There’s a good reason the Republic Tigers were feeling pretty chipper after an 8-0 win over Willard last Tuesday night, and were probably feeling even better after eking out an 8-6 win over Bolivar two days later. As improbable as it may have sounded at the beginning of the year, Republic is well on its way to the top seed in the Class 3 District 11 Baseball Championship.
That group is made up of Aurora, Bolivar, Branson, Cassville, Monett, Reeds Spring, Republic and Willard. Republic has played three of those teams so far and beaten them all. A win over Branson Thursday (weather permitting) would send coach Howard Quigley into the district seeding meeting with quite the hammer.
“I told the kids there’s nothing like going into a district meeting and saying ‘We’ve played everybody here and beaten everybody here,’ then sitting down.”
And the Tigers have beaten those teams in style: A run-rule win over Reeds Spring, a convincing victory over Willard and a come-from-behind triumph at Bolivar. Republic should face Branson, Monett and Aurora in the next five days. Cassville will take part in the Republic Classic May 5-7.
Districts begin the week of May 12, at Willard, so its likely any Republic-Cassville result will not be reflected in the seeding meeting, but a 6-0 record against the field makes them a lock for the top seed. I say it sounded improbable because here, in Republic, is a team that plays four sophomores on a regular basis and didn’t return a regular varsity starting pitcher from a year ago.
So what’s happened? The line-up, from 1 to 9, has been blistering the ball, exceeding the expectations of Quigley. He said that even though players have had their cold spells, there are no easy outs anywhere. The defense has been serviceable – not flawless – and that’s made things easier on the pitchers. Tyler King continues to blossom into a top starter, Josh Stevens has been a great innings-eater, Brock Robbins brings a bulldog mentality to the mound, and even Mitch McHenry has spent some time on the hill – a bonus, considering he wasn’t expected to pitch this season.
This is the least likely of the last three Republic teams to win the District 11 title and here they are in late April, on the verge of securing the top seed. Baseball’s a crazy game, no?
–Jeff
