The Trojans have taken six in a row.

Community R-6 tallied five extra base hits as part of a 10-hit attack to defeat New Haven 11-1 in five innings at home on Monday. Mason Carroll blasted his third home run to drive in two runs, and Eli Johnson and Mason Rohan each finished with two RBI.

Rohan’s two RBI scored on one of four doubles for the Trojans (7-1) as Gavin Allen, Drake Welch and Ayden Meranda also earned two bags.

Carroll was also overpowering on the mound against the Shamrocks (0-9) as he struck out eight in four innings while allowing two hits. Welch covered the final inning, which was hitless and only had an unearned run.

New Haven committed six errors that led to seven unearned runs.

Community (1-0 CAC) hosts Central Activities Conference foe Sturgeon (2-5, 1-2 CAC) at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Trojans power past Prairie Home 4-0

Gavin Allen is viewed as the leader of Community R-6, and he proved why on Good Friday.

Community R-6 vs Prairie Home/Bunceton Photo Gallery

The senior pitched a complete game shutout against Prairie Home/Bunceton at home, striking out a season-high 14 and allowing four hits in a 4-0 win to extend Community’s winning streak to five games. Allen also launched his first home run of the year as the Trojans (6-1) also had a three cross on the second home run off Mason Carroll’s bat.

Allen managed to strike out three Panthers in an inning twice as the swings-and-misses piled up after the first inning. He said he felt more confident in a certain pitch than in previous starts.

“My fastball was the main thing,” Allen said. “In my prior starts, I couldn’t control that one as much. I also felt really good today and felt like I was throwing harder as well.”

Friday’s game wasn’t that much longer than an hour as Allen and Prairie Home starter Landon Case, who lasted the full six innings for the Panthers (1-5), combined for two walks. Hitters had to be in the box ready to hit.

Allen was ready to hit from the outset as his first at-bat resulted in the ball sailing over the fence, which was unlike a double in Thursday’s 9-0 victory at Van-Far that died at the base of the fence in the Farber ballpark. He finished 2-for-2 as he scorched a single in his next trip to the plate. 

“I thought the one yesterday was over, but I’ll take the double anyway,” Allen said. “I’m finally starting to hit the ball more in the air now. I was hitting hard on the ground, getting base hits out of that, but am not getting more gap shots and extra base hits.”

Head coach Joel Krato said he expected the Gavin Allen he saw on Friday and is looking forward to seeing more during the William Woods University commit’s senior campaign. 

“That’s the kid I expected since he first came to a practice at Community R-6 as a freshman,” Krato said. “I saw him swing for the first time, I saw him throw for the first time and that’s the kid I thought he’d be as a senior.”

Krato said that’s why he jumps Allen, or “getting on his case,” when he believes he could be playing better or working harder. The talent the senior possesses makes the expectations so high and the leadership value Allen brings to the team also holds him to a high standard.

Witnessing how Allen was pitching to hitters on Friday demonstrates how cerebrally strong he is, Krato said. His mind also played a role in how Allen went from topping out at 65 mph as a freshman to throwing in the 80s and earning the privilege to play college baseball.

“He’s very smart,” Krato said. “He is looking for the competitive edge, he asks good questions and he asks questions sometimes I don’t even have the answer to because I haven’t even thought of it. 

“He was mixing up speeds, he was attacking, he was utilizing the quick pitch that he throws and he was fielding great. He’s attacking hitters different through the order. The second time through the order, we wanted to attack the top backwards because they were sitting first-pitch fastball.”

The Trojan offense as a whole improved from yesterday’s more ugly win Thursday at Van-Far, Krato said. Community took advantage of seven Van-Far errors to score eight unearned runs the day before but were making more solid contact against Prairie Home.

Krato said he thought the team was more focused against the Panthers as Community had several run-scoring opportunities in the middle of the game. The Trojans didn’t seize any of them until the sixth inning with runners on second and third with no outs. With Carroll in the box, Krato thought about using some small ball until Carroll launched a long ball to make it 4-0.

“It’s funny I was going to squeeze with him,” Krato said. “Then I was like, ‘No, let’s wait until there’s a strike’ and he hits the 2-0 pitch out. He’s been the cleanup hitter for us since he was a freshman as a 14-15 year old. That’s what you expect out of your 4 hole hitter, especially someone who is as talented as he is.”

Allen and Carroll both were swinging the bat well to finish with two hits each, but Krato thinks others such as Brant Cope and Eli Johnson are also looking good now despite them going a combined 0-for-6 on Friday. Krato expects the rest of the offense to improve over time.

“Brant Cope is swinging it so well so he’ll come around,” Krato said. “Eli Johnson is possibly the greatest hitter I’ve ever seen in practice. (In a 12-2 win Tuesday at Slater), he goes 4-for-4 with four missiles. I think he swung five times and hit five missiles (Friday) and one just went in the parking lot.”