NAMPA, Idaho – Staying alive. Northwest Nazarene baseball needed a win in the second game of the NCAA DII West Regional to keep their season going, and the Nighthawks did just that with a 3-2 victory over top-seeded Azusa Pacific on Thursday night.
 
Earlier on Thursday, NNU (32-8) fell to three-seed Western Oregon 2-1, resulting in a potential elimination with a loss in game two. The Nighthawks had other plans, led by a complete game gem from Sasha Jabusch, moving on to day two of the regional.
 
APU (33-9) will now face WOU (21-6) in game three tomorrow at noon. The Nighthawks will then play the Wolves at 3:30 p.m. The scenarios of what can happen tomorrow are below.
 

• If WOU wins Game Three, APU is out. WOU would then just need a win in Game Four to take the regional championship, while NNU would have to defeat WOU twice to advance.
• If APU wins Game Three, all teams will be 1-1. By NCAA rule, the #2 seed (NNU) and #3 seed (WOU) will play in Game Four. The winner of Game Four will then face the #1 seed (APU) in a winner-take-all Game Five for the regional title.

 
Jabusch kept the Cougars off balance all game at the plate, going the full nine innings and allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out 10 and not walking a batter. APU never had more than one hit in an inning, getting both of their runs on solo homers in the second and fourth innings.
 
Jabusch capped the incredible effort by retiring the last 10 batters in a row and 16 of the final 17.
 
Shawn Grandmont hit a two-out single up the middle in the first inning and then came around to score on an RBI double to center by Grant Kerry, who went 2 for 4 in the game. Ben Johnson followed with a double of his own to right-center to drive in Kerry from second.
 
After APU tallied their two runs, the Nighthawks retook the lead in the fifth inning when Cody Nisbet hit what proved to be the game-winning solo home run to left field. It was his first homer of the season.
 
Haden Keller helped preserve the lead in the bottom of the eighth, when APU's Griffen Herrera took a ball deep to left, but Keller timed it just right with a leaping catch at the wall to rob Herrera of extra bases or a possible home run with just one out in the inning.
 
Brendan Dixon took the loss for Azusa Pacific after allowing three earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts in 4.1 innings. David Hays kept the Cougars in striking distance by allowing just one hit and striking out 12 in 4.2 innings.
 
Kerry finished with two hits for the Nighthawks while five others notched one hit apiece.