ST. LOUIS—Missouri Baptist Baseball (3-2) dropped its home opener on Friday afternoon by a score of 14-7 to Baker University (3-1). The Wildcats jumped out to a big lead in the first three innings and never looked back to take the series opener and hand MBU its second straight loss.
 
Baker came out swinging with a five-run first against Mo. Bap starter Tyler Worrell. Two errors by the Spartans in the third inning contributed to three more runs and put the home side in a deep hole to climb out of.
 
Through the first time down the batting order, the Spartans couldn't find an answer for Baker's freshman starting pitcher Ian Henricks. But in the bottom of the fourth, Kyle O'Brien smacked a one-out solo home run to the deepest part of the park in straightaway centerfield. That seemed to shake Henricks, who was making his first collegiate start.
 
Henricks proceeded to walk the next three batters he faced and that was enough for Baker manager Ryan Goodwin to turn to his bullpen. Dalton Dultmeier came in and limited the damage but the Spartans still scraped across two more runs to make it an 8-3 game.
 
After the Wildcats added a two-run homer in the fifth, the Spartans once again cut into the deficit in the home half. A two-out walk to O'Brien ignited a rally. Adrian Gutierrez, Carter Mize, and Luis Tajia each delivered run-scoring hits and the four-run frame made it a 10-7 game.
 
Ultimately though, the Spartans couldn't hold down the Baker bats. They added another two runs in both the seventh and ninth innings to make the final margin seven.
 
REACTION FROM COACH USCHOLD
"Tough day when you're down 8-0 after three innings. Our offense battled back but we dug ourselves too big of a hole."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Spartans and Wildcats will continue the three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 11 am.