State-ranked Bolivar needed a 7th-inning rally to squeak by Republic 6-5 at Bolivar Friday night. The Tigers had scored single runs in the 6th and 7th to take a lead over the #6 Liberators before the winning rally.
Republic scored a run in the first, but Bolivar tied the game in the bottom half of the inning, then scored two more in the 2nd inning off Republic starter Austin Atkins. The Tigers tied the game 3-3 in the top of the 4th, but Bolivar answered again with a run in the bottom half, taking a 4-3 lead.
In the 6th, Coates singled leading off, then tagged up and advanced to 2nd base on a fly out to center. Austin Atkins grounded a single into left field with two outs to tie the game.
In the 7th, Republic got back-to-back doubles from Ryan Cape and Jansen McQuerter to nab the lead, but in the bottom half of the inning, the first two hitters reached on a walk and a base hit. The Liberators tried to sacrifice the runners to 2nd and 3rd, but when pitcher Blake Messier wheeled and threw the ball to 1st, it sailed into right field, allowing the winning runs to score.
Before the throwing error, Messier has pitched a gem in relief. He went four innings in relief of Austin Atkins, allowing just four hits. He allowed three runs — all unearned.
Coach Howard Quigley says he’s trying to keep his players positive, because they’ve been playing well, even though they haven’t gotten results in the win column.
“I told them, ‘We’re not playing bad. There’s nothing to come down here and be negative about, because that’s going to carry on,'” Quigley says. “We’ve been coming up the hill. We haven’t peaked yet, but we’re doing a lot of positive things and that’s what I want to try to focus on. We hit some pretty good pitching tonight and we put ten hits on them.”