PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida softball team scored 10 runs for the fifth time this season in a 10-0 win over Gulf South Conference foe West Georgia on Sunday. UWF improved to 23-11 on the year with a 10-8 conference mark and a 10-2 record at home.
Kalyn Chapman dominated the strike zone all day, throwing strikes on 52 of her 76 pitches and walking just two batters. She retired 11 in a row from the end of the first through the beginning of the fifth, and ended up with six strikeouts and her ninth win of the season. The senior now has 97 strikeouts, which ranks third in the GSC and her .212 opponents' batting average ranks sixth.
The Argonauts offense did more than its part to ensure the win, scoring 10 runs on nine hits and drawing two walks on the day.
West Florida put up a four-spot in the second inning on just one hit and two walks. The Argonauts loaded the bases with a
Jessica Wilkinson walk, a single from
Rachel Wright and a walk from
Chelsy Krantz.
Caitlin Steel then ripped a sharp grounder up the middle that could not be handled by Sierra Stella of UWG, bringing in the first run of the day for West Florida.
Emily Pettigrew brought in two more runs just a batter later with a high chopper that bounced off of third baseman Marley Stowers's glove as she ranged to her left. Second baseman
Meghan Toney tallied the final run of the inning for UWF with a ground ball to shortstop that allowed Steel to score.
The UWF bats stayed hot in the third as well, with Chapman and
Rhiannon Sassman leading off the inning with back-to-back singles. Wilkinson then hammered a single into right field that brought in Chapman, and a misplay by Summer Wallace in the outfield allowed Sassman to score and sent Wilkinson to third. Wright followed up with a triple to the right-center field gap to score Wilkinson.
The third-inning rally continued with a bunt single and a steal from Krantz and an RBI single from Steel that brought in Wright. Steel wrapped up the scoring in the fifth by scoring on a wild pitch while Toney was at the plate.
UWF tacked on its final run of the game in the fourth after Sassman drove in
Tori Wilkins for her second RBI of the day. Wilkins led the inning off with a pinch-hit double, her second extra-base hit of the year.
Pettigrew extended her on-base streak to 18 games with a hit in the first with a single back up the middle, and Steel went another two plate appearances without a strikeout, putting her at an NCAA Division II-best 70 at-bats without being retired on strikes this year.
West Florida will start a series against Christian Brothers on Friday, March 25, in Memphis. The Friday doubleheader will begin at 2 p.m. and the series finale on Saturday is scheduled for noon.
For information on all UWF athletics, visit
www.GoArgos.com.
