Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Crusaders continue to look for a big swing to ignite their offense.

The Northwest Nazarene softball team played host Central Washington tough, but a lack of clutch hits left NNU without a win as the Crusaders fell 6-1 and 9-2 in the teams Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader on Friday.

"We need someone to step up and have a great offensive performance to get us out of this funk," said NNU head softball coach Rich Wagner. "We are playing the other sides of the game well enough to win."

The Crusaders (2-15, 0-6 GNAC) played well in the opener, but offensively Alyssa Nitschelm and Morgan Thome accounted for all the NNU offense, each collecting one hit apiece.

Despite the lack of offense, Thome's pinch-hit single in the top of the sixth inning got NNU as close as 4-1 down in the opener before a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning helped the Wildcats (10-7, 4-2) ice the win.

In the nightcap, NNU's offense did even better as Gatalina Schuster's two-out single in the top of the first gave the Crusaders a 1-0 lead they maintain into the fourth.

But stranding a runner in each of the second, third and fourth innings allowed the Wildcats the chance to battle back late.

Central Washington used a four-run rally in the bottom of the fourth to take control of the game en route to the twinbill sweep.

The Crusaders got as close as 6-2 down when Schuster scored on a double steal in the sixth, but NNU got no closer.

Schuster led the NNU offense in the nightcap, going 2-for-3 for the Crusaders who look to bounce back with another GNAC doubleheader at Central Washington starting at 1 p.m. (MT) on Saturday.