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NAMPA, Idaho — The Crusaders relentless determination paid off with a victory Saturday at Halle Field.

Down by three runs, twice, to visiting Concordia, the Northwest Nazarene softball team kept battling until it found itself on top for a 7-6 win, earning a split in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader.

"I'm super proud of these girls," NNU head coach Rich Wagner said as NNU rebounded from an 8-3 setback in the day's opener to earn the nightcap win. "We've been working really hard on mentality and showing up every day with the same aggression and same energy."

That paid off on Friday as NNU (11-14 overall, 4-4 GNAC) swept the Cavaliers, and on Saturday the Crusaders came out swinging once again as a solo home run by Kylie Orr in the bottom of the first inning of the opener put NNU up 1-0.

But the Cavaliers rallied with two in the third, two more in the fifth, then pushed the lead to 7-1 in the top of the sixth.

A Lisa Sylvester sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth, and an RBI single by Cassidy Fifield in the seventh inning, got the Crusaders a bit closer, but the day's opener went to the Cavaliers (11-14, 4-8) despite NNU's determination.

That determination would be tested in the nightcap, as well, as the Cavaliers plated three runs in the top of the first, putting NNU right back into comeback mode.

The Crusaders battled back in their half of the first as Orr ripped an RBI double to left-center, and two runs scored on a Shelbie Martinez bunt and Cavalier throwing error.

All knotted up at 3-3, the Cavaliers tried to break free as Megan Luebbert hit a two-run home run in the second and Taylor Bussey added a solo homer in the third, putting NNU into a three-run hole once again.
 

Resilient, the Crusaders loaded the bases and with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Lily Paschal plated a run with a sacrifice fly to center for a 6-4 score.

Needing two-out base hits to whittle away more at the difference, Orr provided one, an RBI single to right, then Brittany Genuardi provided the biggest swing of the day for NNU.

Genuardi put the Crusaders on top and completed the comeback with a two-run double to right field for a 7-6 NNU advantage.

Rylee Thomas (4-4) held on from there in the circle as she stranded a pair of Cavaliers base-runners in the final three innings. She finished with five strike outs in the complete-game win.

"I'm just really excited to win a one-run game," Wagner said, "Rylee did a great job to finish it."

As did all the Crusaders to take 3-of-4 on the weekend and win in determined, comeback fashion.

Orr led the offense on the day going 5-for-8 with three RBIs in the twinbill, while Genuardi, Rae Young and Lauren Bassett each had two hits in the nightcap for NNU, which next plays at Simon Fraser on Tuesday in the first of back-to-back doubleheaders reschedule from the first weekend in March.