WICHITA - The Newman baseball team opened its weekend series with a split against Arkansas-Fort Smith Friday evening at McCarthy Field. The Lions took the first game with a 10-0 decision before Newman countered with a 5-3 win in the nightcap.

Game 1 - UAFS 10, Newman 0
Arkansas-Fort Smith (13-8, 9-6 Heartland) used a deadly combination of hot bats and nearly flawless pitching to open the series with a 10-0 rout over Newman (15-7, 10-6 Heartland). The visiting Lions plated four runs in the first, and took a 4-0 lead before the Jets could even take their turn at the plate. UAFS starter Sam Meloy welcomed Newman to the plate with a pair of first-inning strikeouts, and set the tone for the rest of his game. Meloy went on to throw nine strikeouts in his six innings on the mound, while holding the Jets to just two hits.

Newman recorded its first hit in the third, when Shanan Engroff singled through the left side. The Jets added another hit in the fourth, and one more in the seventh, but were never a threat to the Lions, who added a pair of runs in the third, and four more in the seventh on their way to the 10-0 seven-inning win.

Game 2 - Newman 5, UAFS 3
Newman (16-7, 11-6 Heartland) forced Arkansas-Fort Smith (13-9, 9-7 Heartland) to play from behind early in Friday's nine-inning nightcap. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Ruben Marrero reached on a single to right, then advanced to second on an error by the UAFS right-fielder. A Corey Cowan single pushed Marrero to third, and put runners on the corner for Tyler Hancock, who answered the call with a triple to the left-centerfield gap, and gave the Jets a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

The Lions tied the game in the second, tagging Newman starter Brandon Droge for a pair of runs off of three hits, but the Jets made their answer in the third. Marrero opened the frame with a solo home run over the left field fence to break the tie. With two outs later in the inning, David Longmore singled up the middle, then stole second before Jerrod Flax singled through the left side, and sent Longmore across the plate. After three, the Jets held a 4-2 lead.

Droge took care of business for the next three innings before he was replaced by Ashton Hoffman in the seventh.

The Lions plated another run in the eighth, but Newman countered with one of their own to take the 5-3 lead they went on to win by.

Ruben Marrero finished with a 2-for-3 outing at the plate with two runs scored and one batted in. Corey Cowan was Newman's only other multi-hit batter, finishing 2-for-5 with a run scored and one batted in.

Newman starter Brandon Droge picked up the win, and improved to 4-2 on the season. Droge allowed two earned runs on five hits with five walks and four strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work. Gage Daniels picked up his 10th save of the season, retiring four of the five batters he faced during his 1.1 innings of work.

With the split, the Jets improve to 16-7 on the season, and 11-6 in Heartland Conference play. They will return to action Saturday, hosting the Lions in the final game of the three-game series. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at McCarthy Field.