By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline baseball team capped off their regular season on a high note, sweeping a former league foe in the Russell Broncos on Thursday night.
With victories of 7-1 and 6-5, SES closes out the regular season with an overall record of 13-9, and a league record of 6-4, finishing in a tie for second with Beloit.
Game one was a low-scoring affair early, but Southeast struck for two runs in the third, another in the fifth, three in the sixth and one more in the seventh to roll to a 7-1 victory.
Noah Rupert looked excellent on the mound, allowing just one run on six hits without recording a single walk in a complete game effort.
At the plate, SES got multi-hit performances out of Grady Gebhardt, Drew Weller, and Tiernen Ptacek, with Treytan Olson driving in three runs on one big hit.
Game two was even more of a pitcher's duel, with the Broncos holding a 3-1 lead going into the final inning.
Down to their final three outs, Southeast rallied, putting up a 5-spot in the seventh to take a 6-3 advantage.
Russell would find two runs of their own but Ian Nickelson slammed the door shut, recording a massive strikeout to put the final nail in the Bronco coffin.
This time around, it was Sam Knopf who played the hero, going 3-3 and driving in half of the Trojan’s six runs.
The next stop for SES will be the 3A regional tournament, where the Trojans will travel to Marysville from May 9-14.