PENSACOLA, Fla. – West Alabama came up short in game one of its GSC series against West Florida on Friday evening, falling 3-1 at Jim Spooner Field.

The Tigers were held scoreless until the ninth and couldn't overcome a strong outing from the Argonauts' pitching staff.

West Florida (24-15, 16-9 GSC) broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when Brett Rowell drove in Alex Urias with a double to left center. The Argos would later add two insurance runs in the eighth, capitalizing on a pair of West Alabama errors. Ben Maskin delivered an RBI double, followed by a run-scoring error that pushed the lead to 3-0.

West Alabama (19-20, 12-13 GSC) showed late signs of life in the top of the ninth. Will Wood scored on a wild pitch to spoil the shutout, but the Tigers couldn't bring the tying run to the plate.

Offensively, UWA was led by Blake Vineyard and Nick Wilson, who both recorded two-hit games. Vineyard and Wilson also each tallied a double, accounting for the Tigers' only extra-base hits. 

However, the lineup was stifled by West Florida starter Dalton Neuschwander (7-3), who threw seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and no walks.

Maxwell Schumacher (1-6) turned in a solid start for the Tigers, allowing just one earned run across seven innings while striking out four. Reliever Ryan Ladner was tagged for two unearned runs in the eighth.

Chase Stanhope earned the save for UWF, tossing the final two innings and striking out three.

West Alabama and West Florida will wrap up the three-game series on Saturday, April 12, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.