Emporia, Kan. - Newman Baseball began their last regular season series in the MIAA on Friday, taking on Emporia State in a must-win series as the Jets postseason hopes lied in the balance.
The games, which were originally to be played Friday through Sunday, took a change of course due to inclement weather expected in Kansas this weekend, moving the first two games of the series to Friday.
Game 1
The game couldn't have started better for Newman, who had three hits off their first three batters, scoring two runs. Garrett Arnold and Connor Owens had back-to-back doubles, with each hit bringing home a run. Owens would add a third after a ground out to short stop allowed him to cross home plate.
The first of several home runs was scored in the second, as a solo shot from Hunter Brown gave the Jets a 4-1 lead.
The Hornets remained a stubborn team to break down, as they would eventually tie the game at 4-4 after the second inning.
A second Hunter Brown hit scored Jason Schneider to give them a brief 5-4 lead in the third, but a swarm of Hornets followed the next several innings, getting as much as an eight run lead at the end of the fourth.
Trent Trammell's home run in the seventh would start a trend for Newman in the rest of the game, as almost every run scored by the Jets would be off a solo home run.
In the eighth, Eli Wohl, Arnold and Joe Kinneberg would scored three home runs as the Jets tried to mount a late rally. A Dalton Smith double scored one more in the inning, as the Jets were now down by only two runs.
However, two strikeouts in the top of the ninth sealed the Jets fate as the Hornets took an incredibly high scoring game, 14-12.
Hunter Brown's home run was a team leading seventh of the season, as his early hits kept Newman in the game.
Game 2
The Jets had another tough route in game two after going down by two runs in the first inning.
Shawn Marquis was able to come up with one of the evening's biggest plays, as a single down the right side would go on to score Nick Chasey and Jason Schneider.
Several scoreless innings would follow, until the Hornets hit a two RBI home run to take a two run lead once again.
After being quiet most of the game, the Jets put up a third run on the board after Trent Trammell scored off of a wild pitch. The very next play, Newman took their first lead of the game off a Schneider home run, leading 5-4 going into the bottom of the ninth.
In a crushing end to a great game, the Hornets scored off a walk off single, with the second run being scored off a throwing error to end the game.
The series is scheduled to conclude on Monday due to inclement weather throughout Kansas this weekend. To stay up to date with any schedule changes, check newmanjets.com for any updates.
