Karsen Jacobson’s best birthday present was one she gave to her team.

With the Free State softball team leading 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh, and needing just two outs to earn its first trip to the state title game in school history, Jacobson, the junior left fielder who started Friday with a birthday celebration, camped under a shallow fly ball for one of the outs and then fired a strike to Emma Stanwix at home plate who slapped the tag on the Washburn Rural runner to end the game and send the Firebirds into a frenzy.

“That throw was incredible,” said Free State freshman Tatum Clopton, who struck out 12 Washburn Rural batters and added an RBI double to help put the Firebirds into the title game. “I was backing up home plate and I had the perfect view of it the whole way.”

For Clopton, seeing a ball that she could do nothing with soaring toward the plate gave her some perspective into what the Washburn Rural batters dealt with all afternoon.

Despite collecting seven hits in the loss, most were of the infield and bunt variety, as nearly no one in a blue uniform could catch up to the heat Clopton threw for the second day in a row.

The Junior Blues loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning on two bunt singles and a line drive to center and then watched Clopton, who turned 15 earlier this week, strike out the next three batters on a total of 14 pitches.

“It was a little better today,” Clopton said of her command of her pitches compared to Thursday, when she limited top-seeded Blue Valley to one run and struck out seven in the eighth-seeded Firebirds’ first-round victory. “Mostly my rise ball was working. I was sliding more and attacking harder with it.”

That pitch set up her change-up, which, for the second day in a row, left would-be hitters helpless at the plate.

“I love the change-up,” Clopton said with a smile. “It’s taken forever for me to learn to control it and it’s never been one of my biggest weapons, but I’m having fun throwing it right now.”

After that first inning, the fifth-seeded Junior Blues (18-6) had more than one runner reach base just once the rest of the game and the Firebirds, thanks in part to Clopton, got all of the offense they needed in the top of the third, when Sara Roszak ripped a two-out, RBI single that scored Haley Lockwood-Peterson, who walked three times in this one, and Clopton followed with a ripped double to the wall that scored Roszak from first.

The only other Free State hit in the game came on a one-out double from Roszak in the top of the fifth, as the freshman shortstop who led the Sunflower League with a .632 average this season continued to show that she already is one of the best players in the state.

The victory improved Free State to 17-7 on the season, but, more importantly, put the Firebirds in position to win their first ever state title in softball.

The Free State program never has advanced this far and now that they’re here, they’re ready to finish the job.

“The whole key was getting to this point,” FSHS coach Lee Ice said after the victory. “I knew if we could just get (Clopton) back (from injury) that we’d have a chance.”

Free State will play No. 7 seed Olathe Northwest for all the marbles at 5 p.m. tonight at Arrocha Ballpark. Northwest knocked off No. 3 seed Olathe North in Friday’s second semifinal game.

Free State 2, Washburn Rural 0

Free State 002 000 0 — 2 3 0

Washburn 000 000 0 — 0 7 0

W – Tatum Clopton (7-1); L – Kasey Hamilton