O'BAR STARTS, CAPS WINNING 7 RUN RALLY IN MENA

Scoring seven times in the top of the seventh inning the Booneville Bearcats won their 13th straight game Monday night, beating Mena 11-10.

Matt O’Bar (shown taking a pitch) started and wrapped up the winning rally. Leading off the inning O’Bar was hit by a pitch from the third Mena pitcher.

Parker Smith worked a walk but Noah Harrel grounded into a force play at third for the first out before Conner Lentz became the fourth Bearcat hit by a pitch and the third by the same reliever.

After taking one pitch and waiting through a pitching change, Rhett Nietert (3-for-4) singled home a run to make it 10-5.

Dylan Todd, who had been hit twice, sent a single to center to make it 10-7 and bring the tying run to the plate.

After Todd swiped second Dax Goff singled to left to score two runners and make it 10-9 then took second on Mena’s fifth error of the day.

That brought up Rylen Ray who doubled to score Goff and tie the game.

Goff swiped third base while Jace Washburn batted and was still there after Washburn lifted a short fly ball to right.

O’Bar’s second at bat of the inning would be a line drive to center to score Goff for and 11-10 lead.

Head coach Arron Kimes went to Goff to finish it. The first batter Goff saw singled and took second on a fielding error but Goff struck out the next hitter with the runner still at second.

A ground ball moved the tying run to third but a second strikeout ended the two hour, 50 minute ordeal, earning his second save of the year, seventh of his career, and making a winner out of Nietert (3-2), who threw two and a third innings.

The Bearcats had taken advantage of a couple of Mena errors early. Miscues plated two runs and Nietert drove in another for a 3-1 lead through one and a half.

Even after Mena cut it to 3-2, it could easily have been worse were it not for on out on the basepaths and another on a bunt popped up for a double play.

Making his fourth start O’Bar, ran into trouble in the third and was replaced by Todd who eventually gave way to Nietert.

Mena took the lead in the third and built on it in every inning to take the 10-4 lead to the seventh.

At 8-3 the Bearcats did manage a run on a bases loaded groundout with the run scoring on an error.

The Bearcats move on to a Thursday game in the district tournament semifinals at 3:30 on Thursday in Danville against either fourth seeded Hackett, fifth seeded Danville, or eighth seeded Two Rivers.