NAMPA, Idaho – Madison Strickler and Ashlee Schriever aren't exactly household names when it comes to the Northwest Nazarene softball team.

Neither had started in more than two games this season before Friday, but they both came up huge as the Nighthawks earned a doubleheader sweep of Menlo College in nonconference action.

Strickler hit two home runs and Schriever worked out of a bases loaded, no out jam as NNU won 7-3 and 11-8.

"That was huge," Schriever said of the wins. "That just keeps the team hyped and leads us into a good day tomorrow too."

NNU (7-5 overall) hosts Willamette in a doubleheader at noon Saturday.

On Friday, Schriever came into an 8-8 game with no outs and the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning.

She induced a 5-2-3 double play as Abigail Otto snared a sharp grounder, threw home and then the relay beat the runner at first. Schriever then got a flyout to center field to end the inning.

"I just tried to pitch outs and throw strikes, that's really all you can do," she said. "I have faith in my defense behind me. I knew as long as I got it on the ground, they would do a good job."

In the bottom half of the inning, Shelbie Martinez reached on an error and then Strickler hammered the first pitch she saw over the centerfield wall for a 10-8 lead.

"I was just in my zone today," she said. "I was just trying to hit the ball and it happened to go out."

Strickler had started just twice this season and appeared in five games, but her recent hitting caught the attention of her coaches and earned her a spot in the starting lineup.

She certainly delivered Friday, finishing the day 5-for-7 with five RBIs and two runs scored. She had only homered twice in her collegiate career coming into Friday.

"Maddie has been playing well lately, so that is why she was in the lineup today," NNU coach Rich Wagner said. "It's 100 percent important – we need to get the depth on our bench doing stuff and whoever is playing well is going to be in the lineup."

Menlo opened the second game with three first-inning runs, but the Nighthawks quickly erased that deficit. Anna Williams hit a two-run homer, Brittany Genuardi had an RBI double and Martinez an RBI single for a 4-3 lead after one.

The Nighthawks scored four more in the second as Cassidy Fifield scored on a double play and then a pair of Menlo (2-8) errors led to three more runs.

In the sixth, though, freshman reliever Maia McNicoll ran into trouble. She gave up two singles and two walks to drive in a run, tying the game and setting the stage for Schriever.

"I try to just not really think about it as 'Oh my goodness,'" Schriever said. "I try not to psyche myself out and keep my nerves under control."

In the opener, Strickler hit a two-run homer scoring Martinez for a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Star pitcher Jordan Adams then ran into some uncharacteristic trouble, allowing a two-run homer in the fourth inning.

The Nighthawks quickly answered, though, as Kylie Orr hit a leadoff homer in the bottom half to tie the game back up. Otto hit a two-run double in the fifth inning to put the Nighthawks on top 5-3, Martinez then drove in a run on a groundout and Strickler – who else – hit a run-scoring single to make it 7-3.

The wins end a four-game losing streak for the Nighthawks.

"We needed to get back on track after being on a little streak of losing," Wagner said. "It was great to have the entire lineup produce."

Orr finished 6-for-8 on the day, while Williams was 4-for-9 and Martinez was 2-for-6 with a pair of RBIs.