GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Northwest Nazarene baseball made a statement on Friday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader against No. 2 Colorado Mesa by scores of 9-8 and 4-0.
Game One
The first game saw plenty of runs on the board, with CMU scoring in seven of the nine innings. However, all but one of those innings was just a single run.
NNU's offensive output was a different story, using three innings to get all nine runs. It started in the second, when
Alex Salsman homered to left center to put the Nighthawks up 2-1.
NNU wouldn't score again until the sixth, when
Grant Kerry belted a solo homer and
Haden Keller followed a few batters later with a three-run bomb.
Walker Moore then scored on an error to make it 7-5 in favor of the visitors.
The Mavericks tied things up with a pair of solo home runs from Player of the Year candidate Hadyn McGeary in the sixth and eighth. The tie was not long-lasted, though, as Kerry launched his second home run of the game in the top of the ninth, this time a two-run shot to put NNU up 9-7.
CMU cut the deficit in half with another solo homer to lead off the bottom of the frame, but
Max Holtzclaw retired the next three batters in order to preserve the win.
Holtzclaw received the win on the mound, going two the final two innings and striking out three.
Kyle Ethridge started for NNU, tossing 4.2 innings and allowing four earned runs.
Joseph Ihli also pitched 2.1 innings of relief, allowing just one run.
Parker Price finished the game with four hits and scored once. Kerry and Keller both had three RBI.
Game Two
The second game was much different, with neither team scoring until the fifth inning. Salsman led off the fifth with a double, and eventually came home on a single from
Kyle Payne.
NNU would add three more in the seventh, as Price knocked in two with a double and then scored on a single from
Walker Moore.
One run would have been enough to earn the win, as the duo of
Haden Keller and
Blake McFadden combined to shut out the Mavericks through the seven innings. Keller started and went 4.2 innings, allowing just four hits while striking out four. McFadden got the save, going the final 2.1 innings and striking out five of the eight batters he faced.
Salsman, Payne, and
Tyler Best each had a pair of hits in the nightcap.
Next Up
NNU has two more games against the Mavericks on Saturday, with first pitch of the doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m. The Nighthawks will open conference play next week, visiting Central Washington for four games on March 4 and 5.
