By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline softball team split its doubleheader with Beloit on Thursday, falling in the opener before bouncing back to walk-off game two.
Game 1: Beloit 5, SE of Saline 1
Beloit did their damage early in the first game, scratching across four runs in the second inning and another in the third.
Southeast didn’t allow another run over the final four innings but couldn’t find timely hitting, closing out a 5-1 loss with a lone run on six hits.
Casson Klover looked strong in relief, striking out eight batters in four innings and holding Beloit scoreless on just two hits.
Game 2: SE of Saline 5, Beloit 4
Not discouraged by the game one loss, SES got right back to work in game two, coming back in dramatic fashion to win on a Kayson Bertrand RBI knock.
Both teams managed a run in the first but Southeast took the first real lead, notching two runs in the third and holding that 3-1 advantage until the later innings.
In the sixth, a three-run home run helped Beloit turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead, and a quick four-up-three-down inning put SES down to their final three outs.
Leighton Nutsch led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, and a single from Tysen Keller brought him in to score, tying the game at four.
Tiernan Ptacek reached first on a throwing error, moving Keller up to second and setting up Kayson Bertrand with a chance to walk the game off.
On a 1-0 pitch, Bertrand drove a ball into center field that found its way to the turf, allowing Keller to come home and Southeast to secure the 5-4 victory.
In addition to the game winning swing, Bertrand also the win, tossing 6.1 innings of four-hit ball, allowing just one earned run and a lone walk to pair with eight strikeouts.
With this split, Southeast of Saline moves to 11-3 while Beloit improves to 13-3.
SES is back in action on Tuesday as they return home to battle Minneapolis.