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NAMPA, Idaho – One great game, and nearly one great comeback.

The Northwest Nazarene softball team clicked in all facets of the game, rolling to a 9-3 nonconference victory over visiting Willamette at Halle Field on the NNU campus Tuesday afternoon, then came within one pitch of a dramatic walk-off win before falling to Canyon County rival The College of Idaho, 3-2, Tuesday evening.

"It was nice to get a win today," NNU head softball coach Rich Wagner said. "We hit the ball really well the first game and got runners on, got runners over, hit well with runners in scoring position, so that was great. And we played great defense and Pes (Ashley Pesek) pitched well, so we played all facets of the game pretty well the first game."

Pesek (4-14) and her teammates set the tone in the field in the opener as catcher Lisa Sylvester threw out two bases stealers and Pesek struck out another Bearcat batter for an unorthodox three-up, three-down top of the first.

Pesek then blasted a three-run homer to left-center in the bottom half of the inning and the Crusaders were on their way.

Willamette (4-14) answered with a run in the top of the second and two in the top of the third, which made it 5-3, but the Crusaders clamped down on defense behind Pesek.

NNU then broke the game open with a four-run rally in the sixth that saw Pesek and Whitney Carlton each pick up an RBI. Pesek finished the opener 2-for-3 with four RBIs while Carlton also had a pair of hits.
 

Hits would be tough to come by in the Crusaders (4-21) contest against the Coyotes (12-18) as C of I pitcher Julia Rambo took a no-hitter into the seventh.

But NNU still managed to score as a pair of walks and an RBI sacrifice fly by Pesek led to a pair of runs in the bottom of the first which tied the game against the Yotes, 2-2.

A Destiny Campbell RBI single in the top of the second broke the tie, in the Coyotes favor, then the C of I rode Rambo into the seventh as she struck out five and didn't allow an NNU hit over the first six frames.

"We need to do a better job in that game when we're in positive counts putting the barrel (of the bat) on the ball, that's what we talked about after the game," Wagner said.

With two outs and Kendra Day aboard following a walk, Crusader pinch-hitter Morgan Thome wrecked the no-no, though, with a single to left field.

An infield single by Lily Paschal then brought about a dramatic two-out, bases loaded finish, but NNU couldn't complete the comeback.

Still, Coach Wagner was proud of the heart his team displayed.

"It was nice to see the girls compete at the end of the game and put themselves in a position to win the game," he said.

An effort that will give NNU some momentum headed back onto the diamond Wednesday for another nonconference doubleheader as the Crusaders host Willamette in a pair of games, with first pitch scheduled for noon.