CONCORDIA, Kansas — The No. 6 seeded Cloud County Community College softball team had its season come to an end on Tuesday, losing two out of three to No. 9 Allen County Community College in the first round of the NJCAA Region VI Division II District D Softball Championships.

It was bitter pill to swallow for the T-Birds (19-22 overall) after they won Game One, 11-9, on a walk-off, two-run home run by freshman Autumn Adams in the eighth inning, and held leads in Game Two (6-2 loss) and in Game Three (11-2 loss).

"After winning Game One, I thought we'd be able to get Game Two. But you have to give Allen County credit. They (Red Devils) kept on fighting," said Cloud County head coach, Aaron Acree. "They hit the ball hard. We battled, but just had that one inning in the second game that cost us (Tuesday) and that's one of those things that can change the momentum for the rest of a series."

The inning Acree referenced came in the top of the fifth inning of Game Two. Cloud County led 2-0 courtesy of solo home runs by sophomore Erin King and freshman Elise Oberlechner, and freshman starting pitcher Sarah Teufel was seemingly on cruise control until Allen County struck for four runs; three coming on a home run by Allen's Morgan Wayman.

"As soon as we lost the momentum, it was pretty tough to get it back," Acree said.

Allen County added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh to close out the 6-2 victory that forced the win-or-go-home Game Three.

In the series finale, Cloud County again took an early 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the home-half of the second inning.

Freshman pitcher Jordan Ummel, who labored her way through eight innings to pick up the win in Game One, continued to grit out a sore hamstring in Game Three.

Ummel, an owner of a 1.70 ERA entering Tuesday's action, pitched three scoreless innings in Game Three before Allen County broke through for two runs in the top of the fourth.

"Jordan's hamstring got sore again on her. She thought maybe she tore it, but she tried to gut it out," Acree said. "I wanted to go with her as long as we could. She's a competitor."

The Red Devils would be relentless, added two runs in the fifth, five in the sixth and two more in the seventh to cruise to the 11-2 final.

Sophomore second baseman Jaycee Worrell highlighted Cloud's afternoon at the plate, finishing 7-for-12 with six RBI — including a 4-for-5 and 5 RBI performance in Game One — in her final games as a T-Bird.

Acree said he was proud of Worrell and her fellow sophomores, which included Samantha Shafer, Leslie Schuetz, Bayleigh Cope and King, for their efforts on Tuesday after over the last two seasons.

"It's tough to go out like we did. I told them to keep working, you never know what's around the next corner in life," Acree said. "They all did their part."

As for the returning freshmen on the roster, Acree said he believes Cloud County is on the right path to building toward something for the 2018 season.

"I definitely think there are big time pieces to build around here," Acree said. "We'll get on the recruiting trail a little bit. We've talked to some kids, have picked up some kids in the last week or so. I'm excited about it (next year)."