photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Zane Shaw delivers a pitch to a Shawnee Mission West batter during the Firebirds' state championship game on Friday, May 30, 2025, at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas.

For the first time since 2015, the Free State baseball team (28-2) etched its name into the history books, defeating Shawnee Mission West, 7-1, on Friday night at Hoglund Ballpark to win the program’s third state championship.

“Zane (Shaw) was lights out the first couple innings. He was amped up, you know, (hitting) 93 a time or two. We knew that probably wasn’t sustainable,” head coach Mike Hill said. “We kept putting pressure on with the exception of two innings, and I think that’s kinda what helped us in the sixth. It’s just constant, putting people on and getting our opportunities.”

As agreed upon by the seniors on Friday morning, it was Shaw, a junior, who got the start on the mound in the championship game, and he didn’t disappoint, throwing six strong innings of one-run ball while striking out seven batters.

Shaw worked a three-up, three-down top of the first, while the offense found its stride early. Ryker Mahnke began the game with a double and was immediately driven in by Cole Wright, who singled. The bases were loaded up right after that as both Ben Graves and Finn Moore were hit by a pitch.

After a pitching change by Shawnee Mission West, Andrew Zimmerschied was hit by a pitch, scoring Wright, and Owen Lester produced an RBI groundout to score Moore, giving the Firebirds a 3-0 lead after the first.

Neither team scored in the second or the third. The Vikings recorded their first run on an RBI single by Connor Witt in the top of the fourth. Witt made a run for third on single, but was out on a perfectly executed pickoff move by the Firebirds. Shaw struck out the next two batters to hold on to a 3-1 lead.

“That was big,” Hill said. “And credit to Zane for keeping his composure. Charlie (Peters)’ throw, and then the pick off, those were pretty big.”

The Firebirds were runless in both the fourth and fifth innings, despite getting two runners on with one out in the bottom of the fifth. On the defensive side, Shaw induced a double play and got a strikeout to retire the side in order in the top of the fifth.

Shaw continued to use his defense in the top of the sixth, getting a groundout and a flyout before striking out Witt to end the inning with a 92 mph fastball.

The first three Free State batters reached in the top of the sixth, as Ryan Weishaar singled, before both Wesley Cupps and Mahnke reached with bunt singles. Graves and Moore both extended the lead, as the former laced an RBI single and the latter was hit by a pitch. The Firebirds added two more runs on an RBI single by Peters.

“Just amazing,” Peters said on coming through in that moment. “We’ve been working at this so hard every single day. It just feels amazing.”

As the team has said many times before, it was going to take an all-out effort from all 18 members in order to achieve the goal they set out for last May: hoisting a state championship trophy.

“There wasn’t a guy out there that didn’t give his full effort this week,” senior pitcher Blaine Larkin said. “Everyone was just playing their heart out, and we got it done.”

Line score

SMW 000 100 0 – 1 3 2

FSHS 300 004 x – 7 9 0

W – Shaw; L – Stein

Highlights for FSHS: Mahnke 3-4, 2 R; Graves 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K; Shaw 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K.

Free State 6, Manhattan 0

Free State got a complete game pitching performance from junior Nathan Young and scored five runs in the first three innings to take down No. 4 Manhattan, 6-0, in the semifinal game of the 6A state baseball tournament earlier on Friday.

Young worked efficiently and got ahead early in counts, striking out five batters while giving up just three hits in seven innings of work.

“I felt great. I feel like I didn’t have my full effort, but all my stuff was moving great, and everything was feeling well out there,” Young said.

The decision to throw Young in the semifinal allowed for Free State to turn to Shaw, the team’s typical second starter, in the championship game.

“There are all kinds of different ways to do it, but what we have to do is figure out how to pitch 21 innings to win the (championship),” Hill said. “You’re not here to get to the championship, you’re here to win it.”

The first hit of the day for Free State came just two pitches into the bottom of the first when Mahnke hit a leadoff double. Two batters later, Graves singled to score Mahnke for the first run of the game. Graves later scored on a double by Zimmerschied to make the score 2-0 after the first.

“Without question, being able to score early, I think sets a tone for the game,” Hill said.

Weishaar was the lone Firebird to reach base in the bottom of the second with a two-out double. Young retired the side in order for the second time in the top of the third, getting Manhattan’s Carter Aslin to fly out to end the inning.

A single, hit by pitch, and a walk loaded the bases to begin the bottom of the third for Free State. Two of the runners scored on a single by Finn Moore, and the third scored on a sacrifice fly by Peters.

Manhattan brought in reliever Easton Duff in the fourth inning, and he kept the Firebird offense at bay, retiring the side in order in his first inning of work. Duff couldn’t maintain the same success in the fifth, as Moore drove in Hugh Kneidel with an RBI triple. A pitch hit Owen Lester, and Peters walked to load the bases, but Duff and the Indians kept the score at 6-0 after striking out the next two batters to end the inning.

Free State got two runners on in the sixth but to no avail, and sent Young out for his seventh inning of work. From there, the typical reliever finished his longest outing of the season with three groundouts to send the Firebirds into the championship game.

The previous two seasons, the Firebirds failed to make it past the semifinal, so while the win got the team past a recent kryptonite of sorts, Hill doesn’t see it the same way.

“We’ve been in the championship game quite a lot, I don’t think that’s an issue historically,” he said. “(The players) don’t care what happened a year ago.”

Line score

Manhattan 000 000 0 – 0 3 0

Free State 203 010 x – 6 8 1

W – Young; L – Gnirk.

Highlights for FSHS: Moore 2-4, 3 RBI; Mahnke 2-4, R; Zimmerschied 1-3, RBI, BB; Young 7.0 IP, 3 H, BB, 5 K.