MONMOUTH, Ore. – Abigail Otto hit a pair of three-run home runs and Jordan Adams escaped a seventh inning jam as the Northwest Nazarene softball team split a GNAC doubleheader Friday against Western Oregon.

The Nighthawks (18-17 overall, 7-7 GNAC) won the opener 3-1 before falling 12-5 in the nightcap. The two teams will play another doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. MDT on Saturday.

"Tomorrow we need to come out with the same preparation and energy," NNU coach Rich Wagner said. "If we do that and continue to improve on the small details, we will see a lot of success."

In the opener, it was scoreless until the sixth inning until Otto blasted a two-out, three-run blast to give the Nighthawks a 3-0 lead.

That held until the bottom of the seventh when Western Oregon scored a run and then loaded the bases with one out, but Adams induced a pair of infield pop ups to shortstop Anna Olson to escape with the win.

"Jordan did a great job working ahead and commanding the zone," Wagner said.

Adams finished with one run allowed on six hits with four walks and eight strikeouts while improving to 10-5 on the season.

Kylie Orr finished 2-for-2 with a walk, while Cassidy Fifield and Otto had the other two hits for the Nighthawks.

In the nightcap, NNU jumped out to 1-0 and 2-1 leads behind an RBI single by Orr and a run-scoring triple by Brittany Genuardi, but the Wolves (19-10, 7-5) scored four runs in the third and four more in the fourth to take control of the game.

Otto blasted her second three-run homer of the day in the sixth, giving her a career-high five on the season. Orr finished 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Anna Williams was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Genuardi was 1-for-3 with the RBI and a walk.

"Abi and Kylie had a great day offensively," Wagner said. "We are doing a better job at the plate and are continuing to make adjustments."

NNU is now in fifth in the conference, just one game behind Western Oregon and Concordia. The top four teams advance to the conference tournament and the Nighthawks have 14 regular-season games remaining, including 12 at home.