On May 10 at 5:30 p.m. at the Lawrence High baseball stadium and May 13 at 7 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark, Lawrence High and Free State will face off to settle who has the best high school baseball team in the city.
Head Coach Brad Stoll said the games are shaping up to be a good match up: both teams are ultra-talented and anyone can come away with a win.
Facing the Lions is University of Kansas verbal commit, Free State junior Cody Kukuk and the rest of the Firebird team.
“[Kukuk] is the real deal, but we have Albert Minnis who is just as talented,” Stoll said.
Having two equal athletes will level the playing field, but LHS will still need to be careful against him.
Along with his pitching, Kukuk is also a very consistent hitter.
“We have to be careful against Cody Kukuk; we need to make him hit pitcher’s pitches,” assistant varsity coach Adam Green said.
Winning State last year was a result of the hard work the team put in day in and day out, and according to senior catcher Chase McElhaney, they take practice very seriously.
Working in the Lions’ favor is a two game winning streak against Free State. Having won the last two of three games against the Firebirds, and returning a few players from that team with varsity experience against Free State from last year.
Even with these advantages, not everything is working in the Lions’ favor. Baseball is more than hitting, it also comes down to how well a team can pitch, and for the Lions, their pitching has been absent so far this year.
“The pitching consistency is not there, and it has been for our opponents,” Green said.
The challenge facing the Lions is the Firebirds seem to have a little more fire power on the offensive side having more than doubled the Lions run total for the year.
The teams have been playing two games ever since Free State opened in 1998. The pair of games gives the city a special opportunity to see the programs play each other twice every year. The added game is also helpful to get a feel for what Regionals will be like.
The second game will be played at KU, which allows for more accessibility and fans.
“It’s a little easier to get to, and we think of the fans,” Green said.
The players also get a thrill out of playing in the venue.
“It’s cool, nice to play at a D1 stadium, the whole facility, it’s cool,” senior outfielder Ricky Bellinger said.
The games give the players more than just a win or loss, it offers bragging rights for a whole year. For some of these players, this will be their last chance to earn those privileges.
