Sophomore Zayden Danielson delivered in the biggest moment of his young varsity career, crushing a walk-off double to the gap in left-center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Republic a 3-2 win over Joplin Wednesday.
Danielson, playing in just his fourth varsity game, drove in Chase Connell from second base with two outs to break a 2-2 tie. The hit marked both his first career varsity double and RBI.
“Best feeling in the world,” Danielson said after the game.
The Tigers received a strong pitching performance from fellow sophomore Brennan Overstreet, who worked six innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out eight. Overstreet threw 88 pitches, 54 for strikes.
“Just throw strikes, throw to contact, get ground balls, let the defense work,” Overstreet said of his approach. “I had a good defense behind me. They made plays for me. So it was a good win for us as a team.”
Jackson Overstreet picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief.
Republic opened the scoring in the third inning when Connell, running for Brennan Overstreet, scored on Isaac White’s RBI single to make it 1-0.
Joplin took the lead in the fifth inning when Layne Royal scored on Kutler Schwarting’s single, then Peyton Swenson came home on a passed ball to put the Eagles ahead 2-1.
The Tigers answered in the bottom of the fifth when Jackson Overstreet doubled, advanced to third on a single by White, and scored on Nolan Lashley’s sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.
In the decisive seventh inning, Jackson Overstreet doubled with one out and White was intentionally walked. After two outs, Danielson came through with his game-winning hit.
Jackson Overstreet led Republic’s offense, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored. White added two hits, an RBI, and was intentionally walked in the seventh.
The victory marked Republic’s second straight win after losing four consecutive games, improving their record to 13-13 on the season.
“I feel like we have more energy. We’re just playing as a team,” Brennan Overstreet said of the recent turnaround. “We’re not getting down on each other.”
Joplin’s David Bhend worked six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out two and walking three. Landry Wilson took the loss, pitching 2/3 of an inning.
Republic finished with 10 hits to Joplin’s six, and each team committed one error.
Republic is 13-13. Joplin falls to 10-15. The Tigers will host Sedalia Smith-Cotton on Friday.
