Wildcats Sweep Pioneers on Day One, Split Home Conference Series

BALDWIN CITY - Baker baseball opened up its Spring Break weekend series against (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene with a pair of wins on Friday before falling in the Saturday doubleheader to earn a conference split against the Pioneers here at Sauder Field.

The Wildcats reeled off back-to-back wins to start the weekend with an 8-3 victory in game one and a 10-4 victory in game two. MNU returned the favor on Saturday, forcing a series wash on scores of 7-2 and 16-2.

Game 1 - BU 8, MNU 3
Baker capitalized on a terrific performance on the mound from starting pitcher Camden Karlin in game one with Karlin coming up one out shy of going the distance. He silenced the MNU lineup with just two earned runs and five hits allowed to pave the way for a series-opening win for BU.

The Wildcats manufactured a three-run advantage in the first with a bases-loaded walk, an RBI groundout and Jackson Truman scoring on a wild pitch. Truman accounted for the next two runs to come across with an RBI groundout in the second, followed by a run-scoring hit down the left-field line in the fourth.

After pinch-runner Kole Starlin scored on a fielder's choice to make it a 6-0 lead for Baker, Truman drove in two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to finish with a four-RBI game in the opener.

Karlin's only trouble came late into the game with MNU scoring a run in the sixth and then a couple of harmless runs in the seventh as Gage Callaghan came in to secure the final out for BU.

Game 2 - BU 10, MNU 4
The Wildcats scored six runs between the second and third innings and got another solid performance from their pitching staff with Starlin tossing five frames of relief to seal the day-one sweep for BU.

Karlin and Javier Aguirre each tallied three RBI in the game with Karlin smacking his fifth home run of the season and Aguirre lacing a two-run double in the sixth. Aguirre put the Wildcats on the board in the bottom of the second with an RBI single to tie the game after MNU took a 1-0 lead.

The three-run homer from Karlin provided some cushion for BU before two-run frames in the third and fifth made it an 8-2 ballgame. Truman and Kolden Howerton came around to score on an MNU error in the third and Jaidon Bowers drove in a pair with his double in the fifth.

Aguirre's two-run extra-base hit in the sixth capped the solid first day and Starlin picked up his second win of the season as the Wildcats closed out a 10-4 victory.

Game 3 - MNU 7, BU 2
After winning seven of their first eight conference games coming into the weekend, the Pioneers responded to BU's sweep by taking both games on Saturday, starting off with a 7-2 win in game three.

In his 2025 debut, Caden Pogue tossed four effective innings for the Wildcats, striking out four and allowing just one run. The senior from Stillwater, Okla. missed the first part of the season due to an offseason injury.

A bases-loaded walk gave BU a 1-0 lead until MNU cracked through with a run in the fourth to tie the game. A string of two-out hits in the fifth led to the Pioneers taking the lead and they padded it with three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.

Truman drove in his fifth run of the series with an RBI single in the seventh.

Game 4 - MNU 16, BU 2
Despite BU keeping MNU's lineup at bay for most of the series, the Pioneers salvaged the weekend split with a 16-run performance in the finale.

MNU scored nine runs across the first four innings before a seven-run fifth put the game out of reach. Howerton clubbed his first home run of the season with a two-run rope over the fence in right for the Wildcats' two runs.

Up next, Baker will face Park on Tuesday, March 25 in a single-game, non-conference matchup that was originally scheduled to be played at the Kansas City Monarchs' ballpark. The two teams will now square off at Sauder Field in Baldwin City with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m.

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