BILLINGS, Mont. – Taking both ends of a doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Dehler Park, visiting Northwest Nazarene University beat the Montana State University Billings baseball team twice in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.
 
The first-place Nighthawks increased their lead at the top of the GNAC standings, improving to 21-5 overall and 15-3 in league play with Friday's wins. MSUB meanwhile slipped to 5-21 overall and is now 5-13 in conference play to stay in fourth place.
 
Andrew Schleusner and Joey Castelli each homered for MSUB in Game 2, on an otherwise quiet day for the Yellowjacket lineup as it managed just 12 hits in the doubleheader.
 
 
 
Game 1 – Northwest Nazarene 6, MSU Billings 2
 
Kyle Ethridge was stellar in his start for the Nighthawks, allowing just three hits while striking out 10 and walking none and throwing 113 pitches in his seven innings of work. Both runs Ethridge allowed were unearned, as the GNAC leader in strikeouts reached double figures for the third time this season in his deepest outing of the spring.
 
The lefty's performance overshadowed a quality start from Logan Siblerud, who gave up three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in six strong innings of work. Siblerud had six strikeouts through the first two frames of the day, as he fanned the side in the first and worked out of a jam in the second to strand a pair of runners.
 
MSUB took the lead in the bottom of the second, when Schleusner led off with a double and came around to score on NNU's first fielding miscue of the day.
 
The Nighthawks immediately wrestled command back with a three-run third inning, the lone dip in performance from Siblerud on an otherwise stellar day. Ryan Dearing drove in the first run with a base hit to center, before a wild pitch and a base hit by Ben Johnson made it a 3-2 ballgame.
 
Ethridge responded by retiring seven of the next eight hitters, before NNU's second error of the game put a runner on base with one out in the fifth. Will Riley delivered an RBI ground out to pull the 'Jackets within one at 3-2 after five innings of play.
 
Colton Moore atoned for his fielding error in the second inning, hitting a two-run home run to right field to provide NNU with a cushion in the top of the seventh inning. An ensuing wild pitch allowed Shawn Grandmont to cross the plate and proved to be the final run of the game for the Nighthawks.
 
Shane Martin allowed just two baserunners over the final two innings of the game, closing out the victory while striking out one and throwing 31 pitches.
 
Game 2 – Northwest Nazarene 11, MSU Billings 5 (7 Innings)
 
The Nighthawks overcame a 3-0 deficit after the first inning, rallying to score 11 of the next 12 runs en route to the doubleheader sweep.
 
Schleusner delivered a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to highlight a three-run frame, but NNU starter Sasha Jabusch settled in after that and pitched his way to the victory. The left-hander allowed four runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in six innings of work. Haden Keller tossed the final frame, giving up one run on one hit to finish off the win for NNU.
 
Senior Blake Tritch made his first-ever start in a Yellowjacket uniform, allowing three runs – one earned – on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 3 2/3 innings of work. Tyler Elliott and Diego Hernandez combined to finish the game on the hill for the Yellowjackets.
 
NNU's first big inning of the game came in the third, when Ryan Dearing, Moore, and Grandmont each had an RBI-hit to even the score at 3-3. The top of the fifth proved to be the decisive frame, when Alex Salsman crushed a three-run home run to left field that gave the Nighthawks a 7-3 advantage that they never surrendered.
 
Castelli made his first collegiate hit count, as he drilled a home run towards the scoreboard in right field in the fifth. But the Nighthawks added two more in the sixth and two in the seventh to solidify their sixth straight win over the 'Jackets.
 
THE BUZZ: Siblerud was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…NNU is now 6-0 against MSUB this season.
 
NEXT UP: The series concludes on Saturday with a noon first pitch scheduled at Dehler Park. Live video for the doubleheader will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here.