LACEY, Wash. – The arms of nationally ranked Northwest Nazarene proved to be too much in the opening doubleheader for the Saints as SMU fell 6-to-2, and 3-0 on Friday.
 
Reid Little supplied the lone run support for the Saints (4-8, 1-5 GNAC) on the day with his two RBI double down the left field line in the fifth inning of game one. No. 15 Northwest Nazarene (15-3, 9-1 GNAC) scored all six of their runs in the opener in the first three innings but were quiet after the third.
 
Finnley Butler came into the ballgame as relief in the fourth inning, and tossed four shutout innings with four strikeouts to give the Saints a chance at a comeback. Derek Alumbaugh was called in for the final two scoreless innings, and the righty struck out three, giving the Saints' 10 strikeouts on the day.
 
However, outside of Little's RBIs, the Saints were unable to muster any other offense and dropped the ballgame.
 
In the second game, one pitch made the ultimate difference. Tanner Inouye pitched another six innings, striking out eight, but allowed a three run home run in the third inning. The home run was the lone offense for either side. The Saints had opportunities to build some offense, getting runners in five of the seven innings.
 
The Saints and the Nighthawks close out the series tomorrow, Saturday, at noon. Live stats and streaming will be available on smusaints.com.