Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Northwest Nazarene University baseball team fell twice at Central Washington University on Friday afternoon, dropping the opening game 7-2 and falling 9-8 in game two as the schools opened a Great Northwest Athletic Conference four-game series in Ellensburg.
The Crusaders (9-16, 3-11 GNAC) grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the third with a Connor Rankin RBI single, however it would be the only lead of the day for the Crusaders, as Central Washington answered with two in the bottom of the third and would not relinquish the lead. Rankin struck again in the fifth with another RBI single, finishing the game two for four with both NNU RBI's.
Jon Keller (3-2) took the loss and Derek Shoemaker (4-4) earned the win for the Wildcats (9-19, 5-9 GNAC).
The Crusaders battled back in the nightcap after trailing 7-1 after the third. NNU scored one in the fourth and three in the fifth, highlighted by
Joel Oliver's fifth home run of the year, a two-run blast to left field to trail 8-5 into the seventh. NNU scored three runs in the seventh to tie the contest at 8-8 off three RBI singles by Oliver,
Cory Warburton and Niko Hawes.
However, the Wildcats would manufacture a run in the bottom half of the seventh with a single, a stolen base and an eventual RBI sacrifice bunt to take game two 9-8.
Oliver led the Crusaders, going three for four with three RBI. Tyler Nicholson and Warburton were both two for four and
Jimmy VanBeek finished two for three.
Nate Slonaker (2-1) took the loss out of the bullpen, while Jake Millbauer (2-2) grabbed the win, working just one-third of an inning for CWU.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
WEST REGION
NCAA DIVISION II/GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Central Washington 7, Northwest Nazarene 2
Central Washington 9, Northwest Nazarene 8
GAME ONE: Central Washington 7, Northwest Nazarene 2
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Northwest Nazarene.. 001 010 000 - 2 6 0 (9-15, 3-10 GNAC)
Central Washington.. 002 040 10X - 7 9 2 (8-19, 4-9 GNAC)
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Jon Keller; Kalen Haruza (7) and Conner Rankin. Derek Shoemaker and Andrew Snowdon. W--Shoemaker (4-4). L--Keller (3-2). 3B--CWU, Ricky McKinney (1). HR--CWU, Frank Donangelo (1; off Keller, 5th inning, 3 on, 2 out); Ricky McKinney (1; off Keller, 3rd inning, 1 on, 1 out). RBI--NNU, Conner Rankin 2. CWU, Frank Donangelo 5; Ricky McKinney 2. T--2:05.
GAME TWO: Central Washington 9, Northwest Nazarene 8
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Northwest Nazarene.. 001 130 3 - 8 13 3 (9-16, 3-11 GNAC)
Central Washington.. 115 100 1 - 9 8 1 (9-19, 5-9 GNAC)
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Charles Pollock; Tim Stuvland (3); Nate Slonaker (5); Kalen Haruza (7) and Conner Rankin; Ryan Udy (7). Robbie Grimm; Jake Millbauer (7) and Andrew Snowdon. W--Millbauer (2-2). L--Slonaker (2-1). 2B--NNU, Ty Windall (4); Joel Oliver (5); Jimmy VanBeek (6). CWU, Ricky McKinney (4); Kevin Walkenhauer (6). HR--NNU, Joel Oliver (5; off Grimm, 5th inning, 2 on, 2 out). CWU, Michael Johnson (1; off Pollock, 2nd inning, 0 on, 0 out); Nate Wallen (1; off Stuvland, 4th inning, 0 on, 0 out). RBI--NNU, Joel Oliver 3; Jon Keller; Cory Warburton; Nicholas Hawes; Zach Morse. CWU, Michael Johnson 2; Frank Donangelo; Andrew Snowdon; Kevin Walkenhauer; Danny Myers; Nate Wallen. T--2:06. Att--93.
