The Allen Red Devils built up some confidence with their sweep against Independence 6-4, 8-5 during a weekend doubleheader.
Freshman pitcher and second baseman Andrea Ruby put her myriad skills to the test. Ruby picked up the win on the mound in Game 1 and then led the Red Devils in RBIs in the nightcap.
Allen improved to 12-21 overall and 5-3 for fourth place in the Jayhawk Conference standings.
“Today was a good outing for us for sure,” Allen coach Nicole Peters said. “Going 2-0 today was great. We’re 2-2 on the week, then we’re back at it with Neosho and later Highland.”
Freshman second baseman Kara Walker got the Red Devils rolling with an RBI grounder in the opening frame.
In the third inning, an RBI single by sophomore catcher Mackayla Hirschmann, preceded by sacrifice flies from freshman shortstop Taylor Damme and sophomore first baseman Kalyse Abernathy, gave Allen a 4-0 lead.
The Pirates rallied with four unanswered runs over the third, fourth and fifth innings.
With no outs in Allen’s final at-bat, Abernathy sealed the victory with a walk-off, two-RBI double.
Ruby picked up the win while remarkably allowing four runs on 11 hits and one walk and no strikeouts. Abernathy finished the game with a team-leading two RBIs. Walker, Damme and freshman second baseman Addie Keys tied for the team lead in hits with two each.
“She (Ruby) is definitely someone we will look to next year,” Coach Peters said. “She does a little on the mound, and she just needs a little bit more confidence, but today’s performance helped build it up.”
A seven-run opening frame was all Allen needed to take the nightcap. Sophomore Kirstyn Busby picked up a win on Sophomore Night. Thanks to another standout performance by the defense, Busby picked up the win with only one strikeout while allowing five runs on eight hits and four walks.
A Keys RBI double put Allen on the scoreboard in the first inning, which was only the beginning of the Pirates’ pitching woes.
An RBI grounder by Hirschmann plated a pair of runners. Sophomore third baseman Hope Sanchez gave Allen a 4-0 advantage.
The Red Devils flirted with a mercy rule following a three-run Ruby homer, but their bats went quiet until the fourth inning, when Abernathy found a way to score off a fielder’s choice blooper by sophomore outfielder Casey Schaffer.
Strong defensive play was by far Allen’s best trait Saturday. The Red Devils provided plenty of fielding highlights, all the way through the Pirates’ final at-bat after Walker tracked down a two-out foul ball for a sliding catch to secure the win.
Ruby picked up all three of her RBIs on a single swing with her first inning homer. Keys, and Damme tied for the team lead in hits as the pair both were successful in 2 of 4 at-bats.
