WICHITA - Temperatures flirting with the freezing mark weren't enough to keep the Newman baseball team off the field Wednesday, as the Jets welcomed MIAA foe Pittsburg State to McCarthy Field. Newman rallied from an early deficit to take the lead, only to watch Pitt State rally back to win the game, 8-7.

Pittsburg State (1-0) made the first move in the game, taking advantage of three walks and plating two runs to take a 2-0 lead before Newman (2-6) could even step to the plate.

It took four innings, but Newman finally found an answer in the bottom of the fourth. Picos Soto opened the home half of the inning with a single up the middle, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. With a runner in scoring position, Mike Williams stepped to the plate and lined another single to center field. Soto was able to score from second to bring the Jets within one, 2-1.

The deficit remained at one run until the sixth inning, when the Gorillas plated two runs on three hits to take a 4-1 lead. The Jets were up to the challenge in their half of the sixth. Kori Melo opened the inning with a single to centerfield, and advanced to second on a Ryan Peterson walk. Soto became the third-straight Jet to reach base, this time reaching on an bobbled bunt by the PSU pitcher. Williams grounded out to third base as the next batter, but Melo was able to score from second on the play, drawing Newman to within two, 4-2. Melo was the first of three runs plated in bottom of the sixth, and when the dust settled, Newman had tied the game, 4-4.

The Jets picked up three more runs in the home half of the seventh. Brett Delcambre opened the inning with a single to left field, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by John Bonebrake. Melo was on the scene once again, this time putting a sharp grounder through the legs of the PSU shortstop, and allowing Delcambre to score from second. Another Peterson single put Soto to the plate with runners on first and second. Soto cashed in with his first triple of the season, pushing Melo and Peterson across the plate in the process. After seven innings, Newman held a 7-4 lead.

Pitt State mounted its rally to open the eighth inning, tagging Newman reliever Zach Biery for three hits, and forcing Newman to commit two errors. The end result was a three-run Gorilla inning, leaving the game tied, 7-7, heading into the final inning.

The Gorillas came up with just one run in the top of the ninth, but that was all they needed as PSU reliever Scott Brady was able to retire the side to close out the game and secure PSU's 8-7 win.

Soto finished two-for-four with two runs scored and two runs batted to lead the Jets in Tuesday's non-conference contest. Zach Biery was tagged with Tuesday's loss, and fell to 0-2 on the season. Brady was credited with the win for the Gorillas.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 2-6 on the season. They will look to rebound this weekend when they return to Heartland Conference play to take on St. Mary's. This weekend's games had originally been scheduled to be played in Wichita, but have been moved to San Antonio, Texas due to weather concerns. In return, the late-season series, originally scheduled to be played in San Antonio, will be played in Wichita.