SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The rough road through the Heartland Conference continued for the Newman softball team, which suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of St. Mary's last weekend in San Antonio, Texas. Newman dropped Friday's opener, 10-1, then lost both games on Saturday.

Game 1: St. Mary's 10, Newman 1 (5 Innings)
Newman opened its three-game Heartland Conference series by scoring the first of the game. With two outs in the opening inning, Emily Zimmerman used the long ball to stake the Jets to an early 1-0 lead.

That was where the good news stopped for the Jets. St. Mary's responded with two runs in its half of the first, then added six more in the third to take an 8-1 lead. A two-run fourth inning for the Rattlers put the game out of reach for the Jets, who fell in a 10-1, five-inning decision.

Zimmerman finished the game a perfect two-for-two at the plate to lead the Jets. Stephanie Smolsky suffered the loss for the Jets, giving up eight earned runs on nine hits in just three innings of work.

Game 2: St. Mary's 5, Newman 0
Newman simply couldn't get their bats rolling in Sunday's opening game. The Jets could only produce two hits in the game, and they both game at the hands of Emily Zimmerman, who finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate.

Starter Sarah Fipps pitched a respectable contest, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits while walking one and striking out two in four innings of work, and was hit with the loss.

Game 3: St. Mary's 14, Newman 6 (5 Innings)
The Jets finished the series in much the same way they started it. Stephanie Harshberger opened the Newman offense with a triple to right field, then scored when Lauren Rorebeck sent a pitch over the left field fence to give the Jets a 2-0 lead. A walk and a Rattler throwing error gave the Jets runners on the corners for Sarah Fipps, who sent a single through the right side, and allowed Tracey Stefanski to score from third.

St. Mary's countered with three runs in the third to tie the game at 3-3, but the Jets weren't phased. Sarah Fipps opened the fourth inning with a single through the left side, then moved to second on a wild pitch. A Katie Traffas walk set up Sarah Stutts for a sacrifice bunt, which she executed perfectly to advance Fipps and Stefanski to third base and second base, respectively. Hallacy followed suit with a single up the middle that scored Fipps, then Emily Zimmerman reached on a fielding error by the Rattler third baseman. Heading to the bottom of the fifth, Newman held a 5-3 lead.

The Rattlers made their final statement in their half of the fifth inning. St. Mary's opened with four straight hits, and took the wind out of the Jets' sails in the process. The Rattlers had tied the game up before an out could be recorded, and were completely in control of the game. When the dust settled on a nightmarish inning, St. Mary's had scored 11 runs on nine hits, and the run rule was in play with the Rattlers prevailing, 14-6.

The sweep drops Newman's record to 1-12 on the season, and 0-3 in Heartland Conference play. Newman will return to action Wednesday, traveling to Pittsburg, Kan., for a 4 p.m. contest against the Pittsburg State Gorillas.