Note to Our Readers: The following story was sourced directly and in its entirety from Mr. Glenn Parrish, Director of Communications, Booneville School District. Mr. Parrish is a RNN Sports contributor and we thank him for bringing this story to our readers.
Four games into the 2023 season the Booneville Bearcats have had feast or famine. A pair of shutout losses have been followed by a pair of blowout wins in which the Bearcats topped 20 runs.
Most recently it was a 27-0 win in Cedarville to open Conference 3A-4 play. The other feast was a 21-1 win at Lamar.
The Lamar game was originally scheduled for Booneville’s home park at the Billy Kiersey Baseball/Complex but was moved to Lamar because the Booneville boys were playing in the Class 3A state basketball tournament in Lamar the day of the game.
The losses are both in games in which the Bearcats played up, at Class 6A Fort Smith Northside (11-0) and at Class 4A Morrilton (7-0).
Through the four road games – the Bearcats were scheduled to host Paris Friday – the Bearcats are led by some familiar faces and some who may require a second look.
Among the familiar is junior Dax Goff. Goff is hitting .636 with three extra base hits – two home runs and a triple – with nine runs batted in.
Goff also picked up the win at Cedarville, allowing one hit over four innings. In two appearances he has thrown five innings without allowing a run.
Behind the plate when he’s not pitching, Goff has caught four would be stealers.
Senior Peyton Tatum is 1-1 on the mound with a win in Lamar and a loss at Morrilton. He leads a team that has already seen seven hurlers with six innings and has an earned run average of 3.50. He has also picked off one runner.
Brooks Herrera (0-1) drew the season opening assignment, has made two appearances and was slated to start on Friday in the home opener.
Dunn Daniel, another senior, had a three hit game in Cedarville to raise his average to .364. David Hicks, another senior, has driven in five.
Freshmen Rhett Nietert and Conner Lentz have also played big roles. Nietert has started every game at second base and is hitting .455 with a double and four RBI.
Lentz recorded a two hit game off the bench in Lamar, registered a hit as a DH in Morrilton, then moved to a full starting role in the Cedarville and is hitting .500 with three RBI with hits in three straight games.
The regular first baseman, junior Matt O’Bar has thrown two perfect innings and is hitting .333 with three RBI. He has also drawn a team best four walks for an on base percentage of .583.
Besides conference play head coach Arron Kimes and the Bearcats have a schedule that is loaded including Clarksville, Greenwood, Pottsville, and Alma before the district tournament at Cossatot River (Cove).
