MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Going up against a tough doubleheader of opponents, the Newman softball team suffered a pair of losses Saturday on the second day of the SAU Softball Invitational.
The Jets (0-4) opened up against host and fifth-ranked Southern Arkansas (3-0), falling 10-2 in five innings. The Muleriders went up 3-0 after the first two innings, but Taylor Mannis tripled in the top of the third to score Delaney Hiegert, and Mikayla Medbery singled in Mannis to cut it to 3-2. Kate Smith held SAU for two more innings, but the offense finally broke through in the fifth.
Mannis went 2-for-3 in the game, while Hiegert was 2-for-2.
Moving fields and jumping right into a game against Texas A&M-Commerce (3-0), the Jets went up early thanks to Ariole O'Neal singling up the middle to score Bayley Horsch in the top of the second. They held that lead until the Lions tied it in the fourth, but they turned around to go back ahead when Hiegert scored to make it 2-1.
As the game continued to swing back and forth, Lacey Colvin smacked a two-run single in the sixth to push the Jets back in front, 4-3, but the Lions managed to score in the bottom half to eventually win it 7-4.
Newman closes out its trip to Arkansas Sunday, facing Tarleton State and Washburn beginning at 11 a.m.
