Pitcher Rachel Rook came up with the perfect way to cap a perfect season in the Central Ozark Conference.
Rook pitched a perfect game, retiring all 15 batters she faced, in a five-inning, 12-0 win over Branson Wednesday. Rook struck out 14 of those batters. The only fair ball by Branson all night was a bunt that went about a foot in front of home plate and resulted in an easy out at first base.
Coach Lee Dishman says the Lady Tigers have stepped up since he challenged them late last week.
“After Friday’s games at the (Springfield Invitational) tournament, we had a talk that we were going through the motions a little bit,” Dishman says. “From Saturday on, it’s a totally different team from what we’ve been seeing the last couple weeks. Sure, we’ve been winning ball games, but now they’re on a mission and they’re ready to go.”
Republic struck early and left no doubt that they were bound for a conference title, scoring four runs in the first and two more in the second–all while Rook was dominating in the circle. Rook struck out the side in the first inning on only nine pitches. She needed only 11 pitches to strike out all three batters in the second inning, and only 13 pitches in the third.
Kami Holt broke out at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a home run and five runs batted in. Caty Eby also had two hits and scored a pair of runs for the Lady Tigers.
The victory completed a sweep of the COC by the Lady Tigers, giving them the outright conference championship. It’s the first time Republic has swept the conference undefeated since it expanded. Dishman says the prospect of an undefeated conference season helped spark Republic’s performance.
“I think that’s what motivated them today,” he says. “We didn’t want to share that conference title with another team, so we wanted to go out and just prove we’re the best team in the conference, and I think we put a stamp on it tonight.”
In a season marked by unhittable performances, Wednesday night may have been Rachel Rook’s best. Rook struck out nearly everyone she faced, and the only fair ball Branson managed all night traveled less than 2 feet. Rook’s performance was dominating, even by the standards of a perfect game, and for that, she is the Country Couture Player of the Game.
All season long, Country Couture Boutique is sponsoring a player of the game for Lady Tigers softball. Stop in to their store across from Casey’s on Highway 174 for a complete selection of softball and other Tiger and Lady Tiger apparel.
Republic is now 23-2 overall. They play their last home game of the regular season Thursday against McDonald County. It’s also Senior Night. The Lady Tigers will honor Caty Eby, Emily Hall, Marlee Scroggins, and Lauren Strobel.