No. 2 Baker Keeps Heart Tournament Run Alive with 3-0 Victory over No. 6 Mount Mercy

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - With the game getting pushed back a day due to weather, No. 2 Baker dropped its first game of the Heart Softball Conference Tournament with a 5-4 loss to No. 7 Missouri Valley before going on to stave off elimination with a 3-0 victory over No. 6 Mount Mercy on Friday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

After a shocker to open the tournament, the Wildcats bounced back in their elimination game with a 3-0 shutout over the Mustangs, who are hosting this year's conference tournament.

Sydney Erlandson provided a bulk of the heavy-lifting for the BU offense, going 5-for-6 at the plate with three RBI and starting off her first Heart tournament run with a perfect 3-for-3 outing in game one of the day.

Game 1 - MVC 5, BU 4
Uncharacteristically, the Wildcats let a 4-0 lead slip as the Vikings used a four-run fifth and a go-ahead run in the seventh to complete the comeback and come away with the first-round upset, 5-4.

Mary Grace Hess put Baker on the board first in the opening frame with her first triple of the spring driving in Bailey Shuman. Hess came around to score on an MVC error to make it a 2-0 advantage for BU right out the gate.

The Wildcats scratched runs across in the next two innings on a couple of infield hits with Erlandson knocking in a run in the bottom of the second, followed by Madi Ball, who chopped an infield single to the shortstop to bring Hess across for the second time and make it a 4-0 lead for BU.

Back-to-back doubles sparked the Vikings' rally in the top of the fifth with the second one bringing two runs across and cutting Baker's lead down to just one run. An RBI single later in the fifth tied things up at 4-4 before MVC delivered the game-winning hit in the top of the seventh with a two-out RBI single.

Game 2 - BU 3, MMU 0
The Wildcats got a four-hit shutout from Kira Baker and provided three runs of support to stave off elimination in their second game of the day, defeating the Mustangs, 3-0.

Starting for the second straight game, Baker tossed seven efficient innings with four strikeouts scattered across her outing. Her only real threat came in the top of the first when the Mustangs got a runner to third base, but Baker got a couple of flyouts and then an MMU baserunning mistake to get out of the inning unharmed.

In the bottom of the second, the Wildcats struck up a two-out rally with a string of three straight hits, including an RBI single from Reese Curry that put BU out in front early again, 1-0.

With both pitchers battling it out, Erlandson came through with a big set of insurance runs in the sixth with a blooping single that fell in a perfect spot to bring both Ball and Savannah Bray around to score and seal the game at 3-0.

As the double-elimination tournament continues, No. 2 Baker will take on No. 5 Grand View tomorrow in Game 9 of the bracket at 12 p.m. in Cedar Rapids.

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