Senior Amanda “Tater” Davis had never hit a home run before, at any level. Until Wednesday. With Republic leading Carl Junction by one run in the top of the 6th inning, Davis hit a grand slam to break open the game and propel the Lady Tigers to a 6-1 sectional victory. (Listen to postgame audio from Davis at the bottom of the story.)
Republic had jumped on top in the first inning, when Hailey Johnson walked to lead off the inning. A Carl Junction error allowed courtesy runner Amanda Snider to score, giving the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Republic wasted several scoring opportunities, putting runners in scoring position in the next three innings, and Carl Junction tied the score 1-1 in the bottom of the 4th.
Republic answered quickly in the next inning, when Rachael Michaelis hit a sacrifice fly to score the go-ahead run in the top of the 5th, making the score 2-1. Carl Junction threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but Hailey Johnson got a key strikeout to strand the tying run on 3rd base, preserving the lead.
In the top of the sixth, with runners on second and third, the Bulldogs pitched around Johnson, walking her for the fourth time in a row. That brought Davis to the plate, and she sent a fastball over the left field fence for a grand slam, making the score 6-1.
Johnson shut down Carl Junction for two more innings, and the Lady Tigers advanced to the state quarterfinals. They’ll play Southern Boone County (19-4) Saturday at Ash Grove. Southern Boone advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-5 victory over Marshfield.