Free State baseball players present coach Mike Hill with a cake after Hill and the Firebirds notched their 300th win in program history against Blue Valley North on Friday, April 28, 2017 at FSHS.

Moments after the Free State baseball team’s 4-1 victory over Blue Valley North on Friday evening, coach Mike Hill received a standing ovation from players, parents, and other fans that still remained at the team’s home field.

After Hill exchanged hugs with a few players, his team presented him with a cake to commemorate his 300th career coaching victory. Players tried their best to get a speech out of Hill, but he was having none of it.

“You want a speech?” Hill asked. “Go win 301.”

It was no surprise to those who know Hill best that he passed up the opportunity to revel in his milestone. He admitted to feeling indifferent about the achievement, and gave all the credit to the talented players that have come through the program since the school opened in 1998. Senior outfielder Daniel Bryant is pretty certain Hill had no idea that he was approaching win number 300 until earlier this week

“He’s a great man and a great role model,” Bryant said. “The reason he can do that is he works on every person being a better human. He didn’t care about it at all, and that’s what makes him great.”

The Firebirds (11-4) didn’t have a hit through two innings, but they used a three-run third inning to overcome the Mustangs for the program’s 300th win. The offense started with Bryant, the ninth hitter in the Firebirds’ lineup, who led off the third with a double.

“He’s there because he’s a second lead-off guy,” Hill said of Bryant. “He’s having an exceptional year. He can really hit the ball and he can run. We needed the spark, and he was able to give us that.”

Senior outfielder Jacob Pavlyak reached base on an error, and Bryant scored on the play to tie the game at one. The next batter, junior outfielder Kyle Abrahamson, doubled and Pavlyak scored on a throwing error by the Mustangs. Abrahamson scored the Firebirds’ third run moments later on an infield single by senior infielder Nate Strathman.

The Mustangs had three errors in the inning and four in the game, while the Firebirds didn’t commit a single error, which Hill said was a big factor in the win, pleased with his team’s defense.

Even though Hill said senior pitcher Aaron Funk didn’t have his best stuff and struggled a bit with his command, he allowed just one run in five innings, and struck out four batters. He found a rhythm after giving up a run in the third inning, retiring six of the next seven batters.

With the Firebirds leading, 4-1, Funk found himself in trouble in the sixth inning after allowing a hit and a walk to the Mustangs’ first two batters. Strathman replaced Funk on the mound and retired the next three batters to seal the win for Free State.

“Nate did a terrific job,” Hill said. “We were able to pull him yesterday and keep him under the pitch count to have the ability to bring him back today. We’re really pleased with the progress he’s making.”

Free State will travel to Olathe South Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

BV North — 001 000 0 — 1 5 4

Free State — 003 100 X — 4 8 0

W — Aaron Funk. L — Jake Canent. S — Nate Strathman.

2B — Kyle Abrahamson, Daniel Bryant (2).

FSHS highlights — Bryant 2-for-2, RBI, run; Nate Strathman 1-for-2, RBI; Aaron Funk 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K.