By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Abilene and Southeast of Saline baseball teams played to a doubleheader split on Friday, with the Cowboys taking game one 8-5 and the Trojans coming back to secore the split 11-8.
Game One: Abilene 8, SE of Saline 5
The opener of this series was a thrilling 12-inning affair, with neither side giving an inch until the final frame.
Southeast got the party started with a run in the second and third but the Cowboys came back to tie it up with two of their own in the fourth.
The Trojans found two more runs in the home half of that inning but once again, Abilene responded with two of their own in the visitor’s sixth.
With the 4-4 tie holding, the game went to extras, where Abilene brought what could have been the decisive run to the plate in the ninth, were it not for Southeast again responding with a run of their own to keep the marathon going.
Another scoreless inning took the game to the 12th, where the Cowboys finally got to the Trojan bullpen and broke the game open with a three-run inning.
Heath Hoekman closed out his heroic seven-inning relief appearance by slamming the door shut and securing the win for his team.
Hoekman would allow just one run on five hits, recording five strikeouts while walking just three.
At the plate, Abilene was led by Tyler Holloway, who drove in two runs on three hits as one of five Cowboys to record a multi-hit game.
Game Two: SE of Saline 11, Abilene 8
After the marathon game one, both teams returned to the field with the sun setting fast, and while Abilene would equal their run total from the opener, the Trojans would have their revenge.
Things looked good for the Cowboys early, who took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth, but Southeast picked up the pace with four runs in the fourth and a whopping six in the fifth.
Down just 11-8, this game was still well within reach for Abilene, but the extra inning win in game one came at the cost of a light-shortened game two, and the Trojans took the victory in five.
The top two spots in the Trojan order led the charge, as Grady Gebhardt went 2-4 with 3 RBI, while Sam Knopf finished the day 2-3 with 2 driven in.
With these results, Southeast moves to 5-3 on the year, while Abilene advances to 2-6.
The Trojans will travel to Saline to face Sacred Heart on Monday, while the Cowboys make the trek to Marysville.