Shortstop Cooper Karlin may be the shortest player on Free State High’s baseball team, but he’s come up big in clutch situations throughout the season.

Karlin delivered a one-out walkoff single in the eighth inning to give the Firebirds a 1-0 victory over Shawnee Mission North on Thursday night at FSHS. It’s his second walkoff hit of the year, after he provided the heroics in Free State’s season opener.

Sophomore Hunter Gudde reached on an error to open the bottom of the eighth before moving to third on a single to left by Joel Spain. Karlin, a 5-foot-6 junior, fell behind in the count, 0-2, before slapping a fastball in between the shortstop and third baseman to score Gudde.

“You just have to go up there and be confident,” Karlin said. “You’ve got to trust yourself.”

The Firebirds (6-3) stranded 13 runners on base, including eight in scoring position. They swung under a lot of balls, hitting one groundout versus 15 flyouts.

“The game is about situational hitting and ours today was just not good until the last inning,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said. “I thought the kids persevered; they kept knocking at the door. It felt like it was just a matter of time, and unfortunately it took us eight innings. But we were glad to get the win.”

Sophomore Parker Tietjen made his first varsity start after one previous relief outing, and allowed just three hits in 4 2/3 innings while striking out one. Tietjen, a left-hander, mixed his fastballs with a sweeping breaking ball that cut across the plate to force the Indians (3-8) into routine groundouts. He also worked on his pickoff move with coach Layne Meyer in the bullpen before the game, which worked to perfection to catch two runners sleeping at first base.

Junior Casey Hearnen relieved Tietjen in the fifth inning, and dominated afterward by throwing mostly fastballs. The right-hander was ahead in most counts and struck out four in 3 1/3 hitless innings, using his curveball to get the strikeouts.

Hearnen posted two scoreless innings on Tuesday with a two-run lead against Leavenworth, and he didn’t get fazed when the Firebirds stranded runners on Thursday.

“That’s what I love. Pressure is what fuels any type of pitcher,” Hearnen said. “It’s just nice to go in there and get the win.”

The Firebirds will play host to Olathe East at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

SM North 000 000 00 — 0 3 1

Free State 000 000 01 — 1 8 2

W — Casey Hearnen (3-1). L –Alex Conley.

2B — Tyler Burnett, SM North.

Free State highlights –Parker Tietjen, 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 K; Hearnen, 3.1 IP, 0 H, 4 Ks; Joel Spain, 3-for-4, stolen base; Cameron Pope, 2-for-4.