WICHITA - Newman hosted the Missouri Western Griffons in a conference matchup that turned into a doubleheader due to inclement weather on Friday afternoon. In the first game, the Jets took the win, 4-3, in the tenth inning. Game 2 saw the Griffons win 12-8.  

How It Happened:

Game 1:
Gio De Graauw started on the mound for the Jets and quickly got two strikeouts as he retired two of the three batters he faced in the top of the first inning. Then, both Trent Trammell and Micah Bobuszeski earned a walk in the bottom of the first but the Jets were unable to bat them in. After that, De Graauw replicated the first inning and retired two batters swinging to end the inning for the Griffons' offense. Pierson Gunnell and Jack Kiser got on base with single hits to start the bottom of the second. Nicolas Ely advanced both runners with a sacrifice ground out to third base to put both Jets within scoring distance. Then, Eli Wohl earned a walk to load the bases for Newman. The Jets were unable to capitalize on the opportunity and ended the inning scoreless. The third inning went hitless and scoreless for both teams. Gio was able to get his fifth strike out.

In the top of the fourth, De Graauw recorded the third out of the half inning striking out a Griffon, swinging. In offense, Nicolas Ely walked to put the first Jet runner on base. Then, Hunter Brown also got on a bag after an error by the shortstop. Wohl earned a walk to load the bases for Newman, once again, but they were not able to score any of the runners before the end of the inning. De Graauw added two more strikeouts to his tally in the top of the fifth. The Jets didn't allow any runs or hits. Then, Micah Kobuszewski hit a double to right field and Louis Coca got on base, walking, but Newman couldn't score them. In the sixth inning neither team was able to score but both got one hit. Newman's hit came from Brown's single to the pitcher. 

De Graauw got his ninth strikeout of the game in the first at bat of the seventh inning. Then, Eli Wohl grabbed two fly balls to end the top of the inning. Blake Mitchell hit a single to second base to get the first runner on base of the inning. Following that, Coca hit a single too to put Mitchell within scoring distance. Gunnell was hit by the pitch, loading the bases for Newman. Ely's single to right field scored both Coca and Mitchell for the first two runs of the game. After seven, the Jets led 0-2. After seven solid innings, De Graauw was replaced on the mound by Colby Wilson. He struck out the first batter he faced, but wasn't able to stop the runners that got on base before the got in the game. A two RBI single by a Griffon tied the game. Wilson added a second strikeout to his tally before the end of the top of the eighth. The Jets couldn't get on base in the bottom of the eighth. Wilson and the Jets defense didn't allow any hits in the top of the ninth. Mitchell got on base with a walk but was unable to score the winning run before the end of the ninth, taking the game to extra innings. MWSU hit a home run in the top of the tenth to get the go ahead run. Ely singled to shortstop in the first at bat for Newman in the bottom of the tenth. Hunter Brown sacrificed himself with a bunt to advance Ely to second base. Wohl got on base with a walk, and a passed ball moved Ely to third. Trent Trammell's single scored Ely's tying run and advanced Wohl to third. Blake Mitchell forced a fielder's choice and got on base in time to allow Wohl to score the winning walk off run in the bottom of the tenth. The Jets took game one 3-4. 

Game 2:
Aleks Koppel was the starting pitcher for the Jets in the second game. He struck out the first batter he faced and then helped the defense record the next two outs to retire them in order. Trent Trammell got a hit in his first at bat of the game but it didn't lead to anything. In the top of the second, Koppel got his second strike out of the day to end the half inning. Mitchell earned a lead off walk in the bottom of the second and was later advanced to second by a sacrifice bunt from Louis Coca. Mitchell was able to get to third but the Griffons recorded the third out before he could score. Two hits and an error helped MWSU score five runs in the top of the third, forcing Newman to substitute their starting pitcher. Cole Landgraf entered the game late in the half inning. The Jets answered in the bottom half of the inning scoring five runs off of singles by Brown, Trammell, and Gunnell, and doubles by Wohl and Mitchell to tie the game. The score was 5-5 after 3. 

The Griffons maintained their hot bats in the top of the fourth and scored their sixth run off of a single. But Newman answered once again. With two outs recorded, the Jets were able to score three runs off of singles by Wohl, Kobuszewski, and Mitchell. Kellen Curtis came in the game for Landgraf and helped the Jets retire the Griffon's offense in the top of the fifth. Only Pierson Gunnell was able to get on base in the bottom of the fifth but the Jets were not able to score him. The sixth inning went hitless and scoreless. Jared Newton got on the mound for the Jets, substituting Curtis.  

In the top of the seventh, the Griffons scored the go ahead run off of a single hit and a ground out. The Jets couldn't answer in the bottom of the seventh and only Gunnell was able to get on base with a hit to left field. Missouri Western went off in the top of the eighth and scored four runs from four hits to open up a three run gap with the Jets Colby Wilson entered the field for the second time in the day. Eli Wohl and Hunter Brown singled to center field in the bottom of the eight in a late attempt to retake the lead, but a good defensive effort by the Griffons stopped them. The Griffons added one more run in the top of the ninth, despite Lance Elsen entering the game to try to stop them from scoring, and the Jets were not able to get on the board in the bottom of the inning, leading to a 12-8 final score. 

After splitting the doubleheader, tomorrow's game will decide who wins the series. 

Player Notes: 

Game 1:
-Ely leads the Jets with 2 hits, 2 RBIs and a run.
-De Graauw goes for 7 innings with 9 strike outs and only 3 hits allowed.
-Wilson gets the win with 3 IP, 3 strike outs and only one run allowed. 

Game 2:
-Wohl and Gunnel lead with three hits.
-Mitchell drives in three runs, gets two hits, and scores a run.
-Koppel throws two strike outs.

Up Next:
The Jets will play game 3 against the Griffons tomorrow, starting at 1:00 PM.