Injuries shuffled Republic’s lineup on Thursday night. Lily Worthy was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of it. With the bases loaded, two outs, and Republic down a run in the bottom of the seventh, she singled home the tying and winning runs, capping a comeback in a 9-8 Republic win over Nixa.
The Lady Tigers trailed most of the night. Nixa built a 4-0 lead, and Republic was still down 6-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
That’s when the rally started. Chloe Simpson led off the sixth with a double, and Republic strung together singles by Jayma Pitchford, Kendra Goeke, Myleigh Mooneyham, and Worthy to score three runs and tie the game at 6-6.
Nixa answered with two runs in the top of the seventh to go back up 8-6, but Republic didn’t quit.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Simpson walked and stole second. Maddie Carter singled home a run, and Pitchford reached on a fielder’s choice. Then, with two outs, Republic’s hitters showed patience when they needed it most. Goeke walked, then Mooneyham worked a full-count walk to load the bases for Worthy, who lined a single into left field to score two and end it. Courtesy runner Harper Lankford scored just ahead of the catcher’s tag to end the game.
Worthy said she’s looked forward to that kind of opportunity in a pressure situation, but she had to overcome her nerves when she stepped to the plate.
Game page →“When you get up there, it’s kind of a little nerve-wracking,” Worthy said. “But I think when I went up there, I just kind of threw it all out the window, and I just was like, okay, let’s do this.”
Worthy says she wasn’t thinking about the stakes — just the swing she’s been working on.
“One thing I’ve been working on is staying back, and so really my whole thought was just stay back, hit the ball, and just get some girls in,” she says. “I wasn’t really worried about it being the last run. I was just kind of thinking it was just a normal at bat.”
She knew it when she hit it.
“I was watching the ball out of the corner of my eye, and I saw it go over (the infielder)), and I…knew that, hey, we’re probably gonna get two in, and it was just really exciting,” Worthy says. Getting to come in and have that opportunity to get that hit as the last hit and score those last two runs was just an amazing opportunity.”
Coach Denny McHenry says the patience in those final at-bats made the difference.
“We kept battling at the plate, and as I told the girls, probably the most important thing late in the game that won the game is we were able to get some walks and not swing at some bad pitches until we had a chance to swing at a good pitch, and a girl did her job,” McHenry said.
The Lady Tigers finished with 11 hits. Worthy, Simpson, Carter, and Pitchford had two hits apiece. Goeke drew two walks and added a hit, and she got the win in the circle, too, allowing 10 hits while walking just one.
McHenry was happy with the win, but he says the team is still playing shorthanded and still has plenty of room to grow.
“We still have a long ways to grow to be where we want to be at the end of the season, and we kept saying that last year, and we got there at the end of the year,” McHenry says. “So hopefully we can do it again.”
The win is Republic’s third in a row, and the Lady Tigers improve to 5-3. They’ll play five games this weekend at Ozark’s Fall Festival, facing Kearney, Grain Valley, Carthage, Lee’s Summit West, and Truman.
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