Free State’s Maggie Hull slides safely into second base for a steal against Shawnee Mission South on Tuesday at Holcom Complex.

Fifteen hits in the first game. A dozen safeties in the nightcap.

Free State High’s softball team obviously doesn’t need batting practice, and yet the Firebirds settled for a doubleheader split Tuesday afternoon at Holcom Complex.

In the opener, Free State bombed Shawnee Mission South, 10-1, but SM Northwest captured the second game, 7-2.

“It’s very frustrating,” Firebirds’ catcher Lauren Fox said. “We hit our stride in the first game, but then we couldn’t string anything together in the next game.”

Against the Cougars, the Firebirds stranded 11 runners — two in four of the innings, one each in the other three frames.

“Leaving runners on is the worst feeling,” outfielder Maggie Hull said. “Nobody feels good about that game.”

The split had a familiar ring. The Firebirds (5-7) have swept only one doubleheader this season, and that was against a weak Leavenworth team.

“We haven’t been finishing very well,” coach Pam Pine said.

Maggie Hull, twin sister Rosie Hull and Fox accounted for 14 of the Firebirds’ 27 hits against the two Sunflower League schools. Rosie Hull and Fox were both 5-for-8 on the afternoon, while Maggie Hull was 4-for-7.

SM South and SM Northwest came to town with nearly identical records. The Raiders were 4-5 and the Cougars 4-4. In other words, both games loomed as competitive, but neither one was.

In the first game, the Firebirds exploded for seven runs in the second inning, and junior left-hander Megan Smith was impressive in the circle, allowing only five hits, fanning nine and issuing no walks.

In addition to their 15-hit attack, the Firebirds stole seven bases, two each by Fox and Maggie Hull. Free State was also the beneficiary of three SM South errors, two in the big second inning.

But while the hits kept coming in the second game, the run spigot was mostly clogged.

“We have all the pieces of the puzzle,” Maggie Hull said, “but we haven’t put them together. That’s what’s frustrating.”

Rosie Hull led off the second game with a double and scored moments later on sister Maggie’s single. Maggie drove in the other run with a single in the fifth after Fox singled and went to second when the SM Northwest left fielder let the ball get away — the Cougars’ only error.

Smith took the loss in the second game, leaving after three innings, Pine said, because of tightness in her back. She surrendered three runs, including a two-run homer over the left-field fence by Cougars catcher Megan Miller. Sierra Dickson pitched the last four innings.

The Firebirds will return to Holcom Complex on Thursday for a twinbill against Lawrence High.

“We don’t plan to lose to Lawrence,” Maggie Hull said. “We have way too many seniors for that.”

Of the 15 players on Free State’s roster, seven are seniors.