ODESSA, Texas - The Newman baseball team's hopes of a Heartland Conference tournament berth took a serious hit Friday afternoon, as the Jets dropped a pair of road games to Texas-Permian Basin at Roden Field in Odessa, Texas. UTPB opened the series with a 4-1 win before rallying for a 6-5 win in the nightcap.

Game 1: Texas-Permian Basin 4, Newman 1
Newman (21-21, 12-16 Heartland) scored the first run of the contest, and did so in its first at-bat. The Jets' first batter, Corey Cowan, reached on an error at shortstop, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from David Longmore. Cowan then scored on a Ryan Engrav single to right field when the Falcon catcher failed to control a throw in an attempt to prevent the Jets from scoring. After the top of the first, Newman held a 1-0 lead.

Texas-Permian Basin (17-23, 12-13 Heartland) answered with a run of its own in the home half of the first, then added two more in the second, and one more in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. Meanwhile, UTPB starter Felix Cardenas limited Newman to just three hits over the final six innings as the Falcons picked up the 4-1 win.

Mike Williams led the Jets with a 2-for-3 outing at the plate, while David Longmore and Ryan Engrav each finished 1-for-2 in their time at bat. Newman starter Kyle Burkhardt was saddled with the loss, falling to 5-6 on the season after giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and three walks in five innings of work.

Game 2: Texas-Permian Baisn 6, Newman 5
Texas-Permian Basin (18-23, 13-13 Heartland) forced Newman (21-22, 12-17 Heartland) to play from behind from the start of Friday's second contest, scoring three runs on three hits to take a 3-0 lead after the first inning.

Newman completed the comeback, starting in the third when David Longmore singled up the middle, then scored on a Mike Williams double to left-center. Williams went on to score on a single to right by Ryan Engrav. The Jets added another run in the fourth when Jordan Ollenberger was hit by a pitch, then scored on a sacrifice fly from Corey Cowan to tie the game at 3-3 going into the bottom of the fourth.

The Falcons responded with a run of their own in the fourth, taking a 4-3 lead, but Newman countered with a pair of runs in the sixth. Brett Delcambre opened the inning with a bunt singe, then moved to second on Jordan Ollenberger's sacrifice bunt to third. Delcambre went on to score on a sacrifice fly to center from Corey Cowan. John Bonebrake, who reached on a single to right, later scored on an RBI single up the middle from David Longmore. After six innings, the Jets had re-claimed a 5-4 lead.

That lead stood until the ninth inning, when the Falcons added a run in the ninth, then won the game with a bases-loaded single down the left field line to pick up the 6-5 win.

Mike Williams finished the game a perfect five-for-five at the plate, adding a run and an RBI in the process. Gage Daniels, who relieved starter Brandon Droge in the eighth, was tagged with the loss, falling to 2-6 after giving up two earned runs on two hit in 2.1 innings of work.

The losses drop Newman to 21-22 overall, and 12-17 in Heartland Conference play. The same two teams will conclude the three-game series Saturday with a single nine-inning game starting at 12 p.m. at Roden Field in Odessa, Texas.