The fourth-seeded Allen Red Devils scored five unanswered runs to take the Plains District Regional Tournament opener from fifth-seed Labette Cardinals 6-3 Wednesday at Bernie Blevins Field.
Trailing 3-1 going into the fifth inning, sophomore outfielder Ella McCammon and freshman outfielder Kara Walker drove in four of Allen’s five runs to rally the Red Devils.
Walker got the Red Devils rolling in the opening frame with an RBI single, driving in McCammon and tying the game 1-1. Following two runs by the Cardinals in the third and fourth innings, Allen kicked off their 5-0 rally in the fifth inning with a McCammon RBI single. A Walker double plated a pair of runners to give Allen a 4-3 advantage.
Backed by a solid fielding crew, freshman pitcher Andrea Ruby kept Labette off the scoreboard after the fourth inning. Sophomore third baseman Hope Sanchez and McCammon added two more runs on a pair of RBI doubles in the sixth inning to extend Allen’s lead. Then a pair of plays by freshman shortstop Taylor Damme accounted for Allen’s final two outs in the seven innings for the victory.
Ruby picked up the win, allowing three runs on nine hits and a walk. Walker was Allen’s most productive hitter with a team-leading three RBIs. She was perfect in the batter’s box in 3 of 3 at-bats. McCammon tied Walker for the team lead in hits with three and was second in RBIs with two.
With the win, the Red Devils improved their record to 21-25 overall.
They hit the road to face No. 1 seed Johnson County Thursday in the regional tournament; final results were not available at press time, but considering the Red Devils upset the then No. 12th ranked team in the nation last month, no one should count Allen County out just yet.
