Free State High junior Hunter Gudde (6) piles on after FSHS beat Shawnee Mission Northwest, 4-1, to win the Class 6A state baseball championship on Friday, May 29, 2015, at Hogund Ballpark.

With two runners on base and the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh inning of the Class 6A state championship Friday, Free State High senior pitcher Casey Hearnen was in his comfort zone.

The Firebirds’ closer thrives under pressure.

Hearnen grabbed a one-bounce comebacker off of the turf and fired to junior shortstop Mikey Corbett, who hurried a throw to senior first baseman Marcelino Cortez for a game-ending double play.

That started the celebration for Free State’s baseball team, which won its second state championship in school history with a 4-1 victory over Shawnee Mission Northwest at Kansas University’s Hoglund Ballpark. The Firebirds also won on a title-clinching double play in 2006.

The Firebirds flung their gloves and hats into the air, diving on top of each other for a wild dog pile near the first-base line. Then they ran into left field to jump into each other in the air before receiving their championship plaque.

“It’s pretty surreal right now,” Hearnen said. “I never would have thought going into this season that I would be standing here. But it just feels great, and I’m so glad I got to do it with all of my teammates.”

The Firebirds (21-4) took a 3-0 lead in the second inning when senior Jon Saathoff hit a single to right field, and his courtesy runner, sophomore Daniel Bryant, scored on a triple from junior Hunter Gudde. Following a walk and a fielder’s choice that caught Gudde in a rundown trying to score, Cortez blooped a two-run single into shallow left field, scoring Corbett and senior Tripp Wright.

“It was definitely a relief,” Cortez said. “I’ve been kind of struggling all year but just barely got enough of it to get it over.”

That’s all the run support the Firebirds needed to go along with their strong pitching, which ended the season with a 1.53 earned-run average. Gudde, who tossed a complete-game shutout Thursday, tossed two more no-hit innings before Hearnen took the mound.

“Sometime this game I wanted the ball,” said Gudde, who finished the year with a 14-inning scoreless streak. “I think (coach Mike Hill) would have confidence in me if my arm was OK, which it was. I really put (credit) on my coaches for letting me go out there.”

Once Hearnen went on the mound, he kept the Cougars (19-6) without a hit — or even a ball into the outfield — until the sixth inning. SM Northwest loaded the bases with no outs following a walk and back-to-back singles by Javier Pena and Nate Reeder.

After falling behind 2-0 in the count to SM Northwest’s two-hole hitter, Casey Kelley, Hearnen fought back for a key strikeout. He then forced two ground balls, escaping the jam with a 3-1 lead. He fielded the last grounder and did a fist pump once he completed the throw to first base.

“Momentum is everything in this game,” Hearnen said. “That was a huge momentum swing right there. We just made a couple of plays to get out of it without a lot of harm done. It was great.”

Hill added: “He’s not going to end a game without giving some gray hairs to us and making the game interesting. But, you know, there’s no lack of faith at all, and I felt comfortable in that situation. More importantly, our kids felt comfortable because they’ve been there before.”

Free State added an insurance run in the sixth inning when sophomore Jacob Pavlyak and Hearnen drew back-to-back walks, and Pavlyak scored on a groundout from Cortez.

“This is about the kids and their hard work,” Hill said. “I’m so happy for them, it’s kind of hard to describe how I feel for them, particularly our seniors. They’re such a good group of kids.”

The Firebirds advanced to the title game with a 4-1 victory against Olathe South in the semifinals earlier in the afternoon.

In the semifinals, junior left-hander Trevor Munsch gave up five hits and one run in a complete-game effort on the mound. Saathoff and senior Cooper Karlin added RBI hits, senior Joel Spain scored two runs, and sophomore Zion Bowlin hit a triple before scoring a run.

The Firebirds, who won their last 10 games, took scores of pictures afterward and couldn’t stop smiling when thinking back at what they’ve accomplished this season.

“I hate to have peaked so early, because this is the coolest moment of my life,” Corbett joked. “As soon as the final out was called, I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier in one single moment. It means a lot to come so far in such a short amount of time with all these guys.”

Free State 4, SM Northwest 1

SMNW 000 001 0 — 1 2 1

Free State 030 001 x — 4 7 0

W — Casey Hearnen, 5-2. L — Dylan Dirks.

2B — Jon Saathoff, FS. 3B — Hunter Gudde, FS.

FSHS highlights — Gudde, 1-for-2, RBI, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K; Hearnen, 1-for-1, walk, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K; Zion Bowlin, 1-for-4; Joel Spain, 1-for-3; Jon Saathoff, 2-for-2, walk; Marcelino Cortez, 1-for-3, 3 RBI.

Free State 4, Olathe South 1

O-South 000 100 0 — 1 5 0

Free State 101 120 x — 4 4 0

W — Trevor Munsch, 4-0. L — Austyn Gooch.

2B — Noah Croft, OS; Jon Saathoff, FS. 3B — Zion Bowlin, FS.

FSHS highlights — Munsch, 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K; Bowlin, 1-for-3, run; Cooper Karlin, 1-for-3, RBI, stolen base; Joel Spain, 0-for-1, 2 walks, 2 runs; Saathoff, 1-for-3, RBI; Hunter Gudde, 1-for-2, run, RBI.