For the third time in four games, the Lady Tigers softball team scored in double-digits, beating Neosho 15-5 on the road to pick up their first conference win of the season. Republic slugged three home runs–one by Livi Collier, one by Julia Higgins, and one by Megan Thorne.
Avery Romans picked up the win in the circle. She pitched all seven innings, allowing five runs on six hits. She struck out four and walked three.
The Lady Tigers jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning. Higgins tripled with two outs, Collier singled her home, and A.J. Fenske followed that with an RBI triple. Neosho took the lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first.
Republic scored five more in the second. Emma White led off with a double, Megan Weis singled, Higgins doubled, Collier and Fenske followed that up with two singles to load the bases, and Thorne drove home a run when she was hit by a pitch. Riley Laub hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the final run of the inning.
In the third, Kaitlyn Ragsdale doubled to lead off and Julia Higgins walked with one out before Collier blasted her third home run of the season to center field. That made the score 10-3.
In the top of the fourth, Republic tacked on another run when Ragsdale hit a two-out, RBI single, making the score 11-3. Two more runs for Neosho in the bottom of the inning made it 11-5, but that was as close as the Wildcats would get.
In the top of the sixth, Thorne homered to left field to lead off. In the seventh, Higgins added her homer–a three-run shot to left field that scored Ragsdale and Weis.
In all, Republic collected 19 base hits. The Lady Tigers scored in every inning by the fifth.
In their 4-0 start, the Lady Tigers are averaging 11.5 runs a game and winning by an average of six runs per game. The team on-base percentage is .515, and the Lady Tigers have already racked up 16 doubles and six home runs.
Republic travels to Carl Junction for another conference game Thursday.
