The Baker University softball team will make its third trip in as many years to the opening round of the NAIA Tournament this week.

After a Heart of America Conference Tournament run that went all the way to a 3-2 loss in an extra inning of the championship game, the Wildcats (29-17 overall) earned an at-large bid to the national tournament as a No. 4 seed. They’ll face No. 5 Northwestern Ohio at noon on Monday in Sioux Center, Iowa. A pay-per-view livestream will be available on the GPAC Network for $10 per game or $25 for the tournament.

Northwestern Ohio (36-16) is making its second trip to the NAIA Tournament after earning an automatic berth with a win at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championship. They first appeared in 2018. Baker has been to the tournament four times before. In 2024, the Wildcats picked up an opening round win, and in 2023 they secured a spot in the NAIA World Series for the first time following back-to-back opening round appearances in 2018 and 2019.