About the Jets...
Newman will look to clinch a spot in the Heartland Conference tournament on Friday, when they travel to Odessa, Texas for a three-game series against Texas-Permian Basin. The Jets swept the Falcons on March 2-3 at McCarthy Field. Newman is coming off of a two-game series victory over Texas A&M-International this past weekend, defeating the Dustdevils, 4-3 and 12-4, but lost Game 2, 11-4. The Jets have raised their team batting average to .287 on the season, slugging 15 home runs, and stealing 68 bases. Newman has hit 70 extra base hits thus far in the season. Tanner Vinson leads the team with 14 steals on the season. Jordan Ollenberger has continued his recent terror, leading the team with a .394 average, 33 points higher than the next best average. The pitching staff has logged 199 strikeouts as a group, compared to 112 walks.
Scouting UTPB...
The Falcons have hit another dry spell, having lost their last eight out of ten games, after winning six in a row. Since being swept by Newman, UTPB holds a record of 10-13. Freshman Tanor Tinley and junior Mike Briseno lead the Falcon offense with .325 and .324, respectively. UTPB has manufactured runs, but not by way of the long all, having hit only six home runs as a team this season. Junior Travis Wilcox leads the Falcon staff with an ERA of 3.13. Opponents are hitting only .240 off of the El Centro, Calif. native.
Last Time Out...
The Newman baseball team maintained the third seed in the Heartland Conference standings after winning its series over Texas A&M-International, two games to one. The Jets won games one and three, while being handed a loss in the second game.
Game 1 Notes:
-With two outs in the bottom of the first, Tyler Hancock singled to center, then moved to second on a botched pick off. Following a walk by Ruben Marrero, Corey Cowan singled to left-center to drive in Hancock, and a steal attempt gone wrong, Marrero touched home plate to give the Jets a 2-0 advantage.
-Texas A&M-International answered with a pair of runs in the third, but Newman answered in the bottom of the frame. Jerrod Flax led off the inning with a double down the left field line, and moved to third on a Hancock sac fly to right. A balk by TAMIU starter Jerry Hawkins plated Flax and gave the Jets a 3-2 edge.
-Newman added one more run in the fourth when Jordan Ollenberger opened the inning with a single to left, and advanced to second on a Ben Wagner single. A double steal moved Ollenberger and Wagner into scoring position, and Tanner Vinson's sacrifice fly pushed Ollenberger across.
-After the Dustdevils scored a run in the seventh, closer Gage Daniels shut the door on any comeback, notching his 11th save of the season, preserving the 4-3 victory.
Game 2 Notes:
-TAMIU opened the game with a three-run first inning, but Newman punched back in the bottom of the frame. Tanner Vinson opened the inning by reaching on an error by the short stop, and moved to second when Tyler Hancock reached on a fielding error by the second baseman. Ruben Marrero's single through the right side scored Vinson, and pushed Hancock to third. Corey Cowan's double to right center scored Hancock and moved Marrero to third. A fielder's choice by David Longmore plated Marrero, and knotted the game at 3-3.
-After scoring a single run in the fourth, TAMIU blew the game open in the seventh, scoring five funs on five hits, to take a 9-3 lead. Newman scored a run in the eighth, but a pair of runs by the Dustdevils in the ninth put the game out of reach, securing a 11-4 win.
Game 3 Notes:
-Newman drew first blood in the rubber match. With two outs in the bottom of the second, David Longmore singled to left-center, and moved to second on a Shannan Engroff single down the left field line. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Longmore scored when Ben Wagner was hit with the bases loaded, to give the Jets a 1-0 lead.
-TAMIU rallie with a pair of third-inning runs, but the Jets tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Tyler Hancock opened the inning with a double to right-center, and scored from third on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Ollenberger to tie the game at 2-2.
-The Jets blew the game open by plating four runs in the fourth, and two runs in each of the final three innings to earn the 12-4 win.
Team Statistics...
Batting:
Average:
1. Jordan Ollenberger (.394)
2. Ruben Marrero (.361)
3. Ben Wagner (.319)
On Base Percentage:
1. Ruben Marrero (.473)
2. Jordan Ollenberger (.446)
3. Tyler Hancock (.393)
Slugging Percentage:
1. Tyler Hancock (.500)
2. Ruben Marrero (.467)
3. Jordan Ollenberger (.455)
Hits:
1. Ruben Marrero (44)
2. Tyler Hancock (41)
3. Jerrod Flax (37)
Home Runs:
1. Tyler Hancock (4)
2. Tanner Vinson (3)
2. Ruben Marrero (3)
RBI's:
1. Tyler Hancock (26)
2. Tanner Vinson (25)
3. Ruben Marrero (24)
Pitching:
ERA:
1. Gage Daniels (2.64)
2. Jacob Furr (2.96)
3. Tony Gonzales (3.38)
Innings Pitched:
1. Kyle Burkhardt (62.2)
2. Brandon Droge (60.1)
3. Jacob Furr (54.2)
Strikeouts:
1. Brandon Droge (49)
2. Kyle Burkhardt (45)
3. Jacob Furr (33)
Heartland Conference Standings...
|
School |
Conference Record |
Overall Record |
|
St. Mary's |
26-4 |
36-7 |
|
St. Edward's |
20-6 |
28-9 |
|
Newman |
17-13 |
23-14 |
|
Arkansas-Fort Smith |
12-14 |
19-18 |
|
A&M International |
13-17 |
21-20 |
|
Texas-Permian Basin |
7-20 |
11-27 |
|
Oklahoma Panhandle State |
3-24 |
4-35 |
|
