Pirates, Rain Dampen No. 5 Baker’s Comeback Bid in First Round of Heart Tournament

OZARK, Mo. - Making a program-record fifth straight appearance, No. 5 Baker opened up its first game of the 2024 Heart Baseball Conference Tournament with an 11-7 setback to No. 4 Park on Thursday night.

Trailing 9-1, the Wildcats fought back with a five-run seventh to get within striking distance before a rain delay halted their momentum and the Pirates sealed things in the ninth with a couple of runs.

Despite the four-run loss, Baker outhit the Pirates, 14-10 and left 11 runners stranded, while the Park offense benefited from a grand slam in the sixth to give them a big boost.

With weather pushing the start time past 5 p.m., the Pirates opened up the scoring in the top of the first after bringing across a couple of runs with the bases loaded.

After BU starter Caden Pogue settled in for four straight scoreless frames, the Park lineup cracked through with a big five-run sixth, highlighted by the grand slam, to make it a 7-0 deficit for Baker.

Brayden Vawter's sac fly RBI in the sixth gave the Wildcats their first run of the game to serve as a precursor to their big seventh inning.

Jaidon Bowers tripled to lead off the seventh and came around to score on Javier Aguirre's third straight single of the game. After Aguirre scored later in the inning, Jon Jenkins snuck a two-run double down the left-field line to get the Wildcats even closer.

Chris Bollefer drove in the final run of the frame with an infield single that made it a 9-6 ballgame before the rain came and halted play for about an hour.

Following the restart, Park plated a couple of runs to take a five-run lead in the top half of the ninth.

Jenkins attempted to kickstart another BU rally in the bottom of the ninth with his 11th home run of the year coming with two down in the inning. The next two Wildcats would reach, but the Pirates induced a groundout to bring the rain-soaked game to a close.

Eight different Wildcats registered a hit in the game with Jenkins and Aguirre logging three hits apiece. Kolden Howerton went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.

Facing an elimination game, Baker will take on No. 7 Peru State tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the Ozark Mountain Sports Complex in Ozark, Mo. The Bobcats took the regular-season meeting between the two teams, 3-1 with the Wildcats earning a 13-1 victory in the series finale.

#BakerBuildsChampions