Box Score PITTSBURG, Kan. – Despite knocking thirteen hits on the day, the Jets could not contain the Pitt State offense as the Gorillas put up two five-run innings on their way to a 17-3 rout of Newman.  Tyler Bugner went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the loss.
 
Pitt State struck first in the game, setting the tone with a run in the bottom of the first inning.  After a one-out single and a walk gave the Gorillas their first RBI opportunity of the game, a single up the middle with two men away plated the first run of the day.  Newman would respond two innings later to tie the game up in the top of the third.  Mitchell Beaudreau got things rolling for the Jets with a two-out single through the right side of the infield.  Kyle Johnston blooped a ball into center field to move Beaudreau to third base, and Johnston took off on the ensuing pitch to deliberately get caught in a pickle, staying in the rundown long enough to allow Beaudreau to race home with the tying run. 
 
The Gorillas would retake the lead in the bottom of the third, using a single and a double into the right center gap to go back on top 2-1.  Newman was equal to the task though, as Andrew Standish singled with two away and scored all the way from first on a Garrett Thomas double down the right field line.  Pitt State again retook the bottom of the fourth, and would not relinquish it after that.  The Gorillas loaded up the bases on two singles and a hit by pitch, and a Texas-league single over the third baseman scored two runs and put Pitt State ahead 4-2. 
 
Newman chipped away at the lead in the top of the fifth, with Jarrod Flax leading off with a bunt single and advancing up to second base when the third baseman's throw sailed wide of the bag.  Tyler Bugner ripped a double up the third base line to score Flax, and the Pitt State lead was 4-3 through four and a half.  The Gorillas would break the game open in the bottom of the fifth though, stringing four hits and two walks together to plate five runs and extend their lead to 9-3. 
 
The Jets continued to square balls up as they had the entire game, but Newman went down in order in the sixth and seventh before Pitt State put up another five-spot in the bottom of the seventh.  This time, the Gorillas took advantage of two defensive miscues by the Jets, and had a bases-clearing double with two outs as they took a comfortable 14-3 lead into the final two innings of the game.  Another bases-loaded double gave the Gorillas their final three runs in the bottom of the eighth for the 17-3 final. 
 
It was a tough day for the Newman pitching staff, which gave up 17 runs (16 of them earned) on 18 hits.  The Jets also walked six and hit four batters.  In addition to Bugner's 3-for-4 day, Kyle Johnston, Andrew Standish, and Garrett Thomas all went 2-for-3 in the loss.
 
The Jets are now 12-12 on the season, and 5-7 in Heartland Conference play.  After a four-game winning streak during the recent homestand, the Jets have now dropped their past four in falling to .500.  They will look to rebound this weekend when they host Rogers State in a Heartland Conference matchup. John Branum will be on the bump for Newman in game one of the Friday doubleheader, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. at McCarthy Field.