By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After falling in a sweep at the hands of the Abilene Cowboys last week, the Southeast of Saline baseball team bounced back on Tuesday, securing a split with rival Sacred Heart to move to 7-3 on the year.
With a 13-8 win and an 8-2 loss, SES holds position in a tie for second with Beloit, as both Trojan teams sit at 3-1 in league play, behind only Sacred Heart at 5-1.
Despite a few hard-fought battles, Southeast still boasts an impressive +72 run differential this season, picking up another run in Salina this week.
Game one was another back-and-forth affair as SES scratched across two early runs to lead off the first before the Knights responded with a five-run inning of their own.
After two silent frames, the Trojans got back on the board with one run in the fourth and fifth, but a three-run answer allowed Sacred Heart to take an 8-4 lead into the final two innings.
Down to their final six outs, Southeast got to work right away and exploded for a five-run sixth to reclaim the lead before burying the Knights with a four-run seventh to secure the 13-8 win.
Five different Trojans would record a multi-RBI game, with Landen Allen, Trever Keller, Cole Gilpin, Mac Chambers, and Jase VanAmburg accounting for all but one of the total runs driven in on the day.
After the early Sacred Heart outburst, the ball was handed to Cole Gilpin, and the sophomore delivered on the bump, completing 6.2 while allowing just three runs on five hits, striking out eight, and issuing just one walk.
Game two was a pitcher's duel early, with the Knights getting on the board first with one run in the home half of the second.
SES would waste little time tying things up, but a trio of Sacred Heart runs in the third and fourth proved too much to overcome as the Trojans fell in an eventual 8-2 final.
Southeast will be back in action on Friday for the second of four-straight doubleheaders on the road when they travel to Chapman for a pair of non-league matchups with the Irish.