Game 1 Boxscore
Game 2 Boxscore

HAYWARD, Calif. - Aaron Vaughn and Sean McDonald each produced solid pitching performances to lead the Northwest Nazarene baseball team to a 7-5, 3-2 sweep of Cal State East Bay this afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader at Pioneer Field in Hayward.

Vaughn (1-0) answered the call in relief of Crusader game one starter Zeb Sneed in the fourth.  Vaughn surrendered just one run on three hits in six innings of work to earn the victory.

"Aaron came in and did a great job for us in game one," commented NNU head coach Tim Onofrei.  "He pitched well and allowed us time to produce the offense we needed."

Tied 4-4 after three innings, CSU East Bay took a one-run lead in the fourth and the Crusaders tied it back up in the sixth when Charlie Gorzo singled and then scored on a Jamie Mitchell pinch-hit sacrifice fly ball to center field.

NNU (6-0 overall) plated the game-winners in the top of the ninth as Kaleb DeHass led off with a single, Mitchell singled and Jon Matos doubled home DeHass.  After a McDonald line-drive out to the second baseman, Derek Bettinson singled home his second RBI of the day, scoring Mitchell.

Logan Parker led the Crusaders at the plate, going 4 for 5 with a pair of RBI's.  Parker played his first game of the season after sitting out last weekend's action due to injury and doubled-home a pair of runs in the four-run third inning.  Bettinson and Matos each finished with two hits in game one.

"It was all Sean in game two," Coach Onofrei added.  "He just settled in and did a nice job on the mound." 

McDonald (2-0) allowed two first-inning runs on three hits and then cruised through the game, giving up just two hits over the final six frames to earn his second win in as many starts.

Zach Steele finished 2 for 3 in game two with a first-inning RBI double and scored the game-winner in the sixth.

Tied 2-2 after five innings, Steele led-off with a single to left field, moved to second on a Gorzo single and then advanced to third on a Mitchell base-hit bunt that loaded the bases.  Fernando Robles then produced the game-winning RBI with a sacrifice fly ball to right field that scored Steele.

"We played two tight ballgames today and produced good results under the pressure," Onofrei noted.

The teams will complete the four-game series tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time.