NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene baseball swept Saturday's doubleheader against Saint Martin's by scores of 11-7 and 4-1 to win the series three games to one.
The 12
th-ranked Nighthawks improve to 19-5-1 on the season and 9-3 in GNAC play.
Game One
Saint Martin's scored first in the opener, putting two runs across in the second inning. The Nighthawks didn't get on the board until the fourth, when
Casey Wayne scored on a wild pitch and
Carter Walsh drilled a two-RBI double to put NNU up 3-2.
The Saints took the lead back in the top of the fifth with three runs, but NNU tied it back up immediately in the bottom of the inning on a
Trevor Tishenkel homer and a bases-loaded walk drawn by
Cole Calnon.
Tishenkel went deep for another solo homer in the sixth to give the Nighthawks the lead, 6-5, but SMU tied it back up at 6-6 with a run in the top of the seventh.
NNU took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs to go up 10-6.
Gavin Brubaker and
Kaleb Karpstein came around to score on an SMU error and Calnon recorded an RBI single before coming in to score on a wild pitch later in the inning.
Adam Paganelli scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning to wrap up the scoring for the Nighthawks as NNU took the 11-7 win.
Kyle Ethridge started for NNU and went 4 2/3 innings with five runs allowed on five hits and two strikeouts.
Josh Brown went 4 1/3 innings in relief, allowing one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts to receive the win on the mound.
Tishenkel and Wayne both had three hits for the Nighthawks, while four others also had multi-hit games with two apiece.
Game Two
The scoring didn't start in game two until the third inning when NNU broke through for four runs.
Duke Pahukoa was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home the first run before Tishenkel drilled a bases-clearing, three-RBI double off the wall in left.
Saint Martin's got a run in the sixth, but that was all that the Nighthawks' pitching would allow as NNU took the 4-1 win.
Bryan Rojas started for NNU and went 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four.
Josh Bishopp went 1 2/3 without allowing a hit and striking out one, followed by
Blake Hammond tossing one inning.
Wade Duncan earned his fifth save of the season with a scoreless seventh.
Next Up
NNU will head back out on the road next week, visiting Central Washington for four games on March 29 and 30.
