ODESSA, Texas - A pair of dominant pitching performances helped the Newman baseball team to a two-game sweep of Texas-Permian Basin Friday afternoon at Roden Field in Odessa, Texas. With the win, Newman clinched a bid in the 2012 Heartland Conference Baseball Championship tournament.

Game 1: Newman 10, Texas-Permian Basin 1
After a scoreless first inning, Newman (24-14, 18-13 Heartland) took complete control of the game in the second. Back-to-back walks put Ruben Marrero and Jordan Ollenberger on base with no outs. A Corey Cowan single to left plated Marrero and started what ended up being a scoring carousel in the inning. David Longmore loaded the bases with a walk, and back-to-back singles combined for three more runs that gave the Jets a 4-0 lead, and forced Texas-Permian Basin (11-29, 7-21 Heartland) starter Kyle Cormier from the game after less than two innings of work. When the dust settled, Newman had scored six runs on four hits and a Falcon error, and led 6-0.

UTPB scored its first run in the bottom of the second, but Newman had more than a sufficient answer ready for the third inning. Cowan and Longmore opened the inning with back-to-back singles to center field. Longmore was retired in a run down between first and second, but Tanner Vinson walked to give the Jets a pair of runners. Cowan cashed his runners in with a triple down the right field line, then scored himself on a wild pitch, and gave the Jets a 9-1 led after the third inning.

Newman added another run in the sixth. Marrero doubled to left-center, then scored when Cowan reached on an error at third base. The run gave Newman the 10-1 margin it went on to win by.

Newman starter Kyle Burkhardt baffled UTPB batters throughout Friday's seven-inning contest. The senior ace allowed just one earned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and four walks in a seven-inning complete-game effort.

Corey Cowan led the Newman offense, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one more batted in. Ben Wagner and Shanan Engroff each finished with two hits in the contest.

Game 2: Newman 2, Texas-Permian Basin 1
Friday's second game closely mirrored the text book definition of a pitcher's duel. Both pitching staffs allowed nearly 10 hits, but both found a way to get out of jams throughout the game.

Texas-Permian Basin (11-30, 7-22 Heartland) notched the first run of the game in the third, and held a 1-0 lead all the way to the seventh inning.

Newman (25-14, 19-13 Heartland) finally made its appearance on the scoreboard in the seventh. Ben Wagner opened the inning with a single up the middle, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Terrell Brown. Wagner went on to score on a bases-loaded walk, and tied the game at 1-1.

The contest remained tied at 1-1 until the final scheduled inning. Ruben Marrero led the inning off by reaching on an error at second. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Jarrod Flax, who allowed the eventual game-winning run to score on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Gage Daniels entered the game with a 2-1 lead in the ninth, and quickly retired the side to pick up his 13th save of the season.

Brandon Droge recorded one of his more effective outings of the season, allowing just one earned run on eight hits with three strikeouts and a walk in eight innings of work.

Ben Wagner paved the way for the Newman offense in Friday's second game, finishing 3-for-5 with a run scored. Ruben Marrero and Corey Cowan each added two-hit outings into Newman's 25th win of the season.

With the sweep, the Jets improve to 25-14 on the season, and 19-13 in Heartland Conference play. The series concludes Saturday with the final game of the three-game series. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m. at Roden Field.