ST. GEORGE, Utah – Kylie Orr hammered a double to centerfield, scoring Anna Williams from first as the Northwest Nazarene University softball team won in walkoff fashion Saturday at the Dixie State Easton Classic.

The Nighthawks rallied past CSU Pueblo 9-8 at the Dixie State Easton Classic to salvage a split. They lost 16-15 in eight innings to Fort Lewis earlier in the day.

"She swung the bat really, really good all day long," NNU coach Rich Wagner said of Orr. "She took an outside pitch and drove it in the left center gap to win. It was a good at bat – she waited for her pitch."

In the nightcap, the Nighthawks (5-8 overall) fell behind 6-0 in the third and appeared headed toward a fourth consecutive loss.

Instead, Williams hit a two-run double and Orr a run-scoring single in the third to make it 6-3. The Nighthawks took the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Shelbi Martinez hit an RBI double, Madison Strickler singled in a run and Williams hit a two-run blast.

CSU Pueblo tied the game in the top of the sixth, but the Nighthawks would not be denied.

"The second game was 50 mph winds the whole time," Wagner said. "We were also dealing with a bunch of injuries … to come back and swing the bats like we did today is huge.

"You take a walkoff loss and then you have to play 10 minutes later. It was huge for these girls to battle."

Williams finished 2-for-3 with three runs, four RBIs, a walk, a double and a homer. Orr was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and the double. Abigail Otto and Martinez added doubles.

Rylee Thomas (2-2) gave up eight runs – four earned – in seven innings to earn the victory.

In the opener, NNU gave up three in the bottom of the seventh and three in the bottom of the eighth to let the game get away.

The Nighthawks led 9-3 after their half of the second inning, but couldn't make the lead stand up.

Martinez and Ivy Hommel delivered run-scoring hits in the top of the eighth. In the bottom half, Fort Lewis scored on a run-scoring single before the next two hitters struck out. Angelique Elemen then hit a walkoff homer to left field to end the game.

Orr finished 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs, Williams and Strickler each hit two-run shots, Martinez was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a double, and Anna Olson, Otto and Hommel each had two hits in the slugfest.

Jackie Vargas took the loss in relief.

"One of the best things about winning the second game was that they deserved to win," Wagner said. "It was just nice that they went out were able to get a W.

"The pitchers didn't have their best stuff, but they stayed out there and battled through it."

NNU opens its home slate with a pair of doubleheaders against Eastern Oregon on Friday and Saturday.