Free State's Ethan Bradford throws a pitch during a game against Gardner-Edgerton at FSHS on Tuesday, April 9, 2019.

It is too early in the season to be scoreboard watching.

That being said, Free State’s baseball team understood the importance of its 5-2 win over Gardner-Edgerton at FSHS. Entering Tuesday night, both the Firebirds (8-2, 6-0 Sunflower League) and the Trailblazers (6-2, 4-1) were the only two teams with undefeated league records.

As a result, Free State is now alone in first place after notching its eighth win in a row.

“We are in total control of what we can control,” senior Jaxson Webb said. “Our thing right now is that we are trying to take it one game at a time. We don’t let (the win streak) get to us. There are a lot of teams, that if they were in our position, they would let off the pedal. I don’t think we are doing that.”

Webb gifted the Firebirds a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish with a two-run double down the left-field line in the bottom of the fourth. It was a part of a four-run fourth inning for FSHS. Daniel Kufahl then followed suit with an RBI single and Mitchell Clark ended up scoring on a passed ball.

“I liked Jaxson Webb getting a key base hit, it was good to see his bat contribute today,” FSHS coach Mike Hill said. “We didn’t have the best at-bats early. I thought we were solid on the defensive end. We did some good things in all facets today.”

Free State added a run in the bottom of the fifth when Peyton Sparks recorded a triple and eventually scored on a wild pitch. For the game, Creighton Cordova and Sparks led the offense with multi-hit efforts. Jake Baker tallied a double and Jack Kallenberger posted a base knock to help FSHS finish with nine hits.

It was plenty of firepower to back another potent pitching performance by Free State’s staff. David Stuart, who got the start, spun four shutout innings and allowed just one hit. He finished with one strikeout and one walk before handing the ball to Ethan Bradford.

Free State’s David Stuart throws a pitching during a game against Gardner-Edgerton at FSHS on Tuesday, April 9, 2019.

Bradford danced around some trouble in the seventh, as he allowed two runs (one earned) off one hit over three innings on the mound. He struck out four batters and walked one to lead the Firebirds to their ninth consecutive game of allowing two runs or fewer.

“It was a good team win,” Stuart said. “We knew they were swinging the bat well coming into it, so we were coming out knowing we had to win this game to set ourselves up for a good position later in the year.”

Free State plays host to Olathe Northwest at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

LHS baseball defeats Shawnee Mission North

Lawrence jumped out to an early lead and never looked back en route to a 4-1 win over Shawnee Mission North.

Senior Garrett Romero led the way with three of the team’s six hits. He delivered two RBIs, driving in a run off a double in the second and scoring another runner off a single in the third. Senior Caleb Mondi produced an RBI single in the bottom of the third.

Jackson Hewins tossed five innings of one-run ball, allowing three hits to go along with one strikeout and one walk. Chris Ritter pitched two scoreless frames in relief, recording one strikeout.

LHS (5-4, 3-3 Sunflower League) travels to Olathe North at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Veritas baseball records 12-6 win

Veritas scored six runs in the third inning in an eventual 12-6 win over St. Mary’s Academy Tuesday night.

Tucker Flory and Will Bartkoski each recorded two hits for the Eagles. Levi Hawks registered three RBIs, while Reed Wilson and Bartkoski each has two RBIs. Jackson Rau, Bret Brownlee, Josiah Ming and Landon Ream all drove in a run as well.

Ream also went five innings in his start, allowing one earned run off two hits to go along with six strikeouts and five walks.

City swim teams dominate

The leaderboard was filled with local flavor during Free State’s Invitational Tuesday afternoon.

In nearly every event, Free State and Lawrence made up most of the top spots throughout the five-team meet. LHS placed first as a team, their fifth victory in as many meets, with 555 total points. FSHS placed second with a score of 351.

The Lions won 11 of the 12 events, including all three relay races. Even Lawrence’s second relay team finished in the top three in all three events.

Aubrey Fischer recorded multiple wins to lead the way for Lawrence. She placed first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 56.37 and recorded first in the 100 backstroke with a mark of 1:03.47. Emily Guo placed first in the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke to finish with a pair of wins.

Lawrence High’s Emily Guo (right) and Free State’s Kasey Dunn (left) finish the 100 butterfly during a meet at FSHS on Tuesday, April 9, 2019.

Maddie Dean (200 IM), Madi Heckman (50 freestyle), Eden Kingery (diving) and Morgan Jones (500 freestyle) all netted individual wins for the Lions. Kasey Dunn of Free State secured first in the 200 freestyle.

Team scores: 1. Lawrence 555; 2. Free State 351; 3. Shawnee Mission South 324; 4. Bishop Miege 248; 5. SM Northwest 155.

200-yard medley relay: 1. LHS (Maddie Dean, Emily Guo, Aubrey Fischer, Madi Heckman), 1:53.64; 2. LHS (Iris Sherron, Ali Jones, Carmen Braden, Jamie Abernathy), 2:01.34; 4. FS (Abbey Hossler, Payton Krug, Kasey Dunn, Richa Joshi), 2:03.83.

200 free: 1. Kasey Dunn, FS, 2:01.74; 2. Morgan Jones, LHS, 2:02.72; 3. Megan Drumm, LHS, 2:14.56; 7. Nisa Kay Khosh, FS, 2:22.36; 9. Naomi Soderling, FS, 2:25.72; 10. Haven Bellerive, LHS, 2:31.29.

200 IM: 1. Maddie Dean, LHS, 2:19.05; 2. Payton Krug, FS, 2:22.40; 3. Iris Sherron, LHS, 2:31.41; 4. Jillian Wilson, LHS, 2:32.19; 6. Richa Joshi, FS, 2:43.81; 7. Anna Marburger, LHS, 2:51.53; 8. Anastasia Bunting, FS, 2:56.55.

50 free: 1. Madi Heckman, LHS, 25.59; 6. Marian Frick, LHS, 26.77; 7. Jaimie Abernathy, LHS, 26.87.

Diving: 1. Eden Kingery, LHS, 202.50; 4. Monica Kimmel, FS, 181.25; 9. Kate Bartle, FS, 121.50; 12. Nancy Mai, LHS, 107.65.

100 butterfly: 1. Emily Guo, LHS, 58.58; 2. Kasey Dunn, FS, 1:01.23; 3. Carmen Braden, LHS, 1:06.34; 4. Megan Drumm, LHS, 1:09.77; 5. Nora Agah, FS, 1:09.96; 7. Lisa Yang, LHS, 1:21.52.

100 freestyle: 1. Aubrey Fischer, LHS, 56.37; 4. Maddie Dean, LHS, 58.82; 5. Marian Frick, LHS, 1:00.03; 8. Brooke Wroten, LHS, 1:02.09; 10. Emma Day, FS, 1:03.27.

500 freestyle: 1. Morgan Jones, LHS, 5:25.26; 2. Carmen Braden, LHS, 5:37.72; 3. Ali Jones, LHS, 5:45.89; 4. Killian Wilson, LHS, 6:04.97; 5. Nisa Kay Khosh, FS, 6:10.91; 6. Naomi Soderling, FS, 6:27.90; 9. Savannah Randall, FS, 7:06.54.

200 freestyle relay: 1. LHS (Marian Frick, Carmen Braden, Emily Guo, Madi Heckman), 1:45.43; 3. LHS (Brooke Wroten, Grace Shroyer, Megan Drumm, Morgan Jones), 1:52.17; 5. FS (Lily Thompson, Abbey Hossler, Nora Agah, Payton Krug), 1:55.35.

100 backstroke: 1. Aubrey Fischer, LHS, 1:03.47; 2. Iris Sherron, LHS, 1:05.53; 3. Ali Jones, LHS, 1:05.66; 5. Jamie Abernathy, LHS, 1:09.73; 8. Emmaleigh Hancock, FS, 1:14.50; 9. Abbey Hossler, FS, 1:14.59; 10. Anna Welton, FS, 1:15.01.

100 breaststroke: 1. Emily Guo, LHS, 1:08.86; 2. Madi Heckman, LHS, 1:11.23; 3. Payton Krug, FS, 1:12.66; 9. Emma Day, FS, 1:21.51.

400 freestyle relay: 1. LHS (Morgan Jones, Maddie Dean, Jamie Abernathy, Aubrey Fischer), 3:54.88; 2. LHS (Marian Frick, Brooke Wroten, Ali Jones, Megan Drumm), 4:06.07; 4. FSHS (Nora Asah, Naomi Soderling, Emma Day, Kasey Dunn), 4:13.08.

FSHS softball rolls to 17-0 win

Free State’s softball team cruised to a 17-0 road win Shawnee Mission South Tuesday night.

The Firebirds (7-0) were led by Maci Miles, who was the winning pitcher. She also produced a 2-for-4 clip at the play with a homer and four RBIs. Kay Lee Richardson clubbed her fourth homer of the season as well.

Free State travels to Shawnee Mission North at 6 p.m. Thursday.

LHS softball falls at Olathe Northwest

The Lawrence High softball team couldn’t overcome an early deficit in a 13-3 loss at Olathe Northwest.

Sammy Williams recorded a double in the loss, as the Lions fell to 1-4 on the year. Karly Johnson, Sydney Delfelder, Abby Monroe and Kaylee McNish all notched a single as well. Johnson continued her stellar defense for the early part of the season.

LHS plays host to Olathe North for a doubleheader on Thursday. Lawrence plays host to Free State on Friday.

Baldwin beats Bishop Seabury

The Baldwin girls soccer team remained undefeated following a 3-1 win over Bishop Seabury Monday night.

Anna Burnett, a junior forward, notched her 12th score of the season to help the Bulldogs improve to 6-0. Divya Hopkins also scored a goal, while Ruby Dempsey record her first-career score. Emily Heinz of Bishop Seabury converted on a penalty kick in the loss.

Bishop Seabury plays host to Cornerstone on Friday.

Free State finishes 12th

Free State’s boys golf team placed 12th at the Shawnee Mission East Invitational on Monday.

The Firebirds recorded a team score of 338, while Olathe East won the event with a 304. Blue Valley North (306) and Mill Valley (307) finished second and third, respectively, in the event.

Andrew Park led the way for Free State, carding a total score of 81 to place 32nd in the event. He shot a 39 on the back nine. Landon Berquist posted an 82 to place 43rd on the individual leaderboard, while Alex Gard registered an 86 to come in at 56th. Mitchell Spriggs logged a score of an 89, while Dylan Sommer tallied a 95.

FSHS soccer suffers 6-0 loss

Free State’s girls soccer team suffered a 6-0 defeat at Shawnee Mission South Tuesday night.

The Firebirds allowed three scores in the first half and three more in the second half in their second consecutive loss.

FSHS plays host to Shawnee Mission Northwest at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.