Most of Booneville's Class of 2024 have finished their requirements, and are awaiting only graduation week, but the three who wear a baseball uniform are not finished representing BHS.
That trio (shown with their parents on senior day) will complete their careers with the Class 3A state tournament starting Thursday at Majestic Park in Hot Springs.
While they are not officially the first class to have played four years for head coach Arron Kimes, Matt O’Bar, Rylen Ray, and Dax Goff are the first to have gotten four full years – the 2020 season consisted of three games.
Over the course of the four years O’Bar, Ray, and Goff have been part of exactly 100 games going into the Class 3A state tournament game against Pangburn, set for 3 p.m. Thursday.
The Class 3A Region 1 semifinal win over Paris marked win 70 as a class and they followed that up with a win over Charleston for the first regional title in seven years and win 71.
“They are a great group of young men who will do anything you ask and more,” said Kimes. “Maybe it’s because there are only three of them but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a closer group than these seniors. They are like brothers.”
The three also have varied strengths they utilized to lead the Bearcats on a current 19-game winning streak.
“O’Bar is a great hitter but he is also probably the best bunter on the team,” said Kimes. “When asked to bunt he never gets discouraged. He understands the game and why he is asked to do it.”
O’Bar is a career .294 hitter with 10 doubles, three home runs, and 44 runs batted in.
He also makes a mountain of a target at first base.
Ray and Goff can be found behind the plate.
“Ry wasn’t going to catch this year after tearing his ACL during his junior year and breaking his leg this year, but after the injury to Jace (Washburn) he came up to Coach (Jake) Fennell and I asking to catch when Dax was pitching.”
He has thrown out six would-be base stealers, giving him 13 caught in his career, despite logging no innings as a junior.
At the plate Ray is a career .372 hitter with 30 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, and with seven RBIs against Charleston, has moved to 117, which will break into the top 10 in recognized AAA records for a career.
“Dax will do whatever is asked without any complaints,” said Kimes. “Whether it’s stealing home on accident or trying to catch without a helmet, Dax finds a way for everyone to stay relaxed even in the most stressful situations.”
Goff has also thrown out five attempting to steal this season, giving him 12 caught in his career.
Gof is a career .474 hitter with 32 doubles, 12 triples, and 23 home runs for a slugging percentage of .880. He has 144 career RBIs and needs one to tie for fourth in recognized AAA records.
Goff is also holds a career record of 15-4 on the mound, with a 3.58 ERA. This season the marks are 5-0 and 2.41. He has two saves in 2024 and seven in his career. Goff has struck out 67 this season and 196 in his career.
“These seniors truly care about and look out for each other,” adds Kimes. “As a coach it’s what you want from every senior class.”
