By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline softball team tightened its stranglehold on the league on Thursday, sweeping Beloit to take one step closer to an NCAA title.
Karlee Zurfluh continued her perfect run in the circle, extending her streak to seven complete games without allowing an earned run.
Game 1: SE of Saline 11, Beloit 1
The Lady Trojans jumped all over Beloit in the opener of this two-game set, plating three runs in the first, two in the second, four in the fourth, and two in the fifth to win the game in run-rule fashion.
Reese Heinrich and Kyiah Samuelson dominated at the plate, combining to account for seven of Southeast’s nine RBI on the day.
Riley Donnelly and Madelyn McFadden also swung the bat well, each recording multi-hit games in the 11-1 win.
Zurfluh dominated the Beloit bats, holding the rival Trojans to just one unearned run on a pair of hits, refusing to concede a single walk, and sending 15 batters packing with a strikeout.
Game 2: SE of Saline 4, Beloit 2
Beloit managed to keep things much closer in game two, but Hannah Thiel was excellent in the circle, earning another win in a low-scoring affair.
Riley Donnelly opened the scoring in the first inning, singling in Reese Heinrich to put SES out in front.
Beloit evened the score in the second on a wild pitch, but Southeast took the lead back in the third, this time on an Anabelle Soell RBI groundout.
Southeast would add a run in the fourth on a Vada Durfee RBI triple, and another in the fifth on a Soell sac-fly to right to take a 4-1 lead into the final innings.
Beloit did manage to scratch across a run in the seventh but Thiel slammed the door shut, ending the game with a strikeout to secure the two-game sweep.
With these wins, Southeast of Saline improves to 11-1 while Beloit falls to 7-5.
SES now holds the inside track to the NCAA crown ahead of a pivotal series against Minneapolis next week.