Free state's Ali Ice pulls down a fly ball. FSHS swept Shawnee Mission East, 3-1 and 8-0, Wednesday at Free State.

Free State's Paige Rothwell (13) slides home for a run against Shawnee Mission East's Megan Dexter (27).

That incessant whizzing sound Shawnee Mission East’s softball team kept hearing Wednesday afternoon must have been awfully obnoxious.

With Free State High’s Catherine Smith on the mound for the Firebirds in Game One of a doubleheader and younger sister Megan on the hill in Game Two, there wasn’t much the Lancers could do about it. One batter after the next, the softball zipped past SM East into the catcher’s glove, as Free State swept its home opener, 3-1 and 8-0.

Senior righty Catherine Smith struck out 15 hitters in the first game, while Megan – a sophomore lefty – chalked up seven in the nightcap.

“You don’t see that most of the time,” Megan Smith said of the lefty-righty combination. “I really like it. It definitely throws the hitters off, and they’re not ready for it.”

In the first game, Catherine Smith retired the first nine batters she faced, with eight coming on strikeouts.

Free State plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on Sarah Hansen’s drag bunt, which scored Ali Ice, and Paige Rothwell scoring on a wild pitch.

Catherine Smith held SM East to just three hits in a complete-game effort.

“The pitching staff did a really good job,” Free State coach Pam Pine said. “They pretty much controlled the tempo of the games, and we got some timely hits.”

In Game Two, Megan Smith allowed four hits while throwing a complete-game shutout. Only two SM East batters made it into scoring position.

Free State (2-2) earned its first two victories of the season. The Firebirds will return to action with a doubleheader at Olathe East on Tuesday.

After the sweep, Catherine Smith said she couldn’t decide whose pitching performance was better.

As long as both sisters continue to pitch the way they did Wednesday, she won’t have to decide.