LAREDO, Texas- The Newman baseball team won its third Heartland Conferece series of the season on Saturday, defeating Texas A&M-International in the first and third games, 2-1 and 4-1 at Jorge Haynes Field in Laredo, Texas. Texas A&M-International defeated the Jets 5-3 in Game 2.

Game 1:
Texas A&M-International (7-4, 6-3 HC) struck first in the bottom of the third inning, following an RBI single to left field. Newman (7-4, 5-4 HC) battled back, half an inning later. Terrell Brown led the inning off by reaching on an error by the left fielder. Brown advanced to second, on a David Longmore sacrifice bunt. After Ruben Marrero was awarded first base on a hit by pitch, Tyler Hancock scored Brown on an RBI single down the right field line, advancing Marrero to third. Corey Cowan scored Marrero on a sacrifice fly, to put the Jets up 2-1.

Kyle Burkhardt (2-2) shut down the Dustdevils in his fourth start of the season, throwing 6.1 innings, giving up one run (zero earned), and struck out six batters. Jace Moore and Gage Daniels shut the door on TAMIU, retiring the final two batters, to preserve the 2-1 win. Tyler Hancock led Newman offensively, going one-for-two with an RBI, and a walk.

Game 2:
The bats opened up for both teams in Game 2. Newman (7-5, 6-5 HC) started the party in the top of the first. Following a Tanner Vinson ground-out, Terrell Brown and David Longmore walked to bring up Ruben Marrero. A double-steal by Brown and Longmore put both Jets in scoring position. Ruben Marrero reached first, following an error by the third baseman. A Tyler Hancock ground-out to the first baseman scored Brown, advancing Longmore to third and Marrero to second, but a Corey Cowan strike-out ended the Jet threat.

Texas A&M-International (8-4,7-4 HC) retaliated in the bottom of the third, when Sean Smedley scored on an RBI ground-out to third base to tie the ball game at 1-1. The Jets responded half an inning later, when Marrero lead off the inning with a single to right field. A Tyler Hancock bunt-single advanced Marrero to second. Corey Cowan's sacrifice-fly advanced Marrero and Hancock to third and second, respectively. Jerrod Flax's RBI single scored Marrero, but Hancock got caught in a pickle for the final out, ending the Newman threat, putting the Jets up 2-1.

The Dustdevils tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on a Jarron Shimmel RBI single to right field. The Jets countered half an inning later, when a Tanner Vinson single led off the frame. Vinson advanced to second on a wild pitch, setting the table for David Longmore. Longmore singled to right field, and advanced to second on an error by the right fielder, scoring Vinson from second, to put Newman up 3-2.

TAMIU's big inning came in the bottom of the sixth, plating three runs on three hits to take a 5-3 advantage. Danny Navarro shut the Jets down in relief, pitching 4.1 innings, giving up two hits, striking out three batters, to lead the Dustdevils to the 5-3 victory.

Brandon Droge (2-2) took the loss for Newman, throwing 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (4 earned), while striking out two Dustdevils.

Game 3:
Newman (8-5, 7-5 HC) started the series-clincher by scoring in the top of the second. Following a Tyler Hancock pop-up to the third baseman, Ruben Marrero singled to center, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kyle Okumura's RBI single to center field scored Marrero to put the Jets up 1-0.

Newman kept the pressure on Texas A&M-International (8-5, 7-5 HC) in the top of the fifth. After Tanner Vinson struck out looking, Jerrod Flax singled past the shortstop, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. A David Longmore ground-out advanced Flax to third, and Flax scored on another wild pitch to put the Jets up 2-0.

Newman's scoring tyrade picked back up in the top of the seventh. Following a Christian Dye ground out, Tanner Vinson singled to right field. Vinson made it to second, after Longmore was plucked by a pitch. A Corey Cowan double, drove in both Vinson and Longmore, and put Newman up 4-0.

The Dustdevils' lone run came in the bottom of the eighth, following an RBI sacrifice fly to right field. The Jets' bullpen finished the job, clinching the series with a 4-1 win.

Jacob Furr went six-strong, surrendering three hits, without giving up any runs, and struck-out three TAMIU batters. Ruben Marrero led the Newman bats, going one-for-one, while walking twice.

With the victories, the Jets improve to 8-5 on the season, and 7-5 in Heartland Conference play. Newman returns home on March 2, when they begin a three-game series with Texas-Permian Basin. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday at McCarthy Field. Saturday's finale is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start time.