Runs rule: Free State hitters dominate Derby

photo by: Richard Gwin

Free State junior Daniel Bryant, left, makes the catch in left-center field as junior Jacob Pavlyak backs him up. Free State beat Derby, 10-0, on Thursday at Hoglund Ballpark at Kansas University in the first round of the Class 6A state tournament.

In the week leading up to the Class 6A state tournament, Free State High baseball players were expecting a pitcher’s duel in the first round against Derby. Their bats had a different idea.

Along with a dominant outing from senior pitcher Hunter Gudde, the Firebirds did more than enough damage at the plate en route to a 10-0 run-rule victory in five innings on Thursday in the first round of the state tournament at Kansas University’s Hoglund Ballpark.

Free State (19-4) will meet top-seeded Blue Valley (21-2) in the state semifinals around 2 p.m. today. The state tournament, which had two quarterfinals games postponed, will play with a rolling schedule. The Tigers advanced with a 5-1 win against Junction City.

The defending state champion Firebirds were comfortable in the batter’s box and sprayed nine hits all over the field, making at-bats against top pitchers look like it was another day of batting practice.

“I didn’t sense any jitters at all,” Free State coach Mike Hill said. “The kids were jacked up and ready to go. Certainly, if you can get ahead and knowing who we had on the mound, I think everybody felt pretty comfortable.”

The Firebirds scored five runs in the first two innings — all with two outs. Sophomore Kyle Abrahamson lined an RBI single into center field in the first inning, and scored when a fly ball was dropped in the outfield.

In the second inning, after junior Daniel Bryant hit a two-out single and junior Jacob Pavlyak drew a walk, senior Mikey Corbett and junior Zion Bowlin hit back-to-back RBI doubles.

“They left a lot of balls on the middle of the plate and we didn’t miss them,” said Abrahamson, who went 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs.

That was all the run support needed for Gudde, recently named the Sunflower League’s Pitcher of the Year.

Gudde, making his first start since April 16 when he became team’s closer, was dominant on the mound, striking out eight in a one-hitter. Only two batters reached base. He kept Derby (17-6) hitters off balance by mixing up his pitches and dropping curveballs for strikes.

“It’s bad to say this, but we’re expecting him to pitch like that,” Abrahamson said of Gudde, who lowered his earned-run average to 0.42. “He’s been doing it last year and this year, so it’s natural to assume he does that.”

The fourth-seeded Firebirds added a run in the third inning when Pavlyak hit a ground ball down the first base line with the bases loaded. Derby’s first baseman grabbed the ball several feet behind first base, but thought the ball was foul and was too late when Pavlyak won the race to the bag, scoring junior Nate Strathman.

After leaving the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Free State scored four runs to reach the mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth inning with only one hit. Two hits batsman, two walks, two errors on a sacrifice bunt and a two-run single from Abrahamson set up senior Parker Tietjen’s game-ending sacrifice fly.

“The kids played well,” Hill said. “I liked our approach, we were aggressive, but smart all the same. We made some things happen early. We were able to break the ice. I think the kids responded really, really well.”

Known for dominant pitching and solid defense all season, the Firebirds were happy to see their bats heat up at the right time.

“I guess we just dug deep,” Bowlin said with a wide smile. “Just time to hit the ball and it was a great time to start.”

Blue Valley suffered its only two losses this season against likely first-round picks in next month’s Major League Baseball draft, Joey Wentz (Shawnee Mission East) and Riley Pint (St. Thomas Aquinas). The Tigers, who feature five Div. I players, are on a 13-game winning streak.

“They are going to present some challenges for us,” Hill said. “We’re going to have to play the way we played today.”

Derby 000 000 0 — 0 1 3

Free State 231 04 x — 10 9 1

W — Hunter Gudde, 7-1. L — Braden Ash.

2B — Mikey Corbett, Zion Bowlin, FS.

FSHS highlights — Gudde, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K; Jacob Pavlyak, 2-for-3, walk, 3 runs, RBI; Corbett, 1-for-3, HBP, 2 runs, RBI; Bowlin, 1-for-3, HBP, 2 RBI, run; Kyle Abrahamson, 2-for-3, walk, 3 RBI; Daniel Bryant, 1-for-1, 2 walks, 2 runs.