NAMPA, Idaho – In front of a raucous home crowd, Northwest Nazarene baseball continued their historic 2025 campaign on Saturday night as they knocked off four-seed Point Loma 3-2 to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals.
As the top seed in the West Region, the Nighthawks earn the privilege of hosting Super Regionals next weekend on Vail Field in Nampa. Three-seed Cal State Monterey Bay won the other regional pod in the West, so NNU will now play the Otters in a best-of-three series from May 22-24 with the winner going to the DII College World Series in Cary, North Carolina.
NNU improves to 42-14 in this historic season, while Point Loma's ends at 39-18 overall.
In Saturday's regional final, both teams were kept scoreless through the first two innings by NNU starter
Cole Calnon and Point Loma starter Colin Driscoll. Calnon worked another scoreless third, but the Nighthawks then broke the deadlock in the bottom of the frame as
Bryan Rojas drilled a solo homer to center field.
The Sea Lions did not get a baserunner until the top of the fifth, when Calnon allowed his first base hit, a single, with no outs. Nothing would come of it though, as Point Loma was kept off the scoreboard for another inning.
Calnon cruised through the sixth, but ran into a bit of trouble in the seventh. He managed to get to two outs with just one runner on first, but then a hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases. He was then relieved after 108 pitches by
Jonathan Zayas.
Two Point Loma runs would follow, as a wild pitch tied the game and the go-ahead run was brought home with a bases-loaded walk.
Wade Duncan then replaced Zayas, and worked out of a 3-0 count to get a pop out to shortstop to end the inning with the Sea Lions up 2-1.
NNU did not waste any time in getting those runs back, however.
Jason Bell led off the bottom of the seventh with a single,
Nin Burns II walked, and
Kaleb Karpstein delivered a run-scoring single to left-center to tie the game.
Casey Wayne then beat out an infield single to third base that allowed Burns to score from third to put the Nighthawks up 3-2.
Duncan remained in the game and retired the side in order in the eighth. In the ninth, the Sea Lions got a one-out single, but the NNU closer got the next batter to fly out to right field and then struck the final one out swinging to start the celebration.
Karpstein had three hits and an RBI, while
Carter Walsh and
Jake Mestas each had two. Calnon's final line was 6.2 innings with just two runs and four hits allowed while striking out three. Duncan was brilliant in relief to earn the win and improve to 5-1 on the year, allowing just one hit and striking out two in 2.1 innings of work. NNU had 11 hits in the game to Point Loma's five.
As mentioned, the Nighthawks will now rest up and prepare to host Cal State Monterey Bay for the Super Regional three-game series from Thursday to Saturday, May 22-24 at Vail Field in Nampa. NNU will be looking to exact some revenge, as it was the Otters who ended the Nighthawks season in the regional round at Monterey last year.
Notes
- The 42 wins this season ties a GNAC record with the 2005 Western Oregon squad
- NNU is now a perfect 13-0 this season when Cole Calnon starts on the mound
- Rojas' home run was his ninth this season, second behind Burns' 13, with the senior totaling three homers against Point Loma during the regional
- Nin Burns II scored one run in the game for his 66th of the year, drawing him within just one of the GNAC single-season record of 67
- Karpstein's three hits brought his team-leading batting average back up over .400 to .401 on the year
- First Team All-Region and All-PacWest designated hitter Jake Entrekin was held hitless in the game with three strikeouts
- The victory is just NNU's third against PLNU in Division II play and first in NCAA postseason play, improving to 3-12 against the Sea Lions
- Point Loma ended NNU's season in the 2022 regional in San Diego, with the Nighthawks returning the favor this year in Nampa
