NAMPA, Idaho - Northwest Nazarene baseball won in very different ways on Friday, outslugging Montana State Billings 22-10 in game one before taking a tighter 4-3 victory in game two.

With the wins, No. 19 NNU improves to 8-2 on the season. MSUB falls to 0-10. The Nighthawks and Yellowjackets will play two more tomorrow to close out the series.

Game One: NNU 22, MSUB 10

The bats were going early for both squads, as NNU launched a pair of two-run homers in the first inning and MSUB answered with three two-run shots of their own in the top of the sixth. The Nighthawks bounced back with four in the bottom of the frame, though, taking an 8-6 lead. 

The lead was cut to one in the next frame, but the Nighthawks then put five runs up in the fifth, two in the sixth, one in the seventh, and six more in the eighth to earn the 12-run victory.

Four Nighthawks had multiple hits, led by a pair of 3-5 outings by Ben Johnson and Colton Moore. Johnson finished with four runs scored, four RBI, and a walk, while Moore had three runs scored and four RBI. John Gonzalez went 2-2 with three walks and three RBI, while Cameron Duke was 2-5 with four RBI. Ty Hueckman got the win, allowing one run and three hits in 2.2 innings of relief with four strikeouts.

Game Two: NNU 4, MSUB 3

The second game was a much closer affair, as NNU was able to come score twice in the fifth and sixth innings to earn a come-from-behind 4-3 victory.

MSUB homered in the first to take a 1-0 lead, but Duke tied things up with his fifth RBI of the day on a single to score Hines. The Yellowjackets took back the lead in the third, though, with two runs coming across the plate.

Grant Kerry cut the deficit to one with a sac fly and Gonzalez would score on an error to even things up and three in the fifth, before Shawn Grandmont came through with an RBI single in the sixth that proved to be the winning run.

Max Holtzclaw entered in the fifth inning on the mound and was lights-out over the final 1.2 innings to earn the win, not allowing a baserunner and striking out four of the five batters he faced. Sasha Jabusch started for NNU, going 5.1 innings with three runs allowed on four hits while striking out eight.