LAREDO, Texas – The Newman baseball team began its final Heartland Conference series of the season against Texas A&M International Friday afternoon on the road and took the doubleheader to start the series.
 
Joe Cannady was the starting pitcher for the Jets in Game 1, throwing a complete game to earn the win and also tallied three strikeouts to cap off his performance. Neither team could get going offensively in the first-three innings of the contest but Newman got on the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth inning, when Nick Griffin scored a wild pitch to make 1-0.
 
However, TAMIU answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead after four complete innings. The Jets scored three runs in the top of the fifth to recapture the lead at 4-2.
 
With one out in the top of the fifth Brian Canfield doubled to left field to get Jacob Hamerle home for the first run of the inning. Two at-bats later Griffin singled to center to drive in Canfield and Channing Williams singled to center the following at-bat to bring home Aaron Mack for the final run in the top of the fifth.
 
Texas A&M International put another run on the board in the bottom of the sixth to cut into the Jet lead at 4-3. With it being a one run lead for the Jets in the top of the seventh, Williams added two insurance runs late in the game by tripling down the right field line to score Canfield and Mack and put the score at 6-3, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
 
Cannady sat down the Dustdevil batters in order in the bottom of the seventh, to secure the 6-3 victory for the Jets in Game 1 of the doubleheader.
 
Bradley Altdoerffer was the starting pitcher for Newman in Game 2, throwing a complete game, recording four strikeouts and earned his third win of the season.
 
All would be quiet for both teams in the first-two innings of Game 2, until Mack sent a three-run home run over the right field fence to put the Jets out in front 3-0 in the top of the third inning.
 
Newman extended its lead in the top of the fifth when Nick Griffin doubled to left field with the bases loaded, driving in two runs to make it 5-0. The following at-bat Williams singled to center field, scoring Mack from third and Griffin from second to push the lead out to 7-0 to complete the scoring in the top of the fifth.
 
TAMIU got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth and cut into the Jet lead, by scoring two runs to make it 7-2, after six complete. Neither team could get on the scoreboard in the seventh or eighth innings as the both teams headed to the ninth inning.
 
The Jets added three runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead out to 10-2, which remained the final score as Newman went on to take Game 2 from TAMIU.
 
Williams went 6-of-8 from the plate today, with six RBIs, one double and one triple to lead the Jets offensively throughout the doubleheader.
 
Newman completes its final conference series and game of the season tomorrow at 11 a.m. against Texas A&M International.