MONMOUTH, Ore. – It wouldn't be the postseason without some excitement. Tied at one through six innings of play, Northwest Nazarene softball walked off Western Oregon 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh to take their opening game of the GNAC Championships on Thursday.
 
The top-seeded Nighthawks got the lead runner on in the inning on a Tori Hensley single to right. She advanced to second on a wild pitch, and Abigail Gagnon bunted her over to third to put the winning run 60 feet from home. On an 0-1 count, Madison Strickler was the hero, winning the game with a single to left to score Hensley.
 
NNU advances to play the winner of today's first game, Western Washington, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Pacific. The winner will advance to Saturday's championship final.
 
Western Oregon got the first run of the game off of NNU starter Sidney Booth, as Chandler Bishop hit a solo homer in the top of the second.
 
The recently named GNAC Pitcher of the Year settled down from there, though, and would throw a complete game with just the one run allowed on four hits, striking out eight, to improve to 14-2 on the year.
 
NNU's first run came in the bottom of the third, as Strickler led off the inning with a single and eventually came around to score on a single from Ivy Hommel.
 
Strickler and Hommel combined for four of NNU's six hits, each recording two along with an RBI to lead the Nighthawks.