Wildcats Collect Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year Awards, Land Five on All-Conference Teams
BALDWIN CITY, Kan. - Baker softball had five total players earn conference postseason honors as the league announced its 2025 Heart Softball All-Conference Teams and award winners on Friday afternoon.
The Wildcats had two players receive one of the conference's major awards with Kira Baker being named Heart Pitcher of the Year and Rachel Pederson earning Heart Newcomer of the Year. Both players were also selected to the All-Heart First Team.
Ava Greiner and Riley Phillips landed on the honorable mention list, while Savannah Bray was a Gold Glove winner for her defensive play at second base this season.
Along with her third straight first-team selection, Baker, a junior from Eudora, Kan., takes home the Heart Pitcher of the Year award after going 12-6 in the circle with 139 strikeouts and posting a 1.33 earned run average in her 18 starts during the regular season. She completed 15 games and pitched a total of 126 innings with a league-leading eight shutouts. Baker was named Heart Freshman of the Year in 2023 and is a two-time NAIA All-American.
Pederson became the second Wildcat in the past three years to garner Newcomer of the Year honors after leading the team in batting average (.369), hits (54) and runs scored (27) in her first season at BU since transferring from Ottawa. She has seven extra-base hits with three doubles, two triples and two home runs and has stolen 11 bases.
It's been a memorable 24 hours for Greiner, who earned an honorable mention nod after recording the game-winning hit in BU's nine-inning victory over Benedictine in the first game of the 2025 Heart Softball Conference Tournament on Thursday. The freshman from Alberta, Canada hit .319 with six doubles, a triple and 10 RBI in her debut season.
Phillips, a senior from Lansing, Kan., joined Greiner with honorable mention honors after tallying a team-best 25 RBI and five home runs with six doubles and two triples as well. She was an all-conference second-team selection last year and has played in over 100 games (104) since transferring to BU in 2022.
Earning postseason honors for the fourth straight year, Bray receives the first Gold Glove award of her illustrious five-year career after starting all 41 games at second base for BU during the regular season. The senior from Olathe, Kan. boasted a .986 fielding percentage overall for the year, including a perfect mark in conference after going without an error in all 24 games of Heart play.
After earning a 5-0 win over top-seed Central Methodist earlier today, No. 4 Baker will take on No. 2 Grand View in the semifinals of the 2025 Heart Softball Conference Tournament tomorrow (May 3) at Noon in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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