NAMPA, Idaho – Western Oregon University's baseball team earned a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) double header split with Northwest Nazarene University dropping the first game by a score of 7-5 before coming back in the finale with a pair of unanswered runs and a strong pitching performance by senior Jesse Pratt Friday at Elmore Vail Field.

Despite the strong pitching performance by Pratt, Western Oregon (14-15, 10-3 GNAC) was led offensively by senior Matt Taylor with a combined 4-for-8 performance that included a run scored and one run batted in. Senior Jacob Whisler, junior Nathan Etheridge, and junior Cody Poznanski also tallied multiple hits on the afternoon with Etheridge and Poznanski collecting three hits each to go along with Whisler's 2-for-6 showing offensively.

In Friday's opener, junior Darrien Moran went the opening 4.0 innings allowing seven earned runs on eight hits with a game-high tying four strikeouts before turning the ball over to the relief duo of freshman Brady Miller and senior Christian Morrison. Pratt would take the ball to start Game #2, as he went the opening 6.0 innings allowing one earned run on four hits with a team-high five strikeouts before junior Jacob Storedahl came in and got the final three outs en route to registering his second save of the season.

Northwest Nazarene (16-16, 5-9 GNAC) would get a combined five hits from Tyler Davis that included a 4-for-5 performance in Game #1 with a pair of home runs and four RBI, while Josh Hatfield added four hits on the afternoon with a home run in the opener.

GAME #1 — NORTHWEST NAZARENE 7, WESTERN OREGON 5

Friday's opener would begin with Western Oregon scoring the first run in its initial at-bat on a sacrifice fly in foul territory by senior Tim Rausch that scored fellow senior Marcus Hinkle after he led off the game by reaching on a NNU fielding error.

Northwest Nazarene would answer back with five unanswered runs in the first and second innings, as Davis put the Crusaders on the board and in front with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning before Hatfield connected on a three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning en route to NNU grabbing a 5-1 lead.

Western Oregon would get within three runs (5-2) in the top of the third inning when Poznanski led off with a double to left center before moving to third on a deep fly ball by Whisler and coming home on a groundout by Hinkle.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Davis would connect on his second home run of the game via a two-run blast over the left field fence that gave Northwest Nazarene a 7-2 lead after five innings of play.

Western Oregon would get within two runs (7-5) in the top of the sixth inning on run-scoring hits by Etheridge and junior Cody Sullivan along with a RBI groundout by senior Garret Harpole.

Unfortunately that would be as close as the Wolves would get, as Northwest Nazarene's pitching would hold Western Oregon without a hit over the final three innings en route to earning the 7-5 victory in the series opener.

Taylor and Poznanski led Western Oregon's offense with two hits each, while Etheridge, Sullivan, and Whisler collected the Wolves' other hits in Game #1.

Davis was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBI for NNU, while Hatfield tallied three hits to go along with three runs scored and three RBI. Colben McGuire went the opening 6.0 innings for Northwest Nazarene, as he allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits to go along with a game-high tying four strikeouts. McGuire would hand the ball over to a trio of relievers – Colton Loomis, Andrew Groves, and Tyler Marsh – for the final three innings, as each man out of NNU's bullpen pitched an inning with Marsh earning his second save of the season.

GAME #2 — WESTERN OREGON 2, NORTHWEST NAZARENE 1

Friday's finale would see Western Oregon score in the top of the first inning on a RBI single by Taylor that allowed junior Brenden Shaffer to score from third following his one-out double before he advanced to third on a NNU error.

Neither team would score again until the top of the seventh inning, as Pratt held Northwest Nazarene without a hit until the bottom of the fifth inning before the Crusaders collected their second hit of the game one inning later.

Western Oregon added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning when Shaffer reached on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded that allowed Poznanski to score from third following his one-out single through the left side two batters earlier, as the Wolves took a 2-0 lead into NNU's final at-bat.

Northwest Nazarene would put runners on the corners to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning before Western Oregon made a pitching change. Following the break in action, NNU's Tim Jones would bring home Tucker Campbell to pull the Crusaders within a single run. After a Hatfield single moved Jones to second, WOU's Storedahl would get the game's final out via a fly ball that helped the Wolves earn the hard-fought 2-1 victory.

Taylor and Etheridge led WOU's offense with two hits each, while Shaffer, Poznanski, and Whisler tallied the Wolves' other three hits.

Five different NNU players tallied hits against Pratt and Storedahl, while Jake Reppert went the distance for Northwest Nazarene allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits with a game-high six strikeouts.

The same two teams will close out this weekend's four-game GNAC series tomorrow – Saturday, March 28 – with an afternoon double header beginning at 1 p.m. (MT) at Elmore Vail Field in Nampa, Idaho.