Free State's Casey Hearnen eyes an easy out against Olathe East on Monday at FSHS.

For six games this spring, no Sunflower League baseball team had figured out a way to defeat high-scoring Olathe East High.

When Free State capitalized early on a couple of O-East errors Monday evening, however, Firebirds senior pitcher Ryan Stagg had all the room he needed to keep the Hawks off balance, and FSHS flipped the script on the league’s first-place team, winning 10-1.

O-East (9-3 overall, 6-1 Sunflower League) came in scoring 9.4 runs a game, but after the Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the first via a pair of singles and a walk, Stagg didn’t allow them to cross home plate again in 61?3 innings of work.

“With good teams, it really helps to get a big lead, to jump on them right away,” Stagg said after allowing five hits and striking out three in his final 51?3 innings. “They lose some of that confidence, and we just kept the confidence, kept the momentum the entire game.”

Morale in the FSHS dugout began growing early, with three runs in the first inning. It started when Cooper Karlin singled, O-East shortstop Chad Thomas bobbled a would-be double-play ball, and Jon Saathoff walked to load the bases. Free State then tied the game, 1-1, when Casey Hearnen drew an RBI walk off Hawks starter Connor Leach. Tyler Walmsley’s sacrifice fly gave Free State (7-3, 4-2) the lead for good, and things were going so well for the Firebirds that a check swing from Zach Bickling turned into an RBI infield single.

In the bottom of the second, another O-East error and a passed ball got Ryan Cantrell to third base after he led off with a walk, and Cameron Pope drove Cantrell home with a single to center field. After two innings, Free State had a 4-1 lead against one of the top teams in the state.

“It definitely helps,” Stagg said of the cushion. “All you gotta do at that point is throw strikes, and that’s what I did. And (the Hawks) had trouble. It was awesome.”

Free State coach Mike Hill credited pitching coach Layne Meyer with making an adjustment for Stagg after the first inning. But Hill said Stagg’s steady demeanor and approach doesn’t change with score or situation.

“A lot of kids did a lot of good things today, but really it’s about Ryan Stagg, and what he did,” Hill said. “He was absolutely phenomenal. That is the epitome of pitching right there. He just pounded the zone with multiple pitches, never let them get any sort of rhythm. That’s a team (O-East) averaging almost 10 runs a game.

Pope, who tripled and went 3-for-4 in the win, said the Firebirds expected a close, difficult game against the Hawks.

“We didn’t think we’d blow them out,” Pope admitted. “I mean, we knew it would be possible to beat them if we were on our game, and we were today.”

An aggressive approach on the base paths proved costly for O-East, as FSHS senior catcher Walmsley caught three runners attempting to steal second base.

Said Stagg, the appreciative pitcher: “A lot of people were saying he doesn’t have the arm to throw people out, but he worked his (butt) off. He had a hell of a game today.”

FSHS, which won its fourth straight, added five runs in the bottom of the sixth — Pope scored on a Grant Hoppock wild pitch, Bickling and Pavlyak delivered back-to-back RBI singles and two more runs scored off another O-East error.

“Yeah, we got a couple breaks off their mistakes,” Hill said, “but I thought we hit the ball well.”

Olathe East 100 000 0 — 1 7 4

Free State 310 105 X — 10 9 1

W — Ryan Stagg, 3-1. L — Connor Leach.

2B — Jacob Pavlyak, FSHS. 3B — Cameron Pope, FSHS.

FSHS highlights — Stagg, 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 ER; Pope, 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI; Pavlyak, 2-for-3, R, RBI; Zach Bickling, 2-for-4, 2 RBIs, R; Cooper Karlin, 1-for-5, R; Joel Spain, 1-for-5, R.