MANHATTAN — Silver Lake remained calm in the face of adversity in the Class 3A State semifinals. Thanks to their poise, No. 8 Silver Lake (17-11) took down No. 4 Russell/Victoria 2-1 in eight innings.
This will be Silver Lake’s first state championship appearance since 2013.
“The biggest job that we have as coaches is to remain calm in situations so guys see that,” Silver Lake head coach Tyler Seele said. “We’ve been in dog fights all year long. In the past month, these situations have become positives.”
Dayne Johnson was the main man for the Eagles. The Broncos couldn’t touch him all game. Russell had only two base runners for the entire game.
Johnson pitched all eight innings, allowing one hit, one run, and one walk. He struck out six batters in the game.
“I don’t throw the hardest, I don’t have the nastiest stuff, so I have to place it in the zone,” Johnson said. “It was a really good game.”
Johnson’s precision on the mound was the difference. Russell’s batters were left looking on multiple occasions as Johnson painted all of the corners.
“Dayne is a warrior,” Seele said. “He had great command of both pitches. He threw his fastball and hit the outside corner early. He stayed down in the zone and pitched to contact, letting his defense work.”
Silver Lake scored its first run in the top of the fourth inning. Miles Kibbee nailed a double to center field, which scored Drew Womack.
Russell would respond in the bottom of the sixth inning. After securing a walk, Russell played small ball moving their runner over. A sacrifice fly to left field helped tie the game.
It was a frustrating portion of the game for Silver Lake. They went 2-for-14 with runners on base in the game. The Eagles were unable to capitalize on their chances.
Once extra innings hit, Silver Lake’s dugout was calm. It looked like the middle of the game, not a matchup to determine a state championship appearance.
The team’s demeanor kept them comfortable and freshman Kipton Kruger delivered. Kruger laced a hit down the right field line that hit the corner. Kruger sprinted around second and was easily safe for the triple.
“I was thinking of just hitting a nice, hard ball and I saw it go down the line and started booking it,” Kruger said. “I saw Coach Seele waving me and just kept booking it.”
Kibbee was the next batter. He faced six pitches before he drilled the ball to center field. The flyout allowed Kruger to score the game-winning run.
“Has he had better swings this year, yes,” Seele said. “But that was the best at-bat that he has put together this year.”
Silver Lake is simply on a heater. They have won five straight games, outscoring opponents 20-8 during this playoff run. They are looking for their first state championship since 2011, when Seele helped the Eagles win it as a player.
“I don’t even know what it would mean right now,” Seele said. “I want it really bad for the guys.”
The state championship will be played at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 29 at Kansas State.
When asked whether he could have ever believed that Silver Lake would be playing for a state title, Johnson spoke honestly.
“If you would’ve told me about a month ago, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Johnson smiled. “We are hitting good at the right time and coming together as a team.”
Liam Keating covers high school sports and Washburn University for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Silver Lake baseball advances to Class 3A State Championship
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