Split ends

“A majority of those girls either started or split time for us,” Peters said. “We’re gonna lose a bulk of our starting lineup with their graduation. We’ve got freshmen coming in, and next year’s class who are gonna have to step up. We’re for sure gonna miss a lot of our spark.”

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Sports

May 9, 2022 - 4:15 PM

Humboldt native Winter Snyder, a sophomore at Labette Community College, leads off second base Saturday at Allen Community College’s season-ending doubleheader. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Allen Community College’s softball team gave the hometown fans one final charge to the 2022 season Sunday.

The Red Devils entered their season finale out of the playoff race, but eyeing a victory on Sophomore Day against Labette.

It’s only fitting that two of the departing sophomores, Mikayla Long and Madelynn Collins, were key players in Allen’s come-from-behind, 5-3 victory to open the doubleheader.

The nightcap was a bit more rough, as the visiting Cardinals pieced together runs each of the first four innings and erupted for six in the fifth to win, 10-0.

“It’s not necessarily how we wanted to end the last game, but it was a good way to end the season,” Red Devil head coach Nicole Peters said. 

Collins settled down nicely after a bumpy start in the opener. Labette scored three with two outs in the first on a bases-loaded walk and a two-run single.

Hailee Lundine hit a sacrifice fly before Long’s RBI single closed the gap to 2-1 in the bottom of the inning.

Neither team could do much over innings 2-4, even though both had scoring opportunities.

That changed in the bottom of the fifth after Lacy Stamper led off with a single and moved around to third when Labette misplayed Hailee Gedrose’s sacrifice bunt attempt for an error. Lundine followed with another bunt that turned into a run when the Cardinals were unable to throw out Stamper at the plate to knot the score, 3-3.

The big blow came next, when Long ripped an RBI double to left to push Allen atop, 4-3, and courtesy runner Jaydee Pulliam scored on an error.

Collins took it from there, working around a sixth-inning walk and a seventh-inning hit batter to nail down the win.

She scattered six hits  and struck out four over her seven innings of work.

Long went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs, while Aubrey Willis singled twice. Stamper and Lundine each had singles.

The Cardinals jumped ahead quickly in the second game, racking up 13 hits in the process.

Meanwhile, Labette Raven Hough shut down Allen’s offense, allowing just a fifth-inning single to Alayna Brown.

But the game ended on the next pitch, when Allen’s Olivia Garney lined a smash down the first base line. The Cardinals’ Chloe Sams caught the drive, and doubled up Brown, who had no time to retreat to the bag.

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