Free State’s Colin Toalson fields a grounder in the third inning of the Firebirds’ 2-0 victory Wednesday over Olathe North at FSHS. Story on page 3B.

Free State sophomore Cody Kukuk swears he doesn’t do it on purpose.

It’s never his intention to make the top of the seventh inning a gut-wrenching experience for Free State High’s baseball team.

But he sure is good at it.

For the second time in his last two outings, Kukuk put the tying run on base and then worked out of a jam to nail down a victory for the Firebirds, this one a 2-0 triumph against Olathe North Wednesday at FSHS.

“I gotta keep the fans coming,” Kukuk said with a sly smile.

After surrendering just one hit in six innings — a two-out, first-inning single by O-North catcher Mitch Slauter — Kukuk gave up his second hit of the night — another single to Slauter — to lead off the seventh. The FSHS southpaw then walked Olathe North’s Tyler Christensen, giving the Eagles two runners on with no outs in their last chance at the plate.

From there, however, Kukuk rediscovered the dominant stuff that made him nearly unhittable for most of Wednesday’s game.

The next three batters he faced all went down swinging, and Kukuk walked away with a complete-game shutout.

“At that point, I just want to get outs,” Kukuk said of pitching with runners on base. “Preferably a ground ball, but the strikeouts make it a little better.”

In all, Kukuk fanned seven Eagles and walked just two to get the victory. That kind of performance on the mound made the Firebirds’ two-run third inning more than enough to give FSHS its fifth victory in five tries.

“We understand what kind of club we are,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said. “And within that context, our kids have been outstanding. We certainly have had great pitching, but we’ve also made multiple solid defensive plays that have helped us have success. Championship baseball is won by one or two runs.”

One such defensive gem came in the top of the sixth, when center fielder Camren Torneden made a diving catch in the gap to take away an extra-base hit from Olathe North shortstop Eric Dawson. Torneden covered nearly 20 yards of turf at a dead sprint before diving head-first to make the sliding grab.

“Get there,” Torneden said of his first thought when the ball came off the bat. “If the ball’s in the air, it’s my responsibility to make the catch.”

In addition to the highlight-reel grab, Torneden also recorded a pair of walks, an RBI and a stolen base. Right fielder Connor Stremel provided the rest of the offensive pop for the Firebirds, finishing the night 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and a run scored. Kukuk and pinch-hitter Austin Holladay provided the only other FSHS hits in the game.

The Firebirds (5-0) will play host to Leavenworth at 5:30 p.m. today.