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Shawnee Heights rolls to UKC doubleheader sweep over Topeka West

Details: Created: Tuesday, 28 March 2023 22:09

By Todd Fertig

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights rolled through a doubleheader with Topeka West Friday at Hummer Sports Park, getting two good starts from its pitchers and extended rallies at the plate to sweep the United Kansas Conference twinbill, 16-1 and 18-2.

Shawnee Heights senior Nic Perez picked up the first-game pitching win in Friday's UKC doubleheader sweep over Topeka West. [File photo/TSN]

Shawnee Heights senior Evan Smith had a big day at the plate as the T-Birds posted a 16-1, 18-2 UKC sweep over Topeka West. [File photo/TSN]

T-Bird senior pitcher Nic Perez set the tone, recording all nine outs of a shortened game by strikeout. Perez permitted a walk and a double that produced a run in the first frame, but then struck out the next seven batters he faced.

Shawnee Heights coach Ryan Schmidt said it was good to see Perez, an Emporia State baseball commit, bounce back from a rough first outing against Bishop Miege last week.

“Nic is a senior we’re going to look to as a leader on the mound,” Schmidt said. “He needed to get a good start and we got that out of him today. He needed that for himself to get on a roll.”

“I was struggling to finish guys off,” Perez said of his first start last Tuesday. “It seemed like just about every single one of my counts were 0-2 or 1-2 but then I struggled finishing guys off. Today I think I was just able to command my fastball better.”

Griffin's walkoff single gives Seaman a doubleheader sweep over Rural

Details: Created: Friday, 31 March 2023 05:45

By Rick Peterson

TopSports.news

After rolling to a 17-7 six-inning win over Washburn Rural in the first-game of Friday's non-league twinbill, Seaman's baseball team failed to capitalize on several opportunities to put the nightcap away.

Washburn Rural senior Ty Weber (right) attempts to put a tag on Seaman sophomore Max Huston in Friday's doubleheader. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Seaman senior Kiernan Meredith bunts the ball during Friday's non-league doubleheader against Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

But after seeing Rural rally from 7-4, 8-5 and 9-6 deficits to tie the game in the top of the seventh, Trent Oliva's Vikings came up with the clincher in the bottom of the seventh, with junior Kaiden Griffin delivering a two-out walkoff single to give Seaman a 10-9 win and a sweep of the home doubleheader.

"We felt like some things weren't going our way,'' Oliva said. "We were ahead after the first inning but it always felt like it was a tie game or we were one down. But we were able to keep the lead the whole time until the seventh and just battled through some adversity the whole game.

"Give credit to Washburn Rural because they put the pressure on us, but we were able to answer the call at the end of the game.''

Washburn Rural was within one strike of forcing extra innings before Griffin put a ball in the hole between first and second to score junior Holden Finley, who walked.

"In that situation (Griffin) has two strikes, with the bases loaded and two outs and the goal there for us is to put the ball in play and see what happens and that's exactly what he did and it went our way that time,'' Oliva said.