Devon Hughes drove in four runs and scored four runs to lead Republic to a 13-3 win over Nevada in the championship game of the Smith-Cotton Tournament in Sedalia Saturday night. Republic put the game away with a pair of four-run rallies in the fifth and sixth innings for a ten-run win.
Garrett Lester pitched a six-inning complete game to pick up the victory. He allowed three runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking one. Lester only allowed four batters to reach base safely in his final five innings of work.
Nevada led only briefly, 3-2, at the end of the first inning. Republic scored two runs in the top half of the inning and Nevada answered with three. But Republic scored two more in the second inning and never trailed again.
Lester started the scoring in the first inning when he walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Jackson Overstreet was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score another run, putting Republic up 2-0.
After Nevada took the lead 3-2, the Tigers regained the lead with two in the second. Overstreet drove in Lester, who had walked, and Hughes scored on another wild pitch to make the score 4-3. A sacrifice fly by Wyatt Woods in the top of the fourth made it 5-3.
Hughes doubled home two more runs in the fifth inning, putting Republic ahead 7-3. A wild pitch allowed Lester to score again, and Hughes scored on a groundout by Woods to make it 9-3.
Republic finished the scoring in the sixth. The first three batters walked, and Hughes lined a single to right field, scoring Carter Nation and Ryder Davis. An infield single by Woods added another run, and an error on a pop-up by Brett Hendrickson allowed another run to score, putting the lead at 13-3.
Lester was on base four times, with three walks and a base hit. He scored four runs. Woods had three RBIs. Nation drew three walks and scored twice.
The win improves Republic’s record to 11-6. The Tigers have won five straight as they prepare to return to Central Ozark Conference play with a game at home against Willard next week.