ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene softball took care of business again on Saturday, taking two more from Central Washington 4-1 and 4-0 to sweep the four-game series against the Wildcats.
The Nighthawks improve to 26-14 on the season and 14-2 in GNAC play, keeping a strong hold on top of the conference standings with two weekends left in the regular season. NNU has also won 21 of their last 25 games.
Game 1
NNU jumped on CWU early in the opener, with
Maia McNicoll knocking an RBI single and
Tori Hensley coming in to score on an error to take a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Central cut the lead in half in the third, but the Wildcats would not cross the plate again in the contest. The Nighthawks added two more before the game was over, with McNicoll scoring on an error and
Madison Felter driving in
Abigail Gagnon with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Clarissa Moreno was 3-4 in the game with a run scored, while Gagnon added two hits.
Sidney Booth and
Gina Skinner combined to hold CWU to just the one run, with Booth going the first 3.2 innings with four strikeouts and Skinner earning the win after 3.1 scoreless frames with just two hits allowed and three strikeouts.
Game 2
NNU got on the board in the top of the first again in game two as Booth drew a one-out, bases-loaded walk. The Nighthawks made it 2-0 in the third when Gagnon raced home on a wild pitch.
NNU tallied two more on three hits in the sixth, with Moreno notching an RBI double and Hensley an RBI single.
Hensley was very strong in the circle as well, tossing a shutout with four hits allowed and five strikeouts. Moreno added two more hits to make it five for the day.
Next Up
NNU will return to Nampa for their final homestand as they host Saint Martin's on April 21 and 22. After that, the regular season wraps up on the road at Western Oregon.
