WICHITA, Kan. — A frustrating extra-inning loss was followed up by a run-rule game as the Newman softball team fell in a pair of games Saturday afternoon to Southeastern Oklahoma State, dropping games of 7-5 and 10-0.
GAME 1
Key Sequence
The Jets (2-9) charged back to force extras, but with the international tiebreaker rule in effect in the eighth inning, the Savage Storm (6-7) successfully got down three straight sacrifice bunts to plate two runs that proved to be the difference.
How It Happened
-A two-run home run with two outs helped put Southeastern in front 3-0 after the first inning. The guests tacked on two runs in the fourth, as the inning was extended by an error and allowed the Storm to go up 5-0 on the Jets.
-The Newman offense had made some noise, but really got things going in the bottom of the fifth, when it came back to tie it. Four straight hits started the inning, with Emma Eck and Paige Wallace singling, followed by an RBI single for Lacey Colvin and a big two-run double over the right fielder's head to make it 5-3.
-After another single from Delaney Hiegert, Erin Jankiewicz popped a single through the infield that allowed both runners to score and tie things up. The Jets got a runner on base with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but a double play sent it to extras, where the Storm snuck away with the win.
GAME 2
Key Sequence
The Jets escaped danger in the first, leaving the bases loaded, but they couldn't do the same in the second, as the Storm plated six runs with the help of four singles, three walks, a hit by pitch and an error as the guests built a big lead.
How It Happened
-The Newman offense wasn't able to be quite as prolific in the nightcap, as only Delaney Hiegert — who reached on a walk and a triple — was the only Jet to make it on base in the first three innings. In the fourth, Southeastern added to its lead with an unearned run.
-The Jets got a one-out walk in the fourth, and Lacey Colvin singled in the bottom of the fifth, but neither could break the shutout, and a three-run home run in the top of the fifth made it a run-rule victory for the Storm.
NOTES
-The 10-hit showing from Newman in the first game of the day was one of the best games of the season for the Jets, matching the second-best hit total.
-Hiegert finished the day going 3-for-5 at the plate with a triple, a run scored and a walk. The senior has notched a hit in nine of the team's 11 games this year.
WHAT'S NEXT
Newman gets Heartland Conference play underway quickly this season, heading to Texas A&M International and St. Mary's for a pair of doubleheaders beginning Feb. 23.
