AZUSA, Calif. – Northwest Nazarene baseball, ranked No. 7/13 in the nation, took game one of the season-opening heavyweight battle with No. 8/22 Azusa Pacific on Friday, earning a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
How It Happened
- The Nighthawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as Parker Price homered in his first at-bat since the 2020 season.
- Azusa bounced back with two runs in the second to take the lead, and then added one more in the fifth to make it 3-1.
- NNU's Quentin Ayers cut the deficit in half in the top of the seventh with a one-out homer. Duke Pahukoa followed with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and came around to score on an RBI double from Colton Moore to even things up at 3-3.
- Moore was in the middle of things again in the top of the ninth, drawing a one-out walk and then scrambling around to third on a throwing error by the pitcher. With two outs, Moore's go-ahead run was brought home by a single off the bat of Ryan Dearing.
- The Cougars got two runners on base against NNU reliever Blake McFadden in the bottom of the ninth, but he was able to escape the jam with a strikeout to end the game.
Nighthawks Notes
- NNU improves to 1-0 on the new season.
- Walker Moore was the only Nighthawk with multiple hits with two, while five others each had one.
- Kyle Ethridge started for the Nighthawks, going 3 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts.
- The trio of Nick Irwin, Brock Moffitt, and Joseph Ihli pitched an inning each before giving way to McFadden, who tossed the final 2 1/3 frames to earn the win.
Next Up
The Nighthawks continue their four-game set against Azusa Pacific tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at noon Pacific time.
