PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida softball team swept a doubleheader against Christian Brothers on Thursday afternoon, with a combined no-hitter from Grace Gilbert, Kelsey Sweatt, and Megan Warhurst in the first game. UWF won 9-0 in Game 1 before winning 8-0 in Game 2.
 
West Florida now stands at 16-7 on the year and Christian Brothers is 9-14.
 
"I think the pitchers came in focused on throwing strikes and finding their groove today," head coach Ashliegh McLean said. "They were really successful today, and our hitters had their backs. And our offense was really aggressive today – they attacked the zone and it worked for us."
 
The pitching staff was outstanding on Thursday afternoon, allowing just two total hits across both games. Gilbert, Sweatt, and Warhurst held the Lady Bucs to a .065 batting average, did not walk a batter, and struck out six.
 
Offensively, UWF was just as impressive. Teala Howard stole five bases on the day, while going 4-for-6 with a triple and three runs scored at the plate, and Mika Garcia went 5-for-6 with a home run and a double. Senior outfielder Kara Wilson went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, and five RBIs.
 
In all, UWF hit .476 as a team and slugged .929 in the doubleheader.
 
UWF will wrap up its 10-game homestand with a weekend series against West Georgia, starting on Saturday at 1 pm.
 
GAME 1: UWF 9, Christian Brothers 0 (5 innings)
UWF pitched their first no-hitter of the season against Christian Brothers after Grace Gilbert, Megan Warhurst, and Kelsey Sweatt combined to strikeout three and allow just one baserunner via hit by pitch for five innings. It was the program's first no-hitter since February 9, 2019 against Cal (Pa.), when now-UWF graduate assistant Tori Perkins no-hit the Vulcans.
 
After a perfect first inning in the circle, Gilbert also got the Argos started on offense in the bottom of the inning with a two-run homer to left field, following Howard's leadoff single.
 
The Argonauts blew up for six innings in the third, and it got started when Howard led off with a single and then stole second and third before Gilbert hit a sac fly to center to extend the lead to 3-0.
 
Wilson opened the game up for West Florida when she hit a three-run homer to left-center, scoring Ally Merrill and Garcia. UWF then scored two more runs following a fielding error from the Lady Bucs, putting the score at 8-0.
 
Garcia added on another insurance run when she homered in the fourth inning, making the UWF lead 9-0.
 
CBU's lone baserunner came in the second inning, when Elaina McGill was hit by a pitch by Gilbert. The junior rebounded with no trouble, retiring the final five batters she faced.
 
Sweatt and Warhurst each pitched a perfect inning of relief, in the fourth and fifth.
 
Gilbert picked up the win to improve her record to 6-4.
 
GAME 2: UWF 8, Christian Brothers 0 (5 innings)
It was more of the same in Game 2 for UWF, starting with a seven-run second inning.
 
Freshman Kayla Mayo got things going with a three-run home run in the second, picking up her second round-tripper of the year. Jibrasha Moore followed two batters later with an RBI single, and Teala Howard tripled to left field to score Moore.
 
Garcia and Wilson added more insurance in the inning with RBI doubles, putting UWF ahead 7-0. Wilson would add her second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing in Laurynn Boggs.
 
Sweatt and Warhurst each threw in Game 2 and were just as impressive as they were in the first. Sweatt improved to 6-2, throwing three hitless innings to start the game. She struck out two batters, before Warhurst came in with two scoreless innings of relief.