Firebirds eager for state date

Free State hopes to make most of first tournament

Jamie Stanclift remembers when she and her mother would go home stumped after Free State High softball practices.

“We wondered what we were going to do,” said Stanclift, the Firebirds’ senior shortstop.

Stanclift’s mother is Pam Pine, the Firebirds’ softball coach since the school opened in 1997. Until this spring, Free State never had had a winning record in softball, mostly because of a lack of quality pitching.

“I remember at one of our practices,” Stanclift said, “she even lined up everybody on the team to see who could throw underhanded. When you don’t have a dominant pitcher, it’s tough to compete.”

Now, with senior Ashley Wagner in the circle, the Firebirds have compiled the first winning record in school history (13-9) and are headed for their first Class 6A state tournament.

Seeded No. 6 in the eight-team meet, the Firebirds will meet Wichita Northwest in a first-round game at 7 p.m. Friday at Clinton Lake Softball Complex.

“It’s really something I never thought I’d get to do,” Stanclift said of the state appearance, “and the chance to share it with my mom is great.”

Adding to her pleasure is having something in common with her postseason teammates.

“I’ve been jealous of the girls I play with in the summer,” she said. “While they’re in state tournaments, I’m usually working out on my own.”

Stanclift this summer again will play for the Kansas City Fusion, a team composed of players from the Kansas City Metro area and coached by her father, Bob Stanclift, who was Kansas University’s softball coach in 1977-87. Her mother and father divorced several years ago.

Pine is, of course, happy her daughter will be able to enjoy the experience of a state tournament, but she stressed she’s just as happy for Wagner and left-fielder Chloe Hall.

“I think the difference this year has been experience,” she said, “and those three seniors have been with me since they were freshmen.”

The remainder of the Firebirds’ lineup mostly is sophomores – infielders Livi Abney and Brooke Abney, outfielders Aleese Kopf and Hannah Somers and catcher Allie Hock.

State events

What: Class 6A state baseball and softball tournaments

When: Friday-Saturday

Where: Kansas University’s Hoglund Ballpark and Clinton Lake Sports Complex

Who: No. 3 seed Free State baseball (18-3) vs. No. 6 Shawnee Mission Northwest (13-8), 1:30 p.m.; No. 6 seed Free State softball (13-9) vs. No. 3 Wichita Northwest (19-3), 7 p.m.

Tickets: Friday admission at each venue is $5 for adults, $4 for students; Saturday’s prices are $6 and $5

Advisory: Naismith Drive is closed in front of Allen Fieldhouse, but Hoglund Ballpark can be accessed by taking 19th Street to Naismith and turning by Oliver Hall.

“We’re still really excited,” Hock said. “We don’t really know what to expect, but I’ve played at (CLSC) before – a lot of us have – so basically it will be a home game.”

Pine’s roster contains two freshmen – No. 2 pitcher Catherine Smith and starting third baseman Kayley Lane.

“Kayley really stepped up this year,” Pine said. “She’s only 14, and it’s tough when you’re playing against 18-year-olds.”

Juniors Summer Mulford, a pitcher, and outfielder Sachi Sakumura round out the Firebirds’ 12-player roster.

In Northwest (19-3), Free State will be facing the best team from Wichita. Olathe East and Shawnee Mission Northwest have been accorded the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds respectively.

“I don’t know a darned thing about them,” Pine said, “and I want to keep it that way. I don’t want to get wrapped up in the other team. I just want us to go out and play the games.”