BURNABY, B.C. - Northwest Nazarene softball waited until late to get on the board, but scored twice in the last two innings to come from behind and walk-off four-seed Western Oregon 2-1 in their first game of the GNAC Championships.
 
Maia McNicoll, the recently named GNAC Player of the Year, lived up to her recognition by driving in both of the Nighthawks' runs. She tied the game in the sixth on a solo homer, and then drilled a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to score Jami Obringer from second and claim the victory.
 
Top seed NNU (34-15) will now take on two-seed Saint Martin's on Friday at 12:00 p.m. Pacific, with the winner advancing to Saturday's GNAC Championships final. The Saints defeated three-seed Western Washington in their game on Thursday. WWU then eliminated Western Oregon in the final game on Thursday, so the Vikings now await the loser of NNU/SMU for an elimination game following today's contest between the Saints and Nighthawks.
 
McNicoll made her presence known early in the game, robbing WOU's Chelby Smalley of a home run in the first inning her back against the fence. After Western Oregon put the first run on the board in the third inning via an Isabelle Lewis fielder's choice it was McNicoll who leveled the game by blasting a home run over the same fence she defended in the first inning to level the score at 1-1.
 
Sidney Booth started and threw four innings for NNU. She allowed just one unearned run on four hits and a walk while striking out a pair. She also finished the game 1 for 2 at the plate.
 
Tori Hensley finished the game for the Nighthawks, throwing three innings of shutout softball without allowing a hit. Starting the game as the designated player, Hensley finished 1 for 4 in the batter's box.
 
The seventh inning proved to be the critical moment for the Nighthawks. After holding Western Oregon off in the top of the frame, freshman Emma Bumatay punched through with a leadoff single to put the potential game-winning run on base. The winning hit then came as McNicoll, in a full count with two outs, lifted an RBI single into left field to bring home Obringer for the victory.
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