Free State sophomore second baseman Mikey Corbett (11) records an out against the Warrensburg (Mo.) Tigers on Friday, March 21, 2014.

Free State junior Cooper Karlin (9) eyes a grounder against the Warrensburg (Mo.) Tigers on Friday, March 21, 2014.

Free State sophomore second baseman Mikey Corbett (11) records an out against the Warrensburg (Mo.) Tigers on Friday, March 21, 2014.

Free State junior third baseman Casey Hearnen (3) eyes a ground ball for a easy out against the Warrensburg (Mo.) Tigers on Friday, March 21, 2014.

It didn’t matter that it was just the first day of the season. Free State High junior Cooper Karlin was ready to be the hero. He walked into the batter’s box with the bases loaded, two outs and his baseball team down by one run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

After fouling off several pitches with two strikes, Karlin drilled the ball into the right-center gap for a two-run double that finished a 7-6 comeback victory over Warrensburg, Mo., on Friday afternoon at FSHS. The win completed a sweep in the season-opening doubleheader after the Firebirds won, 10-7, in the first game.

“It was an exciting day of baseball,” Karlin said. “You always want to be up to the plate in that situation. You just have to come through, and that’s what I did.”

Warrensburg manufactured two runs without a hit in the top of the seventh inning to take a 6-3 lead. Senior Cameron Pope opened the bottom half of the inning with a triple before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Zach Bickling. After two batters reached base, junior Jon Saathoff smacked a double to drive in another run. The Tigers opted for an intentional walk to load the bases, and Karlin came to the plate following a strikeout.

“I was just trying to get something in play, something I could drive,” Karlin said. “He had a mistake of a pitch. He started me off with a bunch of outside pitches, then he came inside.”

The game opened as a pitcher’s duel. Senior Ryan Stagg struck out seven in 52?3 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits while walking none. Despite strong winds, the 6-foot-1 right-hander kept the ball on the ground for routine plays in the infield.

“Ryan was terrific,” Free State coach Mike Hill said. “His command was good. He mixed things up well — changeup, breaking ball, fastball. He fit right into the game plan, and that is you’ve got to hit spots. We’re not going to blow anybody away on the mound by any stretch of the imagination. He pitched a really good ballgame.”

The Firebirds took a brief lead in the fourth inning after Saathoff drove in Ryan Cantrell and Casey Hearnen with a two-run triple past a diving right fielder. The Tigers responded with two runs in the fifth to regain the lead.

“We played most of the day behind, which is certainly not what you want to do,” Hill said. “Then every time we seemed to get up, we’d turn around and give it right back to them. Our kids showed some resilience, and certainly coming from three behind in the bottom of the seventh is a nice feather in your cap.”

In the first game of the doubleheader, both teams traded leads before the Firebirds had a four-run fifth inning, and Pope closed the door by striking out five over the final three innings and allowing just one run.

Freshman Jacob Pavlyak, who started in center field as junior Joel Spain sits for at least a month because of an elbow injury, shined with three RBI singles in his varsity debut. Five Free State hitters finished the first game with multiple hits.

“We showed more (at the plate) today, frankly, than we had in practice or scrimmage situations leading up to this point,” Hill said. “The kids were aggressive yet disciplined. We really hit some balls hard. There were a few that the wind held up that would have gone a long, long way, too.”

FSHS will travel to face Ozark (Mo.) at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Ozark.

Game 1

Warrensburg 120 310 0 — 7 10 3

Free State 023 041 x — 10 13 3

W — Cameron Pope (1-0). L — Cody Roop.

2B — Zach Bickling, Free State. 3B — Bickling, Free State; Jaxon Janvrin, Warrensburg.

Free State highlights — Pope, 3 IP, 5 Ks; Jacob Pavlyak, 3-4, 3 RBI; Tyler Walmsley, 2-3, RBI; Bickling, 3-4, 3 runs, RBI; Casey Hearnen, 2-3, 2 runs, 2 RBI.

Game 2

Warrensburg 100 021 2 — 6 7 3

Free State 000 201 4 — 7 11 2

W — Casey Hearnen (1-0). L — Tanner Ridge.

2B — Jon Saathoff, Free State; Karlin, Free State; Cody Lowry, Warrensburg. 3B — Saathoff (2), Free State; Pope, Free State; Matt Zembraski, Warrensburg.

Free State highlights — Saathoff, 4-4, 3 RBI; Hearnen, 1-2, 2 runs, 1.1 IP, 3 Ks; Stagg, 5.2 IP, 0 BB, 7 Ks.