Firebirds roll 4-0, reach state semifinals

FSHS senior Cooper Karlin (9) and senior Jonathan Saathoff (17) celebrate after the Firebirds defeated Haysville Campus, 4-0, on Thursday May 28, 2015, to advance to the semifinals of the state 6A baseball tournament at Hoglund Ballpark.

Free State High’s baseball team earned a spot in the Class 6A state tournament with dominant pitching and solid defense all season long.

The Firebirds stuck to the same formula in a 4-0 victory against Haysville Campus in the state quarterfinals at Kansas University’s Hoglund Ballpark, recording their seventh shutout of the year. The Firebirds will face Olathe South in the semifinals around 12:30 p.m. today. They will play 30 minutes after the first semifinal between Shawnee Mission East and Shawnee Mission Northwest.

In the state tournament for the first time in five years, junior right-hander Hunter Gudde continued his season of dominance with a two-hit, complete-game shutout.

Senior catcher Jon Saathoff caught Gudde’s brilliant performance and provided his pitcher with all the run support he would need.

In the fifth inning, senior Marcelino Cortez hit a leadoff single and scored on an RBI single to center by senior Cooper Karlin. Following a single from senior Joel Spain, Saathoff drilled a two-run double past the left fielder for a 4-0 lead.

“He left it right over the center of the plate,” said Saathoff, who was hitting .265 entering Thursday. “I just went with it and I did what I could with it.”

Saathoff gave the second-seeded Firebirds (19-4) a one-run lead in the third inning. With two outs, Spain was hit by a pitch and advanced two bases on a wild pitch before Saathoff legged out an RBI infield single to shortstop.

It was Saathoff’s first multi-hit game since April 16.

“There’s a reason we leave him in the four-hole,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said of Saathoff. “He’s a good hitter — maybe not hitting as well as he’d liked to lately — but we have all the faith in the world in him. That’s a kid we want up. He hit some balls well.”

“Jon has been great,” Spain added. “We know he’s a good hitter and he knows he’s a good hitter. We have confidence in him with everything he does and that’s why right there.”

Gudde didn’t need any more help after the four-hit, three-run fifth inning. He was sharp with all of his pitches, working ahead in counts and forcing ground balls. He threw his change-up a lot more than he usually does, and it kept hitters off balance, striking out five and walking one.

Gudde’s only hiccup was in the first inning. He gave up a leadoff double to Preston Sauer, but he escaped the threat with two routine ground balls and a strikeout.

“I just have problems with the leadoff guy getting on base,” Gudde said. “I can’t get him out. But that really put a lot of pressure on me. I thought they would score one run, at least.”

Campus (15-8, seeded seventh) also had two base runners — through an infield single and a walk — with two outs in the fourth inning, but left them stranded. Gudde (9-0) cruised for the remainder of the game, retiring the last 10 hitters in order.

With his ninth win of the year, Gudde tied for the single-season school record, set by Cody Kukuk in 2010.

“He was really good,” Hill said. “I don’t know what his pitch count was but it couldn’t have been much over mid-70s. He got ahead of people and kept our defense in rhythm. Our defense played really well and I think that was because of his pace. He was super. He did a great, great job.”

Now the Firebirds, who have won their last eight games, are focused on winning two more today, hoping to collect their second state championship in school history.

“It’s exactly what we wanted,” Gudde said. “To come out here and shut down a team like this in the first round of state is really going to help us build our confidence for the rest of the tournament.”

Free State 4, Haysville Campus 0

Campus 000 000 0 — 0 2 1

Free State 001 030 x — 4 7 0

W — Hunter Gudde, 9-0. L — Neil Lemmons.

2B — Preston Sauer, Campus; Jon Saathoff, FS.

FSHS highlights — Gudde, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K; Cooper Karlin, 1-for-3, run, RBI; Joel Spain, 2-for-2, HBP, 2 runs, 3 stolen bases; Jon Saathoff, 2-for-3, 3 RBIs; Marcelino Cortez, 1-for-3, run.