WICHITA, Kan. — With one more nonconference doubleheader standing in the way of the Heartland Conference regular season, the Newman softball team embarks on a busy weekend, facing Texas A&M Commerce Thursday before opening league play against St. Edward's Friday and Saturday.

The Jets kick off with a doubleheader against Commerce at 5 p.m. Thursday, before facing the Hilltoppers in a single game Friday at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday starting at noon.

SCOUTING NEWMAN

The Jets (5-11) suffered a pair of tough losses Monday afternoon on the road against Fort Hays State. They jumped out to an early lead and were up by six before the Tigers clawed their way back into it and eventually won 9-7 in extra innings in the first game, then was tied until a late burst pushed FHSU to an 8-2 win in the nightcap.

LEADERS

                Taylor Mannis, Sophomore-.438 avg., 10 runs, 4 2B, 1 HR, .583 slg., 5 SB

                Mikayla Medbery, Junior-.343 avg., 7 runs, 2 2B, 5 RBI, .415 OBP

                Rachael Withers, Junior-.308 avg., 4 runs, 1 2B, 3 SB

                Katie Ingles, Senior-2-1, 3.90 ERA, 5 app., 13.1 IP, 2 CG, 7 BB, 14 SO

                Kate Smith, Junior-1-9, 4.09 ERA, 10 app., 51.1 IP, 7 CG, 1 shutout, 22 BB, 22 SO

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

TEXAS A&M COMMERCE

The Lions (14-5) are off to a stellar start to the 2016 season, as they began the year 10-1 before dropping three games to Cameron in their Lone Star Conference opener last weekend. Still, TAMU-C has had solid victories, with only two coming by fewer than four runs. They handed Texas-Permian Basin a doubleheader sweep Tuesday to get back on the winning track.

                LEADERS

                Kylene Hatton, Senior-.414 avg., 9 runs, 4 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .655 slg

                Ciera Nunez, Freshman-.370 avg., 18 runs, 8 RBI, 10 SB

                Luci Ponce, Senior-.365 avg., 17 runs, 5 2B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, .529 OBP

                Cherie Jackson, Sophomore-.353 avg., 17 runs, 5 2B, 5 HR, 27 RBI

                Brittany Woolridge, Freshman-5-2, 2.93 ERA, 11 app., 3 CG, 1 shutout, 43.0 IP, 27 BB, 28 SO

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

ST. EDWARD'S

The Hilltoppers (12-9, 2-1 Heartland) are already a series deep into league play after taking two out of three close games against Lubbock Christian last weekend. The doubleheader sweep of the Lady Chaps on Friday was the tail end of a stretch of eight wins in nine games for SEU, which has seen nine of its 12 wins come by three runs or fewer, with seven coming by the slimmest of margins.

                LEADERS

                Alex Mayfield, Junior-.388 avg., 16 runs, 1 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBI, 15 SB

                Breah Whitten, Junior-.333 avg., 8 runs, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 3 SB

                Morgan Dufour, Sophomore-.326 avg., 13 runs, 3 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, .804 slg., 20 BB

                Lauren Slatten, Junior-7-4, 2.64 ERA, 13 app., 7 CG, 77.0 IP, 26 BB, 75 SO

                Ashlee Rex, Junior-2-2, 4.20 ERA, 10 app., 2 CG, 30.0 IP, 13 BB, 10 SO

NOTES

-The Hilltoppers took both games of a shortened two-game series last year against the Jets, winning 9-0 and 5-4. Medbery provided three hits for Newman on the day, while seven others chipped in with base knocks.

-St. Edward's Dufour as found just about every way possible to make an impact, as she's third on the team with a .326 average and has walked an astounding 20 times in 21 games to give her a .549 on-base percentage. To add to that, 10 of her 15 hits on the season have gone for extra bases.

-The Lions have dished out some punishment to opposing pitchers so far this season, as they're 11th in the country in scoring, putting up 7.82 runs per game. That number is helped out by a team on-base percentage of .425, which is 19th in the country, and it never hurts that they're second in Division II with nearly four stolen bases a game.

COVERAGE

Live video and statistics from all five games this weekend will be available at www.newmanjets.com.