WICHITA - The Newman softball team was dealt a three-game sweep by league-leading St. Mary's in its home-opening series. Three Jets hit home runs in the series, including a seventh-inning grand slam by Jill May in Thursday's second game.

Game 1: St. Mary's 10, Newman 2 (Thursday, Mar. 18)
The Jets answered a first-inning Rattler run with two runs of their own to take a brief 2-1 lead, but St. Mary's answered with three runs in the second, and two more in the third to take a 6-2 lead into the fourth inning. The Rattlers tacked on four more in the sixth en route to the 10-2 run-rule win.

Tracey Stefanski led the Jets offensively, finishing the game one-for-two with one run scored and two runs batted in. Lauren Rorebeck was responsible for Newman's only other run. Allison Thummel pitched the entire six-inning affair for the Jets, giving up 10 runs (six earned) on 10 hits while walking three and striking out five. She was saddled with the loss and fell to 0-6 on the season.

Game 2: St. Mary's 15, Newman 8 (Thursday, Mar. 18)
Newman scored as many runs in Thursday's second game as they had in the entire season before the St. Mary's season, but still came up short in a 15-8 loss. Freshman Erin Schmidt held the Rattlers scoreless for three innings to open the game.

When the Rattlers finally scored, they did so in a big way. St. Mary's put up five runs in the fourth inning, and added two more in the sixth. The Jets countered with two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, and kept things respectable at 7-4 going into the seventh inning. That's when the Rattlers made their statement in the game. St. Mary's nailed eight runs to the board in the final frame, thanks in large part to a stiff south wind blowing straight out to center field, and gave the Jets a 15-4 deficit to work with in their final at bat.

The Jets doubled their offensive output for the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, riding a Jill May grand slam to a four-run inning, but still came up on the short end of a 15-8 decision. May finished the day two-for-four with two runs scored and four runs batted in to lead the Jets offensively.

Schmidt pitched 6.1 innings in Thursday's late game, giving up 13 runs, nine of which were earned, and was saddled with the loss to fall to 0-3 on the season. She was relieved by Danielle Cobb, who finished the seventh inning by allowing just one hit.

Game 3: St. Mary's 6, Newman 0 (Friday, Mar. 19)
Newman was held to just three hits and was held off the scoreboard in a 6-0 loss Friday morning. St. Mary's scored four runs in the second inning, and added solo runs in the fifth and seventh innings to secure the series sweep.

Allison Thummel recorded another complete game in Friday's finale, surrendering six earned runs on 12 hits while recording five strikeouts.

The sweep pushes Newman's record to 0-11 on the season, and 0-9 in Heartland Conference play. The Jets will look for their first win of the season Tuesday, traveling to Weatherford, Okla., to take on the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.