Jace Washburn threw an 81-pitch complete game to help the Booneville Bearcats extend the 2025 baseball season with a 10-2 win over Lamar in the District 3A-4 quarterfinals in Lavaca Tuesday.
Washburn (6-3) allowed six hits and two runs but did not walk anyone and struck out four. He also doubled and was 2-for-4 at the plate.
The win moves the Bearcats first into the semifinals against second seeded Lavaca at 6:15 Thursday night, and secondly into next week’s Class 3A Region 1 tournament in Lincoln with seeding to be determined by the end of the week.
After Washburn needed just five first inning pitches, the Bearcats took a 2-0 lead with an errant pickoff throw allowing a run to score and a two-out RBI single by Hayden Daniel.
Lamar made another error in the third that led to the Bearcats extending their lead to 6-0.
After the left fielder was unable to track down a deep fly by Washburn who wound up with a double, Casey Carter put down a bunt then outran everyone to an open first base for a single.
Washburn scored on a wild pitch while Daniel drew a walk and Sadler Miller hit a ground ball for an RBI and reached on an error. Parker Smith (2-for-4) added a ground out RBI with a second run scoring on a throwing error.
Washburn allowed a single and a double to start the Lamar fourth and both would score on wild pitches. After a third hit of the inning Miller started a 4-6-3 highlight reel double play with a glove flip to Rhett Nietert to end the inning.
With two down in the Bearcat fourth Washburn singled and Carter had his second infield single of the day with Washburn taking third, then scoring on a wild pitch to make it 7-2.
Washburn erased a Bearcat error in the Lamar fifth by picking the runner off at second and the Bearcats would score three times in the bottom of the inning to make it 10-2.
Nietert drove in Tayden Washburn, who was running for Cutler Haller after an infield single, Dylan Todd doubled home Nietert, and Jace Washburn reached on an error, Lamar’s fifth, that scored Todd.
Lamar used a single and a third Bearcat error to prolong the game in the seventh but Jace Washburn wrapped it up with another ground ball out.
Moving on to face Lavaca pits the Bearcats against a Golden Arrow team they beat 1-0 on April 8 but one that has had a bye to the semifinal round as the two seed.
Washburn pitched the April 8 game but is not available for two days due to his pitch count on Tuesday. All other pitchers are available.
WASHBURN EARNS SIXTH WIN, HAS TWO HITS AS BEARCATS MOVE ON IN TOURNAMENT
