NAMPA, Idaho – After over two months of conference games, Northwest Nazarene baseball ventured out of the GNAC for a doubleheader on Thursday, splitting with PacWest opponent Biola at home.
 
NNU's bats were quiet in the opener, falling 9-0 to the Eagles. In game two, the sixth-ranked Nighthawks used three homers and strong pitching to power past Biola 6-3.
 
The loss in game one was just the sixth of the season and snapped a 10-game win streak for the Nighthawks, who move to 28-6 overall.
 
The Nighthawks and the Eagles will close out the series with two more games tomorrow, starting at noon.
 
Game One: Biola 9, NNU 0
 
NNU's offense was stymied in game one, falling victim to Biola's ace Larson Kindreich, who went seven shutout innings while allowing six hits and striking out 11.
 
The Nighthawks got a runner on base in six of the nine innings, but could not push a run across. The closest they came was in the fourth, when Grant Kerry singled and motored over to third on a one-out Ben Johnson single. However, the next two Nighthawk hitters would strike out to end the threat.
 
Biola tallied their nine runs on nine hits, scoring at least one run in six of the nine frames. Sasha Jabusch started for NNU and was handed the loss, allowing four runs over four innings. Ben Johnson allowed three runs over the next four innings, and Colton Makinster finished the game with the final three outs of the top of the ninth.
 
Game Two: NNU 6, Biola 3
 
NNU's pitching took control of game two, as starter Kyle Ethridge quieted the Biola offense after their strong opening game, allowing three runs on just four hits while striking out nine over six innings.
 
The Nighthawks got on the board right away after being shut out for the first time since February in game one. In the bottom of the first, Kerry notched an RBI groundout, followed by Haden Keller with an RBI single, to make it 2-0.
 
The Eagles tied it with two runs in the top of the third, but Keller broke the tie in the bottom of the inning with a rare inside-the-park home run. In the next inning, John Gonzalez homered and Shawn Grandmont came through with an RBI single to make it 5-2 in favor of NNU.
 
Biola got one back in the top of the fifth, but Gonzalez erased it with his second solo homer of the game, this time a towering no-doubter out to right center.
 
Max Holtzclaw pitched a scoreless seventh with one strikeout to pick up his fifth save of the season. Gonzalez, Keller, and Grandmont all had two hits to lead the Nighthawk offense.