The Allen Red Devils’ youthfulness got the better of them after late mistakes proved too costly to overcome in a pair of losses to the Northern Oklahoma College Tonkawa Mavericks Tuesday.
After holding their own for most of both games, ACC failed to stop the Mavericks as they pulled away late, extending Allen’s losing streak to four games.
“Both of our pitchers are freshmen,” Allen coach Nicole Peters said. “They’ve done well, but they’re just making a few mistakes. They just need to put it behind them and continue working out the kinks.”
Freshman pitcher Andrea Ruby took the loss with four strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings but allowed 12 hits and seven earned runs.
In the opener, the Red Devils consistently pieced together runs. 
But a six-run third inning by the Mavericks and their scoring three more in the seventh inning sank Allen.
Allen’s bats were far from silent. Freshman outfielder Kara Walker had a banner day in both games, hitting in 3 of 5 appearances in the opener and 2 of 4 in the finale. Sophomore first baseman Kalyse Abernathy got Allen started with an RBI single in the opening frame, plating Walker for a 1-0 lead.
Allen added another pair of runs in the second inning off a Walker double. A home run by sophomore outfielder Ella McCammon in the fourth pulled the Red Devils within two runs of the Mavericks.
But it wasn’t until the sixth inning that Abernathy hit an RBI single, which wasn’t enough to get the game back into contention.
“We have some things we have to work on for sure,” Peters said. “It’s stuff that’s taken us out of a few games, so we have to go back to the drawing board.”
Abernathy and McCammon tied for the team lead in RBIs with two each. Freshman shortstop Addie Keys tied Abernathy for second in team hits with two each, but Keys’ contribution came later that day.
On the mound, Keys nearly went the distance in the second game until the Mavericks scored three runs in their final at-bat to escape with the win. Before the seventh, Keys seemed in control. Relying on strong play from her defense, Keys needed just a pair of strikeouts to keep her team in the mix.
As Keys held court on the mound, the Red Devils bats did not get going until the third inning. Freshman Taylor Damme lit up the scoreboard with a solo homer, followed by a base-clearing double by Ruby tied the contest at 3-3. A sacrifice fly by Keys plated Walker to give Allen a 4-3 lead. But the Mavericks’ three-run output in the seventh doomed the Red Devils’ chances.
With the loss, the Red Devils’ record falls to 5-16. With their entire schedule until now being non-conference opponents, the losses will pose no impact in Allen’s playoff seeding in May.
“They’re doing OK. We’re just taking ourselves out of games right now,” Coach Peters said. “If we work out the kinks, then it’s a totally different ballgame. We just have to fine-tune some things for sure before we get into conference.”
