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LACEY, Wash. — The Crusaders were forced to settle for one win on a disappointing day just outside Washington's capital.

Two dominating performances on the hill led the way for the Northwest Nazarene baseball team, but a lack of clutch hits kept host St. Martin's close all day as NNU split with the Saints, taking the opener of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader, 6-4, before dropping the nightcap, 3-2 in extra innings.
 

"A really frustrating day," NNU head coach Rocke Musgraves said after seeing the Saints plate the game-winner in walk-off style in the bottom of the ninth to steal the day's finale. "It's to the point in the season where you can't have mental meltdowns.

"Close games should energize us, but when players let pressure negatively affect their performance you have to wonder if they really enjoy competition," NNU's skipper added.

"It's time we answer the bell!"

NNU (19-13 overall, 14-7 GNAC) has the chance to answer the bell right away as the first-place Crusaders are back in action quickly, taking on host St. Martin's in another twinbill Saturday at 1 p.m. (mountain time).

In Friday's opener, a Josh Hatfield RBI double in the top of the second inning gave NNU a quick lead, and a two-run single to center off the bat of Tyler Davis in the top of the fourth made it a 3-0 ballgame.

The Crusaders had their chances to do more damage but stranded eight teammates on the bases in the first six frames, keeping the ballgame close.

It didn't matter a bit to starting pitcher Jaramy Jacobs (3-5) who cruised through the first six innings facing just one batter over the minimum. Jacobs earned the win striking out eight in seven innings on the hill.

But as dominant as the junior lefty was, NNU still needed a late surge to fend off the Saints (10-20, 7-13), who plated two in the seventh, closing the gap to 3-2.
 

Ryan Johnson provided one big swing, a two-run single with no one out, then Andrew Helmstadter tacked on an RBI single for the Crusaders, who got a five-out save from Ryan Nyborg — his GNAC-leading fifth save of the season — to take the opener.

Following Jacobs lead, starting pitcher Colton Loomis dominated once again for NNU in the nightcap, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning.

"Loomis and Jacobs threw their tails off and competed to win," Musgraves said. "I'm very proud of the heart they exhibited. Now our hitters need to raise their game. It will be interesting to see who comes out swinging tomorrow."

Brett Nielsen put NNU on the board with one big swing in the nightcap, a solo homer to left, then a hot-shot off the bat of Hatfield made it 2-0 in the top of the second, but that was all the Crusader offense mustered.

The Saints rallied to tie the game in the fifth, left-hander reliever Nick Mailhot silenced the Crusaders for four innings, giving SMU a chance to score the walk-off win on a Jake Huskey sacrifice fly to right in the bottom of the ninth.