Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NAMPA, Idaho – The Crusaders came out swinging and put up a fight all day, but the top-hitting team in the league proved to be a bit too much.

St. Martin's erased a quick 2-0 lead by Northwest Nazarene to snag a 7-2 win to start a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader, then weathered a six-run NNU rally to compete the twinbill sweep, 20-9, on Friday at Halle Field on the NNU campus.

The sweep clinched the GNAC regular-season title for the Saints, who came into the day with a league-best batting average of .341.

Friday SMU (3-16, 18-4 GNAC) racked up 28 hits and plated 27 runs.

That outpaced NNU (9-35, 2-20), which didn't do too shabby either, plating 11 runs on 16 hits on the day.

And the Crusaders truly came out swinging as Whitney Carlton doubled in a run and Gatalina Schuster added an RBI sacrifice fly, putting NNU on top 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning of game one.

Back came the Saints as a two-run Dani Wall home run tied it in the second before Mary Dettling's solo homer in the top of the third inning put the Saints on top for good.

The Saints didn't need a comeback in the nightcap, plating 12 runs in the top of the first then holding on as the Crusaders did their best to chip away.

Ashley Pesek blasted a three-run homer to get the NNU offense rolling in the nightcap, then Ali Schauer plated a pair of runs and Alyssa Nitschelm, Lily Paschal, Schuster and Morgan Thome each added an RBI in a six-run rally.

But it wasn't enough to overcome the newly-crown league champion Saints, who play another doubleheader against NNU on Saturday with first pitch set for noon. Saturday will be "Senior Day" for the Crusaders who will honor seniors Schuster, Carlton, Kendra Day and Brianna Kinghorn between games.

Paschal and Kiahna Brown led the offense for the Crusaders, each collecting three hits on the day.