Box Score

LOS ANGELES — The Crusaders set the tone from the start Monday night, then never let up.

Matt Lightfoot led off the game with a single to center field and scored on a Brett Nielsen walk, Kyle Redford added a two-run double, and Billy King and Colton McCluskey each added an RBI in an opening onslaught for Northwest Nazarene, which topped host Cal State Los Angeles, 7-3, in nonconference baseball.

"It's good to get out of here with a split," NNU head baseball coach Rocke Musgraves said as each team won two games in the four-game series, the season opening action for the Crusaders. "We're a long way from playing our best baseball, but I'm pleased we're playing team baseball."

Already on top 5-0, Lightfoot added an RBI single in the fourth, giving the Crusaders (2-2 overall) a 6-0 lead that proved to be plenty as a trio of NNU pitchers — Adam Paulson, Cobi Johnson and Bryan Black worked around seven walks and two hit batters to hold off the Golden Eagles (5-2).

"Our pitchers are walking and hitting a lot of hitters, but at least they are doing it with a solid plan," Musgraves said.

And the NNU pitchers got plenty of help from the offense early on in the form of a big lead, and from the Crusader defense, which played error-free and turned a double play.

"Our defense has been surprisingly good for this time in the season," NNU's skipper said as the Crusaders have committed just three errors and turned four double plays to start the year.

The Golden Eagles got a run in the fourth and another in the fifth, making it a bit closer, but the NNU defense and pitching stranded 12 CSU Los Angeles base-runners in the game to prevent a comeback.

Redford padded the Crusader lead, walking and scoring on a wild pitch in the eighth inning before the Golden Eagles tacked on a final run themselves in the bottom of the ninth.

Lightfoot led NNU with a pair of hits, while Redford had a pair of RBIs in the victory. Paulson (1-0) earned the win, striking out four in five innings and allowing just two runs for the Crusaders, who continue an 11-day road trip to California by starting a four-game series at Cal Baptist on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Mountain time).

"We are getting ready to play one of the premier Division II baseball programs in the nation," Musgraves said. "We will need to shift things into a higher gear."