Lenexa ? Lawrence High’s baseball team might have been short on players Tuesday night, but the Lions weren’t lacking heart.

Playing without seven starters  “Due to an administrative decision,” LHS athletic director Ron Commons said, “those seven players weren’t eligible to play in the game.”  LHS held on for a 10-9 Sunflower League victory over Shawnee Mission Northwest at 3&2 Complex.

The Lions (14-6), who won for the ninth time in 10 games, also clinched the league championship with a 9-1 record.

“I’m just really proud about the 11 kids we took over there to that game tonight,” LHS coach David Petry said. “They stepped up in a big way and we had to have them.”

LHS junior Aaron Madill (5-0) earned the victory to remain undefeated. Junior Kyle McManness had a pair of doubles for the Lions. Junior Casey Rahmeier also had a double.

“I thought Kyle McManness did a great job,” Petry said. “We had to put him at leadoff and he hadn’t hit there all year. In his first two at bats he had doubles both times and scored two runs. That gave us a big lift right off the bat.

“Another person who did a great job was Casey Rahmeier. He did a great job defensively and offensively had a couple hits. He scored a couple runs, had a couple RBIs,” Petry added. “We had three guys in the outfield  Daniel Dulin, Paul Houle, Spence Chaney, and even Aaron Madill some, too  that hadn’t played any outfield so it was kind of piecing things together.”

Petry said the Lions would have “everybody back and ready to go” when regionals begin next Tuesday.

LHS currently is the No. 2 seed, trailing Wichita Heights (12-4). Manhattan and Emporia both are 12-6 and could force a three-way tie if they sweep season-ending doubleheaders.

The Lions beat Spartans, 13-12, in eight innings last week, but haven’t played the Indians.

“Awesome win,” Petry said. “Those 11 guys go out there and they have to step up and they win the league championship. They played well tonight and made good decisions this weekend.”

The Sunflower League championship is Lawrence’s first under Petry, in his third season.

“That was one of our goals going in,” Petry said. “You always try to do well in the Sunflower League because it’s probably the toughest league in the state. To go 9-1 in the Sunflower League says a lot about our team.”

Lawrence 10, SM Northwest 9

Lawrence 003 106 0 Â 10 12 2

SM Northwest 030 024 0 Â 9 9 2

WPÂAaron Madill (5-0).

2BÂLHS: Kyle McManness 2, Casey Rahmeier; SMNW: True, Blanks.