NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene softball took two from Western Washington on Saturday, 8-5 and 9-5, to take the non-conference series over the Vikings 3-1.
Game One
WWU got on the board first, launching a two-run homer in the top of the first inning.
The Nighthawks responded almost immediately, though, putting four on the board in the bottom of the inning.
Mackenzie La Neve drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly, and then
Abigail Gagnon brought home three runs with a two-out, bases-clearing double.
NNU added three more in the second inning, with
Ivy Hommel bringing home a run on a bunt and
Maia McNicoll driving in two with a single up the middle, giving the Nighthawks a 7-2 lead.
The teams traded runs over the next few innings, with NNU taking an 8-5 lead into the seventh.
Sidney Booth then shut the Vikings down in order to end the game.
Booth tossed a complete game to earn the win, allowing four earned runs and striking out three.
Tori Hensley was 3-4 from the plate, while Gagnon drove in four runs.
Game Two
NNU scored in the bottom of the first again, putting up two this time on an RBI single from McNicoll and then McNicoll coming home on an error by the Viking shortstop.
Western Washington responded in the top of the third to take the lead, scoring four runs to go up 4-3. NNU would tie things back up in the bottom of the inning, though, with McNicoll and
Mackenzie La Neve both recording a RBI groundouts.
NNU retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth, as
Sidney Booth came up with a clutch two-out, two-run double. Abby Gagnon added to the lead in the fifth with an RBI single, and NNU added two more in the sixth with a McNicoll sacrifice fly and RBI single from
Charlotte Forniss.
WWU got one more run in the top of the sixth, but NNU starter
Gina Skinner worked around two baserunners in the top of the seventh to preserve the 9-5 win. Skinner earns her first victory of the season, allowing four earned runs and striking out four.
McNicoll finished with three RBI, while
Emma Mulligan, Hommel, and Booth each had two hits.
Next Up
The Nighthawks will have another nonconference series against a GNAC opponent next weekend, visiting Central Washington for four games on March 4 and 5.
