For the second day in a row, the Republic Lady Tigers struggled offensively, as they lost to Platte County 2-0 in the state third-place game.
The only scoring came in the bottom of the third, when Briana Corwin singled home Cacy Williams, and later scored on an infield error by Republic.
Pirates pitcher Haley Pipes struck out 12 batters, and the Platte County defense played a solid game to shut out Republic. The Tigers loaded the bases in the first, but Pipes struck out Lakin Ramsey to end the threat, and the Lady Tigers never seriously threatened again.
Amanda Davis and Payton Appleberry each had two hits for Republic. Carlie Campbell and Bre Hemphill each walked once, and those were the only four baserunners for Republic for the game.
Appleberry accounted for the bulk of the offense for Republic this weekend. She had four of the Lady Tigers’ six hits in 17 innings of play.
The shutout by Pipes overshadowed a good pitching performance by Hailey Johnson, who allowed just one earned run in seven innings. She struck out seven.
Republic ends its season with a 4th-place state finish, and a 21-11 record. This was the second consecutive trip to the Final Four for the Lady Tigers.
The game was also the last in a Republic uniform for the two seniors, pitcher Hailey Johnson and catcher Amanda Davis.