Burnaby, B.C. – Northwest Nazarene softball's bats stayed hot on Saturday, scoring in double figures in both games of the doubleheader as they defeated Simon Fraser 11-3 and 14-7.
The Nighthawks improve to 15-11 on the season and 6-1 in conference play. In the series sweep of the Red Leafs, the Nighthawks outscored SFU 57-13.
Game 1
NNU picked up right where they left off on Friday, as
Maia McNicoll launched a two-run homer and
Abigail Gagnon followed with a back-to-back blast to put the Nighthawks up 3-0 in the top of the first inning.
SFU got one back in the bottom of the inning, but NNU added two more in the second on an RBI single from
Sidney Booth and an RBI double from McNicoll.
The Nighthawks would break things open in the sixth, scoring six runs to take an 11-1 lead.
Clarissa Moreno and
Tori Hensley had RBI singles and Gagnon knocked her second homer of the game during the inning.
Sidney Booth went the full six innings for her ninth win of the season, striking out two. McNicoll finished 3-4 with three RBIs while Gagnon was 2-4 with her two homers and three RBIs. McNicoll's homer now ties her with current assistant coach
Brittany Genuardi for the NNU program record at 34 career home runs.
Game 2
Simon Fraser came up with the first run of game two in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead on an RBI single. NNU's
Charlotte Forniss then tied the game with one swing of the bat in the top of the third on a homer to right, and Moreno followed that up with an RBI single later in the inning to put the Nighthawks up 2-1.
The Red Leafs displayed some power over the next few innings, though, hitting two-run homers in both the fourth and fifth to go up 5-2. NNU clawed back to cut the deficit to one in the sixth, scoring one run on an error and another on a Forniss sacrifice fly.
Down to their last out, NNU managed to tie the game in the top of the seventh as Booth came through in the clutch with an RBI double. In the bottom of the frame, the Nighthawks worked around a runner on third with one out and the bases loaded with two outs, with Booth entering in relief and ending the threat with a strikeout.
Neither team had any luck in the eighth inning, but the Nighthawks broke through with nine runs in the ninth to effectively put the game away. The barrage included an RBI single and RBI groundout from Hensley, an RBI single from Gagnon, a two-RBI double from Forniss, and an RBI double from Moreno to bring the score to 14-5.
The Red Leafs did not go away without a fight, scoring twice before an out was recorded in the bottom of the inning, but Forniss entered in relief and got a strikeout and a double play ball to end the game.
Forniss was 2-4 at the plate with four RBIs, while
Jami Obringer went 4-4 with three runs scored.
Next Up
NNU now heads to California next week for five non-conference contests at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, starting with a road game at Stanislaus State on Thursday.
