No. 12 Baker Hosts Senior Day with Chance to Clinch Conference Title

BALDWIN CITY – No. 12 Baker has a chance to secure at least a share of the Heart South championship for the second straight year as the Wildcats play host to Missouri Baptist on Saturday for Senior Day in the regular-season finale.

Last week, BU came out on top of a top-15 matchup against MidAmerica Nazarene, who was ranked eighth at the time, with a 20-14 victory over the Pioneers to hand them their first loss of the season. The Wildcats took the lead on a late touchdown pass from Truman Juelsgaard to Adrion Seals and the BU defense came through with an interception on the final play to seal the road upset.

Following the results, the conference standings feature a three-way tie at the top with the Wildcats, Pioneers and Benedictine all sitting at 4-1 with BU's lone loss coming to the Ravens, who MNU beat two weeks ago. If everyone wins on Saturday, all three teams would earn a share of the conference title and finish as Heart South Tri-Champions for the second straight year. No. 13 MNU faces Central Methodist (1-9) and No. 9 Benedictine plays at William Woods (1-9) on Saturday.

The Wildcats lead the NAIA in defensive touchdowns this year with eight and rank second with 19 interceptions. BU led both categories in 2023, finishing with 25 interceptions and six defensive scores.

Missouri Baptist comes into Saturday's matchup with a 6-3 overall record and a 3-2 record in conference play. The Spartans are coming off of back-to-back come-from-behind wins over Missouri Valley and Graceland with a fourth-quarter comeback against the Vikings, followed by a 32-20 victory over the Yellowjackets where MBU sealed the game on a 100-yard pick-six to spoil a game-winning score for GU.

The game on Saturday will just be the second meeting between the two programs after last year's inaugural game which Baker won, 41-17 in St. Louis. The Wildcats are 4-0 at home this year and are looking to finish off a perfect Liston Stadium record for the first time since 2021.

With Senior Day on Saturday, Baker will honor its 2024 senior class and recognize 27 seniors for their contributions to the program prior to the game.

Kickoff for the regular-season finale will be at 1 p.m. from Don Parker Field at Liston Stadium. A live stream of the game can be found on The Heart Conference Network and live stats for the game are available here.

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