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BILLINGS, Mont. – The Crusaders shook their Yellowjacket monkey and inched ever so close to the program's first postseason berth in 23 years.

Andrew Helmstadter hit a grand slam, freshman Ross Clevenger picked up his third straight win in three outings and the Northwest Nazarene baseball team rallied to score the final win of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference series, 5-4, over host Montana State Billings. MSU Billings took the day's opener, 16-0.

NNU's victory snapped a nine-game win streak by the 'Jackets over the Crusaders dating back to the final weekend of the 2014 season, and combined with a doubleheader split between Central Washington and St. Martin's, it moved the Crusaders within a win of the programs' first playoff berth since 1992.

NNU (26-23, 14-14 GNAC) can clinch a GNAC playoff berth with a win at Western Oregon on Friday or Saturday when the Crusaders play back-to-back doubleheaders against the Wolves.

The Crusaders moved within a win of the postseason thanks in part to Clevenger, who a week ago threw a one-hitter against Central Washington.

This time out against MSU Billings, Clevenger (3-0) gave up three runs on two hits in 4 1-3 innings work on the hill before turning the game over to the bullpen, clinging to a 5-3 lead.

Colton Loomis worked two strong innings of relief, getting NNU close to the victory, and then back-to-back strikeouts by Andrew Groves finished off the win as the senior reliever picked up his fifth save of the season.

Helmstadter set the stage for the dramatic finish after Tucker Campbell tied the game with an RBI single in the top of the fifth.

All even at 1-1, Helmstadter blasted the second NNU grand slam of the weekend over the left-field fence for a 5-1 Crusader lead.

Josh Hatfield added the other grand slam for the Crusaders on Friday, but the Yellowjackets rallied for a 12-11 comeback win in that game.

Down 5-1, MSU Billings (23-21, 18-10) tried to rally again, plating two runs in the bottom of the fifth and another in the bottom of the seventh on a Casey Merritt RBI single to right.

With the tying run aboard, though, Loomis got a groundout then Grooves' two Ks to preserve the win.

A victory that quickly erased the memory of a three-hit loss in the opener, as MSU Billings plated four runs in the third inning, then tacked on three in the sixth inning and four runs each in the seventh and eighth to blow the opener open.

Kyle Thomson led the offense for NNU in the day's first game, collecting two of the Crusaders' three hits. He added two more base knocks in the day's finale, as well.