WICHITA - The Newman baseball team won its sixth-consecutive series with a 6-5 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith Saturday afternoon at McCarthy Field. Ruben Marrero and Tyler Hancock each recorded three hits in the win.

Newman (17-7, 12-6 Heartland) started the game on the right foot when Ruben Marrero blasted a home run oer the left field fence and gave the Jets an early 1-0 lead.

Marrero was on the scene again in the third inning. After watching Tanner Vinson steal a pair of bases after being hit by a pitch, and watching Shanan Engroff reach on a walk, Marrero dribbled a single through the right side, just out of the reach of Arkansas-Fort Smith (13-10, 9-8 Heartland) first baseman Gordon Miller, and allowed both Vinson and Engroff to score. After three innings, the Jets held a 3-0 lead.

The Lions scored their first run in the fourth with a solo home run off the bat of Ben Smith, but Newman had an answer yet again, and, yet again, Marrero was involved.

With one out in the fifth, Engroff doubled to the left-centerfield fence, then scored on a Marrero single up the middle. Marrero went on to score on Tyler Hancock's single through the right side, and suddenly Newman led 5-1 with four innings remaining.

Arkansas-Fort Smith refused to go quietly, needing just one inning to take a chunk out of the Newman lead. The Lions forced Newman starter Jacob Furr out of the game after a pair of walks to open the inning. He was replaced by Tony Gonzales, who gave up a three-run home run that pulled the Lions to within one, 5-4, after seven innings.

The Lions competed their comeback in the eighth, plating the game-tying run off two hits, and giving Newman six outs with which to break the 5-5 tie.

Newman needed just two of those six outs to get the job done. After watching Corey Cowan line out to second to open the eighth inning, Hancock belted a home run to the left-centerfield power alley, and gave the Jets a 6-5 lead with just one inning remaining.

Gage Daniels shut down the Lions in the ninth, and secured the 6-5 win for the Jets.

Ruben Marrero and Tyler Hancock led Newman's offense in the game. Marrero went 3-for-4 at the plate, with two runs scored and three more batted in, while Hancock was a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish with a run and two RBI.

Gage Daniels was credited with the win, allowing just one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts while improving to 1-1 on the season. Starter Jacob Furr allowed three earned runs on four hits, and fanned eight Lions in his six innings on the mound.

With the win, the Jets improve to 17-7 on the season, and 12-6 in Heartland Conference play. They are scheduled to return to action Tuesday with a trip to Edmond, Okla., and a rematch with Central Oklahoma. First pitch is slated for 2:30 p.m. at Wendell Simmons Field.