After going 4-12 in their last 16 NJCAA Region VI, Division II district games, Allen Community College’s Red Devils swept a four-game home series with two district opponents.
On Friday, the ACC softball team defeated Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons in two district games, which were also Jayhawk Eastern Division contests. Allen Count won 7-3 and 6-1.
A four-run fourth inning put the Red Devils up 4-2 on visiting Hesston College in Region VI district action. The Red Devils won 4-3 in the opener Saturday then defeated Hesston 6-2 in the second game.
The mini run at home put the Red Devils at 11-3 in Region VI, Division II district play. They improved to 23-19 overall and 8-12 in Jayhawk East play.
Allen hosts Highland for a pair of Jayhawk East games Tuesday. First pitch is at 2 p.m.
The Red Devils trailed Hutchinson 2-1 through four innings Friday. They tied the game with a run in the fifth but the Blue Dragons took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth.
Paige Rothwell drew a leadoff walk in Allen’s half of the sixth. Jamee McEndree reached on an error, then Keelyn Bonar and Ashley Ribelin had back-to-back RBI singles. Bonar later stole home followed by a single from Erin Schwant. Lauren Poertner reached on an error.
When the dust settled, Allen had scored five runs and went on to win 7-3. Bonar struck out 10 Hutchinson batters and gave up three hits as the winning pitcher.
Bonar and Taylor Easum each hit two singles. Hitting a single each were Ribelin, Maecy Charleston, Schwant and Poertner.
Bonar drove in four runs in Allen’s 6-1 win. With Alex Hill on the mound, the Red Devils broke a 1-1 tie in the second inning. Hill held the Blue Dragons scoreless the rest of the way.
With two gone in the second, Easum singled and scored on a double by Rothwell. Kaitlin Norris drew a walk and Bonar drove in her second run of the game with a single.
In the sixth, Hill led off with a base on balls and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Schwant. Easum singled and Rothwell drove in a run on a double. Bonar’s two-out single plated two more runs.
Hill, who gave up just six hits and two walks in the game, struck out five. Hutchinson got a single with one gone in the top of the seventh but a ground ball allowed the Red Devils to turn a double play to end the game.
Bonar had two singles and a double and Rothwell hit two doubles. Easum connected for two singles. Hill and Schwant each had a single.
Allen scored all of its runs in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader with Hesston in the fourth, wiping out a 2-0 deficit. Ribelin singled and Charleston reached on an error. Hill doubled in a run and Schwant was safe on a Hesston miscue. It was 3-2 when Easum’s ground-out drove in a run.
