By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Seaman Vikings softball team had thunder in their bats Thursday in 4-2 and 14-2 United Kansas Conference victories over city rival Topeka West, tallying 26 hits across the two games at Seaman.
Junior Aubrey Warren had three hits with a double in the first game and a home run and three RBI in the second game as Seaman took a 4-2, 14-2 UKC sweep over Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Ace pitcher Kaelyn O’Rourke set the tone to start Game 1 of the twinbill for the Vikings, striking out the side in the top of the first.
Seaman put a run on the board in the bottom half of the inning, with Aubrey Warren crossing the plate on a Natalee Simpson single.
The visiting Chargers looked to answer, putting together back-to-back singles from Mya Miller and Christina Briggs to put pressure on the Vikings, but O’Rourke struck out opposing pitcher Jordyn White, a freshman, to put an end to the threat.
The Seaman offense went back to work in the bottom of the third, with Warren scoring again on a Simpson single and courtesy runner Phoebe Brodine coming around to score on an error to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead.
Seaman senior pitcher Kaelyn O'Rourke struck out six hitters in Thursday's 4-2 first-game win over Topeka West, [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After three shutout innings from O’Rourke, Seaman coach Dan Ruda turned to freshman Kynnedi Kitzman to start the top of the fourth.
Topeka West found its first run of the game in the frame, with Callie Jones drawing a leadoff walk and scoring on a Briggs single to cut the deficit to 3-1.
After Kitzman shut down the Chargers in the top of the fifth, Seaman added an insurance run in the bottom half, with Simpson recording her third RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly to center field.
Topeka West showed signs of life to begin the top of the sixth when Jones launched a home run over the left-field fence to make it a 4-2 game.
After giving up the solo shot, Kitzman settled in and recorded the final six outs without allowing a hit or walk to earn the save for the Vikings.
Seaman recorded 11 hits in Game 1, with Warren leading the way with a 3 for 4 outing. Simpson went 2 for 2 for the Vikings, driving in a run in each of her three plate appearances.
O’Rourke earned the win in the circle, striking out six over three innings pitched.
Topeka West senior shortstop Callie Jones scored both of West's first-game runs in a 4-2 loss to Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Isabella Kutina and Briggs each had two hits in the loss for Topeka West, while Jones tallied both runs scored for the Chargers.
In Game 2, the Vikings sent out another freshman pitcher, Lydia Dreher, who retired the Chargers in order in the top of the first.
Seaman got on the board early again, jumping out to a 2-0 lead with a Raegan McConnell RBI double and an O’Rourke RBI single.
The hosts tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the second, with Kayleigh Neill driving in Addison Sibley after Sibley’s leadoff double.
A few batters later, McConnell added her second RBI in as many innings with a single up the middle to give Seaman a 4-0 lead.
After a third hitless inning from Dreher in the top of the third, the Vikings broke the contest open with a seven-run bottom of the third.
With the bases loaded following two singles and a walk, Sibley hit a sacrifice fly to center field to push the Seaman lead to 5-0.
With two outs in the inning, the Vikings rattled off five consecutive hits, including a two-run double from Anna McLaughlin and a two-run home run to center field by Warren.
O’Rourke and Simpson each added RBI doubles before the Chargers managed to record the final out of the inning.
Topeka West chipped away at the deficit in the top of the fourth, starting the inning with three straight singles.
Jones drew a walk with the bases loaded, and Addaline Hall came in to score on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 11-2.
Seaman added three more runs in the bottom of the inning, starting with a leadoff single from Kinsley Smith.
The Vikings took advantage of four Charger errors in the inning to reach the final score of 14-2.
The hosts had 15 hits in the nightcap, with each starter recording at least one hit.
Warren drove in three runs in a 2 for 4 effort, while McConnell went a perfect 3 for 3 with two runs driven in.
Dreher went the distance in the circle, going five innings while allowing only two runs and striking out five.
With O’Rourke working her way back from a minor shoulder injury, Ruda was pleased with the way his two freshman pitchers took the pressure off of their star senior.
“(Kitzman and Dreher) have done a really good job of stepping up in (O’Rourke’s) absence, and getting that varsity experience right away,” Ruda said. “(We're) trusting all of our pitchers to go in and get the job done, and just trying to keep kids healthy for the long run.”
After dropping back-to-back contests to Eudora and Topeka High on April 11, the Vikings have won eight games in a row, and Ruda feels that his team has a very high ceiling.
“I know that when we’re healthy, we can be a really great team. We’re hitting the ball really well,” Ruda said. “We’ve all grown a little bit through (the losses) and hopefully our best softball is still ahead of us.”
Seaman travels to Leavenworth on Tuesday for a conference doubleheader before turning around and visiting Manhattan on Wednesday.
Topeka West will look to get back on track with a Tuesday doubleheader at Lansing.
GAME 1
SEAMAN 4, TOPEKA WEST 2
Topeka West 000 101 0 -- 2 6 1
Seaman 102 010 X -- 4 11 1
White. O’Rourke and Kitzman (4). W -- O’Rourke. L - White. S -- Kitzman. 2B -- Topeka West: Kutina 2. Seaman: Warren, McConnell. HR -- Topeka West: Jones.
GAME 2
SEAMAN 14, TOPEKA WEST 2
Topeka West (8-6, 5-5) 000 20 -- 2 4 5
Seaman (13-3, 11-1) 227 3x -- 14 15 0
TenEyck and White. Dreher. W -- Dreher. L -- TenEyck. 2B -- Topeka West: North. Seaman: McLaughlin, McConnell, O’Rourke, Simpson, Phelps, Sibley. HR - Seaman: Warren.
