Wildcats Close Out 2026 Season with Four-Game Sweep of Missouri Valley

BALDWIN CITY - Baker baseball finished off the 2026 regular season with a four-game sweep over Missouri Valley on Sauder Field on Thursday and Friday.

The Wildcats posted three straight shutouts to start, winning on scores of 9-0, 2-0, and 6-0, before closing things out with a 8-3 victory on Senior Day in the season finale. With the results, Baker finished in a three-way tie for the final two divisional spots for the Heart Conference Tournament with MidAmerica Nazarene and Central Methodist, but lost out on the tiebreakers.

Between games on Friday, BU celebrated its Senior Day and recognized six seniors for their dedication and contributions to the Baker baseball program. Those seniors included Gage Callaghan, Mason Chance, Jon Jenkins, Camden Karlin, Spencer McGuire and Eden Schimmel.

BU 9, MVC 0
The Wildcats notched back-to-back three-run frames in the third and fourth and added three runs the rest of the way to cruise to a 9-0 win in the first game of the series.

BU manufactured the first surge in the third, getting an RBI single from Tyson Kiser before he later came home on a double steal, while Carson Adams drew a bases-loaded walk to push the advantage.

The fourth inning delivered the decisive swing, as TJ Armstrong laced a bases-clearing double to stretch the margin, and Baker kept its foot on the gas the rest of the way. Karlin added a two-run homer in the fifth, and Armstrong returned in the sixth with a solo shot as the Wildcats steadily swelled the lead inning by inning.

On the mound, Karlin picked up his eighth win and third shutout of the spring after allowing just four hits in seven innings, while striking out six.

BU 2, MVC 0
Baker closed out Thursday's slate with another crisp performance, securing a 2-0 victory behind a two-run third and another excellent pitching outing, this time from Tyler Vigna.

Vigna took control right from the start and never let the Vikings find a rhythm at the plate. The right-hander set the tone early with three straight 1-2-3 innings to open the game, then erased the few chances that followed by inducing inning-ending double plays in both the fourth and fifth.

The junior from Lawrence, Kan., ended up allowing just three hits and also tallied six strikeouts to earn his first shutout of the season.

The Wildcats broke through in the bottom half of the third, when Jackson Truman lined an RBI single before coming around to score on Jon Jenkins' run-scoring double to provide all the offense BU would need.

BU 6, MVC 0
The Wildcats carried over their momentum into Friday's Senior Day doubleheader, rolling to a 6-0 victory for their third straight shutout.

The offense once again started to piece itself over the middle innings for BU, with Brayden Walker opening the scoring on a solo home run in the third and Tyson Wallace adding a sacrifice fly an inning later. The Wildcats broke it open in the fifth when Carson Adams launched a two-run homer, and tacked on two more in the sixth as Tyson Grammer delivered an RBI single that skipped past the outfielder and allowed a pair of runs to cross.

Truman, Armstrong and Grammer each collected two hits as Baker outhit Valley, 10-2, while Kole Starlin and Vaugn Wells kept the Vikings lineup quiet from start to finish. The starter, Starlin, worked 5.1 strong innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five, before Wells closed it out with 1.2 scoreless frames and a strikeout to preserve the shutout.

BU 8, MVC 3
Baker wrapped up the regular season in style, completing the four-game sweep with an 8-3 victory in Friday's finale as BU accounted for all eight runs via the long ball.

Wallace smacked a two-run home run in the second, followed by a solo shot from Walker in the fourth and a two-run blast from Armstrong in the fifth, before Karlin put the finishing touch on the day with a three-run homer in the sixth in the final at-bat of his decorated career.

The Vikings pulled within one in the third, but Walker and Armstrong helped BU rebuild the cushion. Then, MVC climbed back to make it a two-run game heading into the bottom of the sixth before Karlin delivered the decisive blow.

The senior Callaghan was called on to finish things off in the seventh, retiring the side in order to secure the victory and extend the Wildcats' winning streak to five straight to close the regular season.

Baker wrapped up the 2026 season at 29-23 overall and 19-12 in conference play, securing the program's highest win total since 2023.

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