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NAMPA, Idaho – The Crusaders came out swinging.

Tyler Davis went deep twice and Josh Hatfield added a home run, powering the Northwest Nazarene baseball team to a 7-5 win over Great Northwest Athletic Conference front-runner Western Oregon in the opener of a doubleheader at Elmore Vail Field on the NNU campus Friday afternoon.

The Wolves evened the series by fending off a late Crusader rally for a 2-1 win in the day's nightcap. The two teams meet again today in another doubleheader with first pitch at 1 p.m. at Elmore Vail Field after "Cancer Awareness Day" ceremonies, which begin at noon.

"I thought we did a great job with the hitting process each pitch," NNU head baseball coach Rocke Musgraves said of the opener as the Crusaders hammered out 11 hits in their win. "Instead of being worried about our past failures we were looking forward to the next pitch, so I'm very pleased with that."
 

That and the effort of the NNU pitching staff, from pitching coaches Brian Solemsaas and Easton Napiontek to starter Colben McGuire and relievers Colton Loomis, Andrew Groves and Tyler Marsh.

"Gee whiz, on a day like today where the ball is flying a pitcher has to have a lot of resolve, and Colben McGuire - to pitch in these conditions where the ball was flying and he was giving up a couple runs, he kept grinding, kept grinding," Musgraves said. "A lot of pitchers get mad because they're giving up runs; Colben McGuire was out there to help the team win a game.

"And I thought Brian Solemsaas and Easton Napiontek and the bullpen had a great plan," NNU's coach added. "We asked some guys, 'hey, come in and give us three outs,' and they did it. So I thought the bullpen was outstanding that first game and I thought our pitching coaches had a super plan."

McGuire (4-1) struck out four to earn the win, battled his way past an early 1-0 deficit helped by his teammates' effort at the plate.

Tyler Davis' first homer, a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning, put NNU (16-16, 5-9 GNAC) on top 2-1 after a frame.

Josh Hatfield then made it 5-1 with a big three-run blast in the second, then Davis pushed the lead to 7-2 with his second homer, a two-run shot in the fifth.

Plenty for McGuire (4-1) and his bullpen-mates, as McGuire ground his way through a three-run rally by the Wolves (14-15, 10-3) in the top of the sixth that closed the difference to 7-5.
 

That was as close as Western Oregon got thanks to Loomis, Groves and Marsh who threw a shutout inning each, with Marsh earning the save.

While offense was plentiful in the opener, it was at a premium in the nightcap as the two top pitchers in the GNAC dueled.

Jake Reppert (4-2) struck out six in a complete-game effort for the Crusaders, but ended up the hard-luck loser as the Wolves pushed across an unearned run in the first and a vital insurance run in the top of the seventh for a 2-0 lead.

Just enough for Jesse Pratt (5-1) who pitched into the seventh inning before turning it over to closer Jacob Storedahl, who earned his second save.

"Pratt's slider was invisible to our hitters today," Musgraves said. "He has a serious out-pitch, and when a pitcher has that, hitters have to really change their approach and I thought we could have done a better job of changing our approach."

Still, the Crusaders managed to make a late charge as Tucker Campbell led off the bottom of the seventh with a double and scored on a Tim Jones fielder's choice.

NNU then put runners at first and second but couldn't finish the comeback.

A disappointing finish, but one that provided some valuable experience for Crusader freshmen like Jones, Matt Lightfoot and Larsson Chapman who were at the heart of the late NNU rally.

"I'm glad our freshman got a chance to compete in a nail-biting GNAC game," Musgraves said.