Wildcats Sweep Peru State and Missouri Valley to Complete Perfect 4-0 Weekend

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – As we near the end of the regular season, the (RV) Baker softball team picked up a pair of sweeps over the weekend, defeating Peru State, 13-0 and 7-0 at home before traveling to Marshall, Mo., to defeat Missouri Valley, 3-1 and 13-8.

Game 1 vs. Peru State (W, 13-0 – 5 Innings)

Kira Baker got the call to start game one of the day on Saturday against Peru State. Baker pitched all five innings and allowed just two hits while striking out 12 batters. Baker also had 13 hits offensively with Bailey Shuman, Mary Grace Hess, Riley Phillips, and Rilee Bell each having two hits in the game.

Baker got things rolling early in the game, scoring four runs in first inning, followed by four more runs in the second inning to hold a strong 8-0 lead after just two innings.

Baker was able to get one run in the bottom of the third inning on a single from Shuman, followed by another four-run inning in the bottom of the fourth to extend their lead to 13-0 with just three outs to get. Peru State was able to get two baserunners in the top of the fifth but three strikeouts from Kira Baker put the game away and Baker won game one of the series, 13-0.

Game 2 vs. Peru State (W, 7-0)

Tess Eubank followed suit in game two of the day, also throwing a complete game with two hits and striking out 10 batters. The offense also stayed hot, this game getting 14 hits with Hailey Ramirez, Mary Grace Hess, Savannah Bray and Rilee Bell each picking up two hits, while Bailey Shuman and Rylee Seymour each had three hits in the game.

It took until the third inning for Baker to get on the board, but with the bases loaded, Savannah Bray roped a double to right center and scored three runs to give Baker a 3-0 lead. Mary Grace Hess added to Baker's lead in the fourth inning with a single up the middle and extended the Wildcat lead to 4-0.

A double by Seymour in the fifth scored two and a sac-fly from Hess in the sixth pushed the lead to seven as Baker went on to win game two of the day by a score of 7-0 to sweep the doubleheader.

Game 1 vs. Missouri Valley (W, 3-1)

Kira Baker pitched her second complete game of the weekend on Sunday against Missouri Valley, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out 10. Both Madi Ball and Mary Grace Hess had multi-hit games in game one.

Again, Hess singled to centerfield in the top of the first to score Shuman from second, giving Baker an early 1-0 lead. Ashlee Jackman then singled to right field in the second inning to tack on one run, followed by a two-out double from Hailey Ramirez to score another run and extend the lead to 3-0. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Missouri Valley got on the scoreboard, but that is all that Baker would allow as the Wildcats won game one of the day, 3-1.

Game 2 vs. Missouri Valley (W, 13-8)

Looking to finish off a perfect 4-0 weekend, Breana Barchak took the circle pitching five full innings before Tess Eubank pitched the final two innings. Baker had five players have multi-hit games in game two, as Mary Grace Hess, Riley Phillips and Savannah Bray combined to go 12-for-14 with six RBI and nine runs scored.

For the first time all weekend, Baker fell behind early as Missouri Valley took a 2-0 lead after the first inning. In the top of the second, Savannah Bray hit a leadoff home run to cut the lead in half and after a double from Rilee Bell, Rylee Seymour singled to center to tie the game at two.

Madi Ball stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and emptied them with a triple to left field to give Baker their first lead of the game, 5-2, and before the inning was over Ball scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2.

Missouri Valley scored two in the third to cut the lead to 6-4, but Bray crushed her second home run of the game in the top of the fourth to push the lead back to 9-4. Baker then continued to add to their lead, scoring two in the fifth and one in the sixth to hold a 12-4 lead.

After the Vikings cut the lead down to 12-8, Baker added another run on a single from Bray to win game two of the doubleheader, 13-8 and sweep the weekend.

Baker is now 27-11 on the season and 12-6 in Heart of America play. They will be back in action on Saturday, April 20, when they travel to Lamoni, Iowa, to take on Graceland at 1 p.m.

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