ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Entering the GNAC Championships as one of the hottest teams in all of Division II baseball, Northwest Nazarene looks to continue their incredible season with a second-straight tournament title.
 
The top-seeded Nighthawks (38-12) will play two games on Thursday, May 8 as part of the opening round robin (full bracket explained below). NNU takes on 3-seed Central Washington at 1:00 p.m. Pacific and 2-seed Montana State Billings after that at 4:00 p.m. Pacific. The champion will then be decided on Friday, May 9. The tournament is set to be played at the CWU Baseball Field in Ellensburg.
 
Despite the GNAC losing its automatic bid to the NCAA Regional this year, the Nighthawks still find themselves as essentially a lock for the NCAA postseason, as they were ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA regional rankings that came out earlier this afternoon. The top six will qualify for the regional when selections are announced on the evening of Sunday, May 11.

 
Fan Information
 
Tournament Central Page: Click Here
Tickets: Tickets will be available for purchase online here.
Webcast: A live webcast of all GNAC Championships games will be available at GNAC.tv.
Live Stats: Click Here
 
Parking: Thursday and Friday's games will occur during Campus Parking Enforcement hours of operation. Due to that, patrons will need a guest parking pass if they don't already have a CWU pass in order to park in the paved parking lots closest to the Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field (Lots V-18 and V-22). The dirt parking lots by the softball fields are free to park (Lots X-22 and X-23) as well as free parking along East 18th Avenue.
 
To purchase a daily guest pass click HERE
Parking Map: https://wildcatsports.com/documents/2024/2/21/7.13.2023-parking-map-004.pdf
 
 
The Bracket/Schedule
 
Due to the nature of having an odd number of teams in a double-elimination tournament, the bracket scenarios are unique and work as follows, with two possible scenarios on Friday after each team plays each other on Thursday.
 
Thursday, May 8
Game 1: 10 a.m. (Pacific) - No. 2 Seed Montana State Billings vs. No. 3 Seed Central Washington
Game 2: 1 p.m. (Pacific) - No. 1 Seed Northwest Nazarene vs. No. 3 Seed Central Washington
Game 3: 4 p.m. (Pacific) - No. 1 Seed Northwest Nazarene vs. No. 2 Seed Montana State Billings
 
Friday, May 9 (If Three Teams Remain Tied After Day 1)
Game 4: Noon (Pacific) - No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed
Game 5: 3 p.m. (Pacific) - No. 1 Seed vs. Winner Game 4
 
Friday, May 9 (If Two Teams Remain After Day 1)
Game 4: Noon (Pacific) - 2-0 Team vs. 1-1 Team
Game 5: 3 p.m. (Pacific) - Same Teams As Game 4 (If Necessary), 30 Minutes Following Game 4
 
 
NNU at the GNAC Tournament
This is NNU's ninth appearance in the 12-year history of the GNAC Baseball Championships tournament, and sixth in a row. NNU has won three tournament titles, coming in 2016, 2021, and 2024. The Nighthawks have also made it to championship Saturday in each of the last four seasons.
 
 
NNU Team Notes

• NNU is entering the GNAC Championships with a 38-12 regular season record and 27-5 mark in GNAC play. Both the 38 overall wins and 27 conference wins are new program records (previous overall high of 36 and GNAC high of 23 were achieved last season).
• NNU won the GNAC Regular Season Championship for the second-straight season and the fourth time in the last five years. A GNAC Tournament title would be the second in a row and third in the last five years.
• The Nighthawks were ranked No. 1 in the West Region in the latest rankings released by the NCAA selection committee on May 7. If NNU remains in the top two when the official selections are announced on May 11, they will earn the opportunity to host an opening pod of the NCAA Regional. If the Nighthawks hold on to the No. 1 spot, it will be the first No. 1 regional seed for the program and just the second time in Northwest Nazarene's Division II history that a team has been the top seed at regionals, joining the 2014 volleyball squad.
• In the latest national rankings, NNU was ranked No. 14 by the NCBWA, No. 18 by D2baseball.com, and No. 21 by the ABCA.
• NNU has qualified for NCAA Regionals three times, all in the last four seasons. The farthest run came in 2021 when the Nighthawks reached the DII National Championships in Cary, with current assistant coaches Grant Kerry and Kyle Ethridge leading the way.
• Head Coach Joe Schaefer has been a catalyst for NNU's rise to one of the top programs in the West Region, as he enters the GNAC tournament with a 197-120-1 (.621) overall record in his seventh season at the helm.
• The Nighthawks had a 13-game win streak from March 8 to April 11, and now enter the postseason on another 8-game win streak that started on April 18. As a result, NNU is one of the hottest teams in Division II baseball with a 23-2 record in their last 25 games.
• The Nighthawks did not lose a GNAC series this season, with perfect 8-0 records against Central Washington and Saint Martin's, a 7-1 mark against Western Oregon, and a 4-4 record against Montana State Billings.
• NNU only lost one series this year, falling in two of three games from Feb. 7-8 at Chico State, a Wildcat team that was third in the most recent NCAA Regional Rankings
• In the regular season, NNU went 16-4 at home this year and 22-8 on the road.
• The Nighthawks average 7.74 runs per game and allow 4.28 runs per game.
• The pitching staff is 13^th nationally with a 4.02 ERA, fourth with a 2.98 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and fourth with 2.88 walks allowed per nine innings.
• Offensively, NNU is 32nd in the country with a .321 batting average, 28th with 108 doubles, and 30th with 536 hits. 
• The Nighthawks are 29-3 when they score six or more runs and 26-2 when they hold opponents to less than six runs.
• NNU is 33-1 when leading after six innings, 18-1 when leading after seven innings, and 17-0 when leading after eight innings this season.
• When the Nighthawks hit at least one home run, they are 21-2 on the year.
• NNU is 30-3 when they out-hit their opponent this season.
• NNU has scored eight or more runs 23 times this year and is 22-1 in those games.

 
 
NNU Player Notes
 

• Cole Calnon is the third Nighthawk to earn GNAC Pitcher of the Year honors, all coming in consecutive seasons as he joins Ty Pohlmann in 2023 and Kyle Ethridge in 2024. This is also his second First Team All-GNAC honor in his second season in Nampa. After only throwing 24 innings last season, the senior has broken out to be one of the best pitchers in all of Division II this season. Entering the GNAC Championships, he has a 9-0 record and is first in the conference in ERA at 1.73, third in opposing batting average at .244, tied for first in innings pitched at 76.0, fifth in strikeouts with 57, and tied for first in wins. He is also tied for the national lead with eight complete games and ranked fifth in DII in ERA and 18th in the nation with just 1.42 walks allowed per nine innings. At the plate, Calnon is also hitting .304 and ranks 10th in the GNAC with 36 runs scored, tied for sixth with 24 walks, and tied for third with 15 stolen bases.
• Ernesto Lugo-Canchola is the fourth NNU baseball player to be named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. The Utah transfer immediately established himself as a top pitcher in both the GNAC and across all of Division II, entering this weekend with a 9-0 record and ranked second in the GNAC with a 2.27 ERA, second with a .183 opposing batting average, fifth with 67.1 innings pitched, first with 80 strikeouts, and tied for first in wins. At the national level, he is currently sixth with just 5.75 hits allowed per nine innings, 21st in ERA, 25th with a 1.07 WHIP, and 38th with 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
• Nin Burns II has made an immediate impact in his first season in Nampa after transferring from Texas Southern, earning First Team All-GNAC and being a significant part of the Player of the Year discussion. The right fielder and leadoff hitter is currently first in the GNAC with 59 runs scored (NNU single-season record), second with 11 home runs, second with 67 hits, second with a .622 slugging percentage, third with a .454 on-base percentage, third with 47 RBIs, tied for third with 15 steals, tied for fourth with 26 walks, fifth with a .356 batting average, and tied for sixth with 13 doubles. Burns also enters the GNAC Championships on an incredible 28-game reached base streak.
• Kaleb Karpstein earned First Team All-GNAC honors at first base. The junior leads the conference with a .406 batting average and a .506 on-base percentage, and ranks second with a 1.092 OPS, fourth with a .586 slugging percentage, tied for eighth with 36 RBIs, ninth with 37 runs scored, and tied for ninth with 20 walks.
• Bryan Rojas has been named All-GNAC for the second-straight season, joining a Second Team honor in 2024. The senior third baseman is currently second in the GNAC with 17 doubles, fourth with a .371 batting average, fifth with a .583 slugging percentage, fifth with 65 hits, tied for fifth with six home runs, seventh with 42 runs scored, and seventh with 37 RBIs.
• Cris Enriquez earned First Team All-GNAC honors at designated hitter in his first season at NNU after transferring from Tarleton State. He is currently fifth in the GNAC with 42 RBIs and tied for sixth with 24 walks, while also registering 11 doubles and four home runs.
• Gavin Brubaker picked up his second All-GNAC honor in his second season, joining an Honorable Mention award last year. In GNAC rankings, the second baseman is currently tied for the lead with four triples, sixth with 12 stolen bases, and eighth with 39 runs scored. The sophomore is also hitting .335 with seven doubles, four home runs, and 29 RBIs.
• Adrian Arechiga earned All-Conference honors in his first season on the field for the Nighthawks. The center fielder leads the GNAC with 24 stolen bases and tied for first with four triples, while also ranking third with 16 doubles, fourth with 45 RBIs, tied for fifth with 43 runs scored, and eighth with 59 hits. He is also one of just two NNU players to appear in all 50 games this season, starting every one of them.
• After a First Team All-GNAC honor last year, Wade Duncan picked up his second-straight All-GNAC selection this season. He is tied for second in the GNAC with three saves this year while registering a 2.28 ERA, 4-1 record, 31 strikeouts to just 3 walks, and a .218 opposing batting average across 23.2 innings in relief.
• Jonathan Zayas earned his second All-GNAC nod of his career this year, also being named Honorable Mention in 2023. Across 28.2 innings out of the bullpen for the Nighthawks, he has a 2.51 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, .241 opposing batting average, and an incredible ratio of 34 strikeouts to just four walks.
• Landen Parker is another first-time All-GNAC pick in his first season at NNU with an Honorable Mention honor. After starting the season in the bullpen, he transitioned to a starter role midway through the season and has recorded six starts and 46.2 innings pitched. He is tied for eighth in the GNAC with 44 strikeouts and has a 3.47 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and two saves.
• Carter Walsh earned his second-straight All-GNAC honor in his second season in Nampa with Honorable Mention honors, also receiving Second Team honors in 2024. The sophomore has recorded 36 runs scored, five doubles, three triples, three home runs, 18 RBIs, 18 walks, and 11 stolen bases.
• Jason Bell earned an All-GNAC nod at catcher for the first time in his senior campaign at NNU. Sharing catcher responsibilities, he still managed to make an impact in the lineup with a .250 batting average, five doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs, and nine walks. He has also caught six runners stealing this year.
• Drew Deal has appeared behind the plate for the rest of NNU's games this year, and enters the weekend with a .279 batting average, four doubles, eight RBIs, and nine walks.
• In limited action, Casey Wayne has hit .367 with 16 RBIs in 49 at-bats, while Carson Burns has hit .340 with nine RBIs in 53 at-bats
• Joseph Ihli (3.95 ERA, 14 K, 1 BB), Josh Bishopp (4.74 ERA, 23 K, 7 BB), Adam Brooks (4.85 ERA, 12 K, 3 BB), and Dillon Eden (5.65 ERA, 16 K, 8 BB) have been the other Nighthawks with at least nine appearances on the mound this season.