Johnson County Community College for a doubleheader Thursday.
First pitch for Saturday’s doubleheader is 1 p.m. for the opener and 3 p.m. for the finale.
