NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene baseball won the first two games of their series with Central Washington on Friday. NNU took game one by a score of 9-5, and game two 5-3.
The Nighthawks are now 13-15 overall and 7-3 in GNAC play.
Game 1
The Nighthawks had a strong offensive performance and rallied for 14 hits in game one of their series with Central Washington.
CWU scored first, but NNU scored more consistently. The Wildcats put up two runs in the top of the 1
st inning, and NNU answered back with one run in the bottom half on an RBI single from
Rumble Reyes.
Matthew Reynolds hit an opposite field home run in the bottom of the 2
nd inning to tie the game at 2-2. When asked if the wind had anything to do with his home run, Reynolds responded: "Absolutely not. If anything, it hurt me."
Central Washington regained the lead with two runs in the top of the 3
rd inning. NNU answered in the bottom of the 4
th with four runs, which proved to be the biggest inning of the game.
The Nighthawks added one run in the 5
th inning on an RBI base hit from
Kailer Saunders.
Shane Jamison hit his third home run of the season with a solo shot in the 6
th inning to bring the score to 8-4.
The Wildcats put up a run in the top of the 7
th inning, and Saunders answered with his 3
rd RBI of the game in the bottom half of the inning.
Shane Martin entered the game when the Nighthawks were up by just three runs and would hold off CWU for his first save of the season.
Matthew Reynolds went 3-3 with a home run.
Mason Leavitt also had a three-hit game, one of which was a double.
Game 2
In game two, the Nighthawks got out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Brexton Clubb put the Nighthawks on the board with a big fly that left the yard in left field.
Central Washington put up three runs in the top half of the 3
rd inning to gain a lead. With two runners on, Ben Leid hit a triple to tie the game. He then came in to score on a passed ball soon after.
With two runners on in the bottom of the 4
th inning, Saunders laid down a beauty of a bunt and wheeled it out to first. An errant throw from CWU's third baseman allowed
Kaleb Karpstein and
Adam Paganelli to score. Saunders was brought in to score soon after on a double by Clubb, bringing the score to the 5-3 final.
Brock Moffitt earned his third win of the season after pitching 4.2 innings and striking out five.
Joseph Ihli came in for the save in the 7
th inning and recorded his seventh save of the season. Ihli is currently tied for first place in saves for all of Division II.
The Nighthawks recorded 12 hits without striking out at all. They had a total of 26 hits on the day. With these two wins, NNU has now beaten Central Washington in nine consecutive games.
On Deck
The Nighthawks look to win 11 straight against the Wildcats with two wins tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time.
