photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World

Free State senior Michael Lickert dives into second base against BV West during the state tournament on Friday, May 26, 2023. Free State ended their season with a 2-1 loss.

One game away from the Class 6A state title game, the No. 3-seeded Free State baseball team came up just shy against the No. 2 seed Blue Valley West 2-1 in the semifinal matchup on Friday at Hoglund Ballpark.

Knotted at 1-1 by the end of the second, the Firebirds (18-7) and Jaguars (18-5) showcased a tight defensive battle up until the decisive run scored in the bottom of the sixth.

Free State couldn’t find an answer.

Free State starting pitcher Ben Graves, a freshman, took the challenge of leading his team to a state championship in full stride. Graves pitched 6.0 full innings, allowing just two runs on eight total hits and two walks.

“All game long it was ‘who’s going to get the key hit?'” Free State coach Mike Hill said. “It wasn’t us, but we kept a quality at-bat chart. When we reached a certain percentage, we were undefeated this year. We reached that percentage today, but it didn’t translate to victory.”

The Firebirds had the first say, with junior Kyle Graves scoring the ballgame’s opening run on walks when BV West starter Eli Lovich walked junior Mason Lester in the top of the first. BV West answered with a two-out RBI triple by Sam Shelton in the bottom of the second.

Then, the fans waited.

Free State got an opportunity to score in the top of the third when sophomore Ryan Weishaar stepped up to the plate with two outs and senior Brady Kern (BB) waiting at third. Weishaar lined out to first kill the inning.

The Firebirds earned just two more base hits the rest of the way and produced on neither of them. Hill said his team was hungry for an opportunity that never came.

“We expected our kids to be competitive, regardless of the situation,” Hill said. “We tell them all the time that whether it’s checkers with your sibling or whatever the heck it is, you better compete.”

BV West, routinely stalled at the plate after tying the ballgame in the second, broke the mold on their eighth and final hit of the ballgame – a one-out, RBI double by Barrett Donaldson that found its way into the sun’s rays and out of Weishaar’s sight in right field.

The Jaguars silenced the Firebirds through just three batters in the top of the seventh and Free State’s postseason hopes came to an abrupt end. Hill felt his program showed a tremendous amount of poise throughout the entire tourney – values he feels will pay dividends for the Firebirds long after the championship trophy is handed out.

“These kids had to deal with a lot,” Hill said. “Some of them had to deal with the fact that things weren’t going the way they wanted them to go, which happens in sports and life. The lessons they leave for those younger kids, in terms of how they handled their business, are valuable.”

BOX SCORE:

Free State 100 000 0 – 1 3 0

BV West 010 001 X – 2 8 0

Save – Shafton; L – B. Graves

Highlights for Free State: Lester 0-for-2, RBI; K. Graves 1-for-4; Grady 1-for-2; Weishaar 1-for-4; B. Graves 6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K.

Free State tops Derby 8-1 for third-place title

The Firebirds, running right back onto the diamond after the heartbreaking one-run defeat, went on to defeat 5-seed Derby 8-1 to take home the third-place championship. Passing up the Panthers, Free State looked to senior Jackson Waggoner for the final start of his high school career.

Waggoner finished 7.0 full innings of four-hit, one-run baseball and four strikeouts.

Free State, posting seven total hits, took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third and never let Derby come within an inch of its lead. Ahead 5-0 after the fifth, the Panthers chopped the Firebirds’ lead down to four runs.

A big sixth inning – one that ultimately secured the win for Free State – kicked off a leadoff walk for Ben Graves. Senior Jake Chun knocked in Graves with a sacrifice RBI and senior Jase Grady batted in two more runs, sending Free State up 8-1, with a two-out, two-base RBI on an error.

“I was proud of the way our kids handled that challenge and had to come back out,” Hill said of the third-place finale game. “They found a way to suck it up, put their chin out and play the way they did.”

photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World

Free State junior Kyle Graves throws the ball to first base against BV West during the state tournament on Friday, May 26, 2023. Free State ended their season with a 2-1 loss.

photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World

Free State junior Kyle Graves is jubilant against BV West during the state tournament on Friday, May 26, 2023. Free State ended their season with a 2-1 loss.

photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World

Free State junior Kyle Graves fields a ground ball against BV West during the state tournament on Friday, May 26, 2023. Free State ended their season with a 2-1 loss.

photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World

Free State freshman pitcher Ben Graves tosses the ball to first base against BV West during the state tournament on Friday, May 26, 2023. Free State ended their season with a 2-1 loss.