Olathe ? It took Free State High senior Emily Bermel a long time to exit the softball field Tuesday night at College Boulevard Activity Center.

She had too many teammates too embrace and too many tears to shed after Olathe Northwest beat the Firebirds 6-0, ending their season one victory shy of a second state tournament berth in three seasons.

“That was definitely the hardest part,” FSHS junior Emily Byers, a three-year teammate of Bermel’s, said shortly after playing with her Firebird companion for the final time. “I’ve just grown closer with Em from my freshman year.”

In 2013, Bermel, Byers and current seniors Kylie Cobb and Lily Ross all played key roles on a FSHS team that reached the Class 6A state tournament.

“It makes it a lot harder these past two years, just wanting to go back,” Byers said. “The feeling you get when you win regionals is just awesome. That’s all we want. That’s our one goal.”

After producing a remarkable 10-run inning against Topeka in an 11-6 semifinal victory, though, the Firebirds only came up with two hits — both Ross singles — against the state-bound Ravens (20-2) and sophomore pitcher Aubree Herrin.

FSHS coach Lee Ice thought his players would be able to carry over momentum from their 10-hit, 10-run sixth inning against THS, which catapulted Free State (13-9) out of a three-run hole and into command. But Herrin never faced more than five hitters in an inning and finished with eight strikeouts.

“I’ve gotta give her credit,” Ice said. “She’s one of the better pitchers in the league.”

The Firebirds’ season would have ended a couple hours earlier had they not scored 10 runs with two outs against Topeka. They had one run and four hits before the offensive windfall.

“It was amazing,” said Ross, one of six Firebirds to bat twice in the inning. “We wanted it so badly. It just took us awhile to wake up and see that this could be our last game. We just started swinging the bats, and just that hype in the dugout helped us.”

Sophomore Mayah Daniels drove in the first run of the mega-rally with a two-out, bases-loaded single. Then nine-hole hitter and FSHS pitcher Elizabeth Patton tied the game at 4 with a two-run single. Free State took a 6-4 lead on Bermel’s base hit up the middle, before Cobb tripled and Byers, Dacia Starr, Kathryn Stanwix and Ross each tacked on RBI singles. By the time Topeka (11-10) fell too far behind to mount any dream of comeback, eight straight Firebirds had delivered hits.

“We just had to do it for our seniors,” Byers said. “That was our main drive. We saw in their eyes that they just wanted to keep going.”

Free State 11, Topeka 6

Topeka 002 002 2 — 6 9 2

Free State 010 00(10) x — 11 14 1

W — Elizabeth Patton, 12-6. L — McKenna Tauer.

2B — Sarah Eckart, THS; Emily Byers, Lily Ross, FSHS. 3B — Ciara Stallons, THS; Kylie Cobb, FSHS. HR — Elena Cott-Laurie, THS.

FSHS highlights — Byers, 3-for-4, RBI; Dacia Starr, 3-for-4, RBI; Ross, 2-for-4, RBI, 2R; Kathryn Stanwix, 2-for-4, RBI; Patton, 1-for-3, 2 RBIs; Mayah Daniels, 1-for-4, 2 RBIs; Emily Bermel, 1-for-4, 2 RBIs; Cobb, 1-for-4, RBI.

Olathe NW 6, Free State 0

Free State 000 000 0 — 0 2 1

Olathe NW 010 401 x — 6 9 1

W — Aubree Herrin. L — Mayah Daniels.

2B — Reagan Hathaway, ONW. 3B — Kami Zimmerman, ONW.

FSHS highlight — Ross, 2-for-3.