By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After a first round bye, the Southeast of Saline Trojan baseball team will kick off their regional run with a semifinal matchup against the Osage City Indians at 2pm.
Due to weather and field conditions the game has been moved from Council Grove to Soden’s Grove in Emporia.
Osage City comes into this game as the five-seed with an overall record of 11-10. The Indians upset the Trojans of Hillsboro to reach the semifinals.
While a first round bye allowed the Trojans to advance to the second round of the regional unopposed, it has now been 13 days since the teams last game.
“You never turn down a bye but it does feel like it’s been a long time since we’ve played,” SES head coach Mike Garretson said. “We did need some time to heal up. People don’t know it but baseball is grueling and the time off gave us the time to work on some things.”
SES will look for a hot start to knock off any rust early, relying on a lineup that has hit a staggering .397 this season and a platoon of pitchers with a combined ERA of just 2.62 in 20 games.
“The attitude from this team has been good,” Garretson said. “We all want our season to continue and we know that only one team in any game of this tournament gets to keep playing baseball. Our guys trust in their abilities and hopefully that brings some poise to the team.”
The Indians have had their fair share of offensive success this season as well, leaning on a heart of the order consisting of Garrett Fager, Brian Bailey and Brody Littrell, all of whom are batting over .350 this year.
Osage City will not however have the pitching services of Fager on Thursday. The Indians ace pitched six solid innings in the win over Hillsboro on Monday, striking out nine and allowing just three runs.
“Osage City has a couple of good wins on their schedule and they’ve played some good ball this season,” Garretson said. “Their number one pitcher is done for the week but they’re still a fundamentally solid team and they have some power in the middle of the lineup.”
First pitch between the Trojans and Indians is set for 2pm with the winner advancing to face either Hesston or Eureka later this evening.
The regional final will be played tonight at 5pm and if Southeast can collect two wins today, the Trojans can punch their ticket to the state tournament in Manhattan next week.
For more on Trojan postseason baseball stay tuned to the Salina Post.