Wildcats Open Conference Play with Four-Game Sweep of Missouri Valley

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. - Baker baseball won the first two games of its series against Missouri Valley in come-from-behind fashion before going on to sweep the Vikings in a conference-opening series this past weekend in Baldwin City.

The Wildcats put together back-to-back late-inning rallies to win both games of Saturday's doubleheader before cruising to a couple victories on Sunday, including an 11-1 rout in the series finale.

Tanner Twillman hit .500 for the series with three RBI, three stolen bases and a double. Kolden Howerton had himself a five-RBI game after smacking a pair of doubles in the final game of the weekend.

Game 1 - BU 5, MVC 4
With the two teams at a 1-0 standstill for most of the game, the Wildcats used a four-run seventh inning to earn their first walk-off win of the season in the series opener.

Trailing 4-0, Brayden Vawter clubbed a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to ignite a BU lineup that had been held to five hits in the first five innings. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, it was a Howerton leadoff single that set the table for Baker's big inning as he scored on an RBI hit from Javier Aguirre.

A Twillman sac fly and a bases-loaded walk from Eli Young tied the game up before an MVC error allowed Sevon Battle to come across for the game-winning run. Caden Pogue pitched his first complete game of the season to earn his second win, striking out seven in his seven innings of work.

Game 2 - BU 8, MVC 4
The Wildcats pulled off their second straight comeback with Young's go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the sixth sealing the game for BU, 8-4. Evan Gottstein earned his first win of the season after striking out five in his four innings of relief.

Young drove in the first two runs for Baker in the opening frame before the Vikings tied things up in the top of the second. Jon Jenkins hit his sixth home run of the year to put the Wildcats back on top, while the Vikings used a two-run shot to reclaim the lead an inning later.

With BU trailing 4-3 going into the bottom of the sixth, a sac bunt by Jaidon Bowers triggered an errant throw and allowed the game-tying run to cross for the Wildcats. Then, with the bases loaded, Young sent his game-winner over the fence in right field to give Baker back-to-back dramatic endings to start the weekend.

Game 3 - BU 7, MVC 2
On Sunday, the Wildcats flipped the script and used a hot-start to carry their winning streak over to the next day.

A five-run first inning was highlighted by a pair of two-run doubles courtesy of Jenkins and Bowers to give BU starter Trent Davidson a nice 5-0 cushion to work with. After the Vikings scored a run in the third and fourth, Baker tacked on the final two runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth with Jenkins collecting his third RBI of the contest.

Davidson gave up just two runs in his 4.2 innings of work, while Gage Callaghan came in and pitched a scoreless 2.1 innings to earn his first save of the spring.

Game 4 - BU 11, MVC 1
After a couple of nail-biters on Saturday, Baker closed out the series with a blowout, scoring all 11 of its run in the first three innings to complete the series sweep on an 11-1 victory.

The Wildcats notched their second straight five-run first inning with Howerton's bases-clearing double sparking the early rally for BU. Bowers and Seth Brown followed with RBI hits to give the Wildcats another five-spot to open the game.

Howerton drove in a couple more runs in his next at-bat after sneaking a ball down the left field line for his second consecutive double. A double by Battle in the bottom of the third increased the Wildcats' lead to 9-0 and the junior infielder came across for BU's final run of the game later on in the third.

Jaxon Holzem pitched five innings of one-run ball and allowed just three hits to earn his first win of the season. Erik Kelly and Eden Schimmel each pitched an inning of relief with all but one of their six outs coming by way of strikeouts.

Up next, the Wildcats head to their first conference road series with games against Park this weekend, starting on Saturday, March 9 at 12 p.m. in Parkville, Mo.

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