Myles Lozano got the win and Preston McCracken picked up a save as the two pitchers combined to lift Republic past Carthage 4-2 in Republic Wednesday. Lozano (4-1) worked four innings and allowed a run, while McCracken pitched three innings and allowed a run.
Republic’s lineup struggled much of the day against Carthage pitchers Clay Kinder and Brady Carlton. Republic had only five base hits, and nobody had more than one. But Republic did just enough to fight off an upset bid by Carthage, which has only three wins this season.
Garrett Lester led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple and scored on a wild pitch before Gunner Ellison singled. Ellison stole second, went to third on a throwing error by the catcher, then scored on another error on the same play. That put Republic ahead 2-0.
In the second inning, Collin Myers singled and scored on an RBI double by Andrew Schroeder to make the score 3-0. In the third, Gavyn Beckner singled, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by Wyatt Woods to put Republic ahead 4-0.
Carthage scored a single run in the top of the fourth, then added another run in the top of the sixth. The tying run reached base in both the sixth and seventh innings, but McCracken pitched around trouble both times to secure the win.
The win is the third in a row for Republic, which improved to 10-7. Carthage falls to 3-15.
Republic travels to the Kansas City area Thursday. The Tigers will play a game Thursday night and another Friday morning at William Jewell College. They’ll play again Saturday afternoon at Kearney.