PENSACOLA, Fla. – West Florida swept a Gulf South Conference doubleheader from West Alabama Saturday at the UWF Softball Complex to complete a sweep of the opening conference series of the season for both teams.
The Argonauts improved to 6-3 overall and 3-0 in GSC play. West Alabama fell to 4-5 and 0-3.
"It was a tough weekend as we came up short," UWA head coach Carie Dever-Boaz said. "We scored a lot of runs and should have pulled out a win or two. We have to find a way to be able to close out a game from the mound."
Game 1
The Argonauts exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning to defeat the Tigers, 8-7.
Grace Gilbert picked up the pitching win for West Florida, despite allowing seven runs on nine hits. She struck out three and walked one. Kacy Noland started for the Tigers and surrendered five runs on seven hits over 3.1 innings. Caleigh Wallace and Haley Thorpe finished up in the circle for UWA.
The Tigers jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Presley Witt doubled, advancing Kylie Martin to third and driving in LP Trammell. Nicole Buccieri added a two-run single, driving in Martin and Witt.
The Tigers stretched the lead to 6-1 in the fourth when Grace Self singled, followed by another single from Hannah Sartain, who advanced pinch-runner Kailey Hunt to third base. A Kendall Johnson single scored Hunt and Kacy Noland's double scored Johnson. The Tigers picked up another run on a West Florida error.
West Florida's big inning started with a home run by Ally Merrill, followed by a Jacquelynne Poling single to score Laurynn Boggs . Mika Garcia drove in two runs with a single to left field and Kara Wilson's three-run homer pushed the Argonaut lead to 8-6.
Buccieri singled in Morgan Windham in the fifth inning to round out scoring for the Tigers.
Buccieri and Trammell combined for four 10 UWA hits.
Game 2
West Florida defeated UWA 7-5 in game two to complete the sweep.
West Alabama jumped to a 1-0 lead on a solo homer from Cassie Matlock in the top of the first inning.
The Argonauts rallied to go ahead 3-1 after five innings, but West Alabama rallied for four runs in the sixth inning to take a 5-3 lead.
In the four-run sixth Noland singled, moved to second on a walk to Matlock scored when Trammell reached on a UWF error. Buccieri then singled in Matlock and Sheffield. Kelsie Gilliam's squeeze bunt scored Lexy House to push UWA ahead of West Florida, 5-3.
The Argonauts answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to lead by the final 7-5 lead margin when Kayla Mayo and Garcia both belted two-run homers.
The Tigers return to action Saturday, hosting Christian Brothers in a doubleheader before finishing the series with a single game Sunday at the UWA Softball Complex. First pitch for UWA's home opener is set for noon Saturday.
To stay connected with the UWA softball team, follow @UWASoftball on Instagram and @UWA_Softball on Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
