BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene softball bounced back from a pair of defeats on Thursday to sweep the Western Washington Vikings on Saturday, 9-6 and 11-5.
Game One
The first game saw plenty of offense, with a run scored in every inning but the sixth. NNU got on the board first in the top of the opening inning on a
Maia McNicoll homer, but the Vikings responded in the bottom of the inning with three runs, all unearned.
WWU pushed their lead to 4-2 with a run in the bottom of the second, but the Nighthawks swayed things back in their favor with three runs in the third to take a 5-4 lead. McNicoll drove in two more runs with a single to right, and
Abigail Gagnon brought home another with a bases-loaded walk.
The lead seesawed back to the Vikings in the bottom of the third, though, as they tallied two runs to go up 6-5. NNU would then score four unanswered to earn the win, though, starting with a two-run homer from
Ivy Hommel in the fourth. Another run came in the sixth on an RBI single from
Mackenzie La Neve, before
Tori Hensley came across the plate on a wild pitch to score the ninth tally in the seventh.
After allowing six runs (three earned) in the first three innings,
Sidney Booth settled down in the circle to blank the Vikings in the final four frames to earn the win. McNicoll finished with two hits and four RBI.
Game Two
McNicoll continued her hot hitting to start game two, bringing home a run in the top of the first with a single up the middle.
Sidney Booth would also score in the frame on an error, giving the Nighthawks an early 2-0 lead.
After two scoreless innings, NNU broke through again in the fourth as
Emma Mulligan notched an RBI single and
Ivy Hommel brought home two runs with a single of her own. The Nighthawks piled it on in the sixth, scoring six runs to go up 11-0 as
Kellcie Adams had a two-RBI single, Hommel added a two-RBI single, Booth had a sacrifice fly, and another run scored on a wild pitch.
WWU took the possibility of the run-rule coming into effect with five runs in the bottom of the sixth, but NNU was able to close out the victory.
Tori Hensley went 5.1 innings to earn the win, allowing three earned runs and striking out seven.
Gina Skinner pitched very well in relief, not allowing a hit and striking out one in 1.2 innings of work.
Hommel was 3-4 with three RBIs in game two, while Mulligan, Booth, Adams, and Gagnon each added a pair of hits.
Next Up
The Nighthawks will return home next weekend to host Central Washington for a four-game GNAC set on Friday and Saturday. First pitch on Friday, March 18 is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
