WICHITA, Kan. — Playing like it wasn't facing one of the top 10 teams in the country, the Newman softball team went toe-to-toe with No. 10 St. Mary's in a doubleheader to open up a three-game Heartland Conference series Friday evening at the Newman Softball Field.

The Jets (14-30, 4-13 Heartland) hung right in there against the six-time defending conference champion Rattlers (34-9, 18-2 Heartland), holding them to a scoreless tie before one tough inning did them in while suffering a 5-0 loss in the opener, and taking a lead in the nightcap before St. Mary's came back for a 5-2 win.

Newman started off the day playing right with the Rattlers, as starting pitcher Kate Smith was perfect through her first two innings in the circle and retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced. The guests were able to reach on an error in the top of the third and come around to score the game's first run on a sacrifice fly.

The Rattlers were able to piece together their only big inning in the fourth, scoring four times on five hits, but were held to just one hit total in their other six times at bat. Smith finished the game allowing just six hits and no walks over her seven innings.

The Jets cracked five hits of their own in the game, and put at least one runner on in six of the seven innings. Mikayla Medberry led the way with a 2-for-4 game, while Adrienne Esposito smacked her second double of the season to lead off the third. Alyssa Taylor and Missy Swanson each added a hit, and Taylor Mannis drew three walks.

Newman continued to be competitive into the nightcap, starting with pitcher Katie Ingles, who struck out four of the first seven batters she faced in the game and worked around a two-out double in the first to keep the Rattlers off the board.

The Jets followed in the third inning with an impressive trip to the plate. Swanson started things off with a single up the middle, but was quickly followed by two outs. That didn't slow the hosts down though, as Medbery responded with by cracking a single to score Swanson, and Rachael Withers laced a shot down the right left field line to score another and make it 2-0.

Ingles went out in the next half inning to toss another 1-2-3 frame, but the Rattlers managed to push two runs across in the fifth to tie things up. Newman got a leadoff double from Swanson in the fifth, and Ingles buckled down for another quick inning in the sixth, but the guests put up three runs to take the lead for the first time in Game 2 in the top of the seventh, and that advantage held.

Ingles went 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and one walk while striking out five. Medbery put up another two base hits in the game, finishing the day 4-for-7, while Swanson also chipped in a 2-for-3 game in the finale.

The Jets and Rattlers are back at the Newman Softball Field Saturday morning at 11 for the series finale.