Wildcats Fall on the Road at Avila, 18-11 in Non-Conference Finale

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Coming off a 10-6 victory on Friday's Senior Day, Baker baseball suffered an 18-11 loss against Avila at their place on Saturday in the final non-conference game of the year for BU.

The Wildcats put together a three-run third and five-run sixth to stay within arm's length in the Saturday slugfest, but the Avila offense pounded out at least two runs in five of their eight innings, including a seven-run bottom of the fifth to earn the series split.

After going deep in two of his three at-bats against the Eagles on Friday, Eli Young recorded his second straight game with a pair of home runs, including a grand slam in the top of the sixth to bring his two-day total to four homers and 12 RBI in seven plate appearances.

With Baker hitting all three home runs in Friday's matchup, the Eagles started things off on Saturday with a three-run blast in the bottom of the first.

Jaidon Bowers got an RBI groundout in the top of the second to kickstart BU's scoring, but Avila came back with two more runs in the bottom-half to run its lead up to 6-1 through the first two innings.

After Kolden Howerton and Tanner Twillman led off the third with back-to-back walks, Young smoked a three-run home run to bring the 'Cats within two.

A couple of Avila runs in the bottom of the fourth put the hosts in double digits before an RBI triple from Jon Jenkins brought another run across for BU.

Leading 8-5, the Eagles lineup delivered a seven-run blow in the bottom of the fifth that saw them only tally three hits in the frame, but made the most of six walks issued by BU pitchers to take a 10-run lead midway through the series finale.

After a bases-loaded walk by Brennan Johnson, Young smacked his second grand slam of the year in the top of the sixth to keep things interesting at a 15-10 deficit.

Avila put things out of reach with a run in the sixth and a two-run home run in the seventh as Howerton's bases-loaded walk in the ninth capped the offensive outburst with the two clubs combining for 29 runs in the contest.

It marked the sixth time this year that the Wildcats scored 11 or more runs in a game with their season-high coming on a 15-13 victory over Benedictine last month.

Following a three-game break, Baker jumps back into Heart play with a matchup at MidAmerica Nazarene this weekend in the final series of the 2024 regular season, starting on Friday, April 26 at 1 p.m. in Olathe, Kan.

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