LIVE STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES

LAREDO, Texas (March 8, 2018) – Texas A&M International University softball hits the road for the second straight weekend with a three-game series against Newman on March 9-10 in Wichita, Kan. The Dustdevils have won five straight in the series including two earlier this season at Dustdevil Field in Laredo. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
 
Links for live stats and video can be found at GoDustdevils.com under the softball schedule page.
 
A LOOK AT THE DUSTDEVILS
The Dustdevils opened Heartland Conference play a perfect 3-0 but have faced adversity over the past few games as they are now 6-20 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The schedule doesn't get any easier as eight of their next 11 games are on the road including the next five.
 
Hitting
Cassie Cannon continues to lead the Dustdevil offense as the centerfielder is hitting .367 with eight doubles, one triple and one home run driving in seven runs. She also leads the team in slugging percentage (.511) and on-base percentage (.412).After a hot start to the season, the senior has cooled off a little going 1-of-13 from the plate over the past four games. Earlier in the season she scored a run in a career-best seven straight games. Maya Paul has fit in well to the cleanup role for the Dustdevils as the freshman is hitting .348 with six doubles and seven RBIs. She causes opposing teams trouble on the base paths as she has swiped a team-high seven bases. Maddison Schofield has batted in the three spot in 19 straight games as she is hitting .316 with three doubles and one home run driving in a team-high 15.
 
Pitching
Delainy Thompson enters the weekend two strikeouts short of becoming the second Dustdevil in program history to reach 300 career strikeouts. The Eastvale, Calif. product pitched well through six innings on Wednesday including four strikeouts in the first three innings. For the season, the four-year starter is 2-8 with an ERA of 3.92 allowing 43 runs (33 earned) on 64 hits while striking out a team-high 32. Sara Caterson has moved up to the second spot in the rotation as the junior has started a game in the past four series. Melanie Lint has moved into more of a relief role for the Dustdevils making a team-high 17 appearances for a 2-6 record. She ranks first on the team in ERA (3.54) and second in strikeouts (31).
 
A LOOK AT THE JETS
The Jets are coming off a doubleheader split against William Jewell at home on Wednesday which improved their record to 4-19 on the season and 1-7 in conference play. Janice Esses is in her third season as the head coach at Newman where she has led the Jets to the conference tournament twice including in 2017.
 
Hitting
Abby Davis is the top hitter for the Jets with her .368 average with three doubles and five runs batted in. Her .421 slugging percentage and .471 on-base percentage are also team-highs as she has had two or more hits in four of her last five games. Paige Wallace is also seeing the ball well at the plate hitting .327 with one double and three RBIs. Of her 18 hits this season, six of those have come in the past four games.  Taylor Mannis may only be hitting .182 with 12 hits in 66 at-bats but the senior leads the team in home runs (1) and runs batted (11). Bailey Bugner is the only other Jet to have hit a home run this season went deep in their 6-4 victory over Lubbock Christian.
 
Pitching
Nique Payne's three wins are a team-high as the junior is 3-7 in 11 starts with an ERA of 5.49 allowing 44 runs (35 earned) on 61 hits and 34 walks while striking out 28 in 44.2 innings of work. She got the start for the Jets in their first game against the Dustdevils but only went 2.2 innings allowing seven runs (three earned) on seven hits. Chantel Purcella has made an immediate impact for NU as she ranks first on the team in ERA (2.79) and strikeouts (41). She went 5.0 innings earlier this week against William Jewell allowing four runs (three unearned) on six hits with five strikeouts.
 
THE SERIES
The Dustdevils lead the all-time series 28-6 with eight of those wins coming in Wichita, Kan… They have won 12 0f the last 15 including five straight dating back to March of last year… The Dustdevils last played at NU Softball Field in March of 2016 where they won the first game before dropping the final two games of the series… TAMIU is 17-1 against NU when they score six or more runs.
 
THE LAST MEETING
The Dustdevils opened the Heartland Conference season on a high note with a two-game sweep of Newman on Feb. 23 in Laredo. They scored eight unanswered runs in the third inning to win 9-1 in five innings in game one. Game two was closer as the Jets came back from a three-run deficit to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth. Brandi Giles tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with her fourth home run of the season followed by a walk off double by Maddison Schofield giving the Dustdevils a 5-4 victory.
 
AROUND THE HEARTLAND
St. Mary's and Rogers State remain undefeated in Heartland Conference play at 6-0 and 4-0 respectively. The Hillcats have won 16 straight with the Rattlers not too far behind with a nine game win streak of their own. Lubbock Christian sits third at 4-2 but has a chance to make a move up this weekend when they head to San Antonio to play StMU. Oklahoma Christian sits in fourth with a record of 4-4 with the Dustdevils in fifth followed by St. Edward's and Nweman.
 
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils finish their five-game road trip on Tuesday , March 13, in Austin with a doubleheader against St. Edward's before returning home for a three-game series against Oklahoma Christian.