CONCORDIA — Allen Community College opened the Region VI playoffs in sterling fashion Thursday.
Red Devil pitchers Jack Bland and Saul Bolivar combined on a six-hit shutout, while the Red Devils’ Garrett Rusch singled in a run and homered in a 4-1 win over Cloud County.
The victory gives Allen (21-33) a 1-0 series lead over the T-Bird in their best-of-three series.
Game 2 was set for Friday, although results were unavailable by press time. Game 3, if necessary, will be in Concordia Saturday afternoon.
Armando Navarro broke a 0-0 deadlock with a leadoff home run in the top of the fourth.
Rusch hit a two-out single in the fifth to make it 2-1. Colton Ayres hit an RBI single in the sixth.
Rusch’s solo shot in the ninth capped the scoring.
Bland pitched eight innings, allowing six hits with five strikeouts. Bolivar struck out two of the three batters he faced in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Rusch had two RBIs with his two hits. Navarro added a single to his solo home run. Logan Martin singled and doubled. Parker Martin and Ayres added singles.
Alllen softball ousted in Region VI play
TOPEKA — With no margin for error, Allen Community College’s season came to an end Thursday, courtesy of Johnson County’s Kate Ediger and Kaelyn Conrad.
Ediger homered twice, while Conrad shut down the Red Devil offense in a 6-1 victory.
The defeat, in the consolation bracket of the Region VI Tournament, ends Allen’s season at 22-27.
Conrad shut down Allen’s offense, limiting the Red Devils to one hit, a fifth-inning single from Brooklyn Goehring.
Ediger went deep on a 3-2 count for a two-run shot in the top of the second, giving Johnson County the lead for good. She added a solo home run in the top of the fifth.
