PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 35 West Florida baseball team remained undefeated after mercy-ruling Albany State 13-3 in eight innings and defeating Flagler 9-0 Saturday in the UWF Invitational brought to you by McDonald, Fleming, Moorhead at Jim Spooner Field.
 
"We had two good victories today," UWF coach Mike Jeffcoat said. "I think the Flagler game was the best game we've played this year. The defense was good. The hitting finally came around, and we showed a lot more patience at the plate."
 
Game One: West Florida 13, Albany State 3 (8 innings)
 
"In the first game, I thought we swung the bats a little better, especially late," Jeffcoat said. "What I was most impressed with was our defense. We played solid defense. We really cleaned it up."
 
Alex Stevens (Pensacola, Fla./Lurleen B. Wallace CC) picked up his first win of the season after allowing two runs on six hits with three strikeouts in five innings. Matt Rodriguez (Ocala, Fla./College of Central Florida) earned a save after allowing one run on zero hits with four strikeouts over three innings.
 
In the game, nine Argos reached base, seven recorded hits and four recorded multi-hit games.
 
Chase Kiefer (Pensacola, Fla./Pensacola Catholic HS) went 3-for-6 with 3 RBIs including a walk-off single in the eighth. Freshman Nick Kerkmann (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty HS) went 4-for-5 with three runs, a double and 2 RBIs in his Argo debut, and Jordan Stark (Flowood, Miss./Jones County CC) went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs and two RBIs.
 
Game Two: West Florida 9, Flagler 0
 
"Brandon Nagem threw a great game," Jeffcoat said. "He mixed speeds and threw a lot of strikes, and he really got the momentum going for us. We made some nice defensive plays, but I think the offense really got it going tonight against a good team."
 
Brandon Nagem (Pensacola, Fla./Northwest Florida State) improved to 2-0 after pitching eight scoreless innings with two hits allowed and five strikeouts, and Josh McLaney (Laurel Hill, Fla./Paxton HS) closed the game with a spotless ninth.
 
UWF scored three in a third inning which included three hits and a two-run double by Nic Strasser (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips HS).
 
Strasser came around to score from third in the fifth inning after an RBI-double from Kerkmann. The Argos added five more in the seventh on six hits to lead 9-0. All nine Argos reached base in the game, eight recorded hits and five recorded multi-hit games.
 
Strasser went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs, and Kyle Hamner (Maitland, Fla./Edgewater HS) went 2-for-4 with a run and 2 RBIs.
 
"We talk about showing pride at home and trying to get better every day," Jeffcoat said. "I was more than pleased to get three more victories at home and get ready to get on the road Wednesday."
 
UWF will travel to Mobile, Ala. to play Spring Hill Feb. 11 before opening Gulf South Conference play with a home series against North Alabama Feb. 14-15.
 
For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.