By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
On Thursday, Karlee Zurfluh picked up the 12th win of her season, and the 200th strikeout of her career, as the Lady Trojans swept the Smoky Valley Vikings.
This sweep, with wins of 8-1 and 9-1, vaults Southeast into second place in their regional with four games to play.
Game 1: SE of Saline 8, Smoky Valley 1
A steady drumbeat of runs brought the Lady Trojans their first win of the day, scoring one in the first, two in the third, another in the fourth, and four in the sixth.
Reese Heinrich recorded a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate, scoring three of Southeast’s eight runs and reaching on an additional walk.
In the circle, Karlee Zurfluh put together another masterpiece, holding the Lady Viking bats to just one run on four hits, refusing to issue a walk while also striking out twelve.
The first of those 12 strikeouts was enough to get Zurfluh to a monumental milestone, as the junior recorded the 200th punchout of her career.
Game 2: SE of Saline 9, Smoky Valley 1
The second game of this set went down in a similar fashion to the first, with the Lady Trojan lineup plating three runs in the first, two in the second, three more in the third, and another in the sixth.
Southeast did all of that damage on the strength of just five hits, capitalizing on free baserunners and opportunities off of miscues.
At the plate, Reese Heinrich, Ashley Whelchel, and Madelyn McFadden each drove in two runs, with Whelchel leading the charge as part of a two-hit game.
Zurfluh took to the circle for the second game and picked up right where she left off, allowing just one run on five hits, and adding eight strikeouts to her impressive tally.
In addition to 200 career strikeouts, Zurfluh now has 100 this season alone, an impressive mark for the junior standout.
With the sweep, Southeast of Saline improves to 17-1 and extends its winning streak to 14 games while Smoky Valley slides to 10-10.
SES now holds the 2-seed in the Class 3A Regional 3 with four games left to play.
The Lady Trojans are back in action next Tuesday and Thursday to wrap up their regular season against Ellsworth and Lyons.