Freshman A.J. Fenske took advantage of her varsity start by throwing a two-hit shutout as the Lady Tigers knocked off McDonald County 7-0 Thursday night. Republic banged out 14 hits, and also gave one of its best defensive performances of the year, finishing the game without an error and turning in three defensive gems in the outfield — two by Savana Smith and one by Megan Thorne.
Thorne, Julia Higgins, and Livi Collier led the Lady Tigers with three hits apiece. Thorne drove in two runs, and Collier drove in a run and scored another. Higgins was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, and Ally Stolte hit her eighth home run of the year. Kaitlyn Ragsdale stole another base to improve her season total to 39.
Republic jumped ahead 2-0 in the 1st inning on a two-run single by Thorne. They scored another run in the 2nd on a hard-hit ground ball hit by Higgins.
Stolte’s homer in the 4th made it 4-0. An RBI hit by Collier scored another run in the 6th, and Higgins followed that up with a two-RBI single, making it 7-0.
It was the final home game of the regular season for Republic. The Lady Tigers improve to 17-8, and will travel to Logan-Rogersville Monday as a final tune-up before district play.
