NAMPA, Idaho - In the first-ever NCAA Championships appearance, Northwest Nazarene baseball is set to host the 2021 Division II West Regional this weekend at Elmore Vail Field.

The regional consists of three teams, top-seed Azusa Pacific, two-seed NNU, and three-seed Western Oregon. The teams will compete in a double elimination bracket of either four or five games. As the #2 seed, the Nighthawks will face #3 WOU in the opening game on Thursday at noon. The team that loses game one will take on top-seeded APU at 3:30 p.m. the same day. 
The regional schedule and bracket scenarios are spelled out in detail further down in this release.

NNU is excited to announce that for the first time this spring, fans will be allowed to attend an athletic event on campus as Vail Field will be open to spectators for all games of the regional. Much more information, including fan protocols, ticketing, team previews, the bracket, and a full schedule, is available on the Tournament Central page.

The Regional is sponsored by Will Z, your hometown lending team with Benton Capital.

Nighthawks Notes

As mentioned, this is NNU's first-ever appearance in the NCAA postseason. In 2016, the Nighthawks also won the GNAC tournament, but the conference did not have an automatic bid and NNU was not selected as an at-large invitee.

The Nighthawks have enjoyed the best season in their 21-year NCAA DII history, achieving an impressive 31-7 overall record. NNU also went a staggering 21-3 in conference play to claim their first outright GNAC regular season title before sweeping Central Washington in the GNAC Championship series to earn the automatic bid and their first-ever NCAA Regional berth.

Early in the year, NNU also routed current #1 Colorado Mesa 18-6, handing the Mavericks one of their five losses on the season. The Nighthawks have been in the NCBWA Top-25 nearly all season, climbing as high as sixth in the nation for one week in early May.

Outfielder Grant Kerry (.369 BA, 9 2B, 11 HR, 48 RBI) was named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Region, while skipper Joe Schaefer earned Coach of the Year honors both regionally and in the conference.

Closer Max Holtzclaw (2.45 ERA, .95 WHIP, 4-0 record, 5 saves, 22.0 IP, 37 K's, 4 BB) also received First Team All-Region and All-GNAC honors, while third baseman Shawn Grandmont (.329 BA, 41 runs, 9 HR, 54 RBI, 22 SB), second baseman Colton Moore (.271 BA, 40 runs, 11 2B, 7 HR, 32 RBI), utility/pitcher Ben Johnson (.333 BA, 21 runs, 15 RBI, 4.45 ERA, 3-0 pitching record, 22 K's), and starting pitcher Kyle Ethridge (4.02 ERA, 6-1 record, 1.14 WHIP, 53.2 IP, 74 K's, 14 BB) were each named Second Team All-Region and First Team All-GNAC.

NNU did not play Azusa Pacific this season, and has not faced the Cougars since splitting a four-game series in California in 2016. The Nighthawks did square off with Western Oregon for a four-game GNAC series this year, splitting the series 2-2 back on April 9 and 10. NNU and WOU were supposed to play in Monmouth at the end of the regular season, as well as in the conference tournament, but the Wolves had to back out of both weekends due to health and safety protocols. 

Scouting the Cougars

This is Azusa Pacific's fifth NCAA Regionals appearance, all coming in the last seven seasons. During regional play, the Cougars have amassed a 10-8 record but have not been able to win the regional and advance to the championships.

Azusa Pacific (33-8) has been nationally ranked all season long and won the PacWest AQ last weekend with a 4-0 sweep of Academy of Art and Hawai'i Hilo. The Cougars won the PacWest SoCal Pod with a 18-6 conference record and won five of six series against the other three SoCal teams (Concordia, Biola, Point Loma).

APU currently ranks second in division II in home runs as a team with 99 on the season and is currently enjoying a 10-game win streak which is their second longest of the season.

All-West Region and PacWest Player of the Year Osvaldo Tovalin leads the team with a .402 average this season with 14 HR and 49 RBI. Tovalin won the Triple Crown in 24 conference games hitting .442 with 10 HR and 36 RBI.

The Cougars have eight starters in their lineup hitting over .340 this season. Among other standouts, Casey Dykstra and Aaron Roose have been designated as First-Team All-West Region selections and First-Team All-PacWest. Dykstra is hitting .397 with 10 HR and an OBP of .497% while Roose is hitting .358 with 12 HR and 44 RBI out of the leadoff spot.

Starting pitcher AJ Woodall was awarded All-West Region and PacWest Pitcher of the Year and is currently 8-0 with a 2.02 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 66.2 innings, hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of his 11 outings and has three shutout performances on the season. Among other pitchers, Westmont transfer Cory Dawson was given Second-Team All-PacWest and Korey Shepard was selected to First-Team All-PacWest and Second-Team All-West Region as a relief pitcher.

Scouting the Wolves

This regional marks Western Oregon's seventh appearance in the NCAA postseason and first since the 2012 season. They have compiled a 5-14 overall record in regional action.

The Wolves have won five postseason games and bring a 20-6 record into the 2021 field.

Connor McCord was tabbed the GNAC Player of the Year and Mike Peterson as the GNAC Pitcher of the Year lead the Wolves, with three pitchers holding ERAs in the 3.00, with Peterson going 6-0. McCord's .395 average, 9 HR and 33 RBI lead an offense that holds a .328 average and have nine players on the regular roster hitting over .300 this season.

The Maiben twins provide constant leadoff pressure at the top of the lineup for the Wolves with Derek hitting .417 and Jacob at .360, as the two combined have 76 hits and 49 runs scored.

Regional Schedule

Thursday, May 27
Game 1: No. 3 Western Oregon vs. No. 2 Northwest Nazarene, Noon
Game 2: Loser of Game 1 vs. No. 1 Azusa Pacific, 3:30 p.m.
Friday, May 28
Game 3: Winner/Loser of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 1, Noon
Game 4: TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 29 (If Necessary)
Game 5: TBD vs. TBD, Noon

Bracket Scenarios

- This is a double-elimination tournament
- If two teams remain after game two, games three to five will be a best-of-three series between the remaining teams to determine the title.
- If two teams remain after game three, the remaining teams will play in game four. The team that is 2-0 would win the regional title with a game four win. If the 1-1 team wins game four, then the same teams will play again in game five to determine the regional champion.
- If three teams remain and are each 1-1 after game three, then the #2 and #3 seeds will play in game four. The winner of game four will then face the #1 seed in a winner-take-all game five for the regional title.