WICHITA - Newman Softball returned home for the first time in several weeks, beginning senior weekend against Northeastern State. The Jets would go on to split the doubleheader with the RiverHawks, with Newman taking game one.
Last weekend, the Jets split with Lincoln and had a close second game against Central Missouri.
Game 1
After a clean first inning, Newman would give up their only run in game off a home run in the second inning. It was the only blemish in a great outing from senior
Jackie Gold, in what was one of her final home appearances in a Newman uniform.
Despite being a bit jarred from the RiverHawks home run, the Jets responded with a seven run inning in the bottom of the second.
The Jets scored seven runs off of seven hits in the inning, sending NSU into a tailspin.
Lauren Kwak's triple scored two runs with no outs on the board, and the big hits would keep on coming from that point forward. An
Anissa Ramos double would score Kwak, while a
Rylee Gresham single brought Ramos home.
To top the bottom of the inning off,
Hayley Bonython scored a three RBI home run to give Newamn a 7-1 lead.
Ramos scored the eighth run in the fourth inning, as the game was looking out of reach for the visitors.
A big part of this was one of
Jackie Gold's best performances of the season, as she allowed just four hits and struck out eight on her route to an eighth victory of the season. In her final three innings, she struck out four batters.
Game 2
Game two was tougher for the Jets, as they were not able to put up any runs on the board until the fourth inning.
The RiverHawks took an early advantage and kept it this time, scoring a grand slam in the top of thr fourth.
The Jets responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, with Bonython bring a run home and scoring herself to bring the lead down to 4-2.
An error from NSU again got the Jets back within two runs in the fifth, but it would be the last time Newman would have a big play.
Two doubles in the seventh were good enough to give the RiverHawks a 8-3 victory.
Before the grand slam,
Kinyon DeCorte put in a good showing and struck out two in just over three innings of work. The only one to find much traction on offense was
Kayla Lopez, who had two hits and scored one run in game two.
Tomorrow for senior day, six seniors will be celebrated before the final home double header of the season, as Newman will take the defending national champions #4 Rogers State. Senior day will begin at 12:40 and game one will shortly after the celebrations at 1 p.m.
