Republic had cut a six-run deficit to one and loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. But Branson reliever Keagan Waugh entered the game to slam the door on the comeback, striking out Brennan Overstreet and Evan Rockhill to finish a 6-5 win for the Pirates.
Branson starter Patrik DeVille held Republic to two hits over six innings. Kyler Tate matched him early, striking out six through five innings while allowing just two runs on a pair of RBI singles — one by Ethan Johnson in the fourth, the other by Lawson Michel in the fifth.
In the sixth, Branson made the score 6-0 and appeared to put the game away before the Tigers mounted a comeback…