Wichita ? The Free State High softball squad has seen its first-round opponent at the Class 6A state tournament.

And the Two Rivers Youth Complex isn’t new to the Firebirds, either.

FSHS will face a familiar foe in fellow Sunflower League member Olathe East at 5 p.m. today.

Free State (17-5) split a road doubleheader against the two-time defending state champions April 11 – a 10-0 loss followed by a 10-6 victory.

“The girls’ confidence is high right now since we’ve beaten them before, because there might have been a little bit more pressure if we hadn’t earlier on,” Free State coach Pam Pine said. “They have a great team, and we’re just going to go try to beat them again.”

The Hawks (21-1) have been perfect since the Firebird road bump in April, but Pine said her squad had been on a roll, too, since that victory.

“We’re definitely a better team than we were then,” Pine said. “We’re hitting better, with that extra month being helpful to us. Our top four or five hitters were already consistent, but now the bottom half is coming through. They are getting better pitch selection and just have been learning the game since then.

Free State's softball team comes together before practice. The Firebirds will meet Olathe East in the first round of state today in Wichita.

“A huge thing is we’ve cut down on strikeouts. We had 10 strikeouts in that game we lost to them, but haven’t had nearly that many since. We are consistently putting the ball in play, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Summer Mulford pitches during a Free State scrimmage. Mulford or Catherine Smith will start today for the Firebirds at state against Olathe East.

Pine’s players will head out at 9:30 this morning on the same trip to Wichita they made a week ago for regional competition. Though they’ll be at the same facility, they’ll be playing on the opposite field.

“Most of the girls in this tournament have played there in the summer time, so there is not much of an advantage for us,” Pine said. “But I believe any given day anybody can beat anybody. Whoever has the least errors is successful, so anybody can win.”

After beating crosstown rival Lawrence High, 8-6, to advance to the regional championship game, the Firebirds knocked off host Wichita-Heights, 6-1.

The seventh-seeded Firebirds will look to either Summer Mulford or Catherine Smith to pitch.

“We have not done anything different in practice,” said Pine, who will make a game-time decision on the starting pitcher. “We’ve been working on situation things – the basics. A lot of repetition with coverages in defense – specifically our hitting and fielding. I’ve really been keeping to my normal practice schedule.

“With spring, it’s the end of the year, and you’ve got a bunch of things going on. But now we’ve just got to get out there and get it done.”