Free State’s Bo Schneider, right, celebrates after forcing out Lawrence High’s Albert Minnis, left, to start a game-ending double play. FSHS beat the Lions, 7-5, Thursday at Hoglund Ballpark. Behind Schneider is the Firebirds’ Ryan Scott.

Well, this one didn’t go quite as expected.

Despite its “Duel of the Century” billing, Thursday night’s matchup between Lawrence High’s Albert Minnis and Free State’s Cody Kukuk proved rather lackluster, as both pitchers struggled from the start and neither lasted past the fifth inning in what ended as a 7-5 Firebirds victory at Kansas University’s Hoglund Ballpark.

“There was a lot of hype surrounding this matchup,” said Free State coach Mike Hill, whose team improved to 15-4. “And then on top of that, they have to sit around and think about it for three days (after weather postponed a pair of earlier games between the teams). I don’t think Albert was on the top of his game, and Cody certainly wasn’t, either.”

Yes, it proved to be a relatively short night for two of the city’s most high-profile baseball prospects, each of whom has committed to Div. I schools and each of whom has a legitimate chance of playing professionally.

Kukuk — who pitched 31?3 innings and gave up five runs on four hits and struck out six –was pulled midway through the fourth, and Minnis was replaced following the fifth inning, as the lefties combined to give up 10 runs on eight hits while walking 14.

Control, certainly, was a large issue. Kukuk walked two of the first three batters he faced, while Minnis hit back-to-back batters with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first to help Free State jump to a quick 3-0 lead.

Another issue was the ability of both teams to capitalize on their offensive opportunities.

Both pitchers eventually settled down to a certain extent, particularly Minnis, who, after a rocky third inning — during which the Firebirds scored on another bases-loaded walk — pitched two scoreless innings to finish with nine strikeouts before LHS coach Brad Stoll elected to bring in Ben Wyatt to start the sixth inning.

Still, the night proved rather anti-climatic from a pitching standpoint.

“Everyone was really expecting a 2-1 ballgame,” said Minnis, who is committed to play at Wichita State next season. “But that shows you how good both teams are, to come out and score five and seven runs against two pretty good pitchers.”

Lost amid the hubbub surrounding the pitchers, however, was the fact that Thursday’s night’s game turned into a pretty good contest.

After the Lions scored three runs in the top of the fourth, two of which came on a Minnis single and another on a crafty bit of base-running by Shane Willoughby, the score remained tied, 5-all, until Free State’s Tim Lewis, playing in his first city baseball showdown, grounded a shot up the middle that scored Connor Stremel and Kukuk to give the Firebirds all the padding they’d need.

“The momentum changed a lot during the course of the game,” Lewis said. “You had two great teams going at it. There’s really nothing like it.”

The Lions had a final opportunity in the bottom of the seventh after Minnis walked to lead off the inning. But Tanner Kilmer followed with a flyout, and Chase McElhaney grounded into a game-ending double play to propel the Firebirds to a much-celebrated victory over the defending Class 6A champions.

The good news for the Lions is they’ll have to wait less than 24 hours before getting another crack at Free State.

After inclement weather postponed Monday’s Lawrence High-Free State game to Wednesday and then to today, the teams will take the field one more time tonight in a game that, unlike Thursday’s, counts toward the Sunflower League standings.

“There’s no sense in dwelling on how bad this one stings,” Stoll said. “This place was rocking tonight, and you just hate to walk out of here with a loss, but we’ve got another shot tomorrow night, and in a week, we’ll be playing for a regional.”