Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – Freshman Ivy Hommel hasn't had many chances to shine this season.

She's only started 11 games, including just three in the last month.

But when starting center fielder Cassidy Fifield went down with an arm injury last weekend, the little used Hommel stepped up with possibly the biggest hit in Northwest Nazarene softball history.

Hommel hit a two-run single, Jordan Adams struck out 13 and the Nighthawks opened the Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball championships with a 3-0 victory against Western Oregon at Concordia.

"I've been given some opportunities this season and not all have gone my way," Hommel said. "To have one go my way in a big situation was great. The dugout was supporting me and helping me know it was my time."

With the victory, the Nighthawks (29-21) will face No. 3 seed Simon Fraser at 3 p.m. MDT on Friday in a semifinal game. The winner moves onto Saturday's championship while the loser will face an elimination game against the winner of the Central Washington-Western Oregon game later Friday.

"It's exciting, but we still have work to do," Hommel said. "It was important to get that win, but that is just one of the three steps we need to do our job."

Three wins would earn the Nighthawks a spot in the NCAA Division II national tournament.

On Thursday, things started slowly for NNU but Adams was there as she has been all season.

After Western Oregon's first two hitters reached based, Adams struck out the next six in a row. She struck out at least one batter in every inning and overpowered the Wolves throughout. She now has 18 wins on the season, tying her for the league lead.

The two teams traded scoreless innings until the fourth.

Lisa Sylvester was hit by a pitch and bunted over to second. Emma Longoria then pinch ran and Abigail Otto drew a walk. After a fly out, a wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position and Hommel delivered her big hit. She moved to second on the throw, Lily Paschal walked and Anna Williams then singled in the third run.

"Our team is so well stacked it wasn't just about me, it was about getting it to the next batter," Hommel said. "I knew there were runners in scoring position and I just had to put the ball in play, because everyone else had done their job to be where they were supposed to be."

With Hommel starting in left field, Williams moved to center field and made numerous strong defensive plays. Otto was also solid in the field at third base.

"Without their play, we would not have won that game," Adams said. "It was a really great game. I could not have imagined it to go any better than it did."

Hommel finished 1-for-2 with a walk and the two RBIs, Williams was 1-for-3 with an RBI, Kylie Orr and Anna Olson were 1-for-3 and Shelbie Martinez was 1-for-2.

The big contributor though was certainly Hommel.

After Fifield's injury, head coach Rich Wagner told the Kuna, Idaho, native that she had a chance to start Thursday if she worked hard in practice. She found out before the game she'd gotten the starting nod and the rest is history.

"Ivy is a hard worker in everything she does," Adams said. "She stepped into a really big role tonight and she took advantage of it."