OREM, Utah – Northwest Nazarene baseball dropped a midweek matchup at Division I Utah Valley on Tuesday, falling to the Wolverines 22-7.
The Nighthawks fall to 23-10-1 on the season while remaining 13-7 in GNAC play.
Due to the nature of a midweek game, none of the regular NNU weekend starters took the mound in the contest.
Utah Valley got the scoring started with a run in the bottom of the first, but NNU's
Duke Pahukoa tied things back up in the top of the second with a solo homer to right.
The Wolverines pushed back with four runs in the bottom of the second, however, to go up 5-1.
Adam Paganelli got one back for the Nighthawks in the top of the fourth with a solo home run, but UVU added five more in the bottom of the inning to take a 10-2 lead.
NNU fought back with a two-out rally in the top of the fifth, scoring five runs on two swings with
Trevor Tishenkel recording a two-run single and Pahukoa a three-run bomb for his second homer of the day.
Utah Valley's bats did not let up, though, as the Wolverines slugged their way to the 22-7 victory.
Pahukoa was a bright spot in NNU's lineup, going 3-4 with the two homers and four RBIs.
Casey Wayne also added a pair of hits, including a double.
Nick Bateman got the start for the Nighthawks, making his second appearance of the season.
Jakob Rochelle,
Jaxon Henderson,
Connor Harrison,
Josh Bishopp,
Josh Brown, and
Blake Hammond all threw in relief. Henderson was the most effective, going 1 2/3 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed.
Next Up
NNU has their bye week from GNAC play this weekend before returning to Elmore W. Vail Field for a four-game set with Montana State Billings on April 19 and 20.
