Tuesday, May 18, 2021

NAMPA, Idaho – It has been five years since Northwest Nazarene earned a share of its first-ever GNAC regular-season title and advanced to win its first GNAC Baseball Championships.

The Nighthawks will look to soar back to the top as they enter as the No. 1 seed in the 2021 GNAC Baseball Championships, which will be played on Thursday and Friday at their own Vail Baseball Field in Nampa, Idaho. The Nighthawks went 15-5 at home this season and will enjoy home-field advantage in the tournament.

Entering the GNAC Championships with a 29-7 overall record (21-3 GNAC), Northwest Nazarene claimed the top seed after winning its first outright GNAC regular-season championship. The Nighthawks closed conference play with 10 straight wins, sweeping back-to-back series against Montana State Billings and Saint Martin’s along the way.

Northwest Nazarene enters the tournament with a balanced roster. The Nighthawks own a .310 team batting average and are second in the conference with a 4.60 earned run average. The Nighthawks’ high-scoring offense leads the conference with 8.67 runs and 7.97 RBI per game.

Senior third baseman Shawn Grandmont is batting .346 this season with a .461 on-base percentage and a .631 slugging percentage. Grandmont is tied for the conference lead with 52 RBI to go with 45 hits and nine home runs. Freshman outfielder Grant Kerry batted .376 in the regular season and is tied for second with teammate Ryan Dearing with 50 hits. Kerry hit 11 homers and drove in 45 runs. A junior outfielder, Dearing enters the tournament with a team-leading .379 batting average from the leadoff spot and leads the conference with 45 runs scored.

Freshman Kyle Ethridge is 5-1 on the season and earned GNAC Pitcher of the Week honors three times. He enters the GNAC Championships with a 4.24 earned run average and is tied for first in the conference with 67 strikeouts. Sophomore Shane Martin owns a 4-1 record and is fifth with a 3.89 ERA while junior Max Holtzclaw is first with five saves in 15 appearances.

Due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19, Western Oregon will not participate in the GNAC Baseball Championships. Central Washington moved up to the No. 2 seed and will play Northwest Nazarene in a best-of-three series. The two teams met on March 19-20 in Nampa with NNU taking three of four games from CWU. Their second series that was scheduled for April 23-24 was canceled due to health and safety protocols.

Central Washington returns to the tournament for the first time since 2018 with a 16-12 overall record (14-10 GNAC). The Wildcats won five of their last eight games after not playing for over three weeks in the midst of the season due to health and safety protocols and a bye week. They are second in the conference in both batting average (.320) and on-base percentage (.417).

Senior outfielder Justin Hampson and sophomore outfielder Zach Berryman own the conference’s top two batting averages. Hampson leads the GNAC with a .465 batting average and a .542 on-base percentage and is second with a .746 slugging percentage. Berryman is second in both batting average (.422) and on-base percentage (.535) to go with 43 hits and 38 runs scored. Junior third baseman Mitch Lesmeister enters with a .353 batting average and is tenth with 31 RBI.

Freshman Reid Rasmussen is 5-2 on the season, allowing 12 earned runs on 26 hits with 24 strikeouts in 31.2 innings of work. He is third in the conference in both ERA (3.41) and opposing batting average (.224). Senior Dillon Larsen is tied for first with Ethridge with 67 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He owns a 5.90 ERA and is second with a .219 opposing batting average.

The GNAC Baseball Championships begin on Thursday with the top-seeded Nighthawks and No. 2-seeded Wildcats squaring off at 1 p.m. First pitch for Friday’s championship game is scheduled for noon with the third game (if necessary) starting 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two. The winner will receive the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships.

To protect the health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and support staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, spectators will not be allowed at this year’s GNAC Baseball Championships. Live video and stats links can be found at GNACSports.com.