MARYVILLE, Mo. - Newman Baseball won another exciting contest in extra innings, scoring two runs in the top of the tenth inning to give them a real boost in their search for a second straight appearance in the MIAA tournament.
The Jets had won three of their last four series in the conference, with their latest coming with a win at home over Fort Hays State. Northwest Missouri State came into this weekend with a several game advantage over Newman in the standings, making this a must win series for Newman.
The Bearcats got on the board early after a wild pitch allowed a run to be scored in the first inning, giving Northwest Missouri State an early 1-0 lead they held for a good portion of the early innings.
Newman would only get one hit in the first three innings, but their fortunes would turn in the fourth where they tied the game.
Two doubles from
Garrett Arnold and
Joe Kinneberg gave the Jets their first real moments of offense in the game, as Kinneberg's double brought Arnold home.
Two hits that resulted in a triple and double for the Bearcats would give them a two run advantage, which would be their largest of the game.
The sixth inning was perhaps Newman's best, as the hits started flying in Maryville. A second Kinneberg double would score
Connor Owens, while a two RBI home run from
Jason Schneider would give Newman the first lead of the game.
The Bearcats tied the game in the seventh, and for a long period of time neither team could break through.
Pitcher
Colby Wilson helped blank the Bearcats through much of the later innings, striking out six batters in five innings.
With both teams deadlocked, the game moved to extra innings.
Trent Trammell proved to be Newman's hero today as he hit a leadoff home run to give Newman back the lead. The bases would later be loaded, and after
Eli Wohl was walked a seventh and deciding run would be scored.
It would not be an easy finish for
Andrew Prieve who had the bases loaded with only one out in the bottom of the inning, but once again fought out of a difficult situation to earn yet another save for the graduate student.
Jaret Granger was given the win, pitching a tight bottom of the ninth to keep the game going.
The win puts Newman just two behind the eight seed in the standings, with a lot of baseball still to be played in the next two weeks.
Game two will begin at 2 p.m. tomorrow as Newman will look for their third straight series win.
