LACEY, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene baseball struggled to get the offense going on Thursday, falling to Saint Martin's in both games of the doubleheader 6-4 and 2-1.
The Nighthawks drop to 23-15 overall and 15-7 in GNAC play, while SMU improves to 12-23 and 7-11 in the conference.
Game One
NNU got on the board first, as
Alex Salsman scored from third on an SMU error.
Duke Pahukoa doubled the lead with a solo homer in the fourth.
The Saints would get to NNU starter
Spencer Schwehr for three runs in the fifth, though, on four straight two-out hits.
The Nighthawks clawed back in the top of the eighth, tying the game with a bases-loaded walk from Salsman and then taking a 4-3 lead on an RBI fielder's choice from
Kyle Payne.
SMU responded in the bottom of the inning, though, scoring three runs to retake the lead and eventually win 6-4.
Schwehr's final line was 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits while striking out three.
Joseph Ihli received the loss, allowing two runs in 1.1 innings of relief, while
Blake McFadden allowed one run in the final frame.
Six different Nighthawks had one hit in the game, while
Ryan Dearing, Pahukoa, and Salsman all walked twice.
Game Two
There was not a lot of offense to be found in game two, as a Pahukoa RBI double in the fourth was the only run through the first 6.5 innings.
NNU starter
Brock Moffitt held the Saints scoreless through their first five at-bats, but in the bottom of the sixth, SMU scored two unearned runs after an error was made with two outs.
Moffitt's final line was 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits and no earned runs while striking out six without a walk.
Max Holtzclaw entered in the sixth and went 2/3 of an inning, allowing one hit and striking out two.
NNU had just four hits off of SMU starter Justice Yamashita, who threw all seven innings for the Saints.
Next Up
The Nighthawks and Saints will play two more tomorrow, with first pitch of game one scheduled for noon Pacific in Lacey.
