The Allen Red Devils hope to get back on the right side of the win column after falling to archrival Neosho Community College in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, 20-16 and 14-8.
Untimely errors ultimately did in the Red Devils as the NCCC Panthers pulled away in both contests, sweeping the doubleheader and taking the season series 3-1.
“At the end of the day, you have to play a complete game to win in this league,” Allen coach Trey Harris said. “We did not put a complete game together. We had some moments, a few plays at times together, but not a full game. It’s pretty frustrating.”
Although shaky in the field, the Red Devils were solid in the batter’s box.
However, not enough, soon enough in the opener to close the gap in the double-digit slugfest. Sophomore catcher Carson McCormac belted his ninth home run of the season while driving in a team-leading four RBIs Saturday. He finished the opener successful in 2 of 4 at-bats.
Sophomore outfielder Jose Zorilla was perfect in 3 of 3 at-bats for a pair of RBIs. Sophomore third baseman Nathan Villarreal kept his hot streak going with a pair of RBIs on a single and freshman designated hitter Andrew Carter drove in a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly.
Despite coming on in relief, sophomore Brannock Blankenship took the loss after allowing seven runs, three walks and seven hits. Freshman starter Preston Lima had a team-leading two strikeouts while sophomore Keaton Hartman picked up a strikeout while coming on in relief.
“We just have to go back to the drawing board and get back to work,” Coach Harris said. “In a few weeks, we’re going to find out. If we stand by the work, then we’re going to find out what the work can achieve. Can we get better? Can we do what we need to do before the season wraps up? There is a lot of time to get better.”
The Red Devils defensive miscues were no more evident than in the finale as Allen register seven errors en route to their seventh Jayhawk Conference loss.
Facing a 6-0 deficit, Allen freshman infielder Cash Messinger put the Red Devils on the scoreboard with an RBI double. A three-run homer by Zorilla pulled Allen within a pair of scores, but that was Allen’s biggest scoring outburst as the Panthers once again pulled away.
Zorilla drove in a team-leading three RBIs, followed by Villarreal and Messinger with two each. Sophomore third baseman Martin Malick hit in 3 of 4 at-bats.
Sophomore Ryan Golden took the loss after coming in to relieve starting freshman Jacob Doty. The pair combined to allow six earned runs off five hits.
Freshman Logan Page kept Allen in contention while picking up a strikeout over three innings. Freshman reliever Andrew Smith had a team-leading three strikeouts over three innings and sophomore Miller Tavaglione had a pair of strikeouts in one inning of work.
“We can hit, and we know we can hit, but we’re only going to be in every game if we can catch and throw the ball,” Harris said. “That’s all it comes down to. Until we take care of the fundamentals, then we’re always going to be in this spot.”
The Red Devils’ record fell to 11-15 overall and 5-7 in conference play. They play Ottawa University’s developmental team Wednesday, then head on the road for a Thursday doubleheader against Pratt Community College.
First pitch for Thursday’s game is at 1 p.m. with a 3 p.m. first pitch for the finale.
