photo by: Emma Pravecek/Journal-World photo

Infielder Brady Kern runs back to the dugout after scoring. Free State defeated Dodge City 10-0 at the regional title game on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

Free State High baseball coach Mike Hill has been coaching so long that he’s started to reuse some of the same slogans and team mottos.

But that doesn’t make them any less effective.

This year, in leading the 15-8 Firebirds back to the Class 6A state tournament, Hill tapped into an old favorite to guide this group through an up-and-down season that wound up delivering yet another regional title.

Play without an anchor, the motto goes. And earlier this week, without being prompted, three different Free State players referenced it following the Firebirds’ 10-0, run-rule win over Dodge City that sent them back to state.

“I think it just means go get everything,” senior pitcher Maddox Burkitt said. “Some guys don’t want the ball hit to them or don’t want to be on the (mound) or at the plate with the game on the line. But when you’re playing without an anchor, you love those moments.”

Added sophomore closer Kyle Graves: “I think play without an anchor just means don’t be scared and play with confidence.”

There’s more to it than that, Hill said, which is exactly why he chose it for this particular team. A collection of experienced and inexperience Firebirds with varying degrees of confidence and swagger, this group, he believed, needed something that would help remind them to stay in attack mode at all times.

“Maybe I heard someone say it or maybe I just grabbed it out of the blue, but one of the challenges coaches have, regardless of the level you’re at, is how do you get kids to perform in pressure situations,” Hill said. “So, it’s just a little motto to remind them that whatever that anchor is, you’ve got to get rid of it. And it’s different for each individual.”

For some it could be baseball-related — a tough pitch to hit, overcoming an error or the anxiety that comes with facing a certain player or team.

For others, it could be something that has taken place off the field — a personal issue or a situation at school or with friends.

“All of us have our own anchors,” Hill said. “And the more of them you’ve got they’re going to drag you down. You’ve got to play free in big time environments.”

What the Firebirds will face on Thursday in the opening round of the Class 6A state tournament in Fort Scott certainly qualifies as a big-time environment. Seeded sixth, Free State will face No. 3 seed Olathe West (18-4) at 1:15 p.m. at LaRoche Baseball Complex.

Not only will the stakes be as high as they’ve been all season, the opponent’s roster features two Division I pitchers and a bunch of players with fresh memories of a 3-0 win over the Firebirds earlier this season.

Both factors qualify as anchors, and the Firebirds will do their darnedest to keep from dragging those thoughts with them into the top of the first inning.

“We try to prepare kids for situations like this,” Hill said. “We’ll put pressure on them to get used to that environment and then maybe they’ll perform better when they’re actually there. Reminding them with the saying, play without your anchor, is just another way to help them focus. If it helps, great. That’s what we’re trying to do is help these kids grow.”

This group has done just that throughout the season and particularly of late. After losing four of five against top-tier competition late, the Firebirds now have won three in a row — two do-or-die games in the postseason and one over their city rivals from Lawrence High.

Good fortune, timely execution and sharp focus played a role in all of those wins. But so, too, did adhering to the season-long slogan that seems to work.

“It’s just a game at the end of the day,” senior pitcher Tyler Vigna said. “You don’t need to overthink it; you don’t need to make it too complicated. It’s a game. You just have to go out and play baseball and have fun doing it.”