It’s been more than a week since Free State High’s baseball team won a regional championship and earned a spot at the Class 6A state tournament.

For some teams, that layoff would crush all of the momentum they had.

The second-seeded Firebirds think it will be to their benefit when they face seventh-seeded Wichita-Haysville Campus in the quarterfinals today at Kansas University’s Hoglund Ballpark. With rain in the forecast, the tournament is using a rolling schedule and the start time is subject to change, but it’s expected to be around 3:30 p.m.

“It’s kind of nice to have a little break for the biggest games of the year,” sophomore left fielder Jacob Pavlyak said. “It just gives us a little extra time to get ready. I think we’re as ready as we can be and we’re ready to go out there and win.”

In the state tournament for the first time since 2010, the Firebirds (18-4) have stuck to their normal schedule with three practices this week.

“The kids are ready to go,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said. “I haven’t sensed anything out of the norm in terms of their preparation and everything else. We’ve had a few scrimmages, so they’ve seen live pitching. We’ve kept them in as much of a routine as you can given the layoff.”

The Firebirds have won their last seven games, and 14 of their past 16, with strong pitching and solid defense.

The biggest question mark has been their offense. In four of their past five games, they’ve scored four runs or less. But the week of practices helped them focus on their weakness.

“It helps. We get a lot of (batting practice) in,” senior second baseman Cooper Karlin said. “We get to face live pitching in our scrimmages so I think that will help us for these next three games, hopefully.”

The Colts (15-7) are returning to the state tournament for the first time since 2012. Similar to the Firebirds, they are known for their stellar defense and ability to score runs through small-ball methods.

“The whole coaching staff has told us they are a really scrappy team,” Karlin said. “They’re really aggressive on the base paths and they like to bunt. It kind of sounds like us in all honesty.”

Hill added: “We watched them play last week. I thought they were a scrappy bunch of kids. Ran, bunted, tried to make some things happen offensively. They kind of pushed the agenda with their legs. They are going to be a handful for us and they are going to try to put pressure on us.”

Though none of the Firebirds have state tournament experience, they are plenty familiar with Hoglund Ballpark. They played two games there during the River City baseball festival and against Lawrence High in the City Showdown for their final regular-season game.

“It’s certainly an advantage,” Hill said. “We’ve been there before. Not only the three games this spring but the kids have played there in the summer. There’s a level of familiarity they have with the facility.”

After a longer wait than usual for their next game, the Firebirds are ready to show how well they can play against the state’s best teams.

“We’re really excited,” Pavlyak said. “We can’t wait to get out there and play. This is what we’ve been looking forward to all year. It’s just going to be a fun time to be out there, at KU and in the state tournament. That’s what we worked for.”