WICHITA, Kan. — Both offenses got a chance to take out their frustrations as the Newman baseball team split a doubleheader with a pair of lopsided games against Wayne State in nonconference action Saturday afternoon at McCarthy Field.
GAME 1
Key Sequence
The Jets (4-8) got the bats going quickly after the Wildcats (1-5) scored the first runs of the game. Down by three heading into the bottom of the second, Jake Hanson led off with a solo shot, and Brian Canfield followed with a grand slam off the scoreboard in left field to make it 6-3 as the Jets cruised to a 21-3 victory.
How It Happened
-A hit by pitch and two singles led to two runs in the top of the first for the guests, but that lead didn't hold up long. WSC added to their lead with a single run in the second, but the Jets doubled them up in the bottom of the frame.
-Newman put the game out of reach in the third, sending 11 batters to the plate and taking advantage of four walks, a hit by pitch and an error. Clay Druin and Channing Williams both cracked bases-clearing doubles to left in the inning to plate six combined runs.
-A two-run single from Paul Rupnik kept the crooked numbers coming in the fourth, and Jon Coufal launched a pinch-hit three-run bomb to make it 20-3 in the sixth. Rene Rivera added his own pinch-hit homer, a solo shot, in the bottom of the sixth.
-While the Jet offense clicked, Zack Erdman found his groove on the mound, going the distance and retiring eight straight after a solo home run in the top of the second.
GAME 2
Key Sequence
The Wildcats flipped the script on the Jets in the second game of the day, grabbing a 12-2 win in seven innings. They started their own offensive onslaught in the top of the fifth, as an error and a walk put two on, followed by a single and a double that each scored runs. After one more walk, a two-run single made it 7-2 to allow the visitors to cruise the rest of the way.
How It Happened
-For the second straight game, Wayne State got on the board first, this time with a two-out triple to center in the top of the second. The first two Wildcats reached base in the fourth, and both scored on a wild pitch to the backstop to build a 3-0 lead.
-Newman wouldn't go away quietly, responding in the bottom of the fourth, starting with a hard-hit single from Coufal with one out. Rupnik singled in the next at-bat, and both moved up on a wild pitch, allowing Williams to drive them both in with a single to right to slice the lead to 3-2.
-Wayne State didn't cling to the narrow lead though, pounding out the four runs in the fifth, then adding two in the sixth and three more in the seventh to trigger the run-rule victory.
NOTES
-The Jets found their bats in a big way in the first game. Their 21 runs is the most since also scoring three touchdowns in a 21-2 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State in 2010. Three weeks earlier, the Jets scored 26 against Lincoln.
-Erdman got better as the game went on, allowing the three runs on seven hits, while striking out seven and walking just one in his second complete game of the year.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets and Wildcats are back in action at noon Sunday for two more games to close the series at McCarthy Field.
