photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World Photo

Free State senior Maddox Burkitt pitches against Olathe Northwest on Monday, April 11, 2022.

The Lawrence High and Free State High baseball teams are both fighting for the chance to host at next week’s regional tournament, adding another layer of intensity to this year’s city showdown.

Set for 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Hoglund Ballpark on the campus of the University of Kansas, the Lions and Firebirds will both be playing their final game of the 2022 regular season.

The fact that it comes against each other, in a college baseball environment, merely adds to the excitement surrounding the annual clash of city rivals.

“We’re extremely pumped for this game,” LHS coach Brad Stoll said Monday. “It’s not just a normal game. No matter what we try and tell the kids, they want to beat their crosstown rivals. Plus, if we win, we host regionals, so it’s got some extra juice.”

LHS enters the game on the heels of back-to-back wins, including a 4-3 senior day win over Mill Valley last Friday. Lawrence High has won five of its last six games and will host a four-team regional with a victory.

Free State, meanwhile, has lost four of its last five games, including an 11-9 setback in last Friday’s senior day game against Gardner-Edgerton. The Firebirds would have a chance to host a four-team regional with a win over LHS. The top four seeds on each side of the state host regionals. LHS is currently in fourth in the east and FSHS is currently in fifth in the west.

On the mound, the Lions (13-6) will be starting senior Ike Cobb, who is 5-1 this season with an earned-run average of 1.17, including 43 strikeouts and 15 walks in 42 innings pitched.

The Firebirds (12-7) will counter with senior ace Maddox Burkitt, who is 6-1 on the season with a 0.78 earned-run average in 45 innings pitched. Burkitt has recorded 68 strikeouts.

While he knows that his players will be energized to take on the Lions, Free State coach Mike Hill said his team’s focus was as much on what a win in this one would do for their chances of reaching the Class 6A state tournament.

“Certainly others are going to emphasize the rivalry,” Hill said Monday. “And while we won’t minimize that, our objectives are bigger.”

The two programs are set to compete in separate regionals, setting up the chance for both of them to make it to the Class 6A state tournament.

Regionals are slated for next week and the Class 6A state tournament is scheduled for May 26-27 at LaRoche Baseball Complex in Fort Scott.

photo by: Matt Tait

Lawrence High senior Ike Cobb will be on the mound for the Lions in the season finale, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at Hoglund Ballpark, where the Lions will take on crosstown rival Free State at 7 p.m.