The Baker University softball team had not played a game in over a month due to inclement weather in the Midwest region, but the Wildcats got the opportunity enjoy the warm weather of Arizona over spring break for the Tucson Invitational.
The Wildcats played 10 games spanning from March 11-15 and finished the tournament with a record of 7-3.
Baker started the Tucson Invitational by taking on Dordt College and Mayville State University. The Wildcats showed no signs of rust in their first game since Feb. 9 as they won both games 8-0.
In the Wildcats’ win over Dordt, junior Erin Greenwood tallied 13 strikeouts in six innings to record BU’s first victory of the season. Baker scattered 16 hits over seven innings whlie junior Renata Dill, freshman Ilona Miller, sophomore Alyse Menghini, senior Summer Kelley, freshman Mallorie Nelson, junior Cami Williams and sophomore Peyton Weekly all had multi-hit games.
Baker did not need the full seven innings against Mayville State as it run-ruled the Comets by the score of 8-0 in five innings. Nelson recorded the complete game shutout for the first win of her collegiate career. Greenwood went two for four with two RBIs while Dill added a team-high three base knocks.
The ‘Cats went on to play Purdue University North Central and Judson University for their third and fourth games of the tournament. The Wildcats trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the sixth inning against PUNC, but Nelson, Kelley and junior Brooke Plummer came in to score to give BU a 5-3 advantage. PUNC scored once in the seventh, but the Wildcats hung on for a 5-4 victory. Nelson was the winning pitcher again as she limited PUNC to three runs in six innings.
Baker’s three-game winning streak was snapped, though, against Judson as it lost 2-0. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth when JU scored twice against Greenwood.
Greenwood returned to the mound the next day against Dickinson State University and tossed a complete game shutout on the way to a 3-0 victory for the Wildcats. Nelson followed Greenwood in the second game of the day by throwing a complete game shutout of her own to lead the Wildcats to a 7-0 win against Valley City State University.
For the Wildcats’ fourth day in Tucson, they had to play three games against the University of British Columbia, Lubbock Christian University and Jamestown University.
BU was shut out by UBC and LCU by the scores of 2-0 and 3-0, respectively, before bouncing back to defeat Jamestown 3-1. The Wildcats racked up 13 hits, led by Miller and Kelley with three apiece.
The Wildcats rounded out the tournament by facing Mount Marty College and earned a 5-1 victory. Baker scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back as Nelson only allowed four hits in six inning to pick up the win.
While the Wildcats had success in the tournament and had a chance to enjoy the mild climate, they took time in their trip to give back to the Tucson community as well. The team spent time at the Boys and Girls Club of Tucson and went through different fundamentals of softball with the children. The Wildcats rounded out their day with the children by playing a game of whiffle ball with them.
After the tournament, the Wildcats are 7-5 on the season and will return home for their conference opener against Missouri Valley College at 2 p.m. Saturday at Cavaness Field.
