Free State baseball beat Lawrence 10-2 at Hoglund Ballpark to sweep the Lions in City Showdown games and secure a Sunflower League championship.

“Going into the game, we were thinking, ‘Let’s win a league championship,’ not necessarily ‘Let’s beat Lawrence,'” Cole Wright said. “But it still feels great to beat those guys across town.”

The Lions started at the plate and opened the game with a walk by Hudson Hardesty. The Firebirds turned a double play in the next at-bat from shortstop Charlie Peters to second baseman Ben Graves to first baseman Wesley Cupps. Pitcher Blaine Larkin threw a strikeout to close the top of the frame.

Brice Schwada pitched for the Lions and threw a strikeout after walking leadoff hitter Ryker Mahnke. The Lions got two outs in the field to close the inning without any more runners getting on base.

“I don’t think we were effective offensively,” Free State coach Mike Hill said. “We had some things that went our way with some walks and hit batters and things like that, but it wasn’t a case where we lit it up, and some of that is a credit to (Lawrence) and the way they pitched.”

Larkin threw two strikeouts in the top of the second, with Graves inducing the groundout for the other out. Schwada recorded two strikeouts of his own after a leadoff walk, and the second inning closed without either team having a hit.

Free State got all it needed in the third inning. Larkin struck out the side in 13 pitches, while offensively, the Firebirds scored six runs.

Ryan Weishaar started the bottom of the third with a walk, and Mahnke followed him with a single. Wright reached on an error in the following at-bat to load the bases, and a walk and a hit-by-pitch in the next two plate appearances gave the Firebirds a two-run lead. Third baseman Finn Moore singled to bring in a third run, Owen Lester walked to bring in a fourth, and the Firebirds drove in two runs on a groundout and a sacrifice fly. Lawrence pitcher Brady Wollesen threw the final strikeout to end the inning.

The Lions found some life offensively in the fourth. Hardesty started with another walk, but Larkin followed it with two more strikeouts. The Lions continued to fight, and Galbreath singled, followed by Logan Harris walking in the next at-bat. Brandt Edmonds singled to bring in the first run, and Tristan Prier was hit by a pitch, which brought in the second run. Larkin rebounded with a third strikeout to prevent any more damage.

“I had some struggles, but I think other than that, we played lights out on defense,” Larkin said.

Larkin finished with two hits and three walks allowed in five innings with 10 strikeouts. Wright said Larkin was “lights out for most of the game,” which was a key factor in the win. When the Firebirds have a lead, the team trusts its pitching staff to finish the job against any team.

“Once we got the six-spot, I felt like the game was over, pretty much,” Mahnke said. “I knew Blaine was going to go shove it.”

Lawrence caught two popouts to start the bottom of the fourth before giving up two walks, a hit-by-pitch and a two-run error. Wollesen threw a final strikeout after the Firebirds gained an 8-2 lead. At the top of the fifth, the Firebirds retired the side in three batters before adding another two runs on offense. Wright doubled with Graves hitting a single right after to move the lead to eight runs.

Free State switched pitchers in the top of the sixth, but the team found the same success with Nathan Young. He struck out his first batter, and the defense collected the next two outs. Lawrence pitcher Logan Sheldon, who pitched the fifth and sixth innings, allowed only a walk and no hits in the sixth while throwing a strikeout to close the sixth inning.

The Firebirds closed the game in the seventh, but not before the Lions put three runners on base. Prier earned a free base after being hit, and Jaxon Becker singled on a bunt to reach first. With two outs, Hardesty walked, but a popout to Peters ended the game.

“We have a lot of friends over there, so it feels good to beat them,” Larkin said. “They’ve got a good, competitive ball club over there.”

The Firebirds got a boost from a loud Free State crowd in the stands. Mahnke said it felt good knowing his peers have his back whenever he steps to the plate.

Free State, the league champion for the first time since 2019, will finish its regular season at home against Park Hill South on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., while the Lions will take on Blue Valley North on the road on Wednesday and Olathe Northwest at home the following day.