AZUSA, Calif. – Northwest Nazarene softball found an offensive spark in game one of the doubleheader at Azusa Pacific on Monday with a 9-3 victory before falling in game two by a score of 7-1.
The Nighthawks move to 2-5 on the season with four more games to play on the California road trip.
Game 1
NNU got on the scoreboard first in the third inning, starting with an RBI groundout from
Sidney Booth.
Maia McNicoll followed with an RBI double to left center and eventually came in to score when
Abigail Gagnon reached safely on an error.
APU would bounce right back to tie it up, though, with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Things stayed even until the fifth, when McNicoll singled, Gagnon walked, and
Charlotte Forniss singled to load the bases with nobody out. The next two Nighthawks batters went down via the strikeout, but
Dominique Trevino came through with a bases-loaded RBI walk to give NNU the lead.
Swinging back around to the top of the order,
Clarissa Moreno then stepped to the plate and delivered a bases-clearing double to make it 7-3 in favor of the Nighthawks.
Moreno tacked on two more RBIs before the game was over, bringing home Trevino and
Kellcie Adams with a two-out single in the seventh.
Booth tossed a complete game for her second win of the season following Saturday's no-hitter, striking out six with one walk. Moreno finished the game with four hits in five at-bats, driving in five of NNU's nine runs. McNicoll also had a multi-hit game with two and scored twice.
Game 2
The Cougars got to NNU starter
Tori Hensley early with two runs on four hits in the bottom of the first, but Hensley settled down after that to put up zeroes in the second, third, and fourth frames.
NNU came up empty offensively until the top of the fifth, when the Nighthawks scored without recording a hit. Trevino walked with one out and after another walk and a hit-by-pitch, McNicoll drew a bases-loaded free pass to cut the APU lead to 2-1.
Azusa responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning, though, to take a 7-1 lead that would last to the final out.
Hensley went 4.1 innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and striking out two.
Gina Skinner and
Lynsey Chiala appeared in relief for NNU, with Chiala making her collegiate debut.
Next Up
NNU will stay in California for four more games, heading back to Irvine for doubleheaders against Concordia on Wednesday and Colorado Christian on Thursday.
