WICHITA, Kan. – Matt Malone sparked the offense with a first-inning home run and Gage Yost struck out six in seven strong innings work on the hill, leading the way for Minot State in a 6-5 road victory over Newman.

The Beavers (6-2 overall) hung on after building a 6-0 lead on the day as Austin Loeb's back-to-back strikeouts ended the game after the Jets loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth.

Yost (1-0) earned the win and Loeb his second save of the season for the Beavers, who now are off until March 3 when they head to Missouri for a three-game series at Southwest Baptist.

Malone got Minot State rolling with a solo home run in the first, then Gunnar Kozlowitz, Mark Ossanna, and Shane Kary each drove in a run in the third inning to stretch the lead to 4-0.

Brent Riddle added an RBI triple in the top of the sixth, then scored on a Derek Kay single for a 6-0 lead.

Newman plated two in the bottom of the sixth, then three in the eighth before leaving the bases loaded to end the game.

Riddle, Kay, Malone, Kozlowitz, Ossanna, and Javier Gutierrez each had two hits on the day to lead the Beaver offense.