Box Score

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Evidently it wasn't meant to be.

A valiant comeback by the Crusaders got spoiled with a two-out, two-run double as host Central Washington held on for an 8-7 victory over the Northwest Nazarene baseball team in the opener of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader Friday afternoon.

The nightcap was suspended in the top of the sixth inning because of darkness with NNU trailing the Wildcats, 8-5. The conclusion of the suspended game begins at noon (MT) on Saturday and will be followed by Saturday's schedule doubleheader.

"I like the way our guys battled after getting behind, but you have to give credit to Central Washington, they capitalized on any mistake that we made," NNU head baseball coach Rocke Musgraves said.

NNU (13-9, 3-2 GNAC) did a pretty good job of cashing in on Central Washington miscues, though, battling back into the ballgame.

Down 6-1 after five innings, NNU's first of three two-run rallies started when Josh Hatfield reached on a two-out error in the top of the sixth.

An Andrew Helmstadter double put runners at second and third for Tyler Davis, who worked the count full before leaving the game after fouling a ball off his foot.

In stepped Ben Circeo, taking over the full count, and on the one pitch he saw he drove a two-run single to center, sparking the comeback.

Kyle Thomson and Helmstadter each drove in a run in the seventh, then a two-run Tate Glasgow RBI single in the top of the eighth put NNU on top 7-6.

But the lead didn't last long as the Wildcats (10-9, 3-5) responded with a two-run, two-out double off the bat of Jonathan Dailey.

"It's one of those games where if we learn from our mistakes then we can call it a positive day," said Musgraves, whose team hit the field for game two on fire offensively.

Triples by Thomson and Helmstadter, who tied the single-season record for triples with his fifth this season, sparked a four-run top of the first in the nightcap.

A Helmstadter RBI sacrifice fly helped the Crusaders maintain their lead, up 5-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth when the Wildcats erupted for four runs before play was halted.

Helmstadter led NNU's offense in the opener, going 4-for-4, while Hatfield had a pair of hits – including a solo home run - to extend his hit streak to 15 straight games.