Wildcats Take Three of Four Against V-Hawks, Snap Win Streak at Six Games

BALDWIN CITY - After sweeping its home-opening doubleheader last week, Baker baseball won three out of four in its non-conference series against Viterbo on Friday and Saturday in Baldwin City.

The Wildcats outscored the V-Hawks, 39-20, and posted back-to-back shutouts after coming into the matchup without one yet this year. BU won on scores of 9-3, 14-0, and 6-0 before seeing its six-game winning streak come to a close in a 13-10 series finale.

BU 9, VU 3
Baker scored nine runs across the second and third innings to set the stage for its big weekend with a 9-3 victory in the series opener. Camden Karlin picked up his second win of the year, allowing just four hits in his five innings of scoreless work.

Carson Adams plated five of the nine runs for BU, going 2-for-4 at the plate with his first home run of the season coming on a three-run bomb in the bottom of the third to cap the scoring for the Wildcats.

Adams drove in the first two runs of the game with a bases-loaded hit in the bottom of the second. Karlin and Zach Miller each followed with RBI hits in the second, while Tyson Kiser knocked in a pair in the five-run bottom of the third for BU.

BU 14, VU 0
The Wildcats busted out a 14-0 shutout in Friday's nightcap for their highest scoring game of the early season. Tyler Vigna (5 IP), Andrew Ryan (1 IP) and Mason Chance (1 IP) combined for BU's first shutout of the spring.

10 different players drove in runs for the Wildcats with Karlin, Tyson Wallace and Ashton McCurty being the only two Wildcats to register multiple RBI in the game. Karlin opened up the scoring with a two-run single in the third, Wallace smacked a two-run homer in the fifth, and McCurty recorded his first multi-hit game of the season.

Vigna (1-0) struck out eight and allowed just two hits in an excellent outing for the sophomore from Lawrence, Kan.

BU 6, VU 0
On Saturday, Baker blanked the V-Hawks for the second straight game and continued to pound out runs at the plate in a 6-0 win. Kole Starlin (6 IP) and Spencer McGuire (1 IP) delivered the combined shutout with Starlin allowing just one hit in six innings.

Kiser and Jon Jenkins connected on a couple of RBI singles in the bottom of the first to spot BU a quick 2-0 lead. Jackson Truman increased the lead in the second with an infield single that allowed TJ Armstrong to score from third.

After an RBI from Armstrong, Jenkins blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to seal the six-run victory for BU.

VU 13, BU 10
The two teams exploded for a 23-run slugfest in the series finale as the Wildcats saw their six-game winning streak come to a close in the 13-10 setback.

Jenkins and Wallace each homered for the second time of the series with Jenkins smoking his second longball of the afternoon in the fifth. Wallace made it a 3-0 lead for the Wildcats in the opening frame with his third homer of the season.

With BU trailing, 13-7, in the sixth, Karlin's RBI triple and an RBI double from Armstrong looked to spark a late-game rally. Truman's two-run double in the bottom of the seventh made things interesting, but the V-Hawks were able to hold on to stave off the sweep.

Up next, Baker continues its homestand, turning around and hosting a makeup doubleheader with Graceland, which will be deemed a non-conference matchup between the two Heart teams. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, at Sauder Field.

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