March 5, 2016
 
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FLORENCE, Ala. – With an offensive outburst in game one and a solid bullpen effort in game two, the University of West Florida baseball team was able to sweep Saturday's doubleheader against the University of North Alabama Lions.  UWF would go on to win game one by a score of 9-2, while the Argos squeaked away with a 4-3 win in game two. UWF now sits at 11-6 on the season with a 6-2 Gulf South Conference record, while UNA is now 10-6 on the year with a 5-3 league mark. West Florida has now eight of their last nine contests and currently ride a four-game winning streak.
 
UWF is now 10-1 in their last 11 games against the Lions, while holding a five-game winning streak when playing against UNA in Florence, Alabama.
 
West Florida 9, North Alabama 2
 
Walker O'Connor got the start on the hill for UWF and upon entering the contest, O'Connor averaged nine runs per game in run support from the Argonaut lineup. Game one of Saturday's doubleheader would be no different, as the UWF bats got it going early with a five-run second inning. O'Connor, who entered the contest with a streak of 21 innings without allowing an earned run, extended his streak to 27 innings before allowing two runs in the seventh. The redshirt-junior finished his outing with 6.2 innings pitched, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking two.
 
The five-run second inning was in thanks to a pair of long balls from the bats of Jimmy Redovian and Nic Strasser, who each hit a two-run shot. It marked as the second consecutive game for Redovian in which he homered, while Strasser hit his third home run of the season. Kyle Hamner opened the scoring in the game with an RBI single to score Justin Ambrosino.
 
The Argonauts would continue to pour it on as Ambrosino hit an RBI single in third and Strasser continued his impressive day with an RBI double in the fourth.
 
North Alabama would score a pair of runs in the seventh off a 2-RBI single from Kevin Hall, however that would be all the offense the Lions would muster in the first game. The Argos would respond as Jean Figueroa hit a 2-RBI double in the ninth to score Strasser and Alex Greene and extend UWF's already comfortable lead to 9-2.
 
Jarrod Petree recorded his first career save, throwing the eighth and ninth innings where he struck out three and did not allow a runner to reach base.
 
Strasser, who went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and a walk, and Justin Ambrosino who went 3-for-4 with an RBI, highlighted West Florida's offensive performance. Jean Figueroa's 2-for-5 showing gave the outfielder his eighth multi-hit game of the season, which is a team high.
 
West Florida 4, North Alabama 3
 
Nic Strasser continued his impressive day in game two, as the sophomore's fifth inning solo home run broke a 3-3 tie and allowed UWF to take game two against UNA.
 
Jimmy Redovian and Jean Figueroa would contribute RBIs each in the second and third innings, respectively to let UWF jump out to a 2-0 lead in game two.
 
UNA would take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third, as the Lions were able to scrape together three runs against UWF starter JT Granat. Granat would finish his outing with 2.1 innings pitched, allowing three runs on four hits while walking two and striking out four.
 
Brandon Nagem turned in his best performance of the 2016 season, throwing 3.2 innings of shutout baseball. The southpaw allowed just one hit, while striking out a season-best seven batters.
 
A UNA balk would allow Justin Ambrosino to tie the score at 3-3 in the fourth, before Strasser's fifth inning go-ahead blast, his fourth of the season, would cap off the scoring. Steven McClellan would earn his third save of the season after throwing a 1-2-3 seventh inning with two strikeouts.
 
Alex Greene handed in a 2-for-3 performance in game two for UWF's only multi-hit showing. The shortstop, who entered the series with an 11-game hitting streak, was able to extend it to 13 games with a hit in each game on Saturday. The hitting streak is the longest for UWF since Sean Plunkett strung together a 14-game hitting streak in 2014.
 
Strasser led the offense on Saturday, finishing the doubleheader with a 3-for-7 effort including a home run, a double and four RBI. Ambrosino posted a 4-for-6 day, while Figueroa went 3-for-9 and has now reached base safely in 13 consecutive games.
 
UWF and UNA wrap up their three-game GSC series tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in Florence, Ala. Left-hander Anthony Mazzurco is expected to be on the mound for the Argonauts for his second start of the season.
 
To stay updated on the UWF baseball team, follow the team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball. For information on all UWF Athletics, visit GoArgos.com.