By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline baseball team picked up another hard-earned pair of wins on Tuesday, sweeping the Ellsworth Bearcats to extend their winning streak to seven games.
With these wins, the Trojans have secured at least a share of this year's NCAA league title, and can secure the league outright on Thursday.
Game 1: SE of Saline 6, Ellsworth 0
Trojan pitching dominated the opener of this two-game set as Noah Rupert shut down the Bearcat lineup, tossing a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits and one walk to 13 strikeouts.
At the dish, SES did most of their damage early, striking for five runs in the top of the first before adding one more in the fourth.
That big first inning set the tone for this game, with Tiernan Ptacek, Noah Rupert, Casson Klover, Caden Peterson, and Zackary Heller each driving in a run during a Trojan hit parade.
Game 2: SE of Saline 9, Ellsworth 6
The nightcap was a much tighter affair, with Southeast breaking a late deadlock with a big seventh inning.
The Trojans took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to big RBI knocks from Noah Rupert and Jackson Tanner, but Ellsworth quickly evened the score with two of their own in the first and another in the second.
In the third, SES reclaimed the lead, this time on an RBI single from Leighton Nutsch, but Ellsworth found two more runs in the third and another in the fifth to tie the game at six apiece.
The top of the seventh was pure chaos, as the Trojans took the lead before even putting the ball in play thanks to four Ellsworth walks.
A sac-fly and an error allowed SES to push their advantage to three runs, taking a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the frame.
Ellsworth did manage to get the tying run to the plate, but quick work by Burton Brooks sealed the deal, for Southeast of Saline.
With this sweep, SES improves to 17-3 and is now on a 7-game winning streak while Ellsworth slides to 4-18.
Southeast sits a game ahead of both Beloit and Sacred Heart in the league standings, and can wrap up sole possession of an NCAA title with a win on Thursday against Lyons.