By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline baseball team kept the good times rolling in 2022 with a clean sweep of the Smoky Valley Vikings to remain an unscathed 4-0 on the season.
SES capped off a pitcher's duel in game one with a walk-off single from Evan Nickelson which lit a fire in the Trojan bats as the team ripped off 13 runs to take game two convincingly.
Smoky Valley got on the board first in the opener striking for a lone run in the second which Southeast quickly reclaimed when Jake Gebhardt dashed home on an error in the third.
From there the two teams remained scoreless heading into the seventh thanks to gems from Jaython Mathis and Kade Blanchat who combined for 19 strikeouts through 11.2 innings.
With one away in the bottom of the seventh, it was once again Jake Gebhardt who reached on a walk to set the table for the Trojans.
Gebhardt moved to second on a single by his brother Luke before being driven in on another base knock from Nickelson to clinch game one for Southeast in a 2-1 victory.
Smoky Valley responded well to start game two, building a five-run lead in the top of the first, but the Trojans clawed it back with a vengeance, outscoring the Vikings 13-1 the rest of the way to complete the sweep in a 13-6 win.
Luke Gebhardt and Evan Nickelson continue to swing two of the hottest bats in the state, combining to hit north of .700 and slug over 1,000 through the first four games of the season.
Southeast still boasts a staggering seven hitters with an average of .300 or better to pair with four ERA's south of 2.0
The Trojans will hit the road for the first time in 2022 when SES travels to Republic County for a doubleheader with the Buffaloes.