By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After a big bounce back over Beloit last week, the Southeast of Saline baseball team stayed on the warpath this Tuesday, decimating Minneapolis in one of their biggest shows of force this season.
With mercy-rule-shortened three-inning wins of 20-0 and 15-0 the Trojans advance to 11-5 on the year and slide into the driver's seat of the NCAA, equalling Sacred Heart’s record of 7-1 in league play.
Southeast has now won eight games by run-rule and after a bit of a stumble from their pitching staff, has won three of their last four and seven overall via the shutout.
Things started off normally enough in the opener, as SES plated two runs in the first, and five in the second before going absolutely nuclear with a 13-run third inning to secure a 20-0 victory.
All nine Trojans in the order recorded at least one hit with the heart of the SES lineup dealing massive damage as Jake Gebhardt, Mac Chambers, and Trever Keller combined to go 6/9 at the plate, driving in an absurd 13 runs.
Meanwhile, it was a gem on the hill for Cole Gilpin, who didn’t allow a single hit through three innings, recording a trio of strikeouts while allowing just one walk.
After a scoreless first, the Trojans picked up right where they left off in game two, striking for ten runs in the second and five more in the third to once again secure a win in just three innings, this time by a 15-0 final.
Of the nine members in the Southeast lineup, eight would record at least one hit in game two, with Trever Keller continuing his assault on baseballs, driving in five and coming across three times himself as part of a 3/3 day at the plate.
In the two-game set, Keller solidified himself as a Lion killer, going 5/7 with nine driven in and four runs scored.
The excellence on the hill continued in the nightcap as Landen Allen completed a three-inning shutout, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out five.
After nearly a month on the road, the Trojans will finally return to Gypsum on Tuesday, when they host the Ellsworth Bearcats with a chance to secure at least a share of the league title on the line.
Photo credit: Kieran Douglas