Newman Sports
David Rung, Associate Athletic Director/Sports Information Director
MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Getting its offense clicking on the third day of the season, the Newman softball team finished its weekend at the SAU Softball Invitational with a pair of wins, topping Tarleton State 4-3 and Washburn 12-10 Sunday.
The Jets (2-4) went down 1-0 early to the TexAnns (3-2), but bounced back to take the lead in the top of the fourth. Mikayla Medbery doubled to start the inning, scoring to tie it on Bayley Horsch’s single. Ariole O’Neal allowed with a walk, and Rachael Withers bunted the pair into scoring position. Alyssa Taylor pushed Newman in front with a two-out single up the middle to make it 3-1.
Tarleton State answered in the bottom half of the frame, but Adrienne Esposito started the fifth with a single, eventually scoring on Taylor Mannis’ groundout to provide the final score. O’Neal, who tossed three innings of relief allowing just one hit, retired the final eight batters she faced to secure the win.
A wild game against the Ichabods (0-6) followed, as the Jets tied it at 2-2 on a double from Taylor in the second, but saw themselves down 4-2 heading into the sixth. There, Newman broke out for its biggest offensive inning since the 2015 season, plating nine runs to shoot ahead.
O’Neal started off the onslaught with a bases-loaded walk, and Withers and Medbery each added big two-run hits in the frame. Washburn fought back, scoring four in the sixth and two in the seventh, but wasn’t able to overcome the big inning.
Medbery’s two hits on the day were both doubles, while Mannis went 3-for-5 in the game against the Ichabods.
The Jets head to a neutral site against next weekend, playing five games at the Midwestern State Round Robin starting Friday.