By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
At the midway mark of their 2023 campaign, the Southeast of Saline baseball team will be in search of a late-season surge, entering the home stretch at 7-5 overall and 3-1 in league play.
The Trojans got off to an exceptionally hot start, winning their first six straight before dropping five of their next six, and will look to rebound with a steady diet of league opponents the rest of the way.
With a run differential of +63, this year’s Southeast squad has had little trouble putting runs on the board, but keeping their opponents off of it has proved troublesome at times, as the Trojans have surrendered just shy of 12 runs per game throughout the skid.
“We’re hitting the ball well and putting up big runs, that’s been encouraging to see,” SES head coach Mike Garretson said. “Our pitching has been a little thin and we’re having a hard time getting 21 outs without giving up too many runs, that’s the biggest area where we need to improve.”
Some of those struggles can be attributed to the absolute gauntlet of teams that the Trojans have traveled to play recently, including an Abilene team fresh off a 4A state appearance, a 10-2 Sacred Heart squad whose only league loss came at the hands of SES, and a resurgent Chapman program.
“You want to play good teams who go out and press you,” Garretson said. “As a player you want to compete, you want to face good pitching and you want to take pride in winning the battles you take on. Those kinds of tough matchups prepare you for the postseason.”
Offensively, this year’s Trojans have looked like a juggernaut once again, with eight of the nine members of the Southeast lineup batting north of .300.
Much of that damage has been dealt by a trio of Gebhardt brothers, with Jake, Luke, and Grady all hitting above .400, slugging above .600, and combining for 15 extra-base hits and 46 runs driven in.
Landen Allen, Jase VanAmburg, Drew Richardson, and Mac Chambers join that group in the double-digit RBI club, adding even more firepower to a potent SES lineup.
On the mound, Landen Allen, Trever Keller, Cole Gilpin, and Jake Gebhardt have shouldered a majority of the pitching duties, combining to account for 65 of the staff’s 80 strikeouts.
Despite this being just his sophomore season, Gilpin has emerged as a standout on the bump, fanning 18 batters while walking just seven and leading the team with a 3.4 ERA.
While many things around Gypsum have changed, the goals of this team have not, and the mission remains state or bust for the 2023 Trojans on the diamond.
“We still have one goal, and that’s to make it 74 miles from our home plate to the one at Tointon Stadium,” Garretson said. “We want to end our season at state and we’re still working to improve each and every day to get there.”
Southeast will resume their season this Thursday when they travel to Beloit for a pivotal doubleheader against the rival Trojans.
For continuing coverage of SES baseball all season long, stay tuned to the Salina Post.