Free State High School pitcher Dale Miller, left, and catcher Jaden Moore, celebrate a win and a complete game pitched by Miller. Miller and Moore accounted for driving in all of Free State's runs in a 3-1 Firebirds win over Olathe Northwest Thursday at FSH.

In the top of the seventh inning Thursday, Olathe Northwest recorded three straight hits and had the potential game-tying run standing on second base.

No matter, Free State baseball players and coaches still had all of their confidence in senior starting pitcher Dale Miller to escape the jam.

With two runners on and one out, the left-handed Miller forced two harmless pop flies, sealing a 3-1 victory at FSHS.

The 6-foot-3 Miller struck out five in a complete-game outing, allowing only five hits and one walk in 89 pitches. He’s given up only three runs in his last 18 innings pitched.

“I knew he was going to come back and get the other guys out (in the seventh),” Free State senior catcher Jaden Moore said. “That’s just who Dale is.”

In a matchup between two of the top teams in the Sunflower League, the Firebirds (6-2) were sharp offensively. But they didn’t have much to show for it because all of their line drives went straight into the gloves of Olathe Northwest fielders.

The Firebirds registered five line-outs, including a line drive from senior Zion Bowlin that deflected off of baserunner Jacob Pavlyak and turned a likely hit into a double play.

“I was really tickled with the way we swung the bats,” Free State coach Mike Hill said. “It’s exciting what our offense could potentially do.”

In the fourth inning, Miller provided himself with some run support. After Jake Baker reached on an error and Nate Strathman hit a ground-rule double, Miller hit a shallow sacrifice fly to left field for a 1-0 lead.

Moore, who was 2-for-3 at the plate, added a two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning, scoring Bowlin and pinch-runner Jarod Bennett.

Miller, consistent with his fastball and curveball, stranded two runners in scoring position in the fourth inning and avoided trouble by forcing pop flies into the outfield and picking up key strikeouts.

With a three-run lead in the seventh inning, Miller allowed back-to-back singles before hanging a curveball to ONW’s Alex Hansen, who drilled a RBI double into the left-center gap.

“I knew had to work down, listen to my coaches,” Miller said. “They always want me to paint corners and work at the knees.”

Instead of panicking when the Ravens (6-2) tried to rally, Miller didn’t blink when he was pitching with the game on the line.

“We had all the faith in the world that he would be able to close it out,” Hill said.

Northwest 000 000 1 — 1 5 2

Free State 000 102 x — 3 6 0

W — Dale Miller, 3-0. L — Brady Walker.

2B — Nick Hegarty, Alex Hansen, ONW; Zion Bowlin, Nate Strathman, FS.

FSHS highlights — Miller, 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1-for-2, RBI; Jaden Moore, 2-for-3, 2 RBI; Bowlin, 1-for-3, run.