Wildcats Fall to No. 11 Missouri Baptist in Road Conference Opener

ST. LOUIS - The Baker baseball team faced a stiff test in its first series of the Heart of America Conference season, taking on No.11 Missouri Baptist on the road this weekend in St. Louis, where the Spartans claimed all four games.

After falling in the series opener, 12-4, the Wildcats held a two-run lead in game two on Friday before a late MBU rally swung the nightcap in the hosts' favor, 8-5. The Spartans completed the sweep on Saturday on scores of 8-3 and 7-4.

MBU 12, BU 4
The Wildcats struck first in the opening game of the series, but couldn't match the power of an MBU side that belted six homers and recorded a seven-run bottom of the third.

Jackson Truman smacked a two-run home run in the top of the first to spot BU a 2-0 lead. After MBU's first dinger of the day, Camden Karlin connected on a two-out solo blast to push Baker's lead back out to two runs.

Missouri Baptist launched three homers in the bottom of the third to take the lead and spring it open, 8-3. Truman's third RBI of the game cut into the lead in the top of the fifth, but the Spartans responded by putting up a four-spot in the bottom half to cap the win.

MBU 8, BU 5
Baker once again was first to the scoreboard and built an early four-run lead before the Spartans stormed back in the later stages to steal Friday's closer, 8-5.

TJ Armstrong clubbed the first of his two home runs of the weekend with a two-run jack in the top of the first to give BU a 2-0 lead over the Spartans for the second straight game. Also mirroring game one, MBU hit a solo home run in the second to cut BU's lead in half.

The Wildcats strung together their best inning of the day in the top of the third, scoring three runs on three hits and taking advantage of a couple of MBU miscues. Armstrong scored on a passed ball for the first run, Tyson Wallace came across on another error, and an RBI single from Carson Adams stretched Baker's lead out ot 5-1.

The Spartans hit a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to make it a two-run ballgame before taking the lead on a three-run blast in the fifth.

MBU 8, BU 3
While the ball stayed inside the fence a little more on Saturday, the Spartans offense continued to stay hot at the plate as they opened with an 8-3 win in game three of the series.

After Missouri Baptist jumped out to a 2-0 lead, Truman and Wallace teamed up for a two-run frame to tie things up in the top of the fourth. Truman laced a double down the left-field line to score pinch-runner Jayden Ford, while Wallace's RBI knock allowed Truman to score from second to tie the game at 2-2.

The Spartans reclaimed the lead with five runs in the bottom of the fourth and Armstrong's second homer of the series in the sixth would be the only run BU could bring across in the final three innings.

MBU 7, BU 4
The Wildcats were able to have a little more success in the series finale, but a big third inning for the Spartans was enough to overcome the four single-run frames from BU.

Blake Reeder tagged his first home run of the spring with a solo shot in the top of the second and added a second straight RBI in his next plate appearance after driving in Armstrong on a sac fly to make it a 2-0 lead for BU.

Missouri Baptist scored three runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead and added a run in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a 6-2 lead. A second sac fly RBI inched the Wildcats closer in the sixth as it was Karlin whose pop fly drove in the run this time.

Baker looked to have a seventh-inning rally going after Armstrong and Jon Jenkins both reached to lead off the inning, with Jenkins hitting his first double of the spring. Carson Adams' RBI groundout was the only damage BU would be able to do as the Spartans finished off the series sweep.

After playing on the road for the first time in over a month, Baker returns to Sauder Field this weekend to host a conference series against Central Methodist, with doubleheaders scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 22.

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