The Washington Warriors are off to an impressive start to their 2025 campaign, with wins over Class 4A Tuttle and Class A Ft. Cobb being two crown jewels.

They also have a pair of District wins under the belt with a pair of Ws coming from Star Spencer.

First-year Warrior head coach Brad Lucas is excited about his team and the season ahead.

Lucas spent the previous seven seasons as assistant coach until Jeff Kulbeth’s retirement  last spring.

Lucas has been a large part of the success the program has enjoyed, including winning State Championships the last three seasons.

“This bunch really likes each other and they come ready to compete every day,” Lucas said. “They are really trusting the process. They know it’s an uphill climb and they’ve really accepted the challenge.”

Star Spencer

Washington’s two wins over Star Spencer (23-0 and 21-1) opened up the District portion of their schedule.

“The games allowed us to get at bats and get more experience at the plate,” Lucas said.

Zeke Wilson got the start in the first game and struck out five in the no-hitter.

Owen Andrews had a four-RBI day with a home run and was 2-2.

Grey McGuire went 2-2 with a double and three RBIs.

Spencer Barton got the nod on the bump for the second game.

He struck out seven batters and only gave up one hit.

Tuttle

Washington defeated Class 4A Tuttle 6-4 on some shiny defensive play.

“We came ready to play,” Lucas said. “We played flawless on defense and pitched it really well.”

Andrews got the start and struck out four batters over six innings.

Jonathen Montoya came on in relief for the final inning as Tuttle made a final charge, scoring two runs.

Washington scored two runs in the first inning and four runs in the third.

Mason Thomas’ two-run homer gave the Warriors a big lift and put a lot of pressure on the Tigers.

“Tuttle made some uncharacteristic mistakes in the game and we took advantage with our team speed,” Lucas said. “We felt like it was our day.”

Ft. Cobb

Washington hosted Ft. Cobb-Broxton and Eli Willits, who is one of the top Major League Baseball prospects in the country.

“It was neat because there must have been 30 scouts at the game,” Lucas said.

Washington took the 6-4 win over Ft. Cobb, the No. 1 team in Class B.

Jackson Rico started the game, going two innings with a pair of strikeouts before Montoya relieved him.

Montoya went four innings and gave the ball to Andrews who closed the game.

Washington pitchers only allowed six hits, including none to Willits.

The Warriors again played good defense in the game, including a double play in the sixth to get them out of a jam when Kinser Scott got the runner at first base and Spencer Barton threw it to Andrews at third base.

Lucas said team speed will be a strength of the team this season.

“We’ll put a lot of pressure on people when we put it into play because we run the bases so well,” Lucas said. “We’re not going to hit the ball off the wall and we’ll need to be good in situational hitting.”

The coach also said he expects pitching to be a strength of this year’s team.

“This is one of the deepest pitching staffs I’ve ever had,” he said. “ I have nine who can throw against anybody.”

A key to this season will be developing experience in big moments and big games after the loss of seven seniors from a year ago.

The Warriors do return several players with experience though in Liam Keltner, Owen Andrews and Mason Thomas.

“They saw lots of playing time last year,” Lucas said. “We’re having some kids take charge of leadership and leading by example and picking each other up when things don’t go right.

Lucas said his team will continue building and improving as the season goes on and they chase that elusive fourth gold ball.

“They know what the outcome at the end is and what we’re pushing for.”

Washington is 4-1.