Half and half: Lady Lobos split early pair of district ballgames

For three innings, the Little Elm softball team held its own against a tough Allen squad.

Maria Florentino clubbed an RBI double in the home half of the third to make it a one-run ballgame with half of the game still to come.

But, Allen flexed its muscles a short time later. The Lady Eagles answered five runs in the fourth inning before using a 13-run top of the sixth to blow the game wide open, eventually cruising to a 20-1 run-rule victory.

Allen (12-3-2), which was coming off a 1-0 nine-inning victory against McKinney Boyd, needed only one inning to double that run total. Sami Hood opened the scoring with an RBI triple. Two batters later, Taylor Wright clubbed an RBI double into left field to increase the Lady Eagle lead to 2-0.

But, Florentino, Little Elm’s starting pitcher, held a potent Allen offense scoreless over the game’s next three innings. She also aided her cause with an RBI double in the third. But, it proved to be the lone hit of the game for the Lady Lobos (1-10).

Allen pitcher Alexis Telford was on point from the beginning, allowing just the one hit to go along with 10 strikeouts.

It remained a one-run game until the fourth. Harper Garrett, Mack Ellison and Chloe Schimmel each recorded an RBI single. Hood capped off the big inning for Allen with a run-scoring triple.

The loss comes five days after the Lady Lobos earned their first victory of the season, a 14-3 run-rule triumph against Denton Braswell on March 11.

It was a hitting clinic by Little Elm.

The Lady Lobos scored at least two runs in every inning, highlighted by a six-run outburst in the second inning. Mikayla Roy singled to drive in the first run of the frame for Little Elm. The next two batters for the Lady Lobos, Georgia Heathcock and Kendall Crumpley, drew back-to-back walks with the bases loaded.

Florentino brought a hot bat to the plate, driving in four runs on two hits. She also notched the victory on the mound, yielding just two earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Florentino allowed three runs over the first two innings but settled down and held the Lady Bengals scoreless over the final three frames.

Eight different Lady Lobos had at least one hit — two each by Florentino, Roy, Katie Mince and Leah Salinas.