CALDWELL, Idaho – College of Idaho could not overcome a 6-0 Northwest Nazarene lead, as the Nighthawks held off a late inning Coyote rally, as the visitors clamed a 6-3 victory at Wolfe Field.
The Division II squad will host Games 3 and 4 tomorrow at Vail Field in Nampa, with first pitch at 11 a.m.
NNU (4-6) broke through in the second on a Duke Pahukoa RBI double and added to the lead with a 3-run third, keyed by a Parker Price 2-run single.
The visitors would plate single runs in the fifth and sixth inning, with Pahukoa's RBI triple giving NNU the 6-0 lead.
The Yotes (9-5) answered in the last of the sixth, as
Ben Gaff reached on an infield single and scored on a long 2-run homer from
Skyler Sadora. C of I cut the margin to 6-3 in the eighth on a 2-out
Alex McFarland-Smith RBI single, but NNU closer Max Holtzclaw slammed the door by striking out the side in the ninth.
Spencer Schwehr got the win for NNU, limiting C of I to four hits and two runs in six innings. Haden Keller went 3-for-4 in the victory.
Connor Root took his first loss for the Yotes, allowing six runs on 10 hits in six innings of work. The C of I bullpen tossed three shutout innings, including
Kyle McPeak, who retired all four men he faced. Both McFarland-Smith and
Jonah Hultberg had two hits for the Coyotes – with Hultberg recording his league-best third triple of the season.
