Wildcats Earn Two Major Awards, Land Eight on All-Conference List
BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – After finishing as the Heart's Co-Regular Season Champions, the Baker softball team had eight players named to the Heart Softball All-Conference teams and boasted a pair of major award winners with Kerstyn Finch being selected as Newcomer of the Year and Kira Baker earning Freshman of the Year honors.
Joining the freshman Baker on the first-team list were teammates Skylar Gorrell and Savannah Bray, while Makayla Akin and Morgan Loggins were honored alongside Akin as second-team selections. Wildcats outfielders Parker Straight and Mary Grace Hess garnered honorable mention honors.
The Wildcats also had a couple of players land on the Gold Glove list with first baseman Emma Ancira and pitcher Skylar Gorrell each being rewarded for their defensive efforts in the field.
In her first season as a Wildcat, Baker posted a sensational debut campaign with an 18-1 record and totaled 243 strikeouts during the regular season, where she also tossed two perfect games and earned NAIA Pitcher of the Week honors four times this year, the most by any NAIA pitcher.
En route to her Newcomer of the Year award, Finch played in 48 games during the regular season where she hit .321, smacked six home runs and collected 36 RBI. She drove in a season-high four runs against LSU Alexandria on March 5.
As another arm out of BU's lethal rotation, Gorrell won 14 games and pitched almost 120 innings during the regular season where she struck out 111 batters. The senior right-hander tossed 11 complete games and recorded three shutouts while boasting a 1.05 ERA against conference opponents.
Bray scored 30 runs for Baker this year, while racking up almost 50 hits (49) and six home runs. She logged 12 multi-hit outings during the regular season, including a couple of three-hit performances against Thomas (March 5) and McPherson (March 10) earlier in the year.
Two senior mainstays for the Wildcats joined Finch on the second team with two-way player Akin earning a utility spot and the catcher Loggins receiving all-conference honors for the second straight season. Akin went 8-3 in the circle and recorded eight doubles at the plate, while Loggins played in 47 games during the regular season and threw out a total of 11 runners as the BU backstop.
As two-thirds of the Wildcats outfield, Straight and Hess earned honorable mention status after combining for over 70 hits in the 2023 regular season. Straight led the team in stolen bases with 44 on the year and Hess registered 12 extra-base hits with eight doubles, two triples and two home runs.
Ancira posted a .993 fielding percentage during conference play with 135 putouts and just one error while playing 41 games for the Baker defense.
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.
For a full list of the all-conference teams, click here.
#BakerBuildsChampions