Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

SELAH, Wash. — Offense wasn't an issue on Saturday for the Crusaders. Turning back the Wildcats proved to be, though.

The Northwest Nazarene softball team got caught up in a slugfest against host Central Washington and fell 19-11 in six innings to start a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader in Selah, Wash.

NNU then missed out on the key hits late, falling 4-2 to the host Wildcats who swept the twinbill.

"We are scoring enough runs to win games, we just need to play the other side of the game better," Crusader head coach Rich Wagner said.

Both teams scored in bunches in the opener as a Cassidy Fifield two-run single in the top of the second inning gave the Crusaders (8-13 overall, 1-3 GNAC) a 3-2 lead early.

The Wildcats answered with four runs in the bottom of the second before Shelbie Martinez hit her first of two homers, a two-run shot in the third.

Anna Olson, who was 3-for-3 in the opener for NNU, cracked a two-run single in the top of the fifth inning to get NNU as close as 9-7 back, and Martinez and Lisa Sylvester each hit a two-run home run in the sixth, as the Crusaders trailed 14-11.

But the Wildcats plated five more in the bottom of the sixth to finish off the win by the eight-run mercy rule.

"Shelbie Martinez had another outstanding day at the plate," Wagner said, adding, "Lisa and Anna also came up with big hits today."

Olson added two more hits in the nightcap, and Madison Strickler also had a pair of base knocks for NNU, which jumped in front 1-0 on a Brittany Genuardi solo homer in the top of the first inning.

The Wildcats (10-5, 3-1) tied it with a solo run in the third, and after Olson singled home Sylvester for a 2-1 lead in the fourth, Central Washington plated three in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good.

NNU managed a one-out single in the top of the seventh, looking to tie the game, but couldn't get another big hit to finish the comeback.

"Rylee Thomas pitched very well and gave us a chance to win," Wagner said as the sophomore struck out three in six innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits for the Crusaders in the nightcap.

NNU now returns home to host Concordia on Friday and Saturday in GNAC doubleheaders at Halle Field.