Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore
NAMPA, Idaho - Senior designated hitter Jared Joffer went 3-for-4, including a sixth inning home run, to lead the Northwest Nazarene baseball team to a 13-7 game two win over Central Washington University on Saturday afternoon at Vail Field.
The Crusaders swept the weekend series, taking game one 5-3, as Jon Keller's hot bat again plated the game-winning run. (See additional game-one story below)
NNU improves to 22-18 overall, 14-9 in GNAC play, while Central Washington falls to 8-28 overall and 4-16 in league action.
NNU held a slim 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth, but Joel Oliver started a power surge when he hit his eighth home run of the season, a two-run blast over the left centerfield wall. After Ty Windall grounded out, Cameron Louie and Joffer went back-to-back with home runs to leftfield, and following a Sean McDonald strikeout, Ty Nicholson joined the home run party with a solo shot down the left field line.
The Crusaders scored six in the inning as Keller followed the home runs with a double and would later score on a Connor Rankin RBI single.
Freshman Zeb Sneed (2-4) earned the win, while CWU freshman Jordon Wakefield (0-1) took the loss, in a battle of tall, rookie right-handed pitchers. CWU's Wakefield stands 6-9, while NNU's Sneed is 6-4.
Joffer and Louie led the Crusaders offensive attack as both finished 3-for-4, with Louie collecting three RBI and Joffer two. McDonald, Keller, Rankin, and Windall each had two safeties as the Crusaders banged-out 19 total hits. Keller added his fourth home run of the season, a solo towering drive in the fourth to left centerfield.
Ricky McKinney and Kevin Schneider led CWU with two hits each. Nate Sadler hit his first home run of the season in the second and Schneider added a solo home run in the fifth, his third of the year.
Game 1
NAMPA, Idaho – Jon Keller's two-run home run in the fifth put the Crusaders on top as the Northwest Nazarene University baseball team defeated Central Washington University 5-3 in the opening game of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference twinbill on Saturday afternoon at Vail Field.
Keller picked up where he left off last night, again responsible for the game-winning run as the Crusaders trailed 3-2 before his blast to right-centerfield made it 4-3 in favor of NNU.
The left handed hitting Keller added another RBI in the seventh, a double down the right field line, scoring Sean McDonald, who had led off the inning with a double down the left field line.
Keller finished two-for-four and was joined by Ty Windall and Niko Hawes with two hits each.
J.T. Brodrick (4-5) earned the win, pitching 8 and 1/3 innings, scattering eight hits and surrendering two earned runs. Kalen Hruza picked up his first save of the season, closing out the Wildcats for the final two outs of the game.
Chance Plutt finished two-for-three with one RBI to lead CWU, Kevin Walkenhauer was two-for-five, and Marcus Evans and Eric Sorensen joined Plutt with an RBI each. Jake Millbauer (1-7) took the complete-game loss for CWU, finishing with two strikeouts and walking just one.
