ODESSA, Texas - The Newman baseball team opened its final series of the season by dropping two games to Texas-Permian Basin Friday afternoon in Odessa, Texas. The Falcons took the first game, 9-4, and held on for a 7-6 win in the nightcap.

Game 1: UTPB 9, Newman 4
Newman was forced to play from behind from the start of Friday's opener. UTPB opened the game by tacking two runs on the board, and taking a 2-0 lead after one inning of play. The Jets countered with a single run in the second when Mike Williams, who doubled down the right field line to open the inning, scored on a Matt Cardona sacrifice fly to center field. After two inings, the Jets trailed 2-1.

The visiting Jets kept the game within reach for the next two innings, then tied it at 2-2 in the fourth. After sending a single up the middle to open the inning, Brandon Cox used a Picos Soto sacrifice bunt, and a Williams ground out to move to third, then scored on a Trent Bierman single, tying the game at 2-2 with three innings remaining.

It didn't take long for the Falcons to reclaim the lead, scoring a run in the home half of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. UTPB then took control of the game in the fifth, tagging Newman starter Steven Trevino for four runs on three hits, and taking a 7-2 lead.

The Falcons tried to give the game back to the Jets in the sixth, giving up one hit, but committing three errors that led to two Newman runs that trimmed the UTPB lead to 7-4, but the hosts sealed the deal with two more runs in the sixth en route to the 9-4 wins.

Cox finished two-for-three at the plate with two runs scored to lead the Newman offense. Starter Steven Trevino was tagged with the loss in the game after giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks in five innings of work.

Game 2: UTPB 7, Newman 6
Newman used a hard-hitting approach to open Friday's late game. Ryan Peterson opened the offense with a solo home run to give the Jets an early 1-0 lead. Three batters later, pitcher Mike Williams gave himself some breathing room by taking advantage of Picos Soto, who reached base on a fielding error at third base, and notched a long ball of his own to give the Jets a 3-0 lead before UTPB could even take its turn at the plate.

The Falcons returned the favor in their half of the first, tagging Williams for three runs on three hits, and tying the game at 3-3 after just one inning of play. UTPB repeated the act in the second, adding three more runs on three more hits to take an early 6-3 lead with five innings remaining.

The Jets narrowed the UTPB lead to 6-4 in the fourth, when Matt Cardona singled through the left side with two outs, Dale Steele and John Bonebrake followed with singles of their own, and allowed Cardona to score, but a Peterson fly out to center field ended the threat with the Jets trailing, 6-4.

UTPB added a run for good measure in its half of the sixth, and took a 7-4 lead into the seventh. The Falcons gave Newman one last chance in the seventh. Brandon Cox opened the inning with a walk, and advanced to second on a throwing error by the UTPB shortstop off the bat of Picos Soto. A Williams single through the left side pushed Cox across the plate, and moved Soto to second. Soto was thrown out at third on a bunt attempt by Bierman, but after a wild pitch, Newman once again had runners on second and third. Cardona's walk loaded the bases for Steele, who notched a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Williams to score, but a Bonebrake strikeout left the Jets one run short of the tie, and gave UTPB the 7-6 win.

Williams finished two-for-three at the plate with two runs scored and three runs batted in, while Bonebrake finished three-for-four with a run batted in to lead the Newman offense. Williams was also tagged with the loss, giving up six earned runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout in just 1.1 innings of work.

After the sweep, the Jets fall to 24-27 on the season, and 22-23 in Heartland Conference play, while the Falcons improve to 35-18 overall, and 31-15 in the Heartland Conference. The same two teams will battle it out Saturday at noon in the final doubleheader of the regular season.