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NAMPA, Idaho — Just a couple of mistakes cost Northwest Nazarene a chance at a sweep.

After rallying in their final at-bat for a 6-4 victory to start the day, the Crusaders couldn't come up with an elusive third out in two big innings that allowed visiting Montana State Billings to win the nightcap 11-6, and split a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader Friday at Elmore Vail Field on the NNU campus.

"We just can't give up so many big numbers," NNU head coach Rocke Musgraves said, adding, "13 of the 16 innings today we pitched very well."

NNU managed to overcome one of those bad innings, a three-run rally in the top of the seventh inning that gave the Yellowjackets a 4-1 lead in the day's opener.

But the Crusaders (15-17 overall, 13-9 GNAC) weren't worried.

"I think the dugout had a feeling that if we could just get a couple base-runners on late that we had a pretty good chance at coming back in that ball game, and we did," Musgraves said. "I think we've had that type of offensive attitude most of the season."

NNU finally got those base-runners in the bottom of the eighth inning as Billy King and Brett Nielsen each singled, then with one out, Jarod Gonzales walked to load the bases.

An RBI base-on-balls to Kyle Redford then trimmed the margin to 4-2 before a Spencer Pollock RBI fielder's choice made it a one-run game.
 

In stepped pinch-hitter Johnathon Hallman who put the Crusaders on top with one swing, rolling a ball past the glove of diving MSU Billings' first-baseman Ryan Myers into right field to score Pollock and Redford, and give NNU a 5-4 lead.

Casey Sheehan capped the rally with an RBI single, then Brady Baker closed the door in the top of the ninth for his third save. He preserved the victory for redshirt freshman Bryan Black (1-0) who earned his first collegiate win, working a scoreless inning of relief.

Riding that momentum, NNU jumped on top on a two-run double by Andrew Helmstadter in the bottom of the first in the nightcap, then he scored on a throwing error.

But that lead didn't last as a six-run rally with two outs put the 'Jackets (12-19, 10-11) on top in the third inning before NNU missed a big chance to rally with the bases loaded and no one out in the bottom of the fifth.

MSU Billings got a foul pop-up and a strikeout, then left-fielder Casey Merritt ran down a ball in the gap and stole a potential extra-base hit from Sheehan for the third out, which kept NNU from scoring.

"We didn't get the job done," Musgraves said, "they out-competed us on those pitches.

"But then Sheehan came up and hit a hard ball to the left-center field wall, so he did a good job of handling the pressure."

Buoyed by that defensive stop, the Yellowjackets iced the win with a five-run rally in the top of the sixth.

Tim Jones had his third home run of the season in the nightcap and King went 5-for-8 at the plate on the day to lead NNU, which hosts MSU Billings in another doubleheader on Saturday with first-pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.