By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Traditional city baseball powers Seaman and Shawnee Heights, who have combined for 13 state titles, renewed their long rivaly Tuesday at Optimist Field, with Viking pitchers Bryson Vawter and Maclane Finley stealing the show in the Vikings' 3-1 win.
Vawter, a junior, and senior Finley combined for a no-hitter while recording 15 strikeouts as Seaman improved to 14-2 and pushed its winning streak to four games.
Seaman junior Bryson Vawter threw five no-hit innings with nine strikeouts in the Vikings' 3-1 win over Shawnee Heights on Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman senior Maclane Finley combined with Bryson Vawter for a no-hitter in Tuesday's 3-1 win over Shawnee Heights while also going 2 of 3 at the plate with two RBI. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Vawter threw the first five innings for the Vikings, recording nine strikeouts while walking two and hitting a batter.
"I felt pretty good,'' Vawter said. "I was throwing the fastball and blowing it by them. That was what was working and then I had a little wrinkle in there and threw the curveball and it seemed to work a little bit. My main thing was just getting ahead (in the count) and when I got behind I walked them. All I had to do was throw strikes and let my defense work and they made some good plays out there.''
Shawnee Heights, which fell to 10-8, scored its lone run in the third inning, with Vawter issuing back to back walks before Braeden Brown came around to score after a pair of groundouts.
"Walks are killing me and that's my biggest problem right now,'' Vawter said.
But overall, Vawter said he feels like himself and his team are where they need to be entering the most important stretch of the season.
"I think we're in a good place,'' Vawter said. "We're the one seed in the west right now and if we win out we can keep that, so it's always nice to host a home regional where we play in our stadium where we know we're best. We're improving each week.''
Finley came on in the sixth and finished off the no-hitter with six strikeouts in his two innings of work while issuing one walk.
Seaman scored all three of its runs in the bottom of the second, with the Vikings picking up three hits and also talking advantage of a T-Bird error.
Finley delivered a two-run single and went 2 for 3 on the day with a run scored.
Cameron Selbach went 1 for 2 with a run and an RBI while Casen Stallbaumer went 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Senior Trevor Schattilly turned in a solid pitching performance for the T-Birds, giving up five hits in six innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Seaman coach Trent Oliva said the Vikings always look forward to playing the T-Birds.
Tuesday's game was a non-league matchup but the Vikings and T-Birds will be back in the same league, the United Kansas Conference, next season.
"Some of these guys have been playing together or against each other for a long time so you can throw what kind of season you've had, a good season, a tough season, off to the side because we know both sides are going to compete,'' Oliva said.
SEAMAN 3, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 1
Shawnee Heights 001 000 0 -- 1 0 2
Seaman 030 000 0 -- 3 5 0
W -- Vawter. L -- Schattilly.
