Shawnee Mission Northwest turns back Free State, 5-2

With one swing, Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Brian Peterson won the battle of the Petersons on Tuesday at Free State High’s field.

Leading 1-0 in the top of the third, Brian Peterson crushed the first pitch from Free State’s Eric Peterson just inside the left field foul pole for a two-out, two-run home run and a 3-0 lead.

“I was just sitting back waiting for an off-speed pitch,” Brian Peterson said, “but he threw me a fastball and I turned on it.”

It didn’t matter how many swings the Firebirds took, though, as they scored just two runs in a 5-2 loss to the Cougars, ranked No. 4 in the Kansas Assn. of Baseball Coaches poll.

Eric Peterson settled down and struck out Josh Blanks to end the third inning, but the Firebirds (6-8 overall, 1-6 Sunflower League) couldn’t muster enough offense to avoid saddling their pitcher with his first loss of the season.

“We played good enough defense,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said, “and I think the pitching was winnable for us, but to beat a good team you have to bring all three facets of the game together and we left one at home in a big way.”

Free State continued its recent offensive woes, putting the lead runner on base in four innings but getting him home just once.

That lone Firebird was Zach Puckett, who pinch ran for Jeremiah Gress after Gress led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk. The Cougars (12-4, 5-2) committed back-to-back-to-back errors later in the inning to allow Puckett and Tyler Blakenship to score and bring the Firebirds within a run, 3-2.

SM Northwest got both those runs back, though, scoring on a Blakenship error in the sixth inning and a single by Bobby True in the seventh.

Drew Leeper shut down the Firebirds in the final two innings, allowing just two baserunners. He pitched a complete game, striking out six and allowing just three hits and no earned runs.

“We were not aggressive, and that was the main thing today,” Hill said. “They threw fastballs by us early in the count and we weren’t responding, and when we had to swing at their stuff we didn’t get it done. Their kid threw well, but we should have done more than we did.”

The Firebirds have scored just 12 runs in their past four games all losses.

“We’re in a drought offensively right now,” Hill said. “Clubs go through those times and we’re having ours right now. We just have to work through that kind of stuff.”

It won’t get any easier for Free State, which plays host to No. 3-ranked Emporia at 4:30 p.m. today and takes on No. 7-ranked Lawrence High at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at home.

“These kids will hook it up,” Hill said. “They’ll play anybody, and we’re going through a gauntlet. All year long has been a gauntlet for us, but they keep getting better and at the end, if we put it all together, I think we’ll give somebody a problem.”

Shawnee Mission Northwest 5, Free State 2

SMNW 012 001 1 5 10 4

FSHS 000 020 0 2 3 1

WP Drew Leeper (5-0). LP Eric Peterson (4-1).

2BSMNW: Bobby Domsch. 3BSMNW:Chad Thurman. HRSMNW: Brian Peterson.