ELLENSBURG, Wash.—Jumping out to early leads in both ends of the doubleheader, Northwest Nazarene swept Western Oregon, 9-6 and 8-7, in GNAC baseball action on Saturday.
Western Oregon (12-6, 10-6 GNAC) will return home with a 10-game home stand on the docket. The Wolves will step out of conference play to host NAIA power Lewis-Clark State on Wednesday, March 27. WOU will then entertain Saint Martin's University for a four-game series in Monmouth on April 5-6.
With the wins, Northwest Nazarene (12-12, 8-8 GNAC) handed WOU its first GNAC single-day sweep since 2017.
Game 1: NNU 9, WOU 6
After Western Oregon knotted the game at 4-4 in the 5th frame, the Nighthawks broke the game open with a four-run 6th.
The game was marred by nine total errors though NNU out hit the Wolves 13-to-10.
Collin Runge and
Patrick Chung, WOU's first two batters in the lineup, combined for four hits with Chung connecting on a pair of doubles.
Griffey Halle led the Wolves at the plate by going 2-for-5 with four RBIs. Halle belted a 2-run double in the 5th and a 2-run homer in the 7th.
Game 2: NNU 8, WOU 7
Ambushing the Wolves with an 8-0 lead through three innings, NNU completed the Sunday sweep by holding on for an 8-7 win in the final game of the series in Nampa.
The Wolves scored three runs in the 4th with
Jared McDonald and
Derek Maiben each notching solo home runs.
Griffey Halle provided the third run of the stanza by way of a balk.
Down to their final three outs, the Wolves rallied in the 7th with two more balls leaving the yard. After a
Connor McCord double, McDonald launched another offering over the fence for a 2-run roundtripper. Halle followed with a solo shot to left to make it a one-run contest.
With one out on the board,
Jacob Maiben kept the rally alive with a single to center field. The freshman immediately made a dash to second with a stolen base to place the tying run in scoring position.
Joshua McIntyre drew a walk for a second WOU runner on the paths, but NNU reliever Parker Price put an end to the comeback hopes by inducing a grounder to third where the Nighthawks turned a 5-4-3 game-ending double play.
Both teams finished with 12 hits in the contest.
Grant Fisher tossed four quality innings in relief for WOU. Fisher struck out seven batters and allowed one run on four hits.
