WICHITA - The St. Mary's Rattlers used an offensive attack driven by extra-base hits and home runs to pick up a 3-1 series win over the Newman baseball team this weekend at McCarthy Field. The Rattlers swept Friday's games, 15-10 and 9-6, and hit 10 home runs on their way to a 24-7 decision in Saturday's finale. Newman picked up its only win in Saturday's opener, holding off a late Rattler rally for a 14-12 decision.

Game 1: St. Mary's 15, Newman 10 (Friday, April 9)
St. Mary's wasted little time setting the tone of the series in Friday's opener. The Rattlers tagged Newman's Steven Trevino for seven runs off six hits and an error to take a 7-0 edge before the Jets could take their turn at the plate. The Rattlers added two more runs in the second, and a single spot in the third to build a 10-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings.

The Jets finally made some noise in their half of the third. Kori Melo opened the inning with a ground rule double that bounced over the left-center field fence, and was sent home when Brandon Cox nailed a home run to nearly the same spot in left-center. Newman did get hits from Picos Soto and Mike Williams in the inning, but both were left stranded with the Jets trailing 10-2.

The Rattlers took two innings off, then added four runs in the sixth to take what seemed to be a commanding 14-2 lead after six innings. St. Mary's tacked on one more in their half of the seventh to push their advantage to 15-2, but the Jets weren't going down without a fight.

Three-straight singles from Melo, Ryan Peterson, and Cox loaded the bases for the Jets with nobody out. A Soto walk pushed Melo across the plate, and kept the bases loaded with the Jets trailing 15-3. Patience at the plate paid off for Newman, as a Trent Bierman walk pushed Peterson home. The Jets used about every method possible to score runs in the remainder of the seventh, taking advantage of two walks, a Matt Cardona single, and a Scot Palmer fielder's choice, but Melo made the statement of the inning with a three-run home run over the left-center field fence. In all, the Jets scored eight runs on five hits and an error in the inning, but it wasn't enough to top the Rattlers, who took the opener, 15-10.

Melo finished the game five-for-five with three runs scored and three runs batted in to lead the Jets in the loss. Starter Steven Trevino lasted just 1.1 innings in Friday's early game, giving up nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits and he fell to 4-5 on the season.

Game 2: St. Mary's 9, Newman 6 (Friday, April 9)
A game-opening Rattler single led to the first run of the game, and gave St. Mary's a lead it held for the entire game. The Rattlers led 3-0 after their half of the second when the Jets finally found some early-inning offense. As the second hitter of the inning, Mike Williams singled to left field, then advanced to second on a Ryan Peterson single to left. Trent Bierman sent both Williams and Peterson home with a double to right center, pulling the Jets to within one run, 3-2, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the Newman threat with the tying run left on second.

St. Mary's added two more runs in the third to push its lead to 5-2, but once again Newman added a run in its half of the frame to keep things interesting. After reaching on an errant throw from shortstop, and advancing to second when the throw flew into the dugout, Brandon Cox used a Picos Soto single to cross the plate, and drew the Jets to within two runs, 5-3, after three complete innings.

Neither team scored in their opportunities in the fourth inning, but the Rattlers made up for it in the fifth, slapping three more runs on the board in the fifth, before adding a single run in the sixth to take a 9-3 advantage. Again, though, the Jets were not willing to go away quietly. A Bierman single to shortstop, followed by back-to-back doubles by Cody Miller and Matt Cardona led to three runs in the final inning, but still left Newman three runs short, and allowed the Rattlers to escape with the 9-6 win.

Bierman and Cardona each finished two-for-three at the plate to lead the Jets. Both finished with one run scored, and two runs batted in in the contest.

Game 3: Newman 14, St. Mary's 12 (Saturday, April 10)
After watching St. Mary's hit the ball and score runs seemingly at will in the first two games of the series, it was Newman's turn to provide the early offensive fireworks in Saturday's early game. Kori Melo led off the Newman first with a single to short stop, then took advantage of a wild pitch to advance to second, before crossing the plate on a Picos Soto single to right to give the Jets a 1-0 edge after one inning.

After spotting the Rattlers three runs in the top of the second, the Jets answered back, and seemingly took control of the game in the second, tacking on five runs in the second. Ryan Peterson was hit by a pitch to open the inning, then advanced to second on another wild pitch before a two-run bomb to left field by Scot Palmer tied the game at 3-3. Melo followed Palmer with a single up the middle, then advanced to second on a John Bonebrake walk before Brandon Cox turned to the long ball once again, this time sending a three-run home run over the left field fence to give Newman a 6-3 edge advantage after two innings.

The Rattlers snuck back into the game in the fourth with two runs that narrowed Newman's lead to 6-5, but the Jets answered in a big way in the fifth. Six of the Jets' first seven batters found a way to reach base to open the fifth frame, and four of them scored. The hits kept coming for Newman, which added two more runs in the inning to take what seemed to be a comfortable 12-5 advantage.

Newman's lead became a bit more comfortable in the sixth when the Jets added two more runs to push their lead to 14-5, but this time it was the Rattlers that refused to die. After seeing a bench player and a first base coach ejected for dugout antics, St. Mary's opened its final at-bat with a solo home run over the right field fence, then followed with a walk, a fly-out, a double, a fielder's choice, two more doubles, and a triple to score seven runs in the top of the seventh, but a pop-out to first base ended the inning, and allowed the Jets to win their first game of the series, 14-12.

Palmer went a perfect four-for-four at the plate in Saturday's early game, scoring three runs and batting in three more to lead the Jets. Zach Biery was credited with the win after pitching 3.1 innings in which he allowed five earned runs.

Game 4: St. Mary's 24, Newman 7 (Saturday, April 10)
Shaking off the disappointment of their loss in Saturday's opener, the Rattlers struck early and often in the series finale. St. Mary's used two home runs, two doubles, and a single to plate six runs in the opening frame. Newman responded with back-to-back singles from Kori Melo and John Bonebrake to open the inning. Both runners scored on a Mike Williams double down the left field line, bringing the Jets to within four, 6-2.

Only the St. Mary's dugout will know what Rattler head coach Charlie Migl told his team between innings, but a theme became clear: "Get on base, and your team-mate will hit you in." The Rattlers hit two-run home runs in the second, third, and fourth innings to take a 12-2 lead going into the home half of the fourth.

Newman responded with two runs in the home half of the fourth inning when Williams and Ryan Peterson scored on a Scot Palmer single, but the Rattlers retaliated with a three-run home run in the fifth, and added another two-run home run in the sixth to take a 17-4 lead into the bottom of the sixth.

The Jets managed to add three runs behind a Williams home run, a Peterson double, and a Melo RBI double that scored Matt Cardona, and trailed 17-7 going into the final frame, but St. Mary's still was not satisfied.

The blue-clad Rattlers kept scoring in the seventh inning, using a stiff south wind to send a solo blast, a two-run home run, and a grand slam out of the park, and finished the series with a seven-run inning that led to the 24-7 final margin. In all, St. Mary's finished with 10 home runs in the series finale.

Williams finished the game hitting three-for-four from the plate with two runs scored and three runs batted in to lead the Jets in the loss.

After going 1-3 in the series, the Jets fall to 17-23 on the season, and 16-20 in Heartland Conference play. Newman returns to action Friday, hosting Texas A&M International for the first of a three-game series.