By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
On Tuesday, the Abilene baseball team did it again.
Despite being on the road and underdogs in not one, but two regional games, the Cowboys came from seemingly out of nowhere to punch their ticket back to the 4A state tournament in Salina next week.
Abilene defeated Concordia 7-3 before stunning the hosts in Pratt by a final score of 4-2.
4A regional quarterifinal: Abilene 7, Concordia 3
First up was a Concordia team that swept the Cowboys earlier this season, but Abilene would have its revenge, rallying to put the game away late.
In the bottom of the third, Concordia doubled to take a 3-1 lead, but the Cowboys quickly overturned their advantage in the top of the fourth when Thomas Keener drove in two runs with a bases-clearing RBI single.
That lead would be the only one the Panthers would ever hold as in the top of the sixth, Abilene added three more, including two on a hard-hit Jake Bartley single.
On the hill, Thomas Keener went the distance, ensuring Concordia never sniffed another run. Keener finished the day surrendering just three runs and one walk, striking out two.
4A regional semifinal: Abilene 4, Pratt 2
At 22-4, Pratt looked like a buzzsaw coming into their own home regional, but Jake Bartley and the Abilene defense quieted the green giant, putting the Greenbacks’ hopes of another state title run to rest.
The Cowboys struck first in this game when Heath Hoekman drove in Thomas Keener on an RBI single in the top of the first.
Pratt would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, and for a while both offenses struggled to score, but in the top of the sixth, Thomas Keener bolted home on a passed ball to re-deliver a 2-1 lead to Abilene.
The Cowboys added two more runs in the top of the seventh thanks to a sac bunt and a Levi Evans RBI single, and once again, the pitching was ready to slam the door shut.
This time, it was Jake Bartley’s time to go the distance, allowing just two runs and two walks in a complete game effort where he struck out four and surrendered just six hits.
The Cowboys will head to Salina for the 4A state tournament, joining McPherson, Mulvane, Clay Center, Paola and Rock Creek, who all punched their tickets today with two wins of their own.