No.4 Baker Continues Opening Round Run with 5-1 Victory over No. 3 Friends

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa - Backed by another dominant performance from its ace Kira Baker, No. 4 Baker kept its postseason run alive with a 5-1 victory over No. 3 Friends in the NAIA Opening Round here Tuesday evening in Sioux Center, Iowa.

The Wildcats strung together five runs on eight hits and capitalized on three errors from the Falcons defense, while Kira Baker cruised to her second win of the Opening Round with 11 strikeouts in a complete game outing for the junior lefty.

Savannah Bray went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored. She started off the day with three straight singles before roping a one-out double in the top of the seventh.

After playing two games yesterday and then waiting around until 5 p.m. Tuesday to play, the BU lineup came out ready to attack with Bray slashing a one-out single and then Ava Greiner driving her in on an RBI single in the next at-bat to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

The top of the lineup came through again for BU in the second inning with pinch-runner Meghan Kelly coming around to score on an RBI groundout from leadoff hitter Rachel Pederson. Bray followed with her second single to the right side in as many innings to plate a run and make it a three-run advantage.

Kira Baker notched three straight 1-2-3 innings to begin the game before Friends got its first base runner on in the bottom of the fourth. Baker struck out two in the frame to strand the runner and give her six strikeouts through the first four innings.

After a sac fly from Ashlee Jackman extended BU's lead to 4-0, the Falcons tacked on their lone run of the game in the bottom of the fifth to make it a three-run ballgame again.

With Baker cruising in the circle, the Wildcats padded one more run on in the top of the seventh with pinch-hitter Madi Ball coming through with a two-out RBI single. It was Ball's first plate appearance in over seven weeks since suffering an injury in the first game of conference play.

The lefty Baker tallied two more strikeouts in one final clean inning for her in the bottom of the seventh to slam the door on a 5-1 victory as the Wildcats advanced to the finals of the consolation bracket.

It was the Wildcats' second straight postseason victory over the Falcons after shutting them out, 3-0, in the first game of the 2024 NAIA Opening Round down in Chickasha, Okla. last year.

With a win in each of the first two days, Baker has earned multiple postseason victories for the second time in the past three years after advancing to the NAIA World Series in 2023. The Wildcats now have six wins in the NAIA Tournament since making the first of their three straight appearances in 2023.

Up next, Baker will take on No. 1 Northwestern tomorrow (May 14) at 12 p.m. in Sioux Center in a rematch of yesterday's meeting where the Red Raiders escaped with a 3-2 win. The winner will move on to the championship game of the 2025 NAIA Opening Round to face No. 2 Marian.

A livestream will be available on the GPAC Network and will be pay-per-view at a fee of $10 per game or $25 for the tournament. Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast.

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