Allen Community College celebrated its sophomores in style Saturday, and picked up a pair of key conference wins in the process.
The Red Devils shut out visiting Cloud County, 6-0 and 2-0, to pick up the doubleheader sweep.
The victories are key for Allen, which improved to 9-9 in Jayhawk Conference action, good for sixth place overall.
With the postseason open to the top eight finishers, it’s incumbent upon the Red Devils to finish on a high note, head coach Nicole Peters said.
“This was a good start,” she said.
Pitchers Camrynn Yardley and Morgan Collins made sure of that. Each pitched three-hit shutouts. Yardley struck out 10 over seven innings. Collins struck out six, and walked only one.
Their pitching was key, Peters noted, because the third leg of Allen’s pitching staff, Abby Marsh, remains sidelined due to injury.
“8It’s good for those two to step up and do well,” Peters said.
Yardley worked out of a bases-loaded situation to start the opener, walking three batters, but ending the threat with a pair of strikeouts.
She also aided her own cause, driving in Brooklyn Goehring with a first-inning double for a 1-0 lead.
Goehring’s second double of the game, in the bottom of the second, was good for a pair of runs, making it 3-0.
Yardley wiggled off the hook again in the third, again walking the bases loaded, and again ending the potential rally with a strikeout to preserve the lead.
Calyn Michaelis got into the act with a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth to cap the scoring.
Goehering paced the offense with a single and two doubles. Yardley doubled and singled twice. Michaelis chipped in with a pair of singles. Bailee Campbell and Collins also singled.
GOEHRING continued her hot hitting in Game 2. Shesingled and moved to second on error before stealing third and coming in on Hayley Gerberding’s RBI grounder.
