LACEY, Wash. – Timely hits and late inning heroics lifted the Saints to a split in the doubleheader with Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.
 
In the final two games of the four-game series with Northwest Nazarene (11-14, 4-4), the Saints (6-9, 1-3) managed to avoid the sweep by coming back multiple times; finally winning the game with a RBI single by Julia Lucas in the sixth inning.
 
In the first game, Northwest Nazarene's pitching controlled the game again. Limiting the Saints to only five hits throughout the game. The Saints had opportunities to score, getting runners in scoring position multiple innings; however the Nighthawks worked out of each jam.
 
NNU took the lead in the third inning with an RBI single, before two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth, broke open the score. NNU closed up the game with runs in the sixth and seventh inning, sealing the 7-0 victory.
 
Lauren Maley (2-6) picked up the loss after throwing the first three innings, allowing one run on five hits. Kim Nelson pitched one inning, giving up two runs, followed by Jessica O'Toole throwing the final three innings of relief.
 
In the back end of the doubleheader, the Nighthawks struck first, adding a run in the third inning on a RBI single. The Saints responded in the bottom half of the inning, when Tessani Dixon singled through the left side, driving home both Regan Byrd and Lindsay Miller.
 
NNU regained the lead in the fifth inning, when lead-off hitter Cassidy Fifield hit a three-run home run to left field. With NNU leading 4-2, the Saints once again answered right back. A bases loaded walk by Byrd and a sac-fly by Kim Nelson tied the game at 4-4. With two outs in the fifth, Dixon came through with a clutch double, scoring two runs and putting SMU on top 6-4.
 
Northwest Nazarene, in a seesaw game, took back the lead in the sixth inning, scoring three more runs, two on sac-flies and one on a RBI single. The Saints needed another rally, and they got one. Devyn Connolly tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with a sac-fly, before Julia Lucas delivered the eventual game winning hit. Lucas singled through the right side, scoring Taylor Wolf, and putting Saint Martin's on top for good at 8-7.
 
Nelson (4-3) earned the win today after throwing the final 1.2 innings in relief for SMU. Maley, O'Toole and Nelson once again combined to throw all seven innings.
 
"Game one we needed to be more aggressive at the plate," said head coach Jim Peterson. "make better contact to give us a better chance of producing runs. In the second game, we played much better and had serval timely hits and were able to find a way to win the game at the end."
 
The Saints travel to Oregon for their next four games, first heading to Western Oregon. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. in Monmouth, Oregon, with live stats available of the games on smusaints.com.