Felicia Freeman was in the middle of throwing a perfect game, but you wouldn’t have known it by the way she was acting between innings.

The Free State High sophomore didn’t sit alone at the end of the bench away from her teammates. Instead, she grooved to Eminem’s latest hit single with fellow Firebirds Jenny Gwaltney and Jamie Stanclift in the dugout during the third inning.

After she gave up a double to Shawnee Mission East’s lead-off hitter in the sixth inning, the Lancers’ first hit, and lost the perfect game, did she sulk?

Not even close. In fact, she did the opposite. With the radio playing a Pepsi commercial featuring the vocal talents of Britney Spears, Freeman mimicked the dance moves that the pop queen does in her television spots for the soft drink.

“We like to have fun,” FSHS coach Pam Pine said. “Sometimes we probably have too much.”

Thursday afternoon’s sweep of Shawnee Mission East at Free State’s field didn’t do anything to keep the celebrating to a minimum. The Firebirds (6-14) took both games of their Sunflower League doubleheader, 4-1, on Senior Day.

Freshman pitcher Ashley Wagner won the first game for Free State. She held the Lancers to three hits over seven innings and three Firebirds  Lacey Baxter, Amy Vormehr and Stanclift  had multi-hit games.

Freeman allowed three hits in the second game and Vormehr and Wagner led Free State offensively.

Vormehr, a senior second baseman, was 2-for-3 with an RBI triple and scored once. Wagner added two hits in three at bats and scored twice.

“We did get some hits and strung them together and capitalized on what we had,” PIne said. “We didn’t make any big errors to speak of and played two pretty solid games.”

Freeman said she didn’t know she had a perfect game until a teammate did the unthinkable and told her about it. But it didn’t matter, she said, because she tries not to think about that kind of stuff when she’s on the mound.

“When you start thinking about, that’s when they get the hits off you,” Freeman said. “I just go out there and pitch.”

The sophomore said she has thrown four no-hitters in her career, with her first one coming as a 12-year-old in the first game she ever played.

Freeman was six outs away from a fifth gem, but the Lancers caught up with her, Pine said.

“She moves the ball really well and has four or five different pitches,” the FSHS coach said. “They just got used to the pitching. When you see someone pitch for five or six innings you can figure them out and that’s what happened.”

Free State 4,

Shawnee Mission East 1

SM East 000 000 1 Â 1 3 3

Free State 011 020 x  4 8 1

WPÂAshley Wagner. LPÂKelly Rose.

FSHS highlights: Lacey Baxter 2-for-3, run; Amy Vormehr 2-for-3; Jamie Stanclift 2-for-3, run; Wagner allowed just three hits in complete game.

Free State 4,

Shawnee Mission East 1

SM East 000 001 0 Â 1 3 2

Free State 012 100 x  4 7 1

WPÂFelicia Freeman. LPÂErin Gerkovich.

FSHS highlights: Vormehr 2-for-3, 3B, RBI, run; Wagner 2-for-3, 2 runs; Freeman had perfect game through five innings.