By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Series sweeps are hard to come by in Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball, but reigning champion Northwest Nazarene showed no signs of rust on the opening weekend of conference play doing just that.
 
The Nighthawks (11-7, 4-0 GNAC) took all four games from Western Oregon (6-10, 0-4) over the weekend, as their quest to defend their two consecutive GNAC regular-season titles got off on the right foot. NNU was selected as the Athletic Solutions GNAC Team of the Week on Monday.
 
Putting on a show offensively, NNU plated 49 runs in the series, scored at least 11 in each game and averaged 12.25 runs per game. “Our offense really showed up this weekend,” said NNU head coach Joe Schaefer. “The guys really bought into a plan and stuck with it all series. There were some very good individual efforts from guys like Coleman Parry, Carter Walsh and Liam Herrera, but the entire lineup came up with big at-bats when we needed them.”
 
Headlining the outburst was GNAC Player of the Week Parry, who slugged 1.125 with three doubles, two home runs and a team-leading eight RBIs in the series. Parry went 9-for-16 (.563) and scored six times to help fuel the offense. Herrera was close behind, also homering twice and driving in seven runs. Herrerra went 5-for-10 and reached base at a clip of .625 to lead the team.
 
Adrian Arechiga and Parker Sobiesiak each homered and drove in six runs, while Kaleb Karpstein delivered a long ball and had five RBIs. Walsh matched Parry with a team-leading three doubles and scored a team-high eight runs while hitting .389 (7-for-18) in the series. Not only were the Nighthawks nearly unstoppable in the batter’s box, but they stole eight bases in nine attempts and committed zero errors defensively in 128 total chances for a perfect 1.000 team fielding percentage.
 
The lone blemish on the weekend was in the pitching department in Game 1, but the Nighthawks still found a way to grind out a 14-13 triumph. After that the NNU staff was exceptional, allowing no more than two runs in a game for the rest of the series. Seven different relievers each logged at least one inning and zero earned runs allowed, headlined by 3 1/3 scoreless frames thrown by Hayden Crews. Corbin Talley had the best start of the weekend, limiting WOU to two runs on two hits with eight strikeouts against four walks in 4 2/3 innings pitched. Wade Duncan picked up the 16th save of his career, moving him into sole possession of fifth on the GNAC all-time list in that department.
 
“Outside of game one, our pitching staff really responded by doing a great job over the final three games of the series,” Schaefer said. “I am really proud of the team and their effort last weekend.”
 
Arechiga was the hero in the back-and-forth series opener, delivering a go-ahead, two-run double in the bottom of the eighth that proved to be the game-winning hit. The Nighthawks had to overcome a 12-8 deficit after the top of the fifth inning, as the pitching staff rallied to hold WOU to just one run over the final four frames while the offense scored six times. Things were downhill for the Nighthawks after that, as they collected wins of 11-3, 11-2 and 13-2 to close out the series. When the NNU offense struck it did so in bursts, plating multiple runs in 15 of the 28 total innings (54%) in which it came to the plate in the series.
 
Schaefer is now in his eighth season leading the program and has produced success across the board during his tenure. He holds an overall record of 216-131 (.622) since taking over in the 2019 season, and his teams have gone 140-61 (.697) in conference games during that span. His 140 GNAC wins are fifth-most by any coach in conference history, and he was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year in both 2021 and 2024.
 
The Nighthawks will bid to become the second program in GNAC baseball history to win three consecutive GNAC regular-season titles, with all four of their crowns coming in the last five seasons dating back to 2021. NNU made history for the conference in 2025, advancing to the NCAA Division II College World Series after winning the GNAC regular-season, conference tournament and NCAA regional and super regional trophies. It was the second time NNU advanced to the Division II national finals, with the other appearance coming during the 2021 campaign.
 
Next up for the Nighthawks is another home series, albeit outside of conference play. Colorado State Pueblo (7-6) of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference heads to Nampa, Idaho for a four-game set kicking off on Thursday at 1 p.m. (Mountain) at Vail Field. NNU’s next GNAC series is scheduled for March 13-14 as they hit the road to take on Saint Martin’s (8-10, 0-0 GNAC).
 
GNAC Team of the Week presented by Athletic Solutions
Athletic Solutions was introduced as an official partner of the GNAC on Dec. 8, 2025 and it will sponsor the GNAC Team of the Week award. Athletic Solutions is a national leader in NIL fan engagement and e-commerce technology, collaborating with colleges and universities to bring NIL Locker Rooms to life. Its platform simplifies NIL opportunities, providing student-athletes with the tools and exposure needed to thrive in the evolving landscape of college athletics.