BELLEVUE – Northwest lost the conference finale with Warner Pacific, 12-4, Sunday, before the final game of the series was rained out.
 
NU pitchers walked 12, threw two wild pitches, and hit one batter in the constant rain.
 
"We struggled with the conditions today, but Warner Pacific overcame it," said NU Head Coach Pam Fink. "We've got to get better at that. I thought we hit the ball better today against their No. 1 pitcher than we did yesterday."
 
WPU scored twice in the first inning, but the Eagles trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the second when Jordan Dippel reached on an infield single, stole second, moved to third on a ground out, and was credited with a theft of home on a broken squeeze play.
 
The Knights added four runs in the second, including a two-run home run by Payton Hergert.
 
Trailing 9-1, Northwest temporarily staved off the mercy rule with a three-run fourth inning.
 
Jessica Nunes singled, and Alyssa Maldonado doubled ahead of consecutive RBI singles by Dippel, Sam Parisio, and Ashley Oswald.
 
NU had seven hits for the game. Nunes and Dippel had two apiece, while Maldonado, Parisio, and Oswald added one each.
 
Abby Brake took the loss.
 
Northwest returns to action April 2-3 against fifth-ranked Oregon Tech.