136-50
The combined records of the six teams seeded ahead of Republic in the eight-team Class 5 District 5. Five of the eight teams — Ozark, Nixa, Kickapoo, Neosho, and Joplin — have at least 20 wins as district play begins. Carthage has 19 wins and Republic has 16. Only Springfield Central has a losing record.
115
The number of stolen bases by Republic this season. To put the number in perspective, consider that over the past 12 seasons, the previous highest team total was 71 in 2013. Republic has three different players with 20+ stolen bases, led by Jenna Belcher with 25. Cass Ellison has stolen 21 and Gracie Woods 20. Paige Elsenraat and Addison Walker are also in double-digits, with 13 and 12 stolen bases, respectively.
16
The number of wins by Republic’s varsity softball team for three consecutive seasons (so far). Republic finished with a record of 16-9 in 2020. The Lady Tigers were 16-11 in 2021. And as mentioned above, they enter district play with a 16-12 record this season. A single district win — against Nixa today — would give them the most wins of any Republic team since 2019, when the Lady Tigers won 18 games.
233
The number of runs scored by the Lady Tigers so far this season. That’s only 13 runs fewer than the team mark set in 2014, when Republic scored 246 runs. Notably, Nixa is Republic’s quarterfinal opponent, and Republic scored 13 runs in an October 1 loss to Nixa at the Springfield Invitational.
34
The number of home runs hit by Republic so far this season. Eight different players have homered, led by EmmaLee Essary with 13. Annabelle Gerhardt-Hobbs has eight. Jenna Belcher has homered four times. Addie Brown and Addison Walker have three apiece. Lilli Richerson, Piper Dishman, and Sammi Watson each have one. The team mark for homers in a season is 37.
.655
The sabermetric “expected win percentage” for the Lady Tigers based on their runs scored and runs allowed this season. Republic has outscored its opponents 233 to 169. That margin would predict about 18 wins, rather than Republic’s 16, indicating that the Lady Tigers have played slightly better than their win-loss record (16-12) would indicate.
