UAFS won its sixth Heartland Conference series in a row on Saturday afternoon as the Lions beat the Newman Jets 2-1 in 10 innings in the regular-season finale for both teams at McCarthy Field in Wichita, Kan.
The Lions (26-17, 13-8) split the series-opening doubleheader against the Jets (17-30, 3-18) on Friday night, losing 3-1 in the opening game and winning 9-3 in the nightcap to set up Saturday's winner-take-all game. UAFS won all of but one of its seven conference series – the Lions lost to the regular-season conference champion
Lubbock Christian Chaps 3-0 in the first series of conference play.
UAFS will be one of the four teams to qualify for next week's conference tournament and could finish tied for second depending on the outcome of Sunday's regular-season finale between Rogers State and Oklahoma Christian.
Rogers State (30-16, 13-7) and Oklahoma Christian (28-18, 10-10) split their series-opening doubleheader on Saturday and will play the deciding game on Sunday.
With the game tied 1-1 after nine innings, UAFS seized the lead in the top of the 10
th inning. Catcher
Dylan Hurt led off with a double to center field off Jets reliever Garrett Hammond. Hurt moved to third on a bunt by first baseman
Kyle Love and scored on an errant throw that allowed Love to reach base safely, too.
Hammond gave up a single up the middle to center fielder
Travis Young but retired the final three batters he faced to send the Jets into the home half of the 10
th trailing 2-1.
Lions reliever
Foster Pace, who relieved starter
Cooper Van Kooten after eight strong innings, worked around a one-out single in the bottom of the 10
th to retire the side – all on strikeouts – to earn the win.
Pace (4-2) allowed no runs on one hit with no walks and three strikeouts over two innings. Van Kooten allowed one earned run on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts over eight innings to earn a no-decision.
Jets third baseman Turner Lace was 1 for 4 with a double and one RBI, right fielder Jake Hanson was 2 for 4 and center fielder Tyler Push was 1 for 4 with a double.
UAFS collected nine hits off six of the eight Newman pitchers. Hammond (1-2) suffered the loss, allowing one unearned run on three hits with no walks and a strikeout over two innings.
Hurt was 2 for 5 with a double and one RBI, right fielder
Logan Allen was 2 for 5, Love was 1 for 5, Young was 2 for 4, second baseman
Logan Easley was 1 for 4 with a double and third baseman
Brooks Sunny was 1 for 4.
The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a RBI single by Hurt before the Jets tied the game on a RBI double by Lace in the eighth inning.
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE
UAFS 2, NEWMAN 1 (10 INNINGS)
UAFS 001 000 000 1 -- 2 9 0
Newman 000 000 010 0 -- 1 5 2
Van Kooten, Pace (9) and Hurt; Erdman, Wilson (3), Winter (4), Hersh (5), Stramel (6), Tucker (7), Bonnell (8), Hammond (9) and Lloyd. W – Pace, 4-2. L – Hammond, 1-2. HRs – None.