photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Senior Ben Graves is welcomed back to the dugout with high fives from his Free State teammates after scoring against Tea Area High School on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Lawrence.

The Free State baseball team began its Class 6A state championship defense in run-rule fashion, taking down Tea Area High School of South Dakota 15-0 in four innings on Thursday at Free State.

“It’s a lot of fun being back on the field with the guys playing,” senior Ben Graves said. “It’s good to get out here and get a nice, comfortable win.”

All nine Firebirds in the lineup reached base in the win, with the team collecting 11 walks, five hits, and three hit batters.

“I thought we saw some first-game jitters, probably on both sides,” head coach Mike Hill said. “Commanding the strike zone was a bit of a challenge for us and for them as well.”

Senior Darin Fehr made his first varsity start for Free State, tossing three scoreless innings and striking out five batters while issuing four walks and allowing one hit.

Fehr has had to wait his turn in the program throughout his first three seasons and is expected to play a key role this year on the mound.

“He’s a kid with a lot of ability, he’s just been blocked in the program for a couple of years,” Hill said. “Nobody works harder than him. You want all kids to succeed, but you’re particularly happy when a kid like him has some success, so he just needs to keep grinding at it.”

Fehr faced danger early in the first, issuing walks to three of the first four batters. With one out and the bases loaded, the right-hander was able to get back-to-back strikeouts to escape the jam scoreless.

“My thought was just, ‘All those walks, that’s the past. I got to have tunnel vision,'” Fehr said. “‘I just got to be locked in with the batter at hand. If I’m worried about the previous at-bats or about walking the next guy, it’s going to turn into another walk.’ So I just calmed down, locked in and trusted my stuff.”

In the Firebirds’ half of the first, Ben Graves and Finn Moore worked back-to-back walks, and both scored on a triple by Owen Lester for the first two runs of the game. Lester scored on the next at-bat on a groundout, making the score 3-0.

Ryan Vigna worked a two-out walk in the second and stole second before moving to third on a wild pitch. After taking a walk, Ryker Mahnke forced a rundown situation, allowing Vigna to score before Mahnke was tagged for the final out of the inning.

After Fehr’s fifth strikeout of the game, the Titans worked a walk and collected their first hit to put runners on first and second. Fehr put an end to the rally by inducing a groundout to shortstop, in which Graves stepped on second and fired to first to complete the inning-ending double play.

The Firebirds opened the game up in the third, taking advantage of seven walks in the frame and three hits en route to taking a 14-0 lead.

Kyle Sikes took over in relief in the fourth inning and allowed a walk but struck out three batters to leave the Titans scoreless.

“Sikes came in and did a great job,” Hill said. “Just filled up the zone with multiple pitches. That’s how we like to do things here: throw strikes and do it with multiple pitches.”

A pair of hit-by-pitches to begin the bottom of the fourth led to the winning run as Mahnke laced an RBI single to give Free State its first win of the season.

The Firebirds will return to action at home on Friday at 3:15 p.m., taking on Sioux Falls-Jefferson High School. The Cavaliers are the second of five teams from South Dakota that the Firebirds will play to open the season, with the remaining three games taking place next week.

“It’s definitely helped us kind of ease into the season and get comfortable with these teams early, and especially for them too, they feel the same way,” Graves said. “It’s a good way to start the year. It makes everybody better and gets us ready for the Sunflower League competition.”

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Senior Ryan Vigna high-fives a Tea player after Free State’s 15-0 win on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Senior Kyle Sikes delivers a pitch during Free State’s season opener against Tea Area High School on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Senior Zane Shaw hits a single during Free State’s matchup against Tea Area High School on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Senior Nathan Young moves to third base after his Free State teammate is walked with the bases loaded during the game against Tea Area High School on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Senior Zane Shaw makes his way to second base in Free State’s game against Tea Area High School on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Junior Finn Moore runs to third base during Free State’s season opener against Tea Area High School on Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Lawrence.