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Northwest Nazarene University Athletics

bb-huddle
5
Winner Tampa UT 22-5
2
Northwest Nazarene NNU-BB 35-10
Winner
Tampa UT
22-5
5
Final
2
Northwest Nazarene NNU-BB
35-10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa UT 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 5 8 1
Northwest Nazarene NNU-BB 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 3

W: Nik Constantakos (1-0) L: Holtzclaw, Max (5-2) S: Jordan Leasure (6)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Josh Burkholder - Director of Athletic Communications

NNU's Championships Run Ends Against Tampa

CARY, N.C. – Northwest Nazarene baseball's run at the 2021 NCAA DII Baseball Championships came to a close on Wednesday, as the Nighthawks fell to the defending national champion Tampa Spartans 5-2 in an elimination game.
 
What a season it was for the Nighthawks, undoubtedly the best in program history. NNU went 35-10, winning the GNAC regular season title for the second time and the GNAC tournament title for the second time. From there, they earned their first-ever bid to the NCAA postseason, where they won the West Regional in thrilling fashion to become the first GNAC squad to reach the NCAA Championships in Cary.
 
While here, NNU also won the GNAC's first game at the championships, taking down Trevecca Nazarene 9-3 in an elimination game.
 
Spencer Schwehr started against Tampa for the Nighthawks, throwing 5.2 innings and allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts.
 
NNU took a one-run lead into the sixth inning, putting up the first run of the game in the second frame. With two outs, Alex Salsman drew a walk and Walker Moore singled to right field, but the right fielder overran the ball and allowed Salsman to score all the way from first.
 
Schwehr got two quick outs in the sixth, but was pulled after giving up a double and a walk. Tampa would draw even on an error, but NNU and reliever Max Holtzclaw got out of the inning with the score still tied at one.
 
Holtzclaw ran into trouble in the top of the seventh, though, allowing back-to-back doubles to open the inning and give Tampa a 2-1 lead. After a walk, Joseph Ihli entered in relief of Holtzclaw and finished the inning, but not before the Spartans added two more runs to take a 4-1 advantage.
 
The Nighthawks got one back in the eighth, as Walker Moore led off the inning with a triple to left-center and came home on a single from Ryan Dearing. Tampa added another run in the top of the ninth, though, taking a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
 
NNU did not go down quietly, getting two runners on with just one out in their last chance. The runners would be left stranded, though, as a pair of strikeouts ended the game.
 
Grant Kerry and Walker Moore each had two hits for the Nighthawks, combining for four of NNU's six total throughout the game.
 
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