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MONMOUTH, Ore. — The Wolves took the tarnish off an otherwise great start to the week for the Crusaders.

Ross Clevenger scattered four hits to earn his fifth win of the season, and senior Brett Nielsen provided the difference at the plate with a three-run home run for a 5-2 Northwest Nazarene victory to start the weekend at Western Oregon.

NNU rode that momentum to an early lead in the nightcap, looking for a possible sweep, only to see the host Wolves rally for an 11-3 win and a spilt of the teams' Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader Thursday in Oregon.

"Well, today was a tale of two teams," NNU head coach Rocke Musgraves said. "Game one, Clevenger and (Brady) Baker did a great job of attacking the strike zone and we had some clutch hits as well."

Clevenger (5-3) locked up with Wolves started Connor McCord in a classic pitcher's duel as both had one-hitters going into the sixth inning.
 

But with two outs, Colton McCluskey — who had the Crusaders lone hit to that point —sparked a dramatic two-out charge.

???????McCluskey singled, then Billy King added a base knock and Casey Sheehan was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for senior Andrew Helmstadter.

???????Helmstadter broke the scoreless draw with a two-run single to center, but NNU (22-26 overall, 20-18 GNAC) wasn't done.

"We just kept hitting balls to the outfield and you knew that sooner or later something was going to fall, or leave the yard," Musgraves said. "Sure enough it did with Helmstadter's big two-run RBI and then Nielsen's big home run."

Nielsen stepped to the plate and once again blasted a shot to center, a ball the ballpark could not hold, a three-run homer that proved to be plenty for Clevenger and NNU relievers Nick Bland and Brady Baker.

"I thought Clevenger threw his breaking ball today better than he has all year, which made that fastball even better," Musgraves said. "Seems like he had a lot more break on his breaking ball, it was a little tighter today.

"Then, of course, Baker comes in and slams the door like he usually does."

Bland got the Crusaders out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh inning, stranding the tying run on base, then Baker got the final six outs for his sixth save of the season.

NNU tried to ride the momentum of a strong opening game to a sweep, grabbing a 1-0 lead on a Tim Jones sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning before everything went the Wolves way.

Five unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning sent Western Oregon (27-14, 26-11) on its way to the second win, with the Wolves tacking on two more in the fourth and four runs in the fifth.
 
The bright spot for NNU in the nightcap came in the top of the seventh inning when senior slugger Billy King launched home run No. 12 of the season over the center-field wall, giving the Crusaders a bit of life as the two teams will meet in another doubleheader on Friday starting at 1 p.m. (Mountain time).

The twinbill will be the final regular season games for NNU seniors Helmstadter, Baker, King, McCluskey, Nielsen, Bland, Jarod Gonzales, Spencer Pollock, Joe Siegel, Jaramy Jacobs and Blake Adkins before the Crusaders head to Portland, Ore., on Wednesday to open play in the GNAC Tournament at Concordia University.