Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

BURNABY, B.C. — If the sweep wasn't enough, the Crusaders did it in dramatic fashion on Saturday, north of the border.

Northwest Nazarene's softball team fended off a comeback by host Simon Fraser for a 6-5 victory in the opener of the teams' Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader, then made a victorious comeback of its own to score a 7-6 victory to take both halves of the twinbill.

"The girls played with a lot of mental toughness today," NNU head coach Rich Wagner said. "When things didn't go our way we continued to believe we could win."

The Crusaders had reason to believe early on as Lisa Sylvester had a two-run single in the top of the first inning for NNU, which jumped in front 3-0.

Kylie Orr pushed the lead to 4-0 with an RBI double in the second, then Brittany Genuardi and Abigail Otto each added an RBI in the top of the fourth, spotting the Crusaders (14-15 overall, 7-5 GNAC) to a 6-0 lead.

Then if became hang-on time as the Clan (7-13, 3-7) chipped away with a run in the bottom of the fourth and four more in the sixth inning before Brooke Bonsen worked a three-up, three-down bottom of the seventh to seal the victory.

Bonsen (8-7) scattered three hits and gave up just one earned run in 4 2-3 innings to earn the victory, starting the game and also coming on late in relief.

The nightcap was nearly a reverse of the day's first contest, with the Clan jumping up 5-0 after four innings before a valiant comeback charge by NNU secured the sweep.

An RBI double by Anna Olson in the top of the fifth got NNU on the board, then Cassidy Fifield singled in a run to cut the difference to 5-2.

A two-run Otto single in the sixth closed the gap some more, then Olson tied it with a two-out RBI single.

The Crusaders then took their first lead of the game on a solo home run by Orr, before a Shelbie Martinez RBI double to right-center added an important insurance run.

Spotted to a 7-5 lead, Rylee Thomas (5-5) earned the complete-game win, finishing up the seventh by retiring the next three Clan batters in order, after a lead-off home run, to close out the Crusader sweep.

"Brooke and Rylee pitched great again today and gave us the opportunity to win two games," said Wagner, whose team now takes a break from GNAC play and heads to California for five games next Friday and Saturday at the Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State.

Orr led the NNU attack, going 4-for-8 in the twinbill, while Olson, Sylvester and Genuardi each added three hits apiece on the day for the Crusaders.

"This team continues to hit, one through nine, and that makes us difficult to beat," Wagner said, adding, "Kylie came up big for us today."