Free State's Hunter Scheib throws to first for an out. Scheib hit .050 last season but has rebounded nicely, batting .403 this year. He went 1-for-4 in two games Thursday.

Three numbers, sometimes three very cruel numbers, have a way of pitching a tent in a hitter’s brain.

Now it can be told as part of a story with a happy ending: Switch-hitting shortstop Hunter Scheib batted .050 as a junior for Free State High. Sure, there were mitigating factors. He was coming off of knee surgery. That’s the thing about batting averages, though. They don’t come with explanations. They just stare at a hitter, never blinking.

A terrific fielder who batted .350 as a sophomore for the Firebirds during the 2006 state championship season, Scheib is back hitting line drives.

Helping Free State to earn a trip to the state tournament in Topeka, Scheib walked three times, scored two runs, stole a base and went 1-for-4 in Thursday’s doubleheader at Free State. His batting average: .403.

“All the coaches supported me,” Scheib said of breaking out of his junior slump. “They knew I had hit well my sophomore year, and they kept having confidence in me.”

Scheib had a strong summer and hasn’t stopped hitting since.

“He just persevered,” Free State coach Mike Hill said. “He had a tough time physically and emotionally trying to bounce back from the knee surgery. He didn’t quit, kept at it, kept working.”

A former big-leaguer and a current one indirectly helped Scheib get off the schneid.

Hill and his staff use former catcher Don Slaught’s “Pro View” computer program, which enables hitters to see their swings and those of major-leaguers on their computers. Scheib said he repeatedly watched the swing of Manny Ramirez.

“You can flip it to a left-handed swing, too,” Scheib said. “I watched and tried to mimic it in the cage.”

Scheib won’t imitate Ramirez in the field. He won’t be high-fiving a fan in mid-play anytime soon. Ramirez, the Boston Red Sox left fielder, ran down a fly ball over his head Wednesday night, caught it and put his left foot on the fence to stop himself. As long as he was there, he reached up to high-five a fan. He then landed, turned around and threw the ball back to the infield. The relay man gunned the ball to first to double off the base-runner. As usual, the unusual play was explained away as “Manny being Manny.”

Such odd multi-tasking wouldn’t be Hunter being Hunter. His fundamentals are rock-solid.

Scheib just might be a little more worldly than Ramirez, as well. Quick story: As a rookie, surrounded by veterans making millions of dollars, Ramirez assumed everyone in baseball made huge bucks, even reporters.

“Hey, Hoynsie,” a dead-serious Manny said to veteran Cleveland Plain Dealer baseball scribe Paul Hoynes, “can I borrow 50 grand?”

Said Hoynes: “Manny, I don’t have 50 grand. That’s more than I make in a year. What do you need 50 grand for?”

Answered Ramirez: “I want to buy a speed boat.”

Scheib? He plans to attend Missouri University of Science and Technology to study computer science and play baseball. Before that, he wants to add one more state title.