The Lady Tigers broke two more school records and tied a third, and they added another walk-off win to their resumé to close the regular season, beating Rogersville 7-6 at home Monday. Avery Romans drove in the winning run with an infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the win.
In the first inning, Julia Higgins homered over the right field fence. That was her 13th home run of the year, tying the school record set by Hailey Johnson in 2008. It’s also tied for 11th all-time in Missouri history.
Higgins also doubled and picked up three RBIs, giving her 56 for the season. That breaks Johnson’s previous mark of 54, which Higgins had tied last week. Fifty-seven RBIs is the fourth-highest single-season total ever in Missouri. Her two extra-base hits give her 30 for the year, tying her for fifth place all-time in Missouri.
Kaitlyn Ragsdale broke another record, as well. She scored her 41st run of the season, breaking the old school mark of 40, which had been set by Kami Holt in 2014 and tied by Lauren Strobel in 2015.
A.J. Fenske had three base hits, and Megan Weis, Higgins, Romans, and Megan Thorne had two apiece.
Republic jumped out to an early lead, but Rogersville scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 6-4 lead. The Lady Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Romans led off with a double and Riley Laub singled. Courtesy runner Jaden Gibbs scored on a fielder’s choice force-out by Claire Summers, and Higgins hit a sacrifice fly to tie it.
In the seventh, Fenske doubled to lead off and Thorne walked. The runners moved up on an Romans ripped a shot off the glove of the third baseman to drive in the game-winner.
The Lady Tigers finish their regular season with a 19-6 record. They have tied the school record with 58 doubles. They’ve broken the school record with 33 home runs (the fourth-best total all-time in Missouri). They also have 99 extra-base hits, a school record, and tied for 12th all-time.
Republic hosts district play this week, beginning with the quarterfinals Wednesday. Republic is the #1 seed and has a bye. The Lady Tigers will play Neosho (10-7, #4) or Willard (10-12, #5) Thursday at 5 pm.
Second-seeded Webb City will play Carthage (11-12, #3) or Joplin (5-16, #6) Thursday at 6:30 pm.
