HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The University of West Florida softball team dropped its series finale to No. 3 Alabama Huntsville 6-2 on Sunday. Despite falling in the final game of the three-game set, UWF picked up its 20th win on the year, which surpasses the team's 2015 total, and earned its fourth win of the season against a ranked opponent.
Meghan Toney,
Jacey Castro and
Emily Pettigrew all went 1-3 on the day, with Toney and Pettigrew also drawing a walk each and Castro driving in UWF's two runs with a double in the first inning.
Kalyn Chapman led the team with two hits and also reached when she was hit by a pitch.
UWF jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first, after a two-out double to left field from
Jacey Castro. Her hit brought in both
Meghan Toney and
Rhiannon Sassman, who drew back-to-back walks in the inning.
West Florida's offense kept things going in the following innings, but luck was not on the Argos' side. After
Caitlin Steel reached on an error with one away,
Emily Pettigrew hit a grounder to second sharply enough that UAH could turn an inning-ending double play on the speedy centerfielder.
It was a similar story in the third, when Toney ripped a double through the right side, but was caught at second two batters later when a
Kathleen Smiley line drive turned into a double play. West Florida picked up two hits in the fourth, but could not quite bring a run across.
Kalyn Chapman held the third-ranked team in the country hitless for her first two innings of work, but the UAH bats came alive in the third. With one away, UAH's Haley Thompson and Brianna Sullivan reached to bring up the GSC leader in RBIs Kaitlyn Bannister, who hit a three-run home run that would prove to be the game-winner.
Savannah Smith doubled for the Chargers just one batter later, and UAH tacked on two more in the fourth to cap off the scoring for the day.
The Argos will return to the UWF Softball Complex for a midweek doubleheader against Montevallo on Wednesday, March 16, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
For information on all UWF athletics, visit
www.GoArgos.com.
