Game One Boxscore
Game Two Boxscore

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The Northwest Nazarene University baseball team moved into second-place in the GNAC standings this afternoon after sweeping Central Washington University in Ellensburg.  The Crusaders claimed game one 12-3 and won the nightcap 7-3.

Fernando Robles led the Crusaders in the opener, finishing 4 for 5 with four RBI's.

Trailing 2-0, Robles homered in the fourth to cut the lead to one, plated the tying run with an RBI single in the sixth and scored the go-ahead run later in the inning on a first-third double-steal.  He would add to his RBI totals with a two-run double in the Crusaders six-run eighth inning.

Zach Steel went 3 for 5 with a two-run home run in the seventh and a two-run single in the eighth as the Crusader bats pounded out 15 hits.  Sean McDonald and Ben Clare each finished with two hits.

Barrett Nielsen (2-0) earned the game one victory, entering in relief of NNU starter Patrick Patterson in the second inning.  Nielsen did not surrender a hit in four innings of work and Aaron Vaughn captured his third save of the year in closing out the final two and 1/3 innings.

The Wildcats (11-17, 7-9 GNAC) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game two, but NNU scored single runs in the second and third innings on RBI singles by Robles in the second and Derek Bettinson in the third to tie it up.

CWU regained the lead in the fourth on a Glen Reser RBI single but the Crusader offense came alive in the fifth, scoring four runs on six hits in the inning.  Bettinson added another single that produced two RBI's and both McDonald and Logan Parker produced run-scoring singles.

McDonald evened his record at 3-3 on the mound, tossing complete-game four hitter.

Bettinson, Parker and Jamie Mitchell each had two hits and Bettinson finished with a game-high three RBI's.

The Crusaders, now 18-13 overall and 7-7 in league action, will return to home action next weekend, hosting league-leading Western Oregon on Friday and Saturday in a four-game GNAC set.