BILLINGS, Mont. – Northwest Nazarene baseball took both games of Friday's doubleheader at Montana State Billings, starting with a high-scoring 19-11 victory before a 6-5 win in extra innings.
The 14
th-ranked Nighthawks improve to 14-4-1 on the season and 4-2 in GNAC play.
Game One
Scoring was in abundance in the opener, as the two teams combined for 30 runs and 27 hits.
NNU got things started right away on a
Duke Pahukoa RBI single in the top of the first. MSUB came back with five runs in their halves of the first and second innings to go up 5-1. The Nighthawks then cut the deficit in half with two runs in the third, as
Cole Calnon notched an RBI triple and
Carter Walsh recorded a sacrifice fly.
The fourth inning was where the floodgates really opened, with NNU putting a 10-spot up on the board.
Kailer Saunders began the barrage with a two-run homer to left center, followed by an RBI double from
Trevor Tishenkel, RBI single from Calnon, and two-RBI double from
Adam Paganelli. Saunders came around to bat again and drilled a bases-clearing, three-RBI double to bring his RBI total to five in the inning. Saunders would also come in to score on an error to close out the 10-run frame and put the Nighthawks up 13-5.
The Yellowjackets put up a fight, scoring six runs over the next two innings to cut the deficit to 13-11. The Nighthawks squashed any comeback attempt the rest of the way, though, scoring six more runs before the final out. Pahukoa had an RBI double, Paganelli an RBI double and RBI groundout, and
Gavin Brubaker an RBI triple to bring the NNU total to their highest of the season at 19 runs.
Paganelli and Saunders both had two hits and five RBIs, while Pahukoa added a 3-5 effort with two RBIs.
Jonathan Zayas struggled in the start but would earn the win, going five innings.
Jaxon Henderson tossed an inning of scoreless relief before
Josh Brown went the final three frames without allowing a run for the save.
Game Two
MSUB scored first with a run in the bottom of the first inning. NNU got on the board two innings later in the third, as
Drew Deal drove in
Casey Wayne with an RBI double and
Carter Walsh drove in
Cole Calnon with an RBI single. The Yellowjackets countered in their half of the third with three runs, however, taking a 4-2 lead.
Still down by two runs in the fifth,
Duke Pahukoa erased the deficit and gave the Nighthawks the lead with one swing on a three-run homer to left. NNU came within two outs of the win in the bottom of the seventh, but MSUB scored to tie the game at 5-5 and send it to extra innings.
Trevor Tishenkel took matters into his own hands in the top of the eighth, drilling what turned out to be a game-winning homer over the fence in right.
Wade Duncan then struck out two and
Jason Bell gunned down a runner trying to steal second in the bottom of the inning to preserve the victory.
Pahukoa,
Adam Paganelli, and
Gavin Brubaker all had two hits for NNU.
Kailer Saunders started on the mound, allowing four runs over three innings.
Josh Bishopp tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings, while
Blake Hammond threw 1 1/3 scoreless frames. Duncan then pitched the final two innings to earn the win.
Next Up
NNU and MSUB will wrap up their series with another doubleheader on Saturday as the Nighthawks go for the four-game sweep.
