Missions' Allen has perfect day at plate

Austin Allen had himself a day.
San Diego's No. 28 prospect reached base in all five of his plate appearances -- going 4-for-4 with a walk -- while driving in three runs and scoring twice as Double-A San Antonio romped past Midland, 14-0, on Sunday afternoon at Nelson Wolff Stadium.

"It was a fun game," Allen said. "I was feeling good today and I got a few pitches to hit and I just got lucky that they went my way and fell in. But, you know, everyone was out there competing and fighting to the end, trying to be successful, no matter what the situation was."
The 24-year-old started his day with a leadoff single to center field in the second inning. He drew a four-pitch walk from RockHounds starter Corey Walter (1-3) in the third and came around to score on a double by River Stevens.
In the next frame, Allen drilled a double into left with two outs to plate another run. In the sixth, the FIT product provided more two-out thunder, lacing a ball into center for an RBI two-bagger. He scored one batter later on a double by Webster Rivas.
In the seventh, the St. Louis native hammered an 0-1 pitch deep into the gap in right-center that bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double. San Diego's top prospect, Fernando Tatis Jr., crossed the plate on the hit.
"I'm just sticking with my approach at the the plate. I go up there and look for a pitch in my zone, and if it's there, I try to get a good swing on it, and if it's not, I take it," said Allen, who saw 20 pitches and accounted for a quarter of the Missions' 16 hits.
"But every game is a clean slate. I'm always trying to string together quality at-bats."
Gameday box score
Allen has been off to a torrid start at the plate this season. He leads the Texas League with eight home runs -- including his first career walk-off dinger that he hit Wednesday against Frisco -- 19 extra-base hits, 66 total bases and a .776 slugging percentage. The catcher also ranks second in hits (31) and doubles (11).
Stevens also provided a big spark for the Missions with a five-RBI afternoon. Rivas and No. 15 prospect Josh Naylor added a pair of hits and RBIs each.
Eighth-ranked Logan Allen (3-1) got the start and delivered his best outing of the year for San Antonio. The southpaw surrendered three hits and a walk while fanning six in seven scoreless frames.

"He's fun to work with and fun to watch," Austin Allen said of unrelated hurler. "He threw the ball extremely well. His fastball was there and he located it well, and he used his other pitches to keep hitters off balance. He's a competitor and it was great to see him go out there and compete like that."
Walter did not make it out of the fourth for Midland as the right-hander surrendered eight runs on nine hits with two walks in 3 2/3 innings.
"No matter what the score is we all know that we've got a job to do," Allen said. "No lead is safe in baseball. Anything can happen. But we were fortunate enough today to get out to an early lead and just keep our foot on the gas."