LAWRENCE – A man named Perkins has coached baseball every year at Olathe South since the school opened in 1981. 
 
That will change Tuesday morning when South baseball coach Josh Perkins shows up for duty as the assistant football coach.
 
Friday evening as the sun set behind the University of Kansas’ Hoglund Ballpark, Perkins got to ride off with the Kansas sunset. Perkins, retiring after 16 years as the South baseball coach, went out in style in South’s 10-2 decisive victory over Blue Valley West in the Class 6A state championship.
 
“I’m sad he’s retiring,” Dylan Pueser, the winning pitcher said. “It definitely felt good.”
 
“I was OK if we didn’t get a championship,” Perkins said. “But these boys, they weren’t OK with not winning a championship.”
 
His dad, Don Perkins, started the Falcon program in 1981. Don coached for 25 years until his son took over.
 
“I learned how to walk in that school,” Perkins 2.0 said as he fought back tears receiving congratulations from family, fans and players.
 
“We got hot at the right moment,” Daxton Grissom, who collected two hits, said. “Not bad for being the 14th seed in the East. We didn’t care what seed we were. We were focused on getting two wins at regionals then getting three more here.”
 
BV West threatened in the first inning, but had two runners thrown out at home plate. Easton O’Keefe and Anthony Alvarez led off with singles for the Jaguars to put runners at the corners. Alvarez then started for second and was in a rundown as O’Keefe tried to score and was thrown out.
 

After an intentional walk to Eli Lovich, Samuel Dew chopped a high bouncer to shortstop Colin Guerra. Alvarez tried to score from second and was nailed at the plate.
 
“That’s baseball,” Perkins said. “I’ve been at the other end of that scale. It’s all about breaks. It’s true it’s better to be lucky than good.”
 
In the third inning, the Jags loaded the bases on a walk to Sage Huffman, an O’Keefe bunt single and another intentional walk to Lovich following an Alvarez sacrifice. Unfortunately for the Jags, the threat ended on a tailor-made double play hit right to the shortstop.
 
Olathe South scored single runs in the second and third frames. Daxton Grissom led off with an infield single in which he took second on a throwing error. Noah McCombs picked up the first run on a ground single to right. 
 
Guerra started things in the third with a single to right. He eventually scored on a Quinton Coats’ single up the middle.
 
BV West, which ended 24-6, cut into South’s lead when Samuel Shelton plated Jaden Rose on a ground single to right. 
 
The Falcons, who were four games under .500 at one time, put the game away with a five-spot in the fifth on RBI singles by Quinton Coats, Charley Lawrence and Gage Lee along with a pair of West errors. 
 
South, 16-13, scored three more in the seventh on an infield single, two walks and four wild pitches. 
 

“In April I decided this was going to be my last year,” an emotional Perkins said. “I have kids who are in sixth, second and third grade and it was time for me to be a dad.”
 
He continued. 
 
“The success goes to all these boys. I had the best seat in the house right over there,” Perkins said of the coaching box. “I’m so happy for these boys.”
 
Perkins graduated from South in 2000 as his dad was the coach from 1981-2006. He won two state championships. 
 
“I kept asking myself what do I need to do. We finished second once and third twice,” he added. “I was at peace for not winning one, but my players weren’t. To win it is amazing.”
 
“The stars lined up just right,” Gavin Blachowicz said. “We caught fire at the right time.”
 
In the third-place game, three Free State pitchers combined on eight strikeouts as the Firebirds beat Shawnee Mission East 7-1. 
 
Blaine Larkin yielded five hits over four innings and Cayman Cook and Ben Graves gave up just a walk between them. Six different Firebirds drove in runs as Free State finished 23-7. 
 
East, stunned from losing its semifinal in walk-off fashion, ended at 20-11.