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

Free State third baseman Owen Lester throws over to first during the Firebirds' game against Mill Valley on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at Mill Valley High School in Shawnee.

SHAWNEE — Four runs in the first half-inning from his offense were all Free State senior Zane Shaw needed to feel comfortable on the mound.

“Obviously, that’s a big thing,” Shaw said. “I don’t feel like it changed my mindset necessarily, but it just makes you more comfortable naturally up there. It gives me more confidence.”

Shaw was then dominant on the mound all afternoon, throwing a complete game as the No. 4 Firebirds (10-2) knocked off No. 2 Mill Valley (12-2), 9-2, in a battle of two of the top teams in Kansas on Thursday at Mill Valley.

“We skipped his start last week and you never really know when you’re not in rhythm,” Hill said. “The kid is a bulldog. He wants the ball and he wants to be in that limelight.”

Shaw also had an instrumental piece in the Firebirds offense, hitting 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI.

Another key offensive performance came from junior Owen Lester, who hit 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and an RBI.

After a slow start to the season, Lester, who is in his second year as a starter for the Firebirds, says his mentality has helped turn things around.

“(You) can’t really let that get to you,” he said. “Just got to keep seeing pitches, keep swinging the bat. Can’t really let those slow starts get to you and have a slow season.”

Added Hill: “It’s there… it’s a mentality. When he goes up there and cuts it loose, he’s really, really good. He’s kind of feeling his way a little bit, and he needs to quit feeling and start swinging, because he’s pretty talented.”

Junior Ryker Mahnke wasted no time against Mill Valley starter Brandon Neis, hitting a single to right field on the game’s first pitch. Senior Ben Graves and junior Finn Moore both walked to load the bases with no outs.

After back-to-back strikeouts, Shaw and senior Nathan Young worked walks for the first two runs. Neis was replaced by Carson Cooke, who immediately gave up a two-RBI single to sophomore Carter Laubach to make the score 4-0 after the top of the first.

“(Mill Valley is) a very good baseball team,” Hill said. “They had some miscues, which is part of high school baseball … That kind of set the tone, but we played well throughout.”

Shaw allowed one baserunner in the bottom of the first, letting up a one-out double to Texas commit Beau Peterson, but recorded his first strikeout, then induced a groundout to Graves at shortstop to end the inning.

Moore reached base with two outs in the top of the second with his second walk before getting thrown out at home on a double by Lester, ending the inning.

Two more Firebirds reached base in the third after junior Ferris Dinkel was hit by a pitch and Young walked on four pitches with one out. After a mound visit, Cooke escaped the jam for the Jaguars by getting Laubach to ground into a double play.

Free State’s defense was on full display in the bottom of the third. The first out came on a routine flyout to right field before Shaw made a leaping throw on a bunt attempt, and senior Ryan Vigna laid out to complete the out. Then Vigna scooped up a throw on a backhand play from Lester at third base for the final out.

“That was a good play,” Lester said. “I’ve practiced it a lot at practice, so I give thanks to my dad and coaches for helping with that.”

Added Shaw: “At Free State, I have never had a bad defense. And the way I pitch, like (if) I’m throwing strikes, there’s going to be balls in play a lot, and just like today, and defense played their (expletive) off today.”

Only one runner reached base in the fourth for the Firebirds, with Graves drawing a two-out walk.

The Jaguars got one run in their half of the inning with two outs. With runners on first and second, a throwing error allowed both runners to advance 90 feet, and a run came home afterwards on an infield single. Shaw escaped the jam with a 4-1 lead thanks to an inning-ending strikeout.

Lester drew a walk on four pitches to open the fifth and advanced to second with one out on an infield single by Shaw. After a fielder’s choice, Free State got the run back as Lester went home on a wild pitch.

Shaw retired the side in order for the third time of the contest in the bottom of the fifth before the Firebirds’ aggressive baserunning led to two runs in the sixth. Graves started a two-out rally with a single, and Moore worked a walk. Graves scored from second on an infield single by Lester, while a steal attempt by the junior third baseman led to a throwing error, allowing Moore to make it a 7-1 game.

“(Hill) loves it a lot,” Lester said of the opportunistic baserunning. “(The) little things matter to him a lot and he makes us love it as well, so that’s a great thing.”

After another three-up, three-down inning for Shaw, Free State was once again aggressive on the base paths. Shaw and Young reached base with a single and a walk, respectively, before both advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Laubach. Senior Eli Berns, running for Shaw, was safe at home on a slow chopper off the bat of Vigna, while Young scored on a double by Mahnke.

Shaw recorded two strikeouts in the seventh before allowing the second Jaguar run of the game with a home run by Josh Garcia. Despite the blemish, Shaw wasted no time, ending the game on a flyout to Mahnke in center field to earn the win.

“You just kind of flush it,” Shaw said on his mentality after the late home run. “We had a lot of confidence there, too. I struck out that guy twice… Props to (Garcia), it was a great swing.”

The Firebirds will finish the week on Saturday with a home game against Pembroke Hill before returning to Sunflower League play with a road game at No. 1-ranked Olathe East on Monday.

After two wins on the week to this point, Hill says the team still is not where it wants to be, and is relying on his veterans’ voices to make themselves heard.

“Our kids need to understand that you only get 26 of these opportunities,” Hill said. “We have to be able to be mentally prepared every time we step on the field. The mentality of the kids (today) was really good and we’ve had a few games where not so much, and that’s where we have to mature. Our senior leaders have to hold their teammates accountable to how we’re supposed to approach the game.”