Players on the Free State bench get excited as a hit puts a runner in motion to score during the fourth inning against Olathe South on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at Free State High School.

Free State High junior pitcher Hunter Gudde didn’t do anything fancy Tuesday. He threw pitches and let his defense play behind him.

Simple, yet effective. The Firebirds won their fifth straight Sunflower League contest with a 3-0 victory over Olathe South at FSHS in a swift 77 minutes.

Gudde, a 6-foot-1 right-hander, tossed five scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and walking one. He didn’t record any strikeouts, but they weren’t needed. He forced routine grounders and pop flies from a lineup that has scored the third-most runs in the league.

“I’m not a strikeout pitcher, and I trust my defense behind me,” said Gudde, who had strong command of his breaking ball. “I know if they’re going to hit the ball in play, my teammates are going to make the play.”

Senior closer Casey Hearnen pitched the last two innings after Free State coaches noticed Gudde left a few pitches up in the fifth inning. Facing the top of the lineup, Hearnen allowed only one base-runner, on a walk, but continued what Gudde started.

“I think we just had them off balance today,” Hearnen said. “We were throwing multiple pitches for strikes, and we were throwing first-pitch strikes, which is huge as a pitcher. We have a great defensive team this year, and we have guys making plays all over the place.”

The Firebirds (11-3, 5-2 in the league) gave their pitchers some run support in the fourth inning when senior second baseman Cooper Karlin hit a leadoff single and eventually scored on an error.

In the sixth inning, sophomore third baseman Zion Bowlin hit a leadoff single to center and scored on a two-out double from senior catcher Jon Saathoff. Gudde added an infield single, which scored Saathoff, who had advanced to third on a wild pitch.

Free State had to earn all of its runs against Olathe South senior right-hander Isaiah Campbell, a University of Arkansas signee who features a mid-80’s fastball and a curveball which snuck under a few bats.

“It was an offspeed pitch with two strikes,” Saathoff said of his RBI double down the third-base line. “I was just battling to put it in play, keep the inning going. … He’s probably one of the better pitchers we’ve faced this year. But, I mean, we were right on time and got clutch hits.”

Meanwhile, Gudde and Hearnen went back on the mound and kept runners off of the base paths to preserve their lead.

“As a pitcher, confidence is a huge thing to have on the mound, and to have a three-run lead going into the top of the seventh is just huge,” Hearnen said. “Coach told me before I went into the ballgame just to treat it like a one-run game after those two runs we scored in the sixth. That’s exactly what I did.”

The Falcons (9-6, 6-2) had their best chance to score in the second inning when senior Stephen Miller hit a single to center to put runners on the corners with one out. But Gudde kept his pitches low to the next batter and forced a double play, which ended with a scoop in the dirt by first baseman Marcileno Cortez.

“That’s what these ballgames come down to is the ability to get somebody on second base with less than two outs and then get a clutch hit,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said.

The Firebirds will play Olathe Northwest at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at FSHS.

O-South 000 000 0 — 0 3 1

Free State 000 102 x — 3 6 1

W — Hunter Gudde, 6-0. L — Isaiah Campbell. Sv — Casey Hearnen, 3.

2B — Jon Saathoff, FS.

FSHS highlights: Gudde, 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K; 1-for-3, RBI; Hearnen, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K; Saathoff, 1-for-3, run, RBI.