By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline baseball team took care of business in a low-scoring regional semifinal against Chaparral, but saw their season halted by Burlington in the regional final on Tuesday.
Game One: SE of Saline 2, Chaparral 1
The regional semifinal was a pitcher’s duel throughout with just one earned run coming in to score for the seven-inning duration.
SES got on the board first in the bottom of the third when four straight walks brought Tiernan Ptacek in for the game’s first run.
Chaparral remedied that in the sixth, scoring a run on a throwing error before re-gifting that run on a fielding miscue of their own in the home half of the frame.
Tiernan Ptacek was excellent on the mound, allowing just one unearned run on three hits, walking three, and striking out five in a complete-game effort.
This victory pushed Southeast to 21-3 while ending Chaparral’s season at 16-8.
Game Two: Burlington 5, SE of Saline 1
The regional final saw even more dominant pitching, this time in a showdown between Brody Garland and Kayson Bertrand.
Southeast had a strong outing on the bump, but surrendered four runs in the third, and another in the fifth to give Burlington the edge.
Garland muted the Trojan bats through 6.2 innings of work, striking out 15 batters and walking just two before turning the ball over to his bullpen.
Southeast did manage one run in the top of the seventh, but couldn’t build for a comeback, falling to the #7 team in Class 3A 5-1.
For SES, another stellar baseball campaign draws to a close at 21-4, having won 19 of their last 21 games down the stretch.
Both of today’s games can be watched on-demand below.