The Springfield Invitational Tournament was all going according to plan for the Republic softball team – until the sixth inning of the championship game. That’s when Lee’s Summit North busted out for four runs off Rachel Rook in a come-from-behind rally and a 4-3 win over the Lady Tigers.
The Broncos hit a run-scoring triple to the the game, but a great defensive effort by center fielder Caty Eby nearly snuffed out the rally with the Lady Tigers leading 3-2. She closed quickly on the sinking line-drive, dove, and briefly had the ball in her glove–before she slammed into the ground and the collision knocked the ball free.
Rook struck out ten batters and was in control until the game-winning rally.
“Rachel hit a wall. Six games in three days is tough on anybody,” says coach Lee Dishman. “She just kind of lost her velocity and lost her movement. That’s a good team and they were just waiting for that.”
Lauren Strobel hit a two-run home run that had given Republic a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Ally Stolte also drove in a run.
Despite the loss in the championship game, Dishman says he’s proud of the way the Lady Tigers played in the tournament.
“Twenty-two and two. That’s nothing to hang your head about. Every team in southwest Missouri would die to be where they are right now,” he says. “I told them I don’t plan on getting beat again…the rest of the year.”
Dishman also says the tournament was an important step toward the Lady Tigers becoming a better team as the post-season approaches.
“We’ve been going through the motions a little bit, knowing we’re the better team in the game, and we weren’t proving it,” Dishman says. “(This weekend) we proved to ourselves and proved to other people that we’re for real, and big games don’t bother us.”