The Baker University baseball team took three of four games from Peru State College in the Wildcats’ final home series of the season on Friday and Saturday.

The first game of Friday’s doubleheader was decided in walk-off fashion. The Bobcats were first on the board after a sacrifice fly from PSC’s Derrick Davis gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. That is where the score remained from the second inning until the bottom of the seventh, when BU sophomore Neal Boyce and freshman Wes Summers both drove in runs to give the Wildcats a 2-1 victory.

The Wildcats tallied only three hits in the game, but they were backed up by a strong pitching performance from sophomore Seth Jones. The transfer from Allen County Community College pitched all seven innings, giving up just one earned run on seven hits and struck out four.

The Wildcats’ lone loss of the series came in game two, with Baker coming up just shy of another comeback win. The Bobcats jumped ahead 6-0 after five innings, but the Wildcats stormed back in the bottom of the sixth. After three walks and a wild pitch, the Wildcats had the bases loaded. Four hits and a sacrifice fly later, the game was tied at six. The Bobcats bounced back from the nightmare of a sixth inning to drive in the game-winning run. The scoreboard-scorching sixth was the only offense the Wildcats mustered for the entire game, with no hits or runs coming before or after.

Saturday’s doubleheader was a sweep for the Wildcats in their final home games of the season. BU controlled the first game from the start, scoring two runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Two more runs by Baker in the fifth put the game away. Peru State’s rally in the fifth and sixth innings ultimately came up short, with the Wildcats winning 4-2. Senior James Gricol pitched a complete game, giving up only two runs despite allowing nine hits.

The next game featured another senior pitcher, Thomas Hawkins, taking the mound. After giving up a run to start off the game, Hawkins shut out the Bobcats afterward, giving up just three more hits, and striking out nine Peru State batters. The Wildcats were held scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, when senior Josh Zach hit his fifth triple of the season, bringing home a run, then he later scored on a Peru State error. Hawkins pitched until the final out of the game, before Kyle Pattrick came to earn his sixth save of the season, sealing a 2-1 victory.

At 12-10 in conference play, Baker holds sole possession of fifth place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.