NAMPA, Idaho – With the regular season down to its final games, Saint Martin's traveled to Northwest Nazarene for a critical four-game series. The Nighthawks quickly made work of the Saints in the opening game, 7-0, but the Saints bounced back with a record setting performance in their 11-1 win to salvage a split.
Clubbing five home runs, which tied the single game school record, the Saints provided plenty of run support for
Tanner Inouye. Inouye went five strong innings, and did not allow his first hit until the fifth inning.
Dakota Hill supplied two home runs in the game, becoming only the 11th Saint in program history with two or more home runs in a game.
Micah McNicoll,
Ryne Oshiro and
Aaron Renaud all jumped in the action with home runs of their own.
The Nighthawks jumped all over Saints' senior
Aaron Shoup from the get-go. A lead-off triple and single made it 1-0 in a matter of minutes. Seven batters and four runs later the Saints found themselves found themselves trailing 5-0 after one.
Northwest Nazarene answered for another in the third with an RBI single and added their final run of the game in the fifth, scoring from third on a wild pitch by Shoup.
The offense remained silent the whole game for the Saints with their four hits coming scattered throughout the day.
Oshiro found the only true success at the plate for the Saints, going 2-4 on the day. He began the ninth with his second hit of the day, stole second but was stranded there to end game one.
Oshiro's day wasn't over after game one. He turned around and lead off game two with a home run to left-center giving the Saints their first run of the day.
Hill led off the second inning with the same fate, a solo shot to center-field making it 2-0 Saint Martin's. Oshiro later brought home
Bryant Nakagawa after he was hit by a pitch, followed by another error that allowed a third run to score in the frame.
This set the stage for Renaud, who stepped up and sent a ball out to left-center field for a two-run home run, extending the lead to 6-0.
Hill wasn't done after his first solo home run. In his second at-bat, he hit another towering shot to dead center to make it a 7-0 game. Following the home run,
Cody Chavis reached base, and was brought around by a McNicoll triple. Oshiro capped off the three run inning with a RBI double.
McNicoll drove home the final nail in the coffin, hit the record tying fifth home run of the game in the fifth inning. The two run shot extended the Saints' lead to 11-0.
The Nighthawks answered in the home half of the fifth, grabbing not only a run, but their first hits of the game off of Inouye. Inouye ended up going five innings, allowing only two hits, one earned, walking two and striking out five, en route to his fourth victory of the season.
Garrison Ritter replaced Inouye to shut down the Nighthawks in his two innings to close the door in the second game.
The Saints and Nighthawks close out the series on Saturday, April 27, with first pitch scheduled for noon. Live stats and video can be found at smusaints.com.
