Baker Baseball Splits Battle in the Hills in Season-Opening Weekend

MARIONVILLE, Mo. - Kicking off its 2026 season down in southwest Missouri, Baker baseball came away with a split in its four-game outing at the Battle in the Hills this past weekend.

After falling in an 11-inning heartbreaker in Thursday's season opener, the Wildcats came out on the right end of a one-run game in the first matchup of Friday's doubleheader before dropping the nightcap.

BU closed the tournament with a victory over Kansas Christian on Saturday to salvage a 2-2 split in its season-opening weekend.

MU 10, BU 9 (11 innings)
Baker's first game of 2026 ended in crushing fashion as the Patriots used a three-run rally in the bottom of the 11th to steal a 10-9 extra-innings victory.

The Wildcats totaled seven runs through the first four frames, powered by home runs from Jon Jenkins in the first, Tyson Wallace in the third and Camden Karlin in the fourth. Mission hit back-to-back solo shots in the bottom of the seventh to send the nine-inning game to extras on a 7-7 tie.

In the top of the 11th, Jackson Truman smacked a two-run, go-ahead blast to push BU in front, 9-7, but the Patriots scored on a bases-loaded walk and a two-run, walk-off single in the bottom half of the inning.

BU 3, BCU 2
The Wildcats responded with a dramatic late rally of their own on Friday to earn their first win with a 3-2 comeback over Briar Cliff.

Two runs from the Chargers in the top of the first served as the only scoring of a pitching battle that featured four straight scoreless innings until BU's three-run bottom of the sixth. In the sixth, Karlin knocked in the Wildcats' first run of the game ahead of Truman's second go-ahead homer in as many days, with his two-run shot serving as the game-winner.

Baker had starter Tyler Vigna strike out five in his 3.1 innings of work, then got 2.2 scoreless innings from Trent Davidson, who picked up the win. Peyton Bowers sealed the victory with a couple of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 top of the seventh for the first save of the season.

TC 6, BU 3
In its second game on Friday, Baker couldn't quite pull off a second straight late-stage rally, falling to Tabor, 6-3.

The Bluejays scored four runs in the first and tacked on another one in the second to jump out to a 5-0 lead, despite multiple hits from BU in each of its first two innings. The Wildcats broke through in the top of the fifth on a two-run single by newcomer TJ Armstrong.

Trailing by four, BU had its first two hitters reach in the top of the seventh, but a sac fly RBI from Wallace was all the ground the Wildcats were able to gain out of it as Tabor held on to secure the victory.

BU 4, KCC 1
The final game of the weekend featured more timely hitting from the Wildcats, backed by another solid pitching performance, in a 4-1 victory over the Falcons.

KCC's run in the bottom of the first was the game's only score until a bunt by Armstrong in the third tied things up and sparked a fire in the BU offense. Karlin broke the tie with an RBI single in the fourth and came around to score on a bases-loaded walk to make it a two-run lead for BU. Wallace ended his day with a sac fly RBI for the second straight game to cap the 4-1 victory.

Starter Brady Friend allowed one run and four hits with a pair of strikeouts to tally the win in his 2026 pitching debut. Anthony Sillas (2.0 IP) and Gage Callaghan (1.0 IP) pitched three innings of scoreless relief, with the senior Callaghan striking out the first two hitters of the seventh for his first save of the year.

Up next, Baker will take a weekend off before playing its first set of home games of the season, hosting a three-team round-robin with Morningside and Graceland on Feb. 21-22, at Sauder Field in Baldwin City.

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