#4 Wildcats Earn Top-25 Win, Split Easter Weekend Series with Eagles, Ravens

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – No. 4 Baker softball picked up a win against No. 18 Central Methodist and added an extra-innings victory over in-state rival Benedictine to split its weekend series with the Eagles and Ravens, moving to 27-5 overall and 7-3 in conference play.

The Wildcats, first, hosted a top-25 clash with the Eagles at home on Friday where they claimed a 3-2 win in the opener before falling 4-3 in extras in game two. After the Ravens took the first game of Saturday's doubleheader in Atchison, Kan., BU salvaged the split in a nine-inning nightcap, 6-3.

BU 3, CMU 2
Game one between the two top-25 teams featured a couple of tough pitching performances from each club's starter. Wildcats hurler Kira Baker grinded out her 15th victory of the season, relying on her defense and five punchouts to help squelch the Eagles lineup.

Savannah Bray belted a three-run home run in the bottom of the first to give her starter Baker some breathing room to start the outing. Follwing Bray's first-inning bomb, CMU starter Jordyn Ball settled in and kept BU off the board for the rest of the game, retiring the Wildcats in order in four of the last five innings.

A one-out walk from Kerstyn Finch kickstarted the action in the opening frame, while Rylee Seymour followed with a base knock through the left side. With two outs, Bray squared a pitch and lifted it over the left field fence for her second home run of league play.

The Eagles drew themselves within one in the top of the fifth on Kaysie Jolley's two-run homer – the first long ball surrendered by the lefty Baker this season – before going on to make for a dramatic seventh after loading the bases with nobody out. Baker buckled down to get the next three batters, including a clutch strikeout against Jolley to seal the win and hand CMU its first conference loss of the year.

CMU 4, BU 3 (8 inn.)
The Wildcats climbed back twice to even things up in the second game of the doubleheader, only to have its comeback bid fall short in extra-innings where an Eagles solo shot in the top of the eighth served as the game-winner.

Bray homered for the second straight game and Mary Grace Hess connected on a couple of RBI hits to pace a Wildcats lineup that scattered eight total hits in the contest. In the circle, Skylar Gorrell kept the Wildcats within striking distance by working out of a few tough spots and tallying eight strikeouts on the day.

Central Methodist was first to the scoreboard in game two with a two-run second inning before Bray's solo blast and a two-out RBI from Hess tied the game in the bottom of the fourth.

After the Eagles scratched a run across in the fifth, the Wildcats came right back in the bottom of the sixth to deadlock things at 3-3 on another timely hit off the bat of Hess. With runners at first and second, Hess snuck a ball through the same spot on the left side as her first game-tying hit to score Bray from second.

CMU's Elizabeth Palumbo put the visitors up for good in the top of the eighth with a solo home run to split the series.

BC 5, BU 4
Traveling to Atchison for the road portion of their Easter weekend, the Wildcats had a seventh-inning rally come up a run shy as Benedictine won Saturday's opener, 5-4 to mark the first time all season Baker has suffered back-to-back losses.

Following Bray's suit from Friday, Finch smashed her fifth homer of 2023 with a two-run rocket in the top of the third to give BU an early lead. The advantage didn't last long though as the Ravens capitalized on a Wildcats miscue to tie the game in the home half of the third before taking the lead in the fourth.

After Benedictine added a much-needed insurance run in the fifth, Baker mounted its comeback in the seventh with back-to-back singles, the latter one coming from Sydney Goss on an RBI knock to right field. Later in the frame, pinch-runner Riley Phillips raced home on a double steal to draw BU within one, but the Ravens were able to retire the final two hitters and escape with the rivalry win.

BU 6, BC 3 (9 inn.)
A three-run ninth inning and a big-time outing from veteran pitcher Makayla Akin led Baker to take the weekend finale, 6-3 and earn a Saturday split with Benedictine.

Goss broke a 3-3 deadlock in the top of the ninth before Hess garnished the extra-inning victory with a two-run shot for her first home run of the season. Seymour collected two RBI in the game as well, putting Baker on top in the eighth inning with a two-out single before the Ravens went on to extend the game in the bottom half of the inning on a two-out hit of their own.

Making her first start in the circle in almost a month, Akin delivered a gutsy performance to pitch all nine innings and notch a season-high 12 strikeouts for her first conference – and fourth overall – win of the year.

Hess' homer in the ninth marked the fifth straight game a Baker slugger has gone yard with Bray and Finch each hitting a pair of home runs in that span.

Baker is back on the dirt on Wednesday, April 12 for a midweek road doubleheader at Park with first pitch of the series coming at 1 p.m. in Parkville, Mo.

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