The Allen Red Devils fell in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Pratt Community College Beavers, 7-2 and 7-6.
Allen has one final tuneup against Missouri State University West Plains to snap a three-game losing streak before hosting the top-ranked Johnson Community College Cavaliers (34-2, 16-0) Thursday.
“We came in here wanting to win two games, but to not win anything at all is the opposite,” Allen coach Trey Harris said.
“At some point, we’re going to have to make a change. Maybe there is something I have to do differently to make sure we don’t keep feeling like this.”
Allen had a strong performance on the mound in the opener, but not enough run production to support it.
Starting sophomore Preston Lima took the loss despite posting a team-leading four strikeouts. Freshman Logan Page came in relief in the third inning, posting a strikeout. Sophomore Keaton Hartman posted a pair of strikeouts after coming on in the sixth.
Not one Red Devil had more than one hit in the opener. Freshman third baseman Cooper Bates and freshman catcher Carson McCormac had one RBI each. Bates’ came on a third inning home run while McCormac’s came on a sixth-inning RBI single.
Freshman starter Andrew Smith took the loss in the finale. He finished tied with sophomore closer Brannock Blankenship in strikeouts with two each.
With Smith, Blankenship and relievers Jacob Doty and Nicholas Weatherford performing well, Allen hoped for another split with the Beavers, but a four-run sixth inning sank those hopes.
Sophomore outfielder Jose Zorilla and freshman shortstop Cash Messenger homered. Zorilla also had a team-leading two hits.
With the loss, the Red Devils fell to 13-18 overall.
“At this point, we’re playing with house money and do what you can,” Coach Harris said. “It’s a new team every year. We need to make sure we’re playing the team and not just the name on their jersey.”
Missouri West Plains comes to town for a 2 p.m. first pitch Tuesday, then JCCC is here Thursday for a doubleheader.
First pitch for the JCCC opener is 1 p.m. with a 3 p.m. first pitch slated for the finale.
“We want to trend in the right direction heading into Johnson County,” Coach Harris said. “We have some things to take care of this week and hopefully it leads to playing nice, clean baseball.”
