WICHITA, Kan. — The Newman baseball team split the day on the road with St. Edward's winning game 1 5-3 with some good pitching from starter Zack Erdman. The Jets lost a tough game 2 13-7 at the hands of the Hilltoppers, the Jets start the conference off 1-1 looking to move forward and continue getting better moving forward in the conference.

Game 1

Key Sequence

The Jets (9-14, 1-1 Heartland) were looking to close the door on the Hilltoppers (13-10, 1-1 Heartland) going into the top of the seventh with a one-run lead, Clay Druin would come up after a Paul Rupnik single and hit a home run to left center getting two more insurance runs going into the final half of the inning giving the Jets the game 1 victory.

How It Happened

-Newman was able to get into the scoring column early, Rupnik got things started with a single to right field and who would later steal second bringing up Channing Williams who would single to right field scoring Rupnik giving the Jets a 1-0.

-The Hilltoppers got on the board in the bottom of the second, Robbie Lammons singled to left field bringing up Dylan May who singled up the middle scoring Lammons who tied the game at one. Troy Anderson would single up the middle scoring Zach Schindler, St. Edward's now had a 2-1 lead.

-The Jets would get back into the scoring column in the fifth, Ked Bailey would single up the middle later advancing to second and third on a failed pickoff attempt. Brian Canfield would come up and single to left field scoring Bailey tying the game at two, later Daniel Jahnke hit a sacrifice fly to center field scoring Rupnik giving the Jets a 3-2 lead.

-Newman would get a little insurance with a Druin home run in scoring Rupnik who singled to start off the inning for the Jets, giving the team a 5-2 lead going into the last half of the inning.

-The Hilltoppers got a run in the bottom of the seventh when Daniel Priwin doubled to right center later bringing up Lammons who would single up the middle advancing Priwin to third, a sacrifice fly to left field would score Priwin but the Jets would close out the game with some solid pitching from Erdman getting the game 1 victory.

Game 2

The Jets (9-14, 1-1 Heartland) were looking at an 8-6 deficit in the bottom of the seventh but the Hilltoppers (13-10, 1-1 Heartland) had a big inning, William Hairston would triple scoring three Hilltoppers giving the team an 11-6 lead and later the game 2 victory.

How It Happened

-St. Edward's would score early getting a single from Lammons scoring Ryan Mcphail, later in the inning a sacrifice fly from TJ Giselbach scoring Priwin and giving the Hilltoppers a 2-0 lead. Lammons would get the Hilltoppers in the scoring column again with a single by Schindler the St. Edward's lead was now 3-0. In the fourth, the Hilltoppers continued their scoring getting run support from Hairston, Lammons, Priwin, and Schindler giving them an 8-0 lead going into the middle of the game.

-The Jets would begin to get back into the game in the fifth, Turner Lace started it off with a walk later bringing up Ked Bailey who would reach on a fielder's choice. Rupnik would come up and double scoring Bailey, Clay Druin and Brian Canfield would both walk bringing up Daniel Jahnke who would reach on a fielding error by the second baseman scoring Druin and Rupnik the Jets cut the Hilltopper lead to five.

-In the sixth, the Jets would cut the lead to two thanks, to contribution from Will Jordan who got it started with a walk bringing up Lace who doubled to right field. Easton Herring doubled down the left field line scoring Lace and Jordan, Bailey would single to right center scoring Herring and St. Edward's now had an 8-6 lead, the Jets would get another run in the top of the ninth inning with a home run from Canfield to left center.

-The Hilltoppers would get a little more insurance in the bottom of the seventh, William Hairston tripled scoring Daniel Sabatino, Troy Anderson, and Zach Schindler. McPhail would come up later in the inning and hit a home run to left field scoring Hairston to give St. Edward's a 13-6 lead and later getting the Game 2 victory.

Notes

-Rupnik and Bailey both had good game 1's going 2-for-3 each with four runs scored between the two.

-Pitcher Zach Erdman was good only giving up three runs, one walk while striking out two on six hits.

What's Next

The Jets finish up the series with the Hilltoppers Saturday, March 24 with a doubleheader beginning at Noon.