PORTLAND – Northwest rode the right arm of Rachel Hawley to a split with Warner Pacific in both teams' Cascade Collegiate Conference opener Friday.
 
The Eagles lost the opener 3-2 before claiming the second game, 4-3. Hawkins logged 11 innings in the circle, getting the decision in both games.
 
"Rachel got some tough luck in the first game but kept that mental edge and came back in the second game and worked through some tough situations," said NU Head Coach Pam Fink. "We played a little better today but our mistakes are still hurting us. If we can eliminate errors and mental mistakes we have a chance to get things going in the right direction."
 
NU took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Sam Parisio doubled and scored on a base hit by Jessica Nunes.
 
Warner Pacific scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning for a 2-1 lead.
 
The Eagles knotted the game in the fourth when Palena Gomes singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and third on a ground out by Abby Brake before scoring on an RBI grounder by Ashley Oswald.
 
A leadoff walk for WPU turned into the game-winning run in the sixth as Chase Eisenhauer came up with the RBI single.
 
NU belted out 12 hits in the game but stranded nine runners. Nunes had three hits for NU with Jordan Dippel, Parisio and Sammi Caron adding two each. Nicola Fish, Alexis Contreras and Gomes had the other three hits.
 
Hawley struck out eight in six innings to absorb the pitching loss. She then started the second game in the circle and left with the Eagles ahead 1-0 after three innings of work.
 
Northwest broke a scoreless tie in the second inning when Caron dropped a two-out RBI single to center field for a 1-0 lead.
 
NU tacked on three runs in the fifth. Parisio singled with one out and scored on a double by Fish. After an infield single by Nunes, Gomes tripled to right for two RBI and a 4-0 Eagles lead.
 
Warner Pacific reached Abby Brake for two unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Things got dicey in the sixth when a spate of illegal pitches was called against Brake, who struggled with footing inside the circle. After two walks, Hawley was called back in. After an RBI single made it 4-3, Hawley got a 6-3 double-play ball and a strikeout, ending the inning with the tying run stranded at third.
 
With two out and the tying run at second in the bottom of the seventh, Hawley notched her fourth strikeout of the game to earn the win.
 
Northwest had eight hits in the game with Parisio and Fish collecting two apiece. Nunes, Gomes, Meli Memea and Caron had one each.
 
The Eagles are 3-10 overall and 1-1 in the conference heading into the second doubleheader of the series Saturday at 11 a.m.