SIOUX FALLS, S. D. – After a long cold first day of the three-game nonconference series, the Newman baseball team completed its roadtrip to Augustana Sunday afternoon with a single game, dropping a close 6-5 contest.
 
Samuel Hersh was the starting pitcher on the mound for the Jets (6-9) in the final game of the weekend, going 4 2/3 innings. The Vikings (4-7) got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first inning to go up 1-0 early in the contest.
 
Newman answered with two runs in the top of the third inning, with Brian Canfield knocking in the first run for the Jets by singling through the left side to score Ked Bailey. Later in the inning the bases would be loaded and Aaron Mack took one for the team, which resulted in scoring Canfield from third, to put the score at 2-1.
 
The Jets would tack on two more runs in the top of the fourth inning when Nick Griffin singled up the middle to score Easton Herring and Bailey to extend the Newman lead out to 4-1, heading into the bottom of the fourth.
 
The Vikings cut into the Newman lead in the bottom of the fifth inning by scoring two runs to make the score 4-3 after five complete and would eventually even up the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Augustana recaptured the lead from the Jets in the bottom of the seventh to go out in front 5-4 after seven complete innings. However, Newman responded with one run in the top of the eighth off an RBI groundout from Bailey, that got Mack across home plate to tie the score up at 5-5.
 
Newman would have runners on first and second with two outs in the top of the ninth but could not get them home to break the tie. The Vikings would take the final game of the series in the bottom of the ninth to win 6-5.
 
Canfield went 3-of-5 from the plate today with one RBI, one run and one double.
 
The Jets are back in action on Tuesday with a rematch on the road against Emporia State, starting at 3 p.m.