SURPRISE, Ariz. – Northwest stopped a four-game slide with a 5-3 win over host Ottawa Saturday afternoon and came up short in a seventh-inning rally in a 10-7 loss to Arizona Christian.
 
"We competed today, and that felt good," said NU Coach Pam Fink. "Rachel turned in another good game in the circle, and we hit the ball well in both games. We are improving little by little, but we've got a long way to go."
 
The Eagles play Park (Ariz.) in a doubleheader Sunday.
 
Northwest 5, Ottawa (Ariz.) 3
Ottawa jumped out in front with three runs in the first inning, but Rachel Hawley responded with six shutout innings.
 
The Eagles scored three runs in the fifth inning to tie the score. With two out and one on, Nicola Fish singled, and Jessica Nunes lifted a triple to right field for two RBI and scored on an error to make it a 3-3 game.
 
Fish singled again in the seventh, and with two outs, Alexis Contreras reached on an error that produced the go-ahead run. Contreras scored on an RBI single by Nashoni Boyd.
 
The bottom of the seventh had its drama, and Ottawa loaded the bases with two outs, but Hawley ended the game with her 10^th strikeout of the game. It was Hawley's second 10-strikeout game and her first of the season. The school record is 11. 
 
NU finished with eight hits, including two each by Fish and Palena Gomes. Jordan Dippel and Nalomeli Memea also had singles.
 
Arizona Christian 10, Northwest 7
Nunes added another two-run triple to give the Eagles the lead in the top of the first.
 
ACU scored three times in the home half of the first, but NU answered with two more in the second. Sammi Caron and Dippel came through with back-to-back RBI doubles for a 4-3 lead.
 
Arizona Christian pounced for three more runs in the bottom of the second to take a 6-4 lead and made it 7-4 with a run in fourth.
 
Northwest got one back in the fifth when Nunes walked and scored on a double by Alexis Contreras, making it 7-5.
 
ACU scored three more in the sixth to take a 10-5 lead.
 
The Eagles kept fighting and added two runs on back-to-back RBI doubles by Nicola Fish and Nunes to make it 10-7. Northwest got the tying run to the plate, but two NU batters were called out on strikes in the inning.
 
NU finished with 11 hits, led by Contreras with three and Nunes with two. Sam Parisio, Gomes, and Abby Brake also had hits in the game.