Free State junior Mikey Corbett (10) is met by teammates as he makes his way to the dugout after scoring a run during the Firebirds' game against Lawrence High Monday at LHS.

Free State High junior pitcher Hunter Gudde has a simple philosophy on the mound: Keep the ball low and trust the defense.

That’s all the Firebirds needed from him during a 3-1 victory in the City Showdown on Monday at Lawrence High. Gudde allowed four hits and zero earned runs in six innings.

Gudde doesn’t need a 90-mph fastball to overpower opposing hitters. Painting the corners of the strike zone does the trick.

“Our pitching was incredible,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said. “I thought Hunter was really effective. He threw strikes. He was ahead of people and got swings early in the count. We made plays behind him. It’s the perfect recipe. It’s exactly what you would ask for.”

Gudde, a 6-foot-1 right-hander, was perfect for the first four innings, allowing his first base-runner with two outs in the fifth inning — a single from LHS junior Luke Padia. He had strong command of his fastball and curveball, forcing routine ground balls and pop flies.

“It’s getting better every game,” Gudde said of his curveball. “I’m really getting to the point where I can keep it down in the zone. Some today I left hanging and they got some hits. But I think for the most part it was working really well today.”

LHS coach Brad Stoll added, “He was commanding all three pitches, throwing his change-up occasionally. His breaking ball … he was flipping that up there for a strike whenever he wanted.”

The only time Gudde ran into trouble was the bottom of the seventh inning. LHS (6-12) senior Michael Sinks reached on a throwing error by Free State third baseman Zion Bowlin before seniors Steven Garcia and Nyle Anderson hit singles to left field. Sinks scored on Anderson’s hit, cutting the score to 3-1.

Free State (15-4, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A) brought in senior closer Casey Hearnen, who tossed a wild pitch, advancing both runners into scoring position. But Hearnen settled in and struck out the next two batters before inducing a groundout to Bowlin to end the game.

“That’s a position that coach has put me in the last couple of years now,” said Hearnen, who recorded his fifth save of the season, one shy of tying the school’s single-season record. “I really enjoy it. I really like my team having confidence in me.”

Gudde (7-0) opened the game with a lead. In the first inning, Bowlin reached on an error and scored on an RBI single from senior Joel Spain.

The Firebirds were held to just two hits — singles from sophomore Jacob Pavlyak and Hearnen — over the next four innings against LHS right-hander Nick Haynes, who didn’t strike any batters out, instead forcing plenty of fly outs.

“He gets it done,” Stoll said. “You just look up there, and you’re like, ‘Holy cow, they’re going to tee off on him,’ and he just finds a way to keep us in the game. I can’t say enough about what he’s done this year. He’s pitched his butt off.”

Haynes was doing his part in the pitchers’ duel until he ran into trouble in the sixth inning.

Bowlin hit a leadoff triple and scored when Cooper Karlin hit a line-drive comebacker to Haynes, which ricocheted off his throwing arm to the first-base line. Haynes was fine health-wise, but left the game for reliever Brad Kincaid, who escaped any further damage in the frame with two strikeouts.

Free State added a run in the seventh inning when junior Mikey Corbett was hit by a pitch and scored on an error.

Though the Firebirds wished they could’ve added more runs, they were confident in their pitching to hold the lead.

“Hunter has been great for us all season,” Hearnen said. “He’s really stepped up this year coming off an injury where he didn’t really pitch all that much. He threw 60 pitches in six innings, which is huge. That’s just letting your defense work, and Hunter does a great job of that.”

Free State 100 001 1 — 3 5 1

Lawrence 000 000 1 — 1 4 2

W — Hunter Gudde, 7-0. L — Nick Haynes. Sv — Casey Hearnen, 5.

3B — Zion Bowlin, FS.

FSHS highlights — Gudde, 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K; Hearnen, 1 IP, 0 H, 2 K; Bowlin, 2-for-4, 2 runs, RBI; Cooper Karlin, 1-for-4, RBI; Joel Spain, 1-for-3, RBI.

LHS highlights — Nick Haynes, 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K; Nyle Anderson, 1-for-3, RBI; Luke Padia, 1-for-2, stolen base.