PENDLETON — Kylie Baker showed up in Pendleton in 2019 ready to play softball at Blue Mountain Community College.

The graduate of North Medford High School played on the Black Tornado’s 2017 6A state title team, and was an All-Southwest Conference honorable mention selection as an outfielder her senior year. She was ready to lend her skills to the Timberwolves.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the following spring, the Timberwolves’ season was canceled.

Undeterred, Baker waited until the spring of 2021 to get her college career on track. Once again, the season was shut down, but this time it was due to a lack of players.

At this point, Baker was unsure of her future. She’d lost two years of competitive softball, but not all was lost.

BMCC women’s soccer coach Jordan Hillmick knew Baker had a soccer background, and asked her if she’d like to try out for the team.

“Coach reached out to me a few days before the second (softball) season was canceled,” Baker said. “He was unsure if I would want to play, but I was game.”

At her first practice, Baker told Hillmick she’d be rusty. She sold herself short.

“She was playing with our ball launcher, so I could see how she moved,” Hillmick said. “Our girls’ jaws just dropped. She’s an incredible athlete.”

Once the first practice was over, Baker wasn’t sure how well she had done until the other players started talking to her.

“I wasn’t even sure if I had had done anything comparable to the girls who were already there,” she said. “Once they figured out I could play, they were happy I was there.”

A forward, Baker has started five games and has one goal — the game winner against North Idaho on April 17.

The following week, BMCC goalkeeper Aeryn Elder went down with a concussion with 30 minutes left in a game against Spokane. The Timberwolves had a contingency plan, which had Baker playing in goal.

“She had said she played goalie before,” Hillmick said. “Had Kylie not come to the team, we had another girl, but Kylie is the better option.”

Baker stopped all eight shots that came her way in the 3-0 loss to Spokane.

She also was in goal for BMCC’s 5-3 win over Treasure Valley on April 24, and again against the Chukars on May 12, finishing with 19 saves in a 6-4 victory.

“At 5-foot-9, she has presence,” Hillmick said. “This was Kylie’s time to shine. Our defense stepped up, but Kylie did everything naturally well. We had never practiced with her in goal. She stepped in and played well for us. She was a blessing in disguise.”

Baker played soccer in high school through her junior year, but hadn’t played goalie since her youth soccer days.

“I happened to be the only other player who had any experience,” Baker said. “Everyone jokes about me in goal to be funny. I’m glad I was able to do that for them.”

The Timberwolves have two games remaining — hosting Walla Walla on Wednesday, May 19, and a Tuesday, May 25, home game against Columbia Basin College.

BMCC (4-3-0) sits fourth in the East Division of the Northwest Athletic Conference.

“We can finish at best second, or no worse than fourth,” Hillmick said. “A great turnaround from finishing eighth the past few years.”

Elder might be ready to return to the net for the last two games, which would return Baker to forward.

Changing course

While softball was her sport of choice, Baker doesn’t regret returning to the soccer field.

“I’d played softball since I was 4 years old,” she said. “I was really upset I had taken the step to play college softball, but was never given the opportunity to play. Playing soccer has allowed me to accept that, and has given me something to work toward athletically.”

Baker already has committed to returning to BMCC for soccer in the fall, which was music to Hillmick’s ears.

“It’s super awesome to have a player like her,” he said. “She’s going to get some attention from other schools.”

Baker had planned on spending two years at BMCC, and then move to Oregon Tech to finish her mechanical engineering degree. Just like her softball career turned to soccer, Baker is tinkering with her educational options.

“I want to evaluate other options career wise and not be too far behind if I switch,” she said. “I’m studying mechanical engineering, but I’m not 100% decided if that is what I want to do.”

Baker’s interest in engineering goes back to high school.

Her senior project was competing in the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

She and other North Medford students got an opportunity to travel to the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, for a space camp, and also got a tour along the launch site along Cape Canaveral.

“There was no way I was passing that up,” she said. “It was amazing. I was able to record a lot of it and get some photos.”

As part of the national competition, students were required to create a rocket to keep their astronauts (eggs) alive.

“One survived, one cracked and one didn’t make,” Baker said.