Thursday, May 7, 2015

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Northwest Nazarene Crusaders have reached their first-ever conference title game after defeating top-seeded Montana State Billings 8-6 in the GNAC Championships Thursday at Dehler Park in Billings, Mont.

The Crusaders will await the winner of tonight’s game against MSUB and WOU, the Wolves losing to the Crusaders earlier in the day. The winner would have to beat NNU twice Friday in order to claim the championship in the double-elimination tournament.

NNU’s Tucker Campbell scored three runs and drove in two more in the second game of the day. Catcher Andrew Helmstadter also drove in three runs on three hits against the Yellowjackets.

NNU scored first as Helmstadter singled through the right side scoring Tyler Davis who doubled a few pitches earlier.

MSUB would answer with one run of its own as Kevin Toon singled in Brody Miller who doubled in his at-bat.

With the score tied 1-1 in the second, the Crusaders put three more runs on the board as MSUB walked in a run and Helmstadter drove in two runs with a single up the middle. 

The Yellowjackets answered in the bottom half of the inning as Myles Berkram singled, scoring two to make the game 4-3 in the second.

MSUB and NNU would trade a pair of runs in the fourth inning with a fielders choice and an RBI-single. The Yellowjackets would knot the game in the bottom half of the fifth with a sacrifice fly.

In the top of the sixth, NNU shortstop Tucker Campbell launched a two-run home run to left, putting the Crusaders up 7-5. NNU would take this score into the eighth before MSUB scored on a fielder’s choice. 

NNU's Andrew Groves and Colton Loomis allowed just one baserunner in the ninth to seasl the victory for NNU.

The first of potentially two championship games will begin Friday at 12 p.m. MST.