For the second game in a row, Rachel Rook didn’t allow a hit. And for the second game in a row, Ally Stolte sent everyone home early. Stolte hit a grand slam to extend Republic’s lead over Branson to 11-0, trigger the run rule, and deliver another victory for the Lady Tigers.
Monday night, Stolte’s two-run homer had made the score 10-0 and ended the game against Jefferson City after five innings. Tuesday, it took six innings for the Lady Tigers to put the game away. In both games, Republic’s opponent failed to get a base hit off Rachel Rook, who struck out 10. She only allowed two runners to reach base — both hit by pitches.
In Rook’s last nine games, she has two no-hitters, five one-hitters, and two two-hitters. She has struck out 100 batters during that stretch.
The Lady Tigers took the lead on two unearned runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. With the bases loaded, Branson’s pitcher coaxed two straight ground balls to the third baseman — but the first resulted in an error by the catcher as Branson tried to get the force-out at home, and the second resulted in an error by the third baseman, allowing another run to score.
Kami Holt and Sydney Phillips each had three hits to pace the Lady Tigers. Rook added two hits and walked once.
Republic improves to 13-3. The Lady Tigers have won nine straight since losing three of five games at a tournament in Oklahoma early in the season.
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The JV team overcame a six-run deficit to beat Branson 11-10 in the bottom of the final inning. Addy Cantrell hit a 3-run homer to tie the game 10-10, and Liz Ayers doubled home Mikayla Steinert with the game-winner. Kylee Ballenger had homered earlier in the game for Republic.
