Landon Perkins hit a first-inning grand slam and Cooper Thomas threw a complete-game shutout as Republic beat West Plains 4-0 in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader at the Carthage Festival. The win gave the Tigers a 2-2 split for the tournament and moved them to 3-4 on the season.
Perkins’ blast was his second home run of the festival — he also went deep in Thursday’s win over Aurora. Thomas allowed four hits, walked two and struck out four on 97 pitches, a welcome workload saver for a staff that had logged four games in three days.
Thomas had to work out of trouble twice. West Plains put runners on second and third with nobody out in the second inning, and Thomas struck out two straight to get out of it. In the fifth, the Zizzers loaded the bases with two outs before Thomas got a lineout to first baseman Maddox West to end the inning.
The grand slam was the only scoring. Nolan Lashley singled to lead off the first, Thomas walked, and Preston McCracken walked to load the bases. Perkins drove a 2-2 pitch over the left-field fence, and Thomas took it from there.
Republic collected just three hits in the game. Thomas and Lashley had the other two.
In Saturday’s first game, Republic lost to Summit Christian 4-3 in eight innings. Brooks Zumwalt — a University of Pittsburgh commit and one of the top hitters in Missouri — hit two opposite-field home runs to left to drive in three runs, setting up an extra-innings win for the Eagles.
Kyler Tate pitched seven strong innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
Republic scored twice in the fourth. Brennan Overstreet walked, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on a McCracken line-drive single. McCracken later scored on a dropped third strike to make it 2-0.
Zumwalt’s solo homer in the fourth cut the lead to 2-1. His two-run shot in the sixth — after brother Keelan Zumwalt doubled — put the Eagles ahead 3-2.
The Tigers tied it in the seventh. Fisher Moore drew a leadoff walk, stole second, and scored on a Chase Connell single to right. Cooper Thomas and Overstreet followed with a single and a flyout, but McCracken grounded into a fielder’s choice to strand two runners.
Tate retired Summit Christian in order in the bottom of the seventh. Gabe Benjamin came on in the eighth and walked Carter Jeffries, then intentionally walked Brooks Zumwalt after a strikeout. Jag Garrison singled just past the outstretched glove of Thomas at second base, scoring Jeffries and ending it. Benjamin took the loss in a tough spot, facing the heart of the Eagles’ order in his first inning of work.
Republic went 2-2 at Carthage with wins over Aurora and West Plains and losses to Winnetonka and Summit Christian.
Game 1: Summit Christian 4, Republic 3 (8 innings)
Republic 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 — 3 4 0
Summit Christian 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 — 4 7 1
Republic Hitting
Nolan Lashley 4-0-0, Cooper Thomas 4-0-1, Brennan Overstreet 3-1-0 (BB), Preston McCracken 3-1-1 (RBI, BB), Landon Perkins 2-0-0 (BB, HBP), Greg Hicks 4-0-1, Maddox West 3-0-0 (RBI, HBP), Fisher Moore 3-1-0 (BB), Chase Connell 3-0-1 (RBI, BB)
Republic Pitching
Kyler Tate 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Gabe Benjamin (L) 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Game 2: Republic 4, West Plains 0
West Plains 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 4 0
Republic 4 0 0 0 0 0 x — 4 3 3
Republic Hitting
Nolan Lashley 3-1-1, Cooper Thomas 2-0-1 (BB), Brennan Overstreet 3-0-0, Preston McCracken 1-1-0 (2 BB), Landon Perkins 3-1-1 (HR, 4 RBI), Greg Hicks 3-0-0, Maddox West 2-0-0, Fisher Moore 1-0-0 (BB), Chase Connell 2-0-0
Republic Pitching
Cooper Thomas (W) 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (97 pitches, 63 strikes)
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