BILLINGS, Mont. – Northwest Nazarene baseball took care of business in Billings this weekend, sweeping Saturday's doubleheader by scores of 13-7 and 7-1 to take four games from the Yellowjackets.
The 14
th-ranked Nighthawks improve to 16-4-1 on the season and 6-2 in GNAC play.
Altogether on the weekend, NNU tallied 45 runs on 51 hits with 16 doubles, four triples, three homers, and 22 walks.
Game One
Similar to game one on Friday, the Nighthawks scored early and often in the opener on Saturday.
Kailer Saunders got things going with an RBI single in the top of the first, and then NNU put up six runs in the top of the second.
Trevor Tishenkel notched an RBI double,
Cole Calnon registered a sacrifice fly,
Gavin Brubaker scored on an error after a sac bunt attempt from
Carter Walsh, and then
Kaleb Karpstein drove home three runs with a two-out double to put the Nighthawks up 7-0.
MSUB got on the board with a run in the fourth, but NNU came back with three more tallies in the top of the fifth. Walsh drilled an RBI double and
Duke Pahukoa recorded a two-RBI single to make it 10-1 Nighthawks.
The Yellowjackets were able to string together a few hits and score six runs across the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to cut the NNU lead to 10-7. NNU would stop the comeback there, however, and add some insurance with three runs in the top of the ninth. Brubaker drove in
Adam Paganelli with a sacrifice fly and Walsh plated two with a double to left to put the Nighthawks up six, 13-7.
Blake Hammond, who had entered with one out in the seventh, then retired the Yellowjackets in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the victory. Hammond allowed three runs (two earned) in his 2 2/3 innings with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts.
Kyle Ethridge started for NNU and earned the win, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing four runs with four strikeouts.
Walsh and Pahukoa both had three hits, with Walsh recording two doubles and four RBIs and Pahukoa two RBIs. Paganelli and Tishenkel each had two hits, while Karpstein tallied three RBIs to extend his team-leading season total to 21. NNU also had eight walks while just allowing two to MSUB.
Game Two
As was the case in three of the four games of the series, the Nighthawks got on the board first in the top of the first inning. Paganelli drove in two runs with a single up the middle and Tishenkel brought home Paganelli on a double to right center to make it 3-0.
The Nighthawks plated two more in the second when
Jason Bell and Brubaker both scored on an error, and then added another run in the third on an RBI single from Walsh to go up 6-0.
Saunders pushed the lead to 7-0 in the fourth with a sacrifice fly to score Paganelli from third, but the Yellowjackets canceled out that run with their first tally of the game in the bottom of the inning to make it 7-1 NNU.
That was where the scoring would finally end for the weekend, as the Nighthawks took the six-run victory to earn the four-game sweep of the Yellowjackets.
The Nighthawks went with a bullpen game on the mound, starting with
Jaxon Henderson tossing a scoreless first inning.
Connor Harrison went 1 2/3 scoreless, followed by
Josh Bishopp allowing one run in 1 1/3 frames.
Adam Brooks got two outs in the fifth before being replaced by
Wade Duncan, who went the final 2 1/3 innings with just one hit allowed to close out the win.
Walsh had three hits and three RBIs to lead the offense, while Paganelli and Brubaker added two hits apiece.
Next Up
NNU will return home next week for a four-game series at Elmore W. Vail Field, hosting Saint Martin's on March 22 and 23.
