NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene softball returned home on Friday to earn a split with Central Washington, dropping game one 6-4 in eight innings before running away with game two 7-1.
Game One
The score stayed 0-0 through the first three innings, before CWU got on the board first in the top of the fourth with a pair of unearned runs. The Wildcats added two more in the top of the fifth to take a 4-0 lead.
NNU started to come back in the bottom of the inning, as
Mackenzie La Neve notched a two-RBI single to cut the deficit in half.
The Nighthawks would wait until the bottom of the seventh to finally tie things up, when
Kellcie Adams brought home
Abigail Gagnon and
Emma Mulligan followed with an RBI single to make it 4-4.
The Wildcats would bounce back with two runs in the top of the eighth, however, and NNU was able to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning but couldn't score and extend the game.
Sidney Booth pitched all eight innings, allowing four earned runs while striking out nine. Mulligan, Gagnon, and
Emilie Hernandez each had two hits for the Nighthawks.
Game Two
NNU wasted no time in setting the tone for game two, piling up five runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Ivy Hommel started things off with an RBI double, followed by a pair of sacrifice flies from La Neve and
Tori Hensley. Gagnon then capped off the frame with a two-run homer.
CWU got one back in the top of the fifth, but Booth erased it with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning and the Nighthawks would add one more in the sixth to take the 7-1 win.
Hensley got the win in the circle with four innings of one-run ball, striking out five.
Gina Skinner tossed the final three frames without allowing a run to earn the save.
Hommel was 2-3 with an RBI to lead the offense, as seven Nighthawks tallied at least one hit.
Next Up
The Nighthawks and Wildcats will play two more tomorrow, with first pitch of game one of the doubleheader set for noon.
