The Southeast of Saline baseball program is a strong one. We interviewed some of the team’s players that also played baseball in the summer months to get their opinions and comparisons between summer baseball and school baseball to see the progress of these players and overall love for the game. 

Ben Heinrich did not play baseball for Southeast of Saline his freshman year, but he has made his decision public that he will be joining the 2022-2023 season with the Trojans. Ben, playing this summer for the Salina Eagles, was asked what his expectations were as he headed  into the summer season. “I expected to have a good season and be locked in throughout the season. [I really expected] to win a McPherson state championship,” Ben said. By the end of the season, Ben did not feel like the team had reached their goals. Ben stated, “We were never really locked in and focused as much as we should have been.” The Salina Eagles started the season off pretty slowly and started to pick up the intensity towards the end of the season. “It happened to us last year too;  we just need to open the season the same way we end it,” Ben stated. Rather than dwelling on the negatives of the season, Ben chooses to reflect on the positives as he remembers the deep run that the eagles made in the Benadictine tournament. Ben stated, “closing out the semifinals in the Benadictine tournament was a personal highlight from the season that I will remember.” As Ben reflects on these good times, he makes sure to mention that playing with teammates around Salina makes summer ball a more enjoyable experience . He states that playing with people that he grew up with makes the team chemistry that much better. 

Another young man on the Southeast of the Saline team that  played summer ball is Blaten Jervah. Blaten played for the Salina Rebels, one of the two Babe Ruth League teams in Salina.  Jervah has spent most of his summers with the Rebels, but this one was one of the more disappointing seasons.. Although the team struggled throughout the summer, Jervah had a solid summer personally. Playing with his friends from other schools and racking up extra base hits were just some of the things that made him enjoy the summer regardless of the team record. He said he would focus on having fun rather than worrying about the score. Through adversity, Blaten found ways to make the summer enjoyable. Blaten says he thinks summer baseball helps a lot with being prepared for the school ball season . Blaten will be going into his sophomore year this spring and hopes to build off his momentum from this summer.