Wildcats Play Host to 2023 NAIA Softball Opening Round

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Making its third appearance in the past five years, Baker softball is set to compete in the 2023 NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round as the Wildcats will play host to the Baldwin City bracket on May 15-17 at Cavaness Field.

As the No. 2 seed in the bracket, Baker will face No. 3 Indiana Southeast on Monday, May 15 at 12 p.m. in the opening game of the double-elimination tournament. In the following game, top-seed College of Idaho will play the fourth and final team in the Baldwin City bracket, No. 4 Valley City State at 2:30 p.m.

After finishing as the Heart's Co-Regular Season Champions, Baker earned an at-large bid to qualify for the tournament and will carry a 44-9 record into its postseason run. The Wildcats finished at No. 7 in the final edition of the NAIA Top-25 poll where fellow opening-round foe College of Idaho ranked just ahead of them at No. 6, while Indiana Southeast was receiving votes.

It marks the first trip to the NAIA Tournament for BU since the 2019 team reached the championship game of their opening round bracket, which was a part of back-to-back appearances for the Wildcats after they qualified in 2018.

The champions from each of the 10 opening round tournaments will advance to the 42nd Annual NAIA Softball World Series on May 25-31 in Columbus, Ga.

For more information, check out the Tournament Central page here.

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