NNU baseball returning to form in 2024

A season removed from missing out on the NCAA Division II tournament, Northwest Nazarene is poised to return to the big stage.

Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the Nighthawks sit atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 20-8 record, ahead of Western Oregon in second at 18-10. They’ve both clinched spots in the GNAC Championships next weekend.

This weekend, the Nighthawks host Central Washington for a four-game series. In their series earlier this season at the end of March, Northwest Nazarene took three of four games from the Wildcats.

It’s been a bounce-back campaign for the Nighthawks after finishing 24-29 last season. Northwest Nazarene reached the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time in school history in 2021 and again in 2022, setting a new standard for Nighthawk baseball. Those standards fell off a bit last season, ending their season in the GNAC Championships.

This season, they’re back to their old ways with a 30-11-1 record entering May.

“We tried hard this year to get back to where we were the last few years in terms of our culture … in addition to that, from a recruiting standpoint, we lost athleticism last year,” Northwest Nazarene head coach Joe Schaefer said. “We just weren’t as athletic as we were in previous years. We tried hard to bring in guys that are quicker and can play multiple positions.”

There’s been some new contributors to the lineup with three of the top five run scorers this season in their first year in Nampa.

Two of them are freshmen Carter Walsh and Gavin Brubaker. They’ve taken no time adjusting to the college game. Brubaker leads Northwest Nazarene with a .354 batting average and has carved out a role as an everyday player at second base. Walsh, a Timberline High alum, has started every game this season and leads the team in steals with 23, batting .287.

“Anytime a freshman has a really good season it surprises me, no matter how talented they are,” Schaefer said. “It’s just a big jump from high school kid to compete with 20- to 24-year-old kids...We knew they would steal bases when we recruited them. We knew they were quick. But being able to produce the way they have offensively has been a surprise.”

Northwest Nazarene has been as aggressive as anyone on the base paths. They lead the GNAC by a wide margin in both stolen bases and attempts. They have 90 stolen bags this season — Saint Martin’s is the next-highest team with 33.

“We made an effort to get faster and quicker this year,” Schaefer said. “Now you have four new guys in the lineup that all have double-digit stolen bases. In our game, every 90 feet you can get makes a big difference in being able to score runs. Stealing bases is an easy way to get them.”

But the biggest addition at the plate might be Trevor Tishenkel. The senior outfielder is on the third and final school of his college career, spending two seasons at Cal-Berkeley and last year at Cal Poly.

All he’s done since joining Northwest Nazarene is become the biggest power bat in the lineup. His nine home runs and 39 RBI lead the team while he’s batting .309. The biggest reason between his changes in scenery has been his desire to seek regular playing time, something he says was hard to come by in his last two stops.

He barely played as a freshman at Cal. The following year, he played in over half of the Golden Bears’ games but was unsure about his future there. He transferred to Cal Poly as a junior but had only 20 at-bats for the Mustangs.

Finally, in his senior year, Tishenkel gets to play every day, hoping to increase his chances of playing professionally.

“I’m learning new stuff every day,” Tishenkel said. “You can never be too good at baseball. It’s hard enough. Whenever I can get out here with the guys and put in the work, it’s been awesome.”

On the pitching side, senior Kyle Ethridge has returned to form as the Nighthawks’ ace. He’s made 10 starts with a 3.88 ERA, going at least six innings in nine of them. His performance comes after a season where a torn pectoral muscle before the year began lingered throughout, and he was never able to fully recover. Ethridge had a 7.20 ERA in 25 innings last year.

But he says the injury is behind him and he’s feeling 100 percent this season. His increased confidence has helped him record the long outings he’s had.

“It’s a mindset thing,” Ethridge said. “I go into the game trying to finish the game. I don’t want to come out of the game anytime soon. It’s my game to finish. From the beginning of the year it’s something we’ve talked about with our starters.”

The Nighthawks are out to prove last season was an anomaly to the success they’ve had in recent years. Their games against Central Washington will be doubleheaders Thursday and Friday. With a two-game lead on Western Oregon, a regular season conference title is within reach.

Next weekend, Northwest Nazarene will travel to Billings, Montana for the GNAC Championships May 9-11.