Neosho scored six of its seven runs with two outs Tuesday, beating Republic 7-5 at home.
The Wildcats struck for three in the first. Brennan Overstreet nearly worked out of a bases-loaded jam, but a full-count single by Wyatt Woodward scored two runs and a throwing error allowed a third run score.
Republic put the first three runners on in the bottom of the first and got one run back. Lashley singled home Landon Blankenship, but Neosho starter Cooper Charlton struck out Landon Perkins and Maddox West with runners at second and third to end the inning.
Greg Hicks scored on a Blankenship double to cut it to 3-2 in the second inning.
Overstreet kept Neosho scoreless through the third and fourth, but the Wildcats got another two-out run in the fifth. Tevin Beaver doubled, Drake Jennings and Brody Crane walked to load the bases, and a Woodward groundout scored Beaver. Republic trailed 4-2.
The Tigers tied it in the fifth. Carter Coggin, running for Cooper Thomas, scored on a Perkins single. West singled, and Hicks singled to right to score Perkins, making the score 4-4.
But it didn’t take long for Neosho to strike back. With two outs in the sixth and two runners aboard, Beaver hit a three-run homer off reliever Cooper Thomas down the left-field line. Republic got a run back in the seventh on a Hicks single — but had the tying runs on base when Fisher Moore popped out to end it.
Overstreet worked five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits, walking eight and striking out five. Thomas took the loss, giving up three runs on two hits in two innings. Neosho reliever Gage Harvel got the win.
The loss was Republic’s sixth straight. The Tigers host Lebanon on April 27.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Neosho 3 0 0 0 1 3 0 - 7 5 2
Republic 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 - 5 9 2
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