Ashley Wagner sure as heck didn’t want to lose her last softball game at Free State High to crosstown rival Lawrence High.

So Wagner stroked a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh that carried the Firebirds to a dramatic 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Lions on Tuesday evening at the FSHS field.

“The seniors got together and said this is our last time at Free State, and we need to get it done,” Wagner said.

Lawrence High, behind senior pitcher Whitney Juneau, dominated for 12 innings, winning the opener of the twinbill, 3-1, then forging a 4-0 lead through five innings of the nightcap.

Finally, in the bottom of the sixth, the Firebirds erupted. Wagner singled, and Allie Hock doubled her home. Moments later, Kayley Lane coaxed the lone walk Juneau surrendered all day.

Then Brooke Abney crushed a liner into the right-center-field gap for a two-run double. At that point, LHS coach Reenie Stogsdill replaced Juneau with Lisa Pearse, who escaped the jam without any more damage.

“I think she was tired,” Stogsdill said of Juneau. “She threw a lot of pitches, and we haven’t seen this (90-degree) weather.”

Juneau was unavailable after the game because she left soon after she was lifted to go back to Lawrence High and sing with the school orchestra.

Meanwhile, Pearse, another senior, appeared well on her way to protecting the Lions’ 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

Free State High's Hannah Somers rounds third on her way home after a Firebird hit against Lawrence High. The Firebirds rallied to win the second game of their doubleheader, 5-4, after the Lions had claimed the opener, 3-1, Tuesday at FSHS.

Pearse retired leadoff hitter Livi Abney, then enticed Chloe Hall to hit a routine grounder to shortstop where Lauren Kelly fielded the ball cleanly and threw a strike to first. But the umpire ruled Lions’ first baseman Amy Bullerman had juggled the throw.

Minutes later, Hall advanced to second on a passed ball, bringing senior Jamie Stanclift, the Firebirds’ leading hitter, to the plate.

Even though Stanclift represented the winning run, Stogsdill ordered her intentionally passed.

“I have total respect for Jamie Stanclift,” Stogsdill said. “I had made up my mind long before the game that I wasn’t going to let Jamie beat us.”

Stanclift, who hadn’t had a hit all day, was caught off guard.

“I was very surprised,” the Firebirds’ shortstop said. “I probably had had my worst outing of the year, and I was really frustrated.”

Lawrence High's Erin Miller tags out Free State's Chloe Hall at second base. The Lions won the first game of their doubleheader Tuesday at FSHS, 3-1, but the Firebirds rallied to claim the nightcap, 5-4.

Minutes later, Wagner stroked a ground ball that skimmed through the right side. Hall scored easily, forging a 4-4 tie and Stanclift was barreling not far behind, looking for a sign from coach Pam Pine in the third-base box.

“She told me to go and then I heard her say stop,” Stanclift said. “But I couldn’t stop so I kept going.”

The throw from Lions’ right fielder Alicia Bowlin to her sister Caitlin behind the plate appeared to be in plenty of time, but the collision knocked the ball out of the LHS backstop’s glove.

“My dad told me afterward,” Stanclift said, “that the umpire was ready to raise his right hand, but he signaled safe when the saw the ball.”

The Firebirds ended the regular season with an 11-9 record, the best in the school’s eight-year history.

“The girls talked about how they didn’t want the (regular) season to end with a loss,” Pine said, “and we didn’t want to get swept like we did last year. We got some breaks, and I’m real happy.”

Stogsdill, of course, wasn’t happy her team frittered a four-run lead in the last two innings.

“This one was kind of hard to swallow,” she said. “We felt we were in control of the game, but they did a good job of coming back.”

The Lions (10-10) and Firebirds quite likely will meet in the Class 6A sub-state next week. The site and the pairings won’t be announced until Saturday, but it appears Free State will be a No. 4 seed and Lawrence High a No. 5.