Streak Ends as Lady Tigers Take 2nd

It took nine innings, but someone finally beat the Lady Tigers.

After seven straight wins to start the season, Republic lost in the championship game of the Cape Girardeau Notre Dame Invitational 4-0 to Portageville. The game featured a total of 40 strikeouts.

Senior Portageville pitcher Taylor Tiffany, who turned down an offer to pitch at Mizzou in favor of Auburn-Montgomery of the NAIA, struck out 22 batters. She allowed only two hits, to Kami Holt and Caty Eby, and didn’t walk a batter.

Rachel Rook matched Tiffany for eight innings, until a four-run rally in the top of the 9th delivered the win for Portageville. Rook struck out 18 batters and allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks. The scoring rally for Portageville was the first time an opponent had scored an earned run off Rook all season, ending a streak of 47 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run at the beginning of the season.

Republic had advanced to the championship game by beating Saxony in the semifinals, 9-0. In that game, Lauren Strobel was 4-f0r-4 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Kami Holt was 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, and four runs batted in.

The semifinal game was the fifth straight game in which Holt had homered. She hit six home runs during that stretch.

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Lauren Strobel earned Country Couture Player of the Game honors in the Lady Tigers’ semifinal win over Saxony. She hit her first home run of the year and was 4-for-4 from the leadoff spot. In the nightcap, Rachel Rook dominated Portageville for eight innings before finally giving up her first earned run of the season. Despite suffering the loss, her 18 strikeouts earned her the title of Country Couture Boutique 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.