The Baker University baseball team could not buy a break against Avila University Saturday and Sunday.
Avila won all four games of the home and away doubleheader against Baker, but just one or two plays made the difference in each game.
“Despite the outcome, I thought we played really well,” junior Steven Stewart said. “We hit a lot of balls really hard, but right at people. The ball is just not bouncing our way right now.”
Baker traveled Saturday to Kansas City, Mo., for the first of the weekend’s two doubleheaders.
Game one featured a pitcher’s duel between junior Chris Cummins and Avila’s Chris Thomas. Thomas edged out Cummins for a 1-0 victory after Avila scored the game’s only run on a RBI double.
“Both of them pitched excellent games,” junior Nathan Wheelock said. “Chris did an amazing job on keeping the hitters off balance, but there was just one pitch that the hitter made him pay for.”
Game two was another close loss for the Wildcats, with Avila defeating Baker 5-2.
The action moved Sunday to Sauder Field, but the results were the same for BU.
The ‘Cats lost game one 4-0 and fell in game two 7-4 in eight innings.
In game one, Baker received a strong pitching performance from Wheelock, but the Wildcats weren’t able to provide him with run support to come away with the victory.
Game two featured an extra innings affair between the Wildcats and the Eagles. BU tied the game 4-4 with a run in the bottom of the sixth, but after neither team scored in the seventh, the Eagles scored three runs in the top of the eighth to earn the win.
“Their shortstop had a clutch double to right field that scored two (runs) and pretty much you could kind of feel that the team really didn’t think we could come back and respond to that,” Wheelock said.
The Wildcats will play another home and away doubleheader with William Jewell College beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Sauder Field. The teams will the travel to play the second doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m. Saturday in Liberty, Mo.
“As far as the playoffs go, we have kind of put ourselves in a hole,” senior Josh Reed said. “We’re not completely out of it, but these four games are either going to give us a chance or knock us completely out, so we have to win at least three of the four games.”
The ‘Cats have an overall record of 10-17 and are 4-11 in the HAAC entering the four games against the Cardinals.