Wildcats Open 2025 Home Campaign with Sunday Sweep of Dakota Wesleyan

BALDWIN CITY - Playing their first set of games out at Sauder Field this year, the Baker baseball team came away with a pair of victories over Dakota Wesleyan to earn a sweep in front of the home crowd here Sunday afternoon in Baldwin City.

The Wildcats shut out the Tigers in game one in an 8-0 blowout before taking the nightcap as well with a 4-2 victory to bag their first two wins of 2025.

In his home debut, newcomer John Green tossed six scoreless innings and tallied four strikeouts to earn his first win as a Wildcat. The Missouri Western transfer gave up just four hits and didn't allow a walk in the first of two solid outings for a BU starting pitcher today.

Fellow Lawrence, Kan. native Tyler Vigna followed with another brilliant performance in game two, throwing five innings of no-hit ball to extend DWU's scoreless streak to 12 innings. Vigna racked up seven strikeouts before turning things over to the bullpen in the sixth inning.

Kolden Howerton recorded four hits between the two games, including a perfect 3-for-3 in game two where he had the only two RBI for BU plus three stolen bases.. Tyson Wallace (3) and Eli Young (2) combined for five of the seven RBI for the Wildcats in game one with both hitters notching a double in the contest.

After Baker scored a run in each of the first two innings of the day, things settled over the next couple of innings before Wallace broke game one open with a bases-clearing double in the bottom of fifth as part of a four-run frame for the hosts.

Young followed suit in the sixth with a big two-run double on his first extra-base hit of the season to cap an 8-0 victory for BU.

In game two, Brennan Johnson and Camden Karlin each came around to score on a DWU error in the bottom of the third before Howerton tacked on a third run on an RBI single to push BU out in front, 3-0. Howerton drove in his second run of the game with another RBI hit in the fifth inning.

Vigna marked five of his seven strikeouts in the first three innings before striking out a pair in his final inning of work in the fifth.

Dakota Wesleyan snapped its scoreless drought with a couple of runs in the top of the sixth, but that would be as close as the Tigers would get as Gage Callaghan closed things out in the seventh with a set of strikeouts to register his first save of the spring and seal a Sunday sweep for BU.

With their two wins today, the Wildcats continue their success at Sauder Field after posting a 16-9 record at their home ballpark last year.

Baker will return to Sauder on Tuesday, February 25 for a set of non-conference games against Dakota State and Midland, beginning with a matchup versus the Trojans at 2 p.m. in Baldwin City.

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