photo by: Richard Gwin

FSHS senior Joel Spain (4) slides safely into third base in the Firebirds' 4-0 victory over Haysville Campus in the state 6A baseball tournament Thursday at Hoglund Ballpark.

Free State High’s baseball team kept its winning streak and state championship hopes alive Friday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark by handling Olathe South, 4-1, in the Class 6A semifinals.

For the second day in a row, the Firebirds (20-4) got a complete game from their starting pitcher. Junior Trevor Munsch went all seven innings against the Falcons and only gave up five hits and a walk, while striking out five batters.

FSHS will try to win its first state title since 2006 against Shawnee Mission Northwest (19-5) at approximately 5:30 p.m.

TOP 7 — FSHS 4, O-SOUTH 1

Brian Sullivan struck out swinging to start the Falcons’ final chance.

Nathan Howard singled to left field to give O-South some life.

Tristan Porter chopped a grounder to second for out No. 2, as Howard moved to second base.

Trevor Munsch struck out Stephen Miller to end the game and move Free State to the 6A title game, against Shawnee Mission Northwest.

BOTTOM 6 — FSHS 4, O-SOUTH 1

Tripp Wright struck out to lead off the bottom of the inning.

Mikey Corbett popped the ball to center field for out No. 2.

Marcelino Cortez grounded out to shortstop for a one-two-three inning.

TOP 6 — FSHS 4, O-SOUTH 1

Colt Rusnak reached on an infield single that went between Munsch’s legs to lead things off.

But Noah Croft hit a tailor-made double-play ball to 2B Cooper Karlin, who turned it with SS Mikey Corbett.

Isaiah Campbell lined the ball hard to right-center field, but FSHS CF Joel Spain was all over it, ending the inning.

BOTTOM 5 — FSHS 4, O-SOUTH 1

Zion Bowlin burned O-South right fielder Stephen Miller for playing him too shallow, and tripled to lead off the inning.

Left-handed Cooper Karlin knocked the ball the other way, to right field, to plate Bowlin and extend the Free State lead to 3-1.

Joel Spain saw Karlin steal second base before drawing a walk.

FSHS cleanup hitter Jon Saathoff came up with two runners on and one down, and bunted just in front of the plate. But O-South 1B Noah Croft threw out lead runner Karlin at third base.

Hunter Gudde padded Free State’s lead with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Spain easily and moving the home team’s advantage to 4-1.

Jacob Pavlyak grounded to second and a fielder’s choice ended a productive inning for FSHS.

TOP 5 — FSHS 2, O-SOUTH 1

Stephen Miller led off the Falcons’ inning by striking out, becoming Munsch’s third K victim.

Carson Green singled to right field with one out.

Brian Wircenske got fooled by a low-inside pitch from Munsch and struck out.

O-South leadoff hitter didn’t get a chance to do anything at the plate as Green got picked off to end the threat.

BOTTOM 4 — FSHS 2, O-SOUTH 1

Free State’s Hunter Gudde turned on an inside pitch and singled to left field to open the bottom of the fourth.

Jacob Pavlyak drew a base on balls on four pitches to give FSHS two runners with no outs.

Tripp Wright hit a slow ground ball to second base, moving both runners over and into scoring position.

With one out, Mikey Corbett drove in Gudde with a groundout to shortstop, giving FSHS the lead back, 2-1.

Marcelino Cortez grounded the ball to short to end the inning.

TOP 4 — FSHS 1, O-SOUTH 1

Noah Croft gave the Falcons some life with a double down the third-base line to lead off the inning.

With Croft in scoring position, No. 3 hitter Isaiah Campbell drew a four-pitch walk.

Brian Sullivan hit a grounder to 2B Cooper Karlin, but Mikey Corbett couldn’t quite turn the double play, giving O-South runners on the corners with one out.

Sullivan stole second base with Nathan Howard batting, and O-South’s No. 5 hitter delivered an RBI-groundout to third base that tied the game at 1.

With a runner on second and two outs, Tristan Porter watched a 3-2 pitch go by, and struck out looking to end the inning.

BOTTOM 3 — FSHS 1, O-SOUTH 0

Falcons first baseman Noah Croft robbed Cooper Karlin of a base hit down the right side.

Joel Spain grounded to second base for out No. 2.

With no one on and two outs, Jon Saathoff struck out swinging.

TOP 3 — FSHS 1, O-SOUTH 0

O-South’s Stephen Miller chopped the ball back to Munsch, who threw him out at first.

Carson Green popped the first pitch he faced high down the first-base line for the second out of the inning.

Brian Wircenske, the Falcons’ No. 9 hitter, gave his team its first hit with a single to left field.

Wircenske moved to second on a wild pitch.

With two down and a runner on second, O-South leadoff hitter Colt Rusnak popped the ball foul and nearly out of play, but FSHS first baseman Marcelino Cortez chased it down to get Free State out of the inning.

BOTTOM 2 — FSHS 1, O-SOUTH 0

Jacob Pavlyak hit the ball back to pitcher Austyn Gooch, who stopped it with his glove and tossed it underhand to first for the out.

Tripp Wright swung at the first pitch he saw and grounded out to second base.

Mikey Corbett got hit by a pitch for the 11th time this season, giving FSHS a runner with two outs.

Marcelino Cortez drew a base on balls to get Free State back to the top of its lineup.

A wild pitch to Zion Bowlin advanced Corbett and Cortez to second and third base.

With two runners in scoring position, Bowlin reached for a low pitch outside and popped it out, foul, to right field.

TOP 2 — FSHS 1, O-SOUTH 0

Brian Sullivan struck out swinging versus Munsch.

Nathan Howard smacked a line drive to center, but Joel Spain ran it down quickly for out No. 2.

Tristan Porter barely made contact with a Munsch pitch and dribbled it back to the pitcher, keeping O-South hitless.

BOTTOM 1 — FSHS 1, O-SOUTH 0

O-South righty Austyn Gooch struck out the first Firebird he faced, Zion Bowlin.

Cooper Karlin struck the ball hard with a line drive to center field, but it didn’t drop in for a hit.

Joel Spain gave FSHS its first base runner by drawing a walk.

With two outs, Thursday’s hero, Jon Saathoff knocked a double down the right-field line and advanced to third as Spain scored, giving the Firebirds an early 1-0 lead.

Hunter Gudde grounded out to second to end a productive inning.

TOP 1 — NO SCORE

Colt Rusnak grounded the first pitch he saw from Free State lefty Trevor Munsch to third baseman Zion Bowlin for the first out.

Noah Croft hit the ball up the middle with one down, but Mikey Corbett handled it and threw him out.

Isaiah Campbell smacked a pitch down the left side, and Bowlin threw him out for a one-two-three inning.

STARTING LINEUPS

Here are your Free State starters for today’s semifinal vs. Olathe South:

3B Zion Bowlin

2B Cooper Karlin

CF Joel Spain

C Jon Saathoff

RF Hunter Gudde

LF Jacob Pavlyak

DH Tripp Wright

SS Mikey Corbett

1B Marcelino Cortez

Left-hander Trevor Munsch will be on the mound, but won’t hit.

And for Olathe South:

3B Colt Rusnak

1B Noah Croft

DH Isaiah Campbell

LF Brian Sullivan

CF Nathan Howard

2B Tristan Porter

RF Stephen Mitchell Miller

C Carson Green

SS Brian Wircenske

Right-hander Austyn Gooch is the starting pitcher.

PRE-GAME

After breezing past Campus, 4-0, in the Class 6A semifinals, Free State High’s baseball team needs two victories today at Hoglund Ballpark to win its first state championship since 2006.

It’s a four-team, one-day Sunflower League tournament for the 2015 title, with the Firebirds (19-4) facing Olathe South (16-7) in the second semifinal.

Shawnee Mission Northwest earned a berth in today’s championship game by defeating Shawnee Mission East, 5-3.

Rain fell at Hoglund, but it didn’t hold up play in the first semifinal. However, officials announced Free State’s game against O-South has been pushed back to a 3:45 p.m. start.

This blog will serve as your landing spot for live updates throughout the day, and you can follow the action on Twitter, via @LJWpreps.

FSHS has won eight games in a row headed into its big day at the state tournament, after junior pitcher Hunter Gudde threw a two-hit gem Thursday.

Joel Spain had two hits in the first-round win, as did Jon Saathoff, who drove in three of Free State’s four runs.

Earlier this season, FSHS defeated Olathe South, 3-0. Gudde started that game for the Firebirds, but today it will be Trevor Munsch on the mound.