Republic jumped out to an early lead and rode a stellar pitching performance from Cannon Ellison to a 7-1 win over Logan-Rogersville Tuesday at Republic.
The Tigers scored four runs in the first inning and Ellison took care of the rest, striking out a career-high nine batters over six innings. He allowed just one run on five hits.
“I don’t really go in just trying to strike everyone out. I kind of just try to throw strikes and let my field play,” Ellison said. “If I’m going to strike them out, then I’m going to strike them out.”
Ellison said his entire arsenal was working well. “I’d say a little bit of everything, the curveball was on and then my two-seam definitely was on too.”
The Tigers’ offense provided support from the start. Jackson Overstreet reached on an error in the first inning, scoring Ryder Davis for the first run. Preston McCracken followed with a two-run double, driving in Isaac White and Overstreet. Cooper Pilkinton’s RBI single made it 4-0.
Republic added single runs in the third, fourth, and sixth innings. In the third, Gio Clark grounded out to score McCracken. Davis scored on Overstreet’s sacrifice fly in the fourth. Ellison crossed the plate in the sixth when Clark drew a bases-loaded walk.
Logan-Rogersville’s lone run came in the fifth inning when Cast Clark scored on a groundout by Trent Teagan.
McCracken led Republic with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Davis and Ellison each scored twice.
Ellison said the early run support helped his pitching approach. “That definitely helps when I get to pitch with the lead because then if they get a hit, it means nothing really.”
Republic improves to 4-1 on the season with the victory. It’s just the second time in the past ten seasons that Republic has started with four wins in its first five games. The win also snapped a two-game losing streak against Rogersville dating back to Republic’s last win against the Wildcats in 2022.
“We have a lot of unselfish players. We can sub a lot and move people around and I think it helps a lot when everyone’s unselfish,” Ellison said. “We have a bunch of people that can just play all around and we can sub in and out all over.”
Cooper Pilkinton closed out the game with a scoreless seventh inning for Republic, allowing two hits but preserving the six-run lead.
Linescore
Logan-Rogersville 000 010 0 – 1 7 3
Republic 400 111 x – 7 5 1
