Wildcats Earn Three Wins, Fall in Elimination Game as Hosts of 2023 Heart Softball Championship

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – The Baker softball team won three games to advance to the finals of the consolation bracket before bowing out at the 2023 Heart Softball Conference Championship, which was hosted by the Wildcats on May 4-7.

As the No. 2 seed, the Wildcats opened up with an 11-4 victory over No. 7 MNU in the first round of the tournament on Thursday before splitting a pair of extra-inning games on Friday with a 3-2 loss to No. 3 Mount Mercy and a 1-0 win against No. 5 Benedictine. On Saturday, BU defeated No. 4 Grand View, 4-2 before a 2-1 setback against the Mustangs brought Baker's tournament run to an end.

Baker exploded for 11 runs against the Pioneers to begin the tournament on the right foot, highlighted by a stellar performance from Savannah Bray who smacked three home runs and collected seven RBI in the tournament opener. Overall, the Wildcats had seven extra-base hits in the game with Emma Anicra driving in three runs on a bases-clearing triple.

The Wildcats fell to the Mustangs in a 10-inning battle on Friday despite a gutsy performance from Skylar Gorrell who pitched nine innings and notched six strikeouts. The Wildcats didn't record an RBI in the game, but instead scored both of their runs by way of the basepaths with Bailey Shuman coming home after stealing third in the bottom of the third and Mary Grace Hess following the same suit in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. A wild pitch led to the Mustangs scoring the game-winning run in the top of the 10th.

It was another extra-inning pitcher's duel for BU in its second game on Friday as Kira Baker set the program's single-game strikeout record with an astonishing 20 strikeouts in her 10 scoreless innings. With each team only mustering three hits in the contest, Hess made the most of her extra-base hit in the bottom of the 10th to turn a two-out triple into a walk-off frenzy as the junior from Burlington, Kan. sprinted home after an errant throw on the relay to claim the 1-0 victory for BU.

Kerstyn Finch tagged a two-run homer, while Gorrell and Baker kept the Vikings at bay in Saturday's opener. Gorrell pitched two clean frames to start the game before the lefty Baker threw the final five innings of relief where she struck out 10 GVU batters. Ancira opened the scoring in the top of the third with an RBI double before coming around to score on a single from Hess.

With a spot in the championship game on the line, the Wildcats fell to Mount Mercy in another defensive battle as the Mustangs shut out the Baker lineup over the final six innings. Makayla Akin went toe-to-toe with Mustangs starter Jayna Witzany as the BU right-hander allowed just two runs on seven hits. Akin began the game with an RBI double in the top of the first to spot her and the Wildcats a 1-0 lead, but Mount Mercy would tie the game in its first trip to the plate before scoring the game's decisive run in the bottom of the fourth to knock Baker out of the tournament.

Securing an at-large bid, Baker has earned a trip to the 2023 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round, which takes place May 15-17, and will serve as the hosts for the Baldwin City Bracket. The Wildcats will face Indiana Southeast in the tournament opener on Monday, May 15 at 12 p.m. at Cavaness Field in Baldwin City, Kan.

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