The offensive firepower of the Free State High baseball squad probably causes nightmares for opposing pitchers, but lurking in the background is the fear foes have for the Firebird pitching staff.

That fear showed up again Thursday in the Firebirds’ 3-0 victory over Shawnee Mission South at Free State.

As the Firebird offense slapped seven hits, the Raiders only could boast one hit each off starter Robby Price and closer Scott Heitshusen.

But the SM South batters shouldn’t feel bad about being shut out, getting only two hits or striking out nine times – the Firebirds (13-2 overall, 7-1 Sunflower League) do that to just about everyone. They have a season batting average against of .189 and have struck out 108 batters.

“We have an ERA hovering around one, and I don’t care what level of baseball you’re at, that’s fantastic,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said. “So, our pitching has been stellar all year long, and I think we’ve gone a couple of games in a row here without giving up anything. And I’m very pleased with what we’ve done on the mound, and defensively for that matter.”

Free State’s season earned-run average is just above one – 1.02 – and is 1.13 during its six-game winning streak. Travis Blankenship leads the way with a 0.65 ERA.

The SM South pitching also was impressive until a bunt single by Hunter Scheib started a three-run rally in the fifth inning.

Scheib scored when Price tripled on the very next pitch. After a sacrifice fly by Brett Lisher scored Price, Heitshusen sent a shot over the scoreboard in left field.

“The bottom line is, there’s multiple ways we can beat people, and that’s important, because they’re high school kids,” Hill said.

Heitshusen capped his night by putting a cap on the Raiders, picking up three strikeouts in two innings for his fourth save.

“Closers at the high-school level are kind of rare, and when you’ve got somebody like that in your hip pocket it changes the way you coach, it changes the way you approach things, and it’s a luxury for us to have,” Hill said. “He’s a first-rate pitcher, and we’re just glad we’ve got him in the role that we’ve got him.

“But the only reason we can put him there is because we’ve got other guys who can start and have done a nice job as well, so it’s been a team effort.”

The guys in front of him say it’s a comfort to know Heitshusen backing them up.

“It’s nice just giving the ball to him late in the game,” Price said. “I don’t even second-guess anything. Just give it to him – I know he’s going to get the job done.”

So, it’s official: Free State’s pitching definitely is as promising as its offense.

“At the beginning of the year, pitching was a question for us,” Heitshusen said. “Obviously, Robby stepped up, and Blank’s been pitching good. So if we hold teams to two or three hits a game, we’ll be real successful once May comes around.”

Free State 3, SM South 0

SM South 000 000 0-0 2 1

Free State 000 030 x-3 7 1

W-Robby Price (3-0). L-Richard Mais. S-Scott Heitshusen (4).

3B-FSHS: Price. HR-FSHS: Heitshusen.