IRVINE, Calif. – Northwest Nazarene softball split the second day of the Concordia Kickoff Classic, falling 5-2 to No. 23 Cal State San Marcos before defeating Chaminade 6-5.
The Nighthawks move to 3-1 after the opening weekend.
Game One – CSUSM 5, NNU 2
The Nighthawks struck first against the Cougars, as
Charlotte Forniss registered an RBI double that scored
Clarissa Moreno in the top of the first.
After staying off the board for the first two frames, San Marcos broke through for two runs in the third, one in the fourth, and two more in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead.
NNU got one back in the sixth on a fielder's choice RBI from
Emma Bumatay, but that was as close as the Nighthawks would come.
Riley McGee started in the circle for NNU and went 3.1 innings, allowing three runs, just one earned, while striking out two.
Miah Lusk threw 2.2 innings of relief, giving up two runs and notching two strikeouts.
Game Two – NNU 6, Chaminade 5
The Silverswords jumped out to an early lead with a two-run homer in the first inning, but the Nighthawks tied it back up at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the second.
Keana Bell drove in
Emma Bumatay with a triple, followed by Bell scoring on a fielder's choice off the bat of
Olivia Bailey.
Chaminade briefly took back the lead with a run in the top of the fourth, but NNU responded with four runs in the bottom half of the frame.
Jami Obringer started things with an RBI single, followed by a two-run triple from Bailey. Bailey then scored the fourth run of the inning on a sacrifice fly from
Emma Mulligan to bring the lead to 6-3.
The Silverswords cut the deficit to 6-5 with two runs in the sixth, but
Miah Lusk retired the side in order in the seventh to preserve the win for the Nighthawks.
Lusk allowed just one hit in 1.2 innings of work to earn the save. Following the weekend, Lusk was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts.
Mia Traylor went 3.1 innings in the start, followed by two innings from
Victoria Frias, who was credited with the win.
Bailey was 2-3 with a run scored and three RBI, while
Ava Clark had three hits and Bell notched two along with scoring twice.
Next Up
The Nighthawks stay in southern California, taking on Biola in a doubleheader on Monday, Feb. 3, with first pitch of game one set for 3:00 p.m. Pacific in La Mirada.
