By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After falling in five of their last six games, the Southeast of Saline baseball team was in need of a bounce back, and re-emerged with a vengeance in Beloit, trouncing the rival Trojans in a merciless sweep on Thursday.
With run-rule-shortened wins of 19-0 and 12-0, SES moves to 9-5 on the year and maintains a strong position at 5-1 in league play.
In addition to helping the Trojans improve their run differential to +94 on the season, Southeast has now won six games by mercy rule, and five via the shutout.
The Trojans in purple wasted no time getting to work in game one, taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, and adding five more in the second and one in the third before exploding for a ten-run fourth to put the final nails in the Beliot coffin.
At the midway mark of their campaign, pitching was the big question mark for SES, but in game one it didn’t look to be in question at all, as sophomore Cole Gilpin delivered a gem, tossing four scoreless innings and allowing just two hits, fanning seven without a single walk.
Offensively SES dealt their damage by committee, with all nine members of the lineup either scoring or driving in a run.
The effort at the plate was led by Landen Allen, Greyson Pembelton, and Grady Gebhardt, who combined to go 7 for 8, driving in 11 of the Trojan’s 19 runs in a 19-0 victory.
In game two, Southeast picked up right where they left off, plating five runs in the top of the first, six in the second, and one in the fourth to cruise to a 12-0 win in five innings.
Immaculate pitching held throughout the late game, and this time it was Jake Gebhardt’s turn to deliver, as the senior completed five scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just five hits.
On the day Gilpin and Gebhardt combined for nine total innings without surrendering a single run or walking a single batter, racking up 11 strikeouts and allowing just seven hits.
At the dish, 11 different Trojans stepped up for an at-bat, with nine recording a hit and five recording at least one run driven in throughout game two.
Southeast will have just three more doubleheaders before regionals on May 15th and will be back in action next Tuesday when they travel to Minneapolis for a pair of games with the Lions.