By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline baseball team went out on top, closing out their regular season with a sweep of the Russell Broncos by final scores of 6-3 and 8-3.
The Trojan's regular season comes to an end at 16-4 overall and 8-2 in league play, securing at least a share of their fifth straight NCAA title.
Jackson Cross looked strong for the Broncos on the bump, holding a potent Southeast lineup to a single run through three innings, but the Trojans heated up in the fourth, striking for four big runs to take the lead and never look back.
With the lead in hand, Evan Nickelson went to work on the bump for SES, refusing to yield a single run through 4.2 and putting the finishing touches on the game one win.
Nickelson was also the most dangerous bat in the SES lineup in the opener, homering in the third to put the Trojans on the board.
In-game two it was the Trojans who would strike first, getting out to a 7-0 lead by the midway mark of the contest.
Russell battled back with one-run innings in the fourth, fifth, and seventh but their comeback fell well short as SES cruised to their 16th win of the 2022 season.
This time it was Jaython Mathis who masterfully missed the Bronco bats, striking out six and allowing just two earned runs in a complete-game effort.
Luke Gebhardt finished his regular-season reign of terror with a bang, driving in three critical runs in the Trojan win.
With their regular season in the books, Southeast will await their regional assignment and begin postseason play on May 16.
For continuing coverage of Trojan baseball all postseason stay tuned to the Salina Post.