Kendra Goeke struck out seven and allowed one hit in five innings, and Republic beat Glendale 9-0 Monday at Glendale in the Lady Tigers’ last game before the district tournament.
Goeke and Jayma Pitchford combined on a four-hitter, and Republic played the game without an error. Glendale made four, and the Lady Tigers finished with 13 hits.
Maddie Carter put Republic ahead in the second inning. Pitchford singled and Myleigh Mooneyham doubled, and after Glendale intentionally walked Harper Lankford and threw Pitchford out at the plate on a fielder’s choice, Carter singled to center to score Lankford and Mooneyham.
Goeke singled to start the third, and Maddie Taylor followed with a two-run homer to left to make it 4-0. Emma Ellison singled later in the inning and scored from first with two outs when Lankford doubled to right and the right fielder made an error on the play.
Glendale’s only hit off Goeke was a two-out double in the first inning. She faced 16 batters, and nobody else reached base against her.
Pitchford pitched the last two innings. Glendale put runners on second and third with two outs in the sixth, but Taylor caught a line drive at third base to end the inning.
Republic scored four more runs in the top of the seventh. Pitchford reached on an error, Mooneyham singled, and both moved up on a passed ball. Lankford reached on another error to score Pitchford, Kate Stulce grounded out to score Mooneyham, and Carter doubled to left to score Lankford. Courtesy runner Lilly Worthy scored the last run when Mia Carnes reached base.
Game page →In the seventh, Taylor caught another line drive and threw to first for a double play.
Carter, Republic’s catcher, homered in a recent game and has been hitting well down the stretch.
“I feel like definitely being in the leadoff spot has helped me, because it just makes me feel like I have to do a big job there in the beginning,” Carter said.
Carter was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Mooneyham was 3-for-4 with two doubles and scored twice, and Goeke was 3-for-5. The win provided a boost for the Lady Tigers, who’s been stuck in a losing streak before Monday..
“This honestly is a confidence booster for all of our girls,” Taylor said. “That just tells us we are still in this game. We can win this. Just like last year, we can win districts.”
The Lady Tigers are 9-21-1. They open the Class 5 District 5 tournament against Nixa Thursday at 2 p.m.
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