Saturday's second game against Independence Community College wasn't quite a must-win game for the Allen Community College softball team in terms of the standings, but the 5-3 victory was a key confidence-builder for the Red Devils.
Allen was sitting at 0-3 on the weekend following a Friday sweep at the hands of Cowley County Community College and a game-one loss in extra innings to Independence, 4-2.
"Ultimately I wanted a sweep this weekend," Allen coach Jaime Jensen said. "That didn't happen. We didn't make adjustments (Friday) and then the first game (Saturday), we had a bad warm-up, didn't make adjustments and didn't pick each other up as a team. We talked about that afterwards. We came out the second game and did everything that we do when we win."
Independence jumped ahead in the top of the second inning, thanks to scoring an unearned run off of Allen starter Baileigh Rager.
After freshman Ali Morris reached base on an error, third baseman Morgan Wayman showed bunt to begin her at-bat. It appeared to be the game plan to move Morris into scoring position for Mykenna Sharp-Hadl.
That plan failed when Wayman fell behind 0-2 in the count. Now Jensen was faced with a decision; have Wayman try and get the bunt down with two strikes or let the slumping hitter swing away.
"She'd been down on herself and in a hitting slump," Jensen said.
Jensen decided to trust Wayman to swing away and the freshman repaid her for that confidence.
Wayman put a Heather Breslin pitch over the left-field fence and gave Allen a 2-1 lead.
"I saw it come in and it was higher than I usually like, but I saw it and it was right down the middle," Wayman said. "I just squared around and used my legs to get power."
The Red Devils tacked on another run in the fourth inning. Morris scored on another Independence error.
The Pirates tied it up in the top of the fifth when they scored two runs and chased Rager from the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, Independence recorded two quick outs, before Allen star Ashley Womack came to the plate.
Womack squared up the first pitch she saw and the ball flew over the center field fence to put the Red Devils back in front.
"The biggest thing for me is timing," Womack said. "Like Morgan's, it was a little higher than I usually hit, but it was just slow enough that I could get my hands on top of it."
Jensen knew where the ball was headed right when it hit the bat.
"With that swing, I know that swing," Jensen said. "When she has that swing, it is definitely gone."
Allen reliever Paige Dugger shut the Pirate offense down for the final two innings.
"Paige was clutch," Womack said. "She always comes in and does amazing work."
The Red Devils used usual catcher Emmy McManigal as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning and her single gave the Red Devils an insurance run and gave Allen their final 5-3 margin of victory.
The win puts Allen at 28-17 and 10-10 in the conference. They currently sit in 6th place in the East Division of the Jayhawk Conference. They maintained their two-game lead over Independence.
"We have to keep having fun," Womack said. "The biggest thing when we are winning is that we are having fun."
IN THE OPENER against Independence, Allen gave up a late Independence rally and fell 4-2 in eight innings.
The Red Devils managed only four hits in the contest and two of those were from Morris, who finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Alana Renshaw and Alexis Campuzano had the other two hits.
Raegan Beckley pitched all eight innings and allowed three earned runs. The freshman gave up eight hits and struck out three batters.
FRIDAY'S DOUBLEHEADER against Cowley County started with a 7-2 loss.
Allen had just two hits in the game. Womack and Morris each had singles.
Rager pitched and didn't allow an earned run, but her defense let her down as she gave up four unearned runs.
Dugger replaced Rager in the fifth and she allowed three runs.
ALLEN FELL behind 3-0 in the first inning of game two against Cowley County.
A Womack bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning tied the game at 3-all.
The Red Devils were outscored 4-1 the rest of the way though and lost 7-4.
Breanna Dinkel, Renshaw and Womack each had two hits in the game for the Red Devils.
ALLEN'S NEXT game is on Wednesday when they travel to Parsons to face Labette County Community College.