NAMPA — The Northwest Nazarene baseball team regrouped to beat Montana State-Billings 6-5 on Cole Smith's RBI base hit down the left-field line in the bottom of the seventh, salvaging a split in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference twinbill Friday night.

The Yellowjackets (8-17 overall, 1-9 GNAC) took the opener 15-9.

“We made a charge late, that was about it,” NNU coach Tim Onofrei said of the first game.

Nate Slonaker pitched two innings of relief to earn the nightcap win, and Zack Aakhus homerd twice and Severo Rodriguez added another home run in the second game for the Crusaders (19-11, 3-7).

The same two squads will face off at noon on Saturday to complete the four-game GNAC series in Nampa.