NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene baseball came back to force extra innings and beat Montana State Billings 6-5 in game one, then followed up with a 14-5 win in game two.
The Nighthawks are now 10-13 overall and 4-2 in GNAC play.
Game 1
NNU struck first with the first run of the game coming in the bottom of the 3
rd inning on a sac fly to left field from
Shane Jamison that scored
Quentin Ayers.
MSUB got on the board in the top of the 5
th inning with two runs coming on two hits and leaving one man stranded. They continued with two more runs in the top of the 6
th inning in which two more runs scored on two hits.
The Nighthawks answered with one run in the bottom of the 6
th inning.
Colby Moran reached base on a single, then moved to second on a failed pick off attempt. Moran would later come in to score on an RBI double from
Kaleb Karpstein.
Kyle Payne led off the 7
th inning with a double down the right field line.
Kailer Saunders came in to pinch run for Payne.
Mason Leavitt followed up the double with an RBI single to bring the score to 4-3, still in favor of the Yellowjackets.
In the bottom of the 9
th inning with one out and Leavitt on second base,
Adam Paganelli hit an RBI double to left center field to tie the game at 4-4. Each team put up one run in the 10
th inning, but the decider would not come until the bottom of the 12
th.
Brexton Clubb led off the inning with a triple to right center field and came in to score on a wild pitch for the 6-5 final.
Game 2
Montana State Billings took the first lead in game two with two runs in the top of the 1
st inning. The Nighthawks answered with one run in the bottom half that came from a solo home run off the bat of
Shane Jamison.
The Yellowjackets improved their lead to 4-1 in the top of the 5
th inning after a home run and an unearned run from a passed ball.
NNU decided enough was enough and posted an eight spot in the bottom of the 5
th inning to take the 9-4 lead. The Nighthawks big inning was sparked by a leadoff double from freshman,
Kailer Saunders.
In the bottom of the 6
th inning, the Nighthawks added five more runs. The first two runs of the inning were from a nuke to right field that came off the bat of
Nolan Walker.
MSUB added one unearned run in the top of the 7
th inning, but the Nighthawks would hold on to win by a final score of 14-5.
Jonathan Zayas started for the Nighthawks and collected nine strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched.
Blake Hammond entered for 1.2 innings of relief and collected three strikeouts while allowing just one hit.
Ty Pohlmann threw 1.0 hitless inning while striking out three batters.
Henry Clark finished on the bump for the Nighthawks and struck out three Yellowjackets in the final inning.
On Deck
The Nighthawks plan to continue their series against the Yellowjackets with two home games tomorrow. There is a chance that the games get changed to Saturday depending on the weather.
