Lawrence High’s baseball team knocked off the Sunflower League runner-up Thursday night. Now the Lions will face the league champions.

After stunning defending state champ Free State, 8-1, in Thursday’s sub-state final, Lawrence (13-8) was accorded the No. 7 seed in next weekend’s Class 6A state tournament at Wichita’s Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

The Lions’ first-round opponent will be No. 2 seed Olathe East (19-3), the Sunflower League champion, at 4 p.m. Friday at the home of the Wichita Wranglers, Double-A farm club of the Kansas City Royals.

The Hawks edged Lawrence, 6-5, during the regular season.

Meanwhile, Free State High’s softball team also will meet a Sunflower League foe in the first round of the 6A state tourney at Wichita’s Two Rivers Complex.

The Firebirds (18-3) will meet Shawnee Mission West (18-4) at 7 p.m. Friday. Free State clipped the Vikings, 5-3, during the regular season.

Free State is the No. 4 seed and SM West No. 5. Blue Valley West (21-1) is the top seed, while Washburn Rural (20-1) is No. 2, and three-time defending state champ Olathe East (17-1) is No. 3.

Free State deposed Olathe East as Sunflower League champion by posting a 1-0 victory over the Hawks last week, snapping a 40-game O-East league win streak in the process.

Two area schools earned berths in the Class 4A state softball tournament next week at Mulvane and another in the 5A tourney in Salina.

Eudora (13-4) is the No. 6 seed in 4A and will meet third-seeded Girard (17-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in Mulvane. Also, Santa Fe Trail (15-6) is the No. 7 seed and will tangle with second-seeded Andale-Garden Plain at 5 p.m. Friday.

At the 5A softball meet in Salina, Ottawa (13-5) is the No. 5 seed and will face fourth-seeded Salina South (17-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.

First-round winners in both sports will collide in semifinals the next day, with third-place and championship games to follow.