By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline baseball team completed a pair of come-from-behind wins to sweep the Chapman Irish in Gypsum on Thursday.
Southeast walked off game one on a Tysen Keller RBI triple, then erased a six-run deficit to take game two in run-rule fashion.
Game 1: SE of Saline 6, Chapman 4
The first game of this series came down to the wire, with three ties and five lead changes from start to finish.
Chapman plated a single run in the first, third, and fourth, while Southeast scratched across one in the second, two in the third, and another in the fourth to hold a 4-3 lead after four.
Down to their final two outs, Benson Smiley smacked an RBI triple that brought in Aven Woods to tie the game at four and keep Chapman’s hopes alive.
Seven innings wouldn’t be enough, and the game went to extras, where Burton Brooks dominated, striking out the side in the top of the eighth.
Jackson Calvin opened the bottom of the eighth with a walk, and advanced to second on a Burton Brooks hit by pitch.
Southeast needed a hero, and Tysen Keller was happy to oblige, driving a pitch to deep center field, to bring in both Calvin and Brooks for a walk-off victory.
Brooks collected the win on the mound following a solid day from Noah Rupert, who allowed just three earned runs and one walk to six strikeouts in the start.
Game 2: SE of Saline 16, Chapman 7
Early on, it appeared the Irish might get their revenge after scoring six runs in the top of the first, but Chapman was outscored 16-1 down the stretch, falling in a mercy-shortened five-inning affair.
The Southeast lineup roared to life, plating two runs in the first, seven in the second, four in the third, and three more in the fourth to complete the sweep in style.
All told, the Trojans brought in 16 runs on 10 hits, with Tiernan Ptacek, Kayson Bertrand, Grady Gebhardt, and Noah Rupert combining for 11 of Southeast’s 13 RBI.
Casson Klover was excellent in relief, earning the win after tossing 4.1 of two-hit ball, holding Chapman to just one run while striking out two.
With the sweep, Southeast of Saline improves to 10-2 while Chapman falls to 4-7.
The Trojans are back in action to battle Beloit on Thursday, while the Irish return home to host Concordia on Tuesday.