Wildcats Close Out Regular Season with Top-25 Win over No. 21 MNU

OLATHE, Kan. - Earning its 20th win of the season, Baker baseball closed out the regular season with a thrilling 11-9 come-from-behind victory over No. 21 MidAmerica Nazarene on Saturday for the Wildcats' first top-25 win of the year.

Splitting up the matchup due to inclement weather, the Wildcats, who boasted a lead in three of the four games in the series, fell in the first two games on scores of 3-2 and 4-1 on Wednesday before falling in Saturday's opener, 12-6.

Game 1 - MNU 3, BU 2
A three-run bottom of the seventh for MNU spoiled the Wildcats' opener in Olathe with a walk-off double completing a 3-2 Pioneers comeback in game one.

BU starter Caden Pogue cruised through the first six innings, allowing just two hits and tallying three strikeouts during that stretch. A tough MNU lineup finally cracked through in the seventh with four hits, including the game-winner.

Eli Young put Baker on the scoreboard in the opening frame of the series after Kolden Howerton led off the game with a single. Young followed with a two-out RBI later in the inning to give Pogue and the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead.

In his next at-bat, Young led off the fourth with a solo home run to score both of BU's runs in the contest and make it a 2-0 ballgame.

Game 2 - MNU 4, BU 1
It was a tense 1-0 contest in Wednesday's game two with an MNU homer serving as the lone run until the final two innings where the Pioneers used a three-run sixth to come away with a 4-1 win.

Kole Starlin held the opposing lineup in check for most of the game with back-to-back strikeouts to open things up before turning it over to the BU bullpen in the sixth. Despite getting three doubles, Baker couldn't capitalize on its seven hits in the game and left a total of seven runners stranded.

MNU's Kaden Owens was responsible for all four of his team's runs with the home run in the fourth and then a three-run shot in the sixth.

The Wildcats tried to pull off a two-out rally in the top of the seventh with Howerton working a walk to keep the game alive. Sevon Battle and Brayden Vawter followed with back-to-back hits with Vawter's RBI single plating the only run for BU as MNU closed out its doubleheader sweep.

Game 3 - MNU 12, BU 6
Baker got three home runs in the first game on Saturday, including a multi-homer game from Tanner Twillman, but couldn't top a Pioneers side that recorded a grand slam and a six-run fifth to take game three, 12-6.

Twillman's two-run jack in the top of the first put the Wildcats on the scoreboard first for the second time in the series. He added his sixth home run of the spring in the top of the third with a solo blast to give BU a 3-2 lead.

After MNU went in front, 6-3, Young continued his late-season tear with another home run, this one being a two-run shot to bring the 'Cats within one in the top of the fifth.

The Pioneers scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach as a bases-loaded walk for BU in the sixth served as the final run and capped the 18-run affair.

Game 4 - BU 11, MNU 9
Trailing 7-3 going into the sixth, the Wildcats scored eight runs in two innings, including a punctuating three-run home run from Brennan Johnson to win the regular-season finale, 11-9.

Young hit his third and final home run of the series with a two-run homer in the top of the first, giving the junior slugger seven home runs in his final six games of the spring.

Later in the first, Vawter scored on a wild pitch to make it a 3-0 lead for BU before the Pioneers went on to score seven unanswered runs.

The Wildcats began their comeback in the top of the sixth with Battle's double driving in a run and a two-run single by Jaxon Holzem making it a one-run game.

After Howerton tied the game on a wild pitch, Javier Aguirre delivered the go-ahead hit in the top of the seventh and Johnson followed with his three-run bomb to make it an 11-7 lead for Baker. Jaidon Bowers made his second appearance of the season and got the final two outs in the seventh to close out the Wildcats' top-25 win.

The Wildcats finished off a 2024 regular season that saw them go 20-29 overall and eclipse the 20-win mark for the third straight year. They went 16-16 in conference play and are, currently, fifth in the Heart standings with only tomorrow's postponed, single-game contest between Peru State and Park remaining.

Once the final seeding is decided, Baker will make its fifth straight appearance in the Heart Baseball Conference Championships which are set to take place on May 2-7 at the Sky Bacon Stadium (previously US Ballpark) in Ozark, Mo.

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