photo by: Photo courtesy Lora Wedd-Hardesty

Free State's Ryker Mahnke, left, and Owen Lester, middle, pose with Lawrence's Hudson Hardesty as members of Team Kansas in the High School Baseball National Championship Series in Nebraska.

Lawrence rising senior Hudson Hardesty knew that Kansas had the potential to win it all when the team upset Texas 6-3 on the second day of the High School Baseball National Championship Series.

Kansas — which included Hardesty and two rising seniors from Free State, Ryker Mahnke and Owen Lester — had started the tournament with a win over Nebraska before facing a talented Texas team full of future Division I players. But talent didn’t matter — grit did, and Kansas got the job done.

Kansas beat Texas 6-3, which included a four-run fifth inning to take the lead for good. Mahnke finished with two hits, Lester picked up two walks and Hardesty recorded a hit as well as pitching the final 2.2 innings with just three hits allowed.

Kansas took that momentum the rest of the way, finishing the tournament with a 5-1 record and defeating No. 1 Florida 6-1 in the championship at Charles Schwab Field, the home of the College World Series.

“We got down there, and we kind of just played,” Hardesty said. “We bought in really well from the start, and it really showed throughout the games.”

It was a fun experience for the three local kids, who have all grown up playing baseball together. Both Lester and Hardesty spoke to Mahnke about what the experience was like, and all three enjoyed getting to show out together. In addition to playing baseball, the team got to bond and watch fireworks while celebrating the Fourth of July.

As the only returner on the Kansas team, Mahnke made sure to let everyone on the team know how challenging the tournament is, telling everyone that “there are no free wins.” But everyone on the team worked hard and played together, which led them to winning it all.

“We all knew each other from before, so I think that helped a lot with the chemistry,” Mahnke said. “We just did something that no one thought we would be able to do, and that was a lot of fun.”

Kansas lost 6-1 to Louisiana in the final bracket game, which put Kansas as the sixth seed in the quarterfinals. There, Kansas beat North Carolina 3-2 to advance to the semifinal round. Once again, the locals shined as Mahnke and Hardesty’s two singles drove in all three of the team’s runs in the sixth inning. Mahnke singled to center field, which brought in the tying run, and Hardesty’s single in the following at-bat brought in two runs. North Carolina scored on an RBI triple, but Kansas held the one-run lead through the bottom of the seventh.

Kansas punched its ticket to the championship with a 4-3 walk-off win over Arizona on Sunday. Kansas scored its first run in the bottom of the second inning, but Arizona tied it with a run in the top of the sixth and took the lead with two runs in the top of the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh, Mahnke doubled with two outs, driving in the two runs to tie the game. Neither team scored until the bottom of the ninth, where Kansas recorded a double and a single before an infield error brought in the game-winning run.

It was a significant win for Mahnke, who was on the Kansas team last year that lost to Arizona in the semifinal. He saw some familiar faces in the dugout from last year and was happy to get revenge.

“It felt good, especially doing it for the boys last year,” Mahnke said. “Just staying true to what we were, and knowing how to get our redemption back from those guys… we knew going into it that it was going to be a really good game.”

In the game, Hardesty threw 6.2 innings, allowing four hits and a walk against seven strikeouts. Of the three runs scored for Arizona, only two were earned runs on Hardesty.

Kansas left no doubt in the championship game against Florida, winning 6-1 to win the tournament. Florida took the lead with a run in the bottom of the second, but Kansas tied it up in the top of the fourth. Hardesty walked to start the inning, and he advanced to third base on a single later in the frame. Hardesty ran home on a fielder’s choice in the following at-bat.

Kansas added four more runs in the top of the fifth to secure the lead for good. The team started with four singles, the latter two bringing in one run each. Mahnke’s single to right field accounted for the second of the first two runs. Hardesty’s sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, and a later single brought Mahnke and another runner home.

Kansas added the final run in the top of the seventh in an inning that started with a single from Hardesty. With two outs, he ran home on an error by the catcher, leading to the final 6-1 score.

“We were scrappy,” Lester said. “They had a lot more commits and talent than us, but we wanted to be scrappy, beat them at small ball and do the little things right. That’s what we did, and we came out on top.”

All three locals contributed to the team. Hardesty pitched a team-high 9.1 innings and threw 10 strikeouts against seven hits and a walk. Offensively, Hardesty had five hits, which was tied for the second-most on the team, across 15 at-bats. He drove in two runs.

Mahnke also had five hits in 14 at-bats and drove in four runs. Lester had two walks in nine plate appearances and had a sacrifice bunt that advanced the runners to secure the final runs in the win over Texas.

One of the other highlights came from the venue. For kids hoping to play college baseball at the highest level, playing in Omaha is a dream. Lester said he took it all in during warmups, enjoying the environment in which he was playing, and the others added how special it was.

“It almost felt like we were playing in a championship, a real championship game,” Hardesty said. “Playing at night and playing with the best players from Kansas was cool.”

This weekend was a chance to show out for their city, their state and their community. The Sunflower State kids showed their scrappiness against some of the best baseball players in the country.

“It felt great, because a lot of people look down on Kansas,” Lester said. “States like Texas and Florida, California… They’re bigger schools, and just going out there and proving that Kansas is also great at baseball is just a great feeling.”