Republic had cut a six-run deficit to one and loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. But Branson reliever Keagan Waugh entered the game to slam the door on the comeback, striking out Brennan Overstreet and Evan Rockhill to finish a 6-5 win for the Pirates.
Branson starter Patrik DeVille held Republic to two hits over six innings. Kyler Tate matched him early, striking out six through five innings while allowing just two runs on a pair of RBI singles — one by Ethan Johnson in the fourth, the other by Lawson Michel in the fifth.
In the sixth, Branson made the score 6-0 and appeared to put the game away before the Tigers mounted a comeback.
Republic got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Nolan Lashley reached on an error, moved to second on a Cooper Thomas groundout, and scored on a Landon Perkins triple to center. Overstreet lined out to end the inning with Republic trailing 6-1.
In the seventh, things got interesting. Rockhill singled to right to lead off. West reached on an error. Greg Hicks popped out for the first out, but Chase Connell walked to load the bases.
A wild pitch scored Rockhill and moved the runners up. Lashley singled to left, scoring Carter Coggin — running for West — to cut it to 6-3. Thomas walked to reload the bases. Zayden Danielson then lined a double to left, scoring Connell and Lashley to make it 6-5.
Branson intentionally walked Perkins — who had reached base in all four plate appearances — to reload the bases with one out. That brought in Waugh, who needed five pitches to strike out Overstreet and four more to get Rockhill.
Tate took the loss. Maddox West relieved Tate and retired the final two batters of the sixth. He went on to throw a scoreless seventh.
Perkins reached base four times — a triple, two walks, and an intentional walk. Danielson drove in two with his seventh-inning double. Lashley went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Johnson went 4-for-4 to lead Branson. Johnston added three hits.
It was the fourth one-run loss of the season for Republic (4-7) — and the second time this year a game has ended with the tying run on third base. The Tigers went 1-2 on the week, beating Ozark before dropping games to Nixa and Branson.
Republic plays next at Waynesville on April 7.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 — R H E
Branson 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 — 6 9 2
Republic 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 — 5 4 2
Republic Pitching
Kyler Tate (L): 5.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Maddox West: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Kyler Tate, Nolan Lashley, Cooper Thomas, Zayden Danielson, Landon Perkins, Brennan Overstreet, Evan Rockhill, Maddox West, Fisher Moore, Chase Connell, Greg Hicks, Carter Coggin
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