Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Aaron Vaughn lifted the Crusaders spirits, then Anthony Flatt got them even with one swing as the Northwest Nazarene baseball team split a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader with host Western Oregon on Friday.

In an early-season battle for first place, the Wolves came out in front in the day's opener, 3-2, with a walk-off game-winning single before Vaughn stymied Western Oregon's bats in the nightcap and Flatts' two-run homer in the top of the seventh gave NNU a 3-1, nightcap win.

"Vaughn and Flatt led us through a rough game two," NNU baseball coach Rocke Musgraves said. "I thought our guys did a good job of controlling the things under our power, like attitude and work ethic."

Vaughn's work ethic shown through in the bottom of the third as he battled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam with a strikeout and a groundout to keep the game scoreless.

Vaughn finished striking out five in the complete-game win, his GNAC-leading fifth as he improved to 5-1 on the season.

NNU's offense then gave Vaughn a lead as Tate Glasgow doubled and scored on a Kaleb DeHaas single to left in the top of the fifth.

Western Oregon (13-10 overall, 7-3) tied it in the bottom of the sixth on a Will Chavarria sacrifice fly, but NNU (10-13, 6-4) quickly answered as Nick Morelli walked to start the seventh before Flatt launched the game-winner over the left-field wall.

That erased the bitter memory of the opener, as a sac fly by Flatt and a Glasgow RBI single to left put the Crusaders up 2-0 after just a half inning.

Colben McGuire maintained that lead through seven innings, striking out eight Wolves batters before WOU chipped away in the eighth, tying the game helped by two walks and an infield single.

NNU tried to win it in the top of the ninth, loading the bases with no one out, but could not score.

The Wolves rode that momentum swing to the win in the bottom of the ninth as Parker Miles walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single by Daniel McNabb.

"We have to create an atmosphere of expecting more from each other," Musgraves said of the opener.

Kyle Thomson had a pair of hits in game one to lead the Crusaders, who head into another doubleheader at Western Oregon at 1 p.m. (MT) on Saturday with the early-season GNAC lead still up for grabs.

Also, with Friday's game two victory, the Crusaders handed coach Musgraves career win No. 598, meaning a sweep of Saturday's twinbill would be a milestone moment for the NNU skipper – giving him 600 career wins.