Wildcats Earn Senior Day Split with Walk-Off Against Ravens, Fall in Road Set at No. 3 Central Methodist

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. - After suffering its own walk-off heartbreaker on Friday, (RV) Baker softball closed out its Easter weekend with a 1-0 walk-off victory against Benedictine in Saturday's Senior Day split with the Ravens in Baldwin City. The Wildcats were swept by No. 3 Central Methodist on scores of 6-2 and 3-2 on Friday in Fayette, Mo.

Prior to Saturday's game, Baker celebrated its Senior Day by honoring four seniors that have helped grow the BU softball program and have shown what it truly means to be a Baker Wildcat. These seniors include Savannah Bray, Madison Byerley, Mary Grace Hess and Bailey Shuman.

Game 1 - CMU 6, BU 2
The Wildcats scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to get within a run, but a three-run home run by the Eagles in the sixth sealed their 6-2 win in game one of Friday's doubleheader.

A two-run double from CMU opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second with the hosts tacking on another run to take a 3-0 lead.

Sydney Erlandson led off the fifth with a single and pinch-runner Aubri McMillan eventually came across to score BU's first run of the game on a wild pitch. Riley Phillips followed with an RBI double to cut it to a 3-2 ballgame.

After the Wildcats swung the momentum in their favor, CMU's Lauren Hill hit a three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to snap Baker's 12-game winning streak.

Game 2 - CMU 3, BU 2
Rilee Bell belted a pair of solo home runs, but the Eagles erased a 2-0 deficit and completed the comeback on a two-run, walk-off double to earn the sweep with a 3-2 win in the nightcap.

After BU's game-two starter Breana Barchak matched four straight scoreless innings with the CMU pitcher, Bell smacked the first of her two dingers with a leadoff home run in the top of the fifth to give Baker a 1-0 lead.

In her next at-bat in the seventh, Bell recorded the second multi-home run game for the Wildcats this year with another solo shot to BU up, 2-0 heading into the bottom-half of the seventh.

Back-to-back close plays didn't go BU's way in the decisive seventh as the Eagles used a couple of doubles to score three runs and walk things off on an obstruction call at the plate.

Game 1 - BC 7, BU 0
In Saturday's Senior Day doubleheader against Benedictine, the Wildcats kept within a run until a six-run sixth inning for the Ravens broke open their 7-0 win in game one.

Barchak allowed just one run through her first five innings, shutting down a Ravens lineup that scored on a sac fly in the opening frame. Benedictine got a three-run home run in the top of the sixth before going on to tally three more runs and run away things late.

The Wildcats were only able to muster up three hits against BC starter Kera Willoughby with Bray striking a two-out hit in the bottom of the seventh to move Madi Ball over and give the Wildcats their first runner past second base.

Game 2 - BU 1, BC 0 (10 inn.)
After the two teams battled for nine scoreless innings, the Wildcats came through with a walk-off sac fly RBI in the bottom of the 10th to come out on top of an extra-inning marathon as Baker salvaged the split with a 1-0 victory in the weekend finale.

Tess Eubank went toe-to-toe with the Ravens' Bailey Selvage in an epic pitcher's duel that saw both teams combine for a mere three hits in the 10-inning game. Eubank worked out of some small bumps in the second and sixth innings and, with runners at first and second, induced back-to-back flyouts to keep things scoreless in the top of the 10th.

Starting at second as the international tiebreaker runner, Shuman raced over to third on Phillips' sac bunt before sprinting home on sac fly from Bray as the throw home resulted in another obstruction call, but this time going in favor of the Wildcats as they earned their third walk-off victory at home this season.

Up next, the Wildcats host a midweek conference series with Park coming to town on Wednesday, April 3. First pitch of the doubleheader from Cavaness Field is set for 1 p.m. in Baldwin City.

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