NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene baseball dropped game one to the Wolves by a score of 8-3 and bounced back to win game two, 11-7.
The Nighthawks are now 16-20 overall and 10-8 in GNAC play.
Game 1
The Maiben brothers both got on base to start the game and came around to score on a three-run home run from WOU's three hitter, Curran Mitzel. The Wolves held on to the 3-0 lead until the 4
th inning when they extended to 4-0.
The Nighthawks scored two runs in the bottom of the 5
th inning on a two RBI single from
Kaleb Karpstein.
The Wolves put up three runs in the 6
th inning. The Nighthawks scored their final run in the 7
th on a sacrifice fly from
Mason Leavitt. WOU extended their lead to 8-3 in the top of the 9
th inning and that score held to the finish.
Karpstein went 3-4 with two RBIs in the game.
Blake Hammond threw a solid final 2.1 innings for the Nighthawks, allowing just one hit and an unearned run to score.
Game 2
The Wolves jumped out to another early lead in game two, this time 2-0 on a home run from Jacob Maiben.
Colby Moran answered with a big home run of his own in the bottom of the 2
nd inning. Moran's home run cut Western Oregon's lead down to 2-1. Later that inning,
Quentin Ayers came to the plate and delivered a two RBI base hit to give the Nighthawks a 3-2 lead.
The biggest swing of the night came from
Kyle Payne. Payne hit a no doubter grand slam to left field to extend the Nighthawks lead to 7-2 in the bottom of the 3
rd inning.
Shane Jamison got in on the action and hit a three-run home run in the 4
th inning to extend NNU's lead to 10-2.
With a 10-5 lead in the bottom of the 6
th inning, Ayers added his third RBI of the game to give the Nighthawks a little more of a buffer heading into the final inning.
WOU added two runs in the top of the 7
th inning, bringing the game to the 11-7 final.
On Deck
The Nighthawks and the Wolves continue their series with two games tomorrow.
