JACKSON, Tenn. – Junior third baseman Jacey Castro hit two home runs and recorded six RBIs in the second half of UWF's doubleheader sweep over Union on Saturday. With the two wins, West Florida improved to 28-11 on the year with a 15-8 Gulf South Conference mark.
 
Castro's RBI total ties the single-game high for UWF this season, matching Kalyn Chapman's output against Miles on February 11. With leadoff singles in the first inning of each game, Emily Pettigrew extended her on-base streak to 23 games. It is the longest such streak since Karri Bisbee reached in 24 in a row for the Argonauts in 2011.
 
Castro wasn't the only Argonaut with a hot bat on the day, as the team hit .475 in the two games and slugged .689.
 
UWF was also a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen base tries, with Chelsy Krantz stealing four of her own. Meghan Toney, Emily Pettigrew and Caitlin Steel each stole two apiece.
 
GAME 1: West Florida 12, Union 4 (5 innings)
It was a rocky start in Game 1, with Union taking a 4-0 lead after just an inning. West Florida fought back in the top of the second with two runs, including RBI singles from Jessica Wilkinson and Caitlin Steel. Reigning GSC Freshman of the Week Rachel Wright started the rally with a one-out double down the left field line, and Wilkinson drove a sharp single into left to score Wright.
 
Wilkinson advanced to third on the throw home, and Chelsy Krantz moved her over with a groundout to third base. Steel then singled through the left side to score Wilkinson and cut the deficit to two runs.
 
Meghan Toney led off the third inning with a single to left and advanced to second and third on two separate wild pitches with Rhiannon Sassman at the plate. Sassman grounded out to short, bringing in Toney and putting the score at 3-4.
 
With an out in the fourth inning, Steel and Krantz each drew a walk to put two runners on for the top of the order. Toney reached on an error by shortstop Madison Tennyson to load the bases, and Sassman drove in two runs with a long double to left-center field, giving West Florida the 5-4 lead. Kalyn Chapman quickly followed with a single up the middle and brought in Toney and Sassman, putting the score at 7-4 after three-and-a-half innings.
 
UWF's first five batters in the fifth inning reached, beginning with a double from Wilkinson and a single from Krantz. Krantz stole second and came in to score with a two-run double to left field from Steel. Pettigrew reached on an error, bringing in Steel and putting the score at 10-4, and then stole second herself. Toney wrapped up the five-batter streak with a single up the middle, putting two runners on for the heart of the order.
 
Smiley's double to left-center field scored Toney and Pettigrew, giving UWF an eight-run lead at 12-4 after the top of the fifth.
 
Steel and Sassman each finished the game with three RBI, while Toney scored three times. Wilkinson, Krantz and Steel all scored twice each. Chapman's performance in the circle was her 10th complete game, her 12th win and her ninth 9+ strikeout game of the season.
 
GAME 2: West Florida 15, Union 7 (6 innings)
UWF got off to a quick start in Game 2, scoring five runs in the first inning. Jacey Castro, playing in her first game since the series opener against West Georgia on March 19, hit a three-run home run in the first to finish off UWF's scoring and take a 5-0 lead after an inning. Castro also hit a solo shot in the fourth, putting UWF up 11-4.
 
She had two more RBIs on the day for a total of six. Those six RBIs match Kalyn Chapman's single-game season best from a game against Miles on February 11. Prior to Chapman, the last UWF player to drive in at least six runs in a game was Jillian Lafrance, who brought in seven against Miles on February 27, 2010.
 
Union responded with three runs in the bottom half of the first to make the score 5-3, but the Argonaut bats wouldn't be silenced. UWF put up three in the second inning, two in the third, one in the fourth and four in the sixth, en route to the team's second-highest scoring output this season.
 
Seven Argonauts had an RBI in Game 2, and every starter reached base at least once in the victory. Toney was the only Argo other than Castro with multiple RBIs, with two one-run singles on the day.
 
Castro, Toney, Pettigrew and Krantz had multiple hits on the day. It was the 12th such game for Toney, the 10th for Pettigrew, the eighth for Castro and the fifth for Krantz.
 
Rhiannon Sassman and Rachel Wright each had doubles in the game, stretching their hitting streaks to six and seven games, respectively.
 
West Florida wraps up the series with the Lady Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon, with a 1 p.m. CT start time at Fesmire Softball Field.
 
For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.