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CALDWELL, Idaho — Six proved to be the magic number for the Crusader baseball team on Saturday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

Northwest Nazarene used a pair of six-run rallies on the day to break open each game in a doubleheader sweep of visiting Central Washington as NNU scored wins of 7-4 and 7-3 over the Wildcats at Vallivue High School.

"I think the story today was definitely the big inning versus the little inning," NNU head coach Rocke Musgraves said. "In both games we put together one big inning and put some pressure on them."
 

One big inning early in both games erased 1-0 Wildcat leads, as Central Washington scored in its first at-bat in each contest.

In the opener, NNU responded with a six-run surge in the bottom of the second inning, a rally that saw Kyle Redford tie the game with an RBI single, and Colton McCluskey put NNU on top with another RBI base hit.

Casey Sheehan added an RBI base knock and Brett Nielsen had a two-run single to cap the inning, which put the Crusaders comfortable in command up 6-1.

"You put the ball in play at this level and good things can happen," Musgraves said of NNU's seven-hit, six-run rally.

Plenty of a support for NNU starting pitcher Adam Paulson (2-1) who earned the win, going 7 1/3 strong innings on the hill and striking out eight Wildcat hitters.

"His preparation is what does it, his preparation starts days before his starts," Musgraves said, "and it's the fruits of his labor right there. He's so prepared for every game."

Paulson allowed a run in the fourth and another in the fifth, but limited damage and never let the Wildcats put together a serious threat at a comeback.

Nick Bland then got the final five outs for NNU to earn his first save of the season.

"Whenever you can limit damage — one run at a time doesn't kill you, it's those big innings," Musgraves said.
 

NNU proved that fact again in the nightcap, as a one-run first for Central Washington was wiped out by another six-run rally by the Crusaders, who got three bases loaded walks in the bottom of the first inning.

"We just kind of waited it out and were patient," Musgraves said.

Nielsen added a two-run single and McCluskey had an RBI sacrifice in the rally, which put NNU back on top, 6-1.

Once again, plenty for the Crusader pitching staff as Dylan Suppan and Brady Baker teamed up for the win, with Baker (2-0) striking out eight in four shutout innings of relief to earn the victory.

Nielsen led the NNU offense on the day, going 3-for-6 with four RBIs, while Spencer Pollock also was 3-for-6 in the sweep for the Crusaders, who next host St. Martin's at Elmore Vail Field on the NNU campus this coming Friday and Saturday.