Kendra Goeke struck out nine batters over five scoreless innings, and Republic pounded out 16 hits in a 15-3 win at Waynesville Monday night. Goeke didn’t walk a batter and allowed just two hits, striking out the side in the first inning to set the tone.
The Lady Tigers gave her a lead right away. Mia Carnes led off the game with a single and stole second, and Maddie Taylor followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Carnes scored on a sacrifice fly by Chloe Simpson, Maddie Carter doubled home Taylor, and Jayma Pitchford singled in a third run to make it 3-0 after one inning.
Republic added a run in the fourth. Goeke and Myleigh Mooneyham singled, and courtesy runner Madi Chevalier scored on a groundout by Kate Stulce.
The lead grew to 7-0 in the fifth. Taylor reached on an error and moved to third on a double by Simpson, then scored on a catcher’s error. Emma Ellison drove in Simpson with a groundout, and Harper Lankford scored on a single by Goeke.
The Lady Tigers piled on four more in the sixth. Taylor’s single made it 9-0, with Stulce and Carnes both coming home. Simpson doubled again, Taylor scored on a wild pitch, and Ellison drove in Simpson with another groundout to make it 11-0.
Pitchford took over in the circle in the sixth and worked the final two innings, allowing three runs.
Carnes added a home run to highlight the final round of scoring in the seventh.*
Taylor finished 3-for-5 with four runs scored, and Simpson also had three hits, including two doubles. Carnes, Goeke, and Mooneyham added two hits apiece. Stulce stole two bases, and Republic swiped six as a team. Waynesville committed six errors.
The win is Republic’s second in a row and improves the Lady Tigers to 4-3. They play Nixa on Thursday.
* An earlier version of the story improperly credited Stulce with the home run instead of Carnes.
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