Wildcats Defeat Freed-Hardeman, Columbia at NAIA SB Invite

SHAWNEE, Okla. - Competing in its first tournament of the season, No. 24 Baker softball went 2-3 against a highly competitive field at the NAIA SB Invite this past weekend, coming out with wins over (RV) Freed-Hardeman and Columbia.

BU 2, FHU 0
In Saturday's opener, the Wildcats came out on top of a pitcher's duel against the Lions with Sydney Kill tossing seven scoreless innings in her first start of the spring.

After drawing a leadoff walk in the top of the second, Ava Greiner eventually came around to score on an error to put BU in front, 1-0.

The Wildcats capitalized on another FHU miscue to tack on an insurance run in the sixth after Savannah Bray opened the frame with a single to left. She sprinted home on a passed ball to give Kill a two-run cushion for the final two innings.

NWC 6, BU 4
A late rally came up short for BU in its top-25 matchup against No. 11 Northwestern in the nightcap on Saturday with the undefeated Raiders making the most of eight walks and three errors from the Wildcats.

Rachel Pederson went 3-for-4 in the game and came around to score the first run of the game on an RBI single from Riley Phillips in the top of the first before NWC tied it up in its first trip to the plate.

The Raiders eventually made it a 5-1 ballgame with a three-run fifth inning before the Wildcats started to work their way back. Pederson smacked a solo home run in the top of the sixth and then drove in another run on a two-out triple in the seventh after an RBI from Taryn Hull, but NWC was able to halt the comeback with a strikeout in the final at-bat.

BU 9, CC 1 (5 inn.)
On Sunday, the BU offense came alive in its first matchup of the day, defeating the Cougars with a 9-1 victory.

Phillips went on a tear with all three of her hits in the game going for extra bases, opening things up with a three-run blast in the top of the first, followed by a triple and a double in her next two appearances.

Bray kicked off a six-run rally for BU in the fifth with a two-run home run before Braxton Stainbrook sealed the run-rule with a three-run shot over the fence in left field.

OIT 4, BU 3 (10 inn.)
Playing in their first extra-inning game of the season, the Wildcats came out on the wrong end of a 10-inning thriller against No. 5 Oregon Tech.

Facing a tough Owls lineup, Kira Baker pitched all 10 innings for BU with only two of the runs going against her.

After the Owls took a 2-0 lead, the Wildcats jumped out in front with a three-run bottom of the fifth. Sydney Erlandson drove in a run on her third double of the weekend and Reese Curry added an RBI single later in the inning to make it a 3-2 lead for BU.

Oregon Tech tied it up in the top of the seventh to send the game to extras where they were eventually able to win it in the 10th on a ground ball to short.

Bellevue 4, Baker 2
In the final game of the weekend, Bellevue broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth with a couple of runs to knock off the Wildcats.

Phillips put BU on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI double before the Bruins tied it in the fourth and took the lead in the fifth.

A triple from Rilee Bell knotted the game again in the bottom of the fifth, but a two-run home run from the Bruins in the sixth spoiled the Wildcats' tournament finale.

Up next, Baker heads to Shawnee, Kan. this time for the Top Gun Invite, starting with games against Kansas Wesleyan (1:30 p.m.) and Concordia (4 p.m.) on Saturday, March 1.

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