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Last summer, as teammates on a traveling baseball team, Free State High senior E.J. Swanson and Lawrence High senior Chase Muder spent three months captivated by competition.

They battled in card games in the hotel room, raced each other to the elevator on road trips and one-upped each other in the buffet line at postgame meals.

Friday morning, when the two starting catchers for their respective high school baseball teams square off in the first round of the Class 6A state baseball tournament in Topeka, they’ll compete one more time as rivals.

“All in all, I think it’s great for the community to have relationships like this in a rivalry game,” Swanson said. “LHS and us, we’re both fighting for the same thing, and that’s to win a state championship. Even though Chase and I were teammates last summer, we were in competition all the time. So I don’t think competing at state will be that weird.”

Muder and Swanson arrived at this point in very different ways. As a young athlete, Muder’s first love was football. The 5-foot-6, 165-pound senior spent hours tossing the pigskin around with his friends, emulating his favorite gridiron heroes.

When baseball entered his world, he gravitated toward the position with all the pads.

“I’ve pretty much caught my whole life,” Muder said. “I loved the contact and intensity of football, and you get to experience some of that playing catcher, too, so it seemed like a natural fit.”

Swanson began his baseball career as a middle infielder. He played shortstop in youth leagues, using his arm, leadership and baseball intelligence to get the job done.

As he grew older and the game became tougher, Swanson ran into a problem.

“I was having a tough time at short,” he said. “I was sort of becoming scared of the ball. So I begged my coaches to let me try catcher, just for something new. They told me, ‘No, no, no, no,’ and then finally let me try it. I guess from that point on, I just fell in love.”

Swanson admitted that his passion for the position might have come from the security he felt behind the mask and chest protector. But as the game progressed, so did Swanson.

Although their paths to home plate followed different routes, both said one of the biggest reasons for staying behind the plate was their love of the action.

“I don’t have the biggest attention span,” Muder said. “So it’s nice to get to touch the ball on every pitch. It helps you stay involved in the game.”

As leaders on deep and experienced ball clubs, Muder and Swanson have played key roles in getting their teams to the state tournament.

On top of being two-year starters, both have become masters of the mind, handling a variety of arms and attitudes on each pitching staff with grit and grace.

“I think that’s the most important thing about the position,” Swanson said. “Just the transition of making the change from pitcher to pitcher each day.”

In addition, they’ve both honed their defensive skills, played the part of team leader and provided a surprising amount of offensive punch in the batting order.

From the fifth spot in the Free State lineup, Swanson batted .348, with seven doubles, two home runs and 19 RBIs.

As the Lions’ No. 3 hitter, Muder was fourth on the team with a .295 average, chipping in five doubles, a triple, 11 runs and seven stolen bases.

“Chase is the kind of kid that to beat him you’re going to have to kill him,” LHS coach Brad Stoll said.

But it’s not just Muder’s relentless, never-say-die spirit that makes Stoll smile. It’s the fact that he knows his catcher will go to battle for any player wearing red and black.

At a recent LHS game, Muder struck out on a called third strike to end the inning. The next inning, LHS starter Tom Schuh did not get the luxury of the same wide strike zone that sat Muder. Between innings, Muder roared into the dugout as angry as anyone on his team ever had seen him. The reason? Muder did not appreciate what the calls were doing to his pitcher.

“It didn’t have anything to do with him striking out,” Stoll said. “He was upset because he thought one of his teammates was getting screwed.”

It took all three LHS coaches in the dugout to calm Muder.

“I definitely think it has served me well to come out with that fire in my belly and to play with risk every play,” Muder said.

Although they differ in many aspects, both have earned praise from teammates and coaches for playing with that kind of passion and intensity.

The city rivals will join forces one more time this summer, sharing catching duties for their traveling team. Then Muder will play ball at Austin College in Dallas, and Swanson will join the Neosho County Community College club.

Although big things lie ahead for both players, they said Friday’s showdown will be far bigger than any card game or eating contest from the past.

“There will definitely be some bragging rights on the line,” Muder said.