BEARCATS WIN IN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS CLASH

In a battle between regular season conference champions, the Booneville Bearcats won their 12th straight game Friday, topping Greenland 18-8.

The 2A-1 Pirates had won 11 of 12 coming into the game before the Bearcats jumped to a 7-0 lead through half of an inning.

All of the runs were unearned after a two out fly ball was dropped. The ball dropped came off the bat of Jace Washburn and scored Dax Goff, who had walked.

Goff's was one of two walks and would be five in the inning with but first Matt O’Bar drove in a run with a single to make it 2-0.

After Parker Smith walked, walks to Casey Carter and Noah Harrel both scored runs for a 4-0 lead. In his second at bat of the inning Rhett Nietert tripled to clear the bases and it was 7-0. It was Nietert’s third triple of the season.

Greenland immediately went to work trimming the deficit with one in the first and two runs in the second but the Bearcats got one of those back on a sacrifice fly by Harrel.

Officially without an at bat at that point Harrel (shown) would eventually be 0-for-2 on the day but he would have four RBI.

A two out double in the fourth got the Pirates to within 8-5 against Washburn (3-0) who was making his first start and only third appearance but the Bearcats would run the lead to 11-5 in the fifth.

Singles by Washburn and Smith, on a bunt, sandwiched a walk to O’Bar and loaded the bases for Carter, whose squeeze bunt was misplayed for a 9-5 lead. A Harrel ground ball scored a run and a balk got another before the inning ended.

Nietert started a 6-4-3 to end the fifth inning with no damage but Washburn was done after throwing 105 pitches.

Rylen Ran singled home Dylan Todd (2-for-5) and a bunt by Washburn squeezed in another in the top of the sixth. Smith reached on a throwing error that scored a run and Harrel’s fourth RBI, on a ground out, made it 16-5.

Making his team leading 10th appearance but first in eight days, Nietert allowed three runs in the bottom of the inning that prolonged the game to the seventh inning.

Unfortunately for Greenland that meant Ray was going to bat again. Todd was aboard with his second hit when Ray crushed his sixth home run of the season to make it 18-8.

Goff then worked around a leadoff walk in the seventh to finish it.

The final pitch of the game was the 307th and ended an almost two and a half hour game.

The Bearcats play a nonconference game today at 4:30 at Class 4A-4 runner-up Mena before playing at 3:30 Thursday in Danville in the district tournament semifinals.