Waipahu, Hawaii - The Northwest Nazarene baseball team opened with a 7-5 victory in game one, but the Hawaii Pacific Sea Warriors battled back to salvage a split with a 6-4 win in the nightcap in the final two games of an NCAA Division II West Region six-game series between the schools at Hans L'Oragne Field in Waipahu, Hawaii.
The Crusaders, now 10-3 overall, were led by senior catcher
Zach Aakhus' 5-for-7, four RBI effort at the plate.
Mitch Kochis and
Severo Rodriguez each had four hits, with Rodriguez scoring three runs on the day.
Ryne Phillips was 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored in the opener, as
Joel Oliver (1-0) earned his first win of the year on the mound.
Chris Mahelona (0-1) was tagged with the loss in game two, surrendering four runs on five hits in five innings of work.
NNU will return to the mainland on Monday, only to hit the road again next weekend as they open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Friday and Saturday at Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington.
Game One
Northwest Nazarene 7, Hawai'i Pacific 5 (Mar 01, 2008 at Waipahu, HI)
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Northwest Nazarene.. 101 031 100 - 7 14 0 (11-3)
Hawai'i Pacific..... 101 210 000 - 5 9 2 (10-6)
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Pitchers: Northwest Nazarene - Grant; Oliver(4); Slonaker(8). Hawai'i Pacific - MATSUMOTO, K;
CHOW, D(5); GARNER, B(7).
Win-Oliver Loss-MATSUMOTO, K(1-1) T-3:00 A-100
Game: NNU12
Game Two
Hawai'i Pacific 6, Northwest Nazarene 4 (Mar 01, 2008 at Waipahu, HI)
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Northwest Nazarene.. 000 003 1 - 4 7 2 (11-4)
Hawai'i Pacific..... 102 012 X - 6 6 0 (11-6)
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Pitchers: Northwest Nazarene - Mahelona; Turner(6); Slonaker(6). Hawai'i Pacific -
TAKAHASHI, M; ALEXANDER, N(6); GARNER, B(6).
Win-TAKAHASHI, M(2-0) Save-GARNER, B(4) Loss-Mahelona T-2:15 A-100
Game: NNU13
