Both Lawrence High’s and Free State’s baseball teams are undefeated. The Royals are 6-0. And Kansas University got off to its best start in years.

For those reveling in the area’s baseball mania, it gets better when the second annual River City Festival starts today.

Twenty-four high school teams from Lawrence, the Kansas City metropolitan area, Nebraska and Oklahoma will play 31 games in the three days at Free State Field, Ice Field at Holcom Complex and Hoglund Ballpark at Kansas University.

“We really hope that people in the community come out to Ice Field, to Free State and the University of Kansas to see some outstanding baseball,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said. “There’s going to be a lot of professional scouts and college coaches there. It’d be nice for these kids to come see the community take an interest in this.”

The festival isn’t a tournament in the normal sense — Kansas State High School Activities Assc. rules prohibit Kansas schools from playing more than 20 games in the regular season. The teams don’t play a bracket format to determine a winner, instead playing two or three games, usually pitting in-state schools against out-of-state schools.

But that’s enough for the players. The chance to play schools like Omaha (Neb.) Creighton Prep or St. Louis Chaminade Prep is reward enough from the usual spring schedule.

“They love it,” Hill said. “Six years ago, all they got was 10 doubleheaders against Sunflower League teams. They want to play new teams.”

The tournament, which kicks off at 5 p.m. at all three sites, has grown from 16 teams last year to 24 this season and features five of Class 6A’s top ranked teams from the Kansas Baseball Coaches Assn. poll — including No. 1 FSHS, No. 2 LHS, No. 4 Leavenworth, No. 6 Olathe North and No. 9 Blue Valley West — and 5A’s top squad in Shawnee Heights.

The Lions open against Winnetonka, Mo., at 5 tonight. LHS (3-0) gets to play all three games at Ice Field, where it is unbeaten this year.

That’s some comfort to LHS coach David Petry.

“It’s a home-field advantage over being able to play at KU,” Petry said. “If we can play at our home field, we’re gonna take it.”

As for the Firebirds (5-0), who open tonight at 7:30 against Collinsville, Okla., they’re off to their best start in years, thanks to an explosive offense and stellar pitching from senior Matt Lane (3-0), who gets the start tonight.

FSHS will play all three of its games at Hoglund, the main playing site for the tournament.