WICHITA- The Jets hosted Upper Iowa for a four games series, kicking off the series with a double header on Friday afternoon. Game one, the Jets fell short 7-6. In game two, the Jets fell in extras, 8-7.
Game One: NU 6, UIU 7
- The Jets were first to put a run on the board, scoring in the bottom of the first inning.
Nicolas Ely was the first runner on base for the Jets after connecting with a single. Ely would later steal second, putting himself in scoring position. Later,
Louis Coca would bat around Ely with a single, followed by an error by the Peacocks left fielder that scored the Jets first run. This would put the Jets out in front early, 1-0. Three up, three down for
Ryan Pacha and the Jets defense in the top of the second held the Jets lead. Pacha struck out two in the inning.The Jets found two runs in the bottom of the second inning.
Zac Becker singled to kick things off.
Peyton Mitchell followed this up earning a walk. With runners on first and second, a passed ball allowed both runners to move up. With runners on second and third,
Anthony Cannavino doubled to score both runners. This pushed the Jets to a 3-0 lead.
- The Jets defense continued to hold Upper Iowa off on the offensive side of things. Through four innings, Pacha tallied five strikeouts allowing just one hit. In the bottom of the fourth, the Jets were able to tack on one more run.
Collin Morris led off the inning with a walk. A sacrifice bunt by Ely pushed Morris to second. A double by
Kaynan Kaku pushed Morris across the plate to take the 4-0 lead. The Peacocks were finally able to put some runs on the board in the top of the fifth inning. Two hits pushed two runs across the plate, closing the Jets lead to 4-2. In the top of the sixth inning, the Peacocks would take the lead after scoring five runs on four hits, pushing UIU to a 7-4 lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Newman closed the gap to 7-5. A single from Ely, followed by a single from Kaku put runners in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Birch pushed Ely across for the Jets run. After six innings of play, the Jets trailed 7-5.
- Through the seventh inning, both defenses held off the offense, keeping the score at 7-5. Ely kicked off the bottom of the eighth with a single, which was followed by two walks and a hit by pitch that allowed Ely to score. This made the deficit just one run at 7-6 heading into the final inning. The Jets would be unable to cut into the deficit. The Jets fell short, 7-6.
Player Notes:
- Cannavino led the Jets with two RBIs, going 2-4 from the plate.
- Ely went 3-5, scoring three runs for the Jets.
- Kaku recorded two hits on five at bats with one RBI.
Game Two: NU 7, UIU 8
- The Peacocks were able to convert early, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning on two hits. The Jets were unable to respond in the bottom half of the inning, resulting in Newman trailing 4-0 at the end of one. In the top of the second, pitcher
Andrew Hudson and the Jets defense faced three batters, retiring each one. The Jets scored their first run in the bottom of the third inning, with Kaku driving a solo home run to cut the deficit to 4-1. The Jets would then fill the bases after three Jets were hit by a pitch, but Newman could not bat in another run. After three, the Jets trailed 4-1.
- Upper Iowa extended their lead in the top of the fourth inning with a two run home run, taking the 6-1 lead. The Jets were unable to respond in the bottom half of the inning. In the top of the fifth, the Jets held UIU scoreless. Through six innings of play, the Peacocks held the 6-1 lead.
- The next score came in the top of the seventh by the Peacocks, extending their lead to 7-1. Newman answered in the bottom half of the inning. Cannavino reached on a walk, and later stole second. A single by Chris Lubchuk scored Cannavino to cut the score to 7-2. Later, an error by the short stop would allow the Jets third run to score to make the deficit four runs at the end of seven. The Jets closed the gap in the top of the eighth. A single by Ely led the inning off. Kaku followed this up with a single of his own that advanced Ely to third. Later, a sacrifice fly by Birch scored Ely to make it 7-4. The Jets defense was able to shut out the Peacocks in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, with bases loaded Ely grounded out that scored the Jets fifth run. Later, Kaku would reach off of a fielder's choice that scored another run for Newman. Birch would follow this with a single to score and tie the game at seven all.
- In the top of the tenth, the Peacocks scored one, which held on through the bottom of the tenth. The Jets fell short 8-7.
Player Notes:
- Kaku went 2-6 with two RBIs.
- Birch tallied two RBIs.
The Jets are set to play tomorrow at 2 PM for the third game of the series.