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April 2, 2016
  
JACKSON, Tenn. – The University of West Florida baseball team extended its winning streak to nine games after defeating the Union University Bulldogs in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader. The Argonauts would win Game 1, 8-4, before thumping the Bulldogs in Game 2 by a score of 17-4.
 
West Florida now stands 23-11 overall with a 15-5 Gulf South Conference record, while Union is at an even .500 and is 8-11 in the league.
 
Game 1: West Florida 8, Union 4
 
Scoring early has been a common theme for the 2016 Argonauts, and UWF baseball would start Saturday's doubleheader just like that as Justin Ambrosino came through with a single to right field to score Kyle Hamner to give the Argonauts a early 1-0 lead.
 
After the Argos scored a run in the fourth and Union shortstop Bailey Holbrook hit a two-run home run, the Argonauts broke open a 2-2 tie with a four-run sixth inning. Ambrosino recorded his second RBI of the day on a single to left center, while Robert Lopez would bring Ambrosino and Ladeavon Matthews home with his second triple of the season. Lopez would eventually score on a wild pitch to give West Florida a 6-2 lead.
 
Holbrook hit his second home run of the day in the sixth before Union added another run in the seventh with a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-4 in favor of UWF.
 
John Price and Nic Strasser added some insurance with RBI singles in the top of the eighth to finish the scoring in West Florida's 8-4 victory.
 
Walker O'Connor notched his sixth win of the season, going six innings while allowing three earned runs and six hits. O'Connor fanned six batters while walking just one.
 
Cole Crowder would throw the seventh inning, before Sean Kennedy tossed two innings of hitless baseball to finish things on the mound.
 
Jean Figueroa led the team with a 4-for-5 with a double and a triple, while Ambrosino and Lopez led the team with two RBIs apiece. Ambrosino went 3-for-4, while Lopez and Price each had a 2-for-4 effort. Figueroa, Lopez and Ambrosino each recorded two runs scored to lead the team.
 
Game 2: West Florida 17, Union 4
 
The Argonauts utilized a five-run first inning and a six-run sixth inning to help pave the way for UWF's fourth victory of the season by at least a 10-run margin.
 
In the first, Justin Ambrosino, Kyle Hamner, and Colby Brown all recorded RBIs to give UWF an early 3-0 lead. Before the end of the first, John Price added a 2-RBI single to extend West Florida's lead to 5-0.
Colby Brown added an RBI triple in the third, while Price added an RBI triple of his own two innings later.
 
Union's Bailey Holbrook hit his third home run of the day in the fifth to cut UWF's lead to 9-3. The Argonauts responded the next half inning with six runs, as Ladeavon Matthews, Colby Brown, Price, Jean Figueroa and Ambrosino all recorded RBIs in the inning.
 
Brown added another extra-base hit in the seventh, hitting an RBI double to right to score Robert Lopez. Nic Strasser added another RBI, as a run was able to score on a fielder's choice in the seventh.
 
Brandon Nagem earned his fifth win of the season, throwing six innings where he allowed two earned runs on six hits. Nagem recorded three strikeouts while walking two Union batters.
 
Gray Dorsey added an inning of relief in the seventh, allowing one run on two hits while striking out the side.
 
Ambrosino and Jimmy Redovian led the squad with three hits, each going 3-for-5 in Game 2. Lopez, Brown, and Price all had a two-hit showing, while Brown and Price led the team with four RBIs each. Four RBIs for both Brown and Price sets a new season-best for the pair of junior college transfers.
 
Brown led the team with two extra-base hits, having a triple and a double, while Price, Nic Strasser, and Lopez all added one extra-base hit each.
 
Lopez set a new single-game high for the Argos, as his five runs in Game 2 is the most by a single UWF player in the 2016 season.
 
Notes
 
Kyle Hamner had one hit in both sides of the doubleheader, extending his hitting streak to 20 games. Hamner passed Dustin Lawley of the 2010 team for sole possession of the third longest hitting streak in program history.
 
Brandon Nagem earned the win in his fifth straight appearance. Nagem now stands at 5-1 on the season and has a 2.39 ERA over 26.1 innings pitched in his last five appearances.
 
Walker O'Connor now has six wins, putting him just one win behind his career-high seven wins which he did in the 2015 season.
 
With the pair of wins, UWF clinches the series win in its seventh straight GSC series. West Florida now sits at 15-5 in the GSC, which is a full three games better than last season's 12-8 start in GSC play through the first 20 games of conference action. 
 
Justin Ambrosino led the team with six hits on Saturday, as the junior has recorded a multi-hit performance in five straight games after going 6-for-9 against Union. Robert Lopez turned in a 4-for-7 day with a team-high seven runs scored, while Jean Figueroa and John Price each posted a .500 average on the day as Figueroa went 5-for-9 and Price went 4-for-8. Price led the team during the doubleheader with 5 RBIs.
 
As a team, UWF hit .392 on the day while the pitching staff held Union to a .242 batting average.
 
UWF as a team had two triples coming into the day, but totaled four triples just the 16 innings of Saturday's doubleheader. Price and Lopez recorded their second triples of the season, while Figueroa and Brown grabbed their first triples of the 2016 campaign.
 
After West Alabama dropped both of its contests to Lee on Saturday, UWF, UWA and Delta State currently stand in a three-way tie for first place in the GSC standings.
 
The Argonauts will go for 10 straight wins tomorrow, as the Argonauts and Bulldogs conclude their three-game series tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. JT Granat, who has not allowed a run in his last 15.1 innings pitched, is expected to get the start for UWF.
 
To stay updated on the UWF baseball team, follow the team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball. For information on all UWF Athletics, visit GoArgos.com.