FLORENCE, Ala. – The University of West Florida softball team was in total control from the start in its elimination game in the Gulf South Conference Tournament against Alabama Huntsville on Friday afternoon, picking up a 9-1 win in six innings against the Chargers. With the win, UWF improved to 39-14 on the year and evened the season series against UAH 2-2. The game was UWF's 12th run-rule victory of the season.
 
West Florida will play Shorter in an elimination game on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. The meeting will be the fifth between the teams in the last eight days, with the most recent of those coming in the first round of the tournament on Thursday – a 7-6, 13-inning win for UWF. Thursday's contest tied the longest game in UWF postseason history and was the longest in GSC Tournament history.
 
Friday's game started with Kalyn Chapman's performance in the circle in the first inning, as she struck out leadoff hitter Brianna Sullivan and forced a weak groundout from All-GSC selection Taylor Wascavage. After back-to-back singles from the heart of the UAH order, a popup to left field from Tyler Harrison was caught by a diving Chelsy Krantz to save at least one run and end the inning.
 
The UWF bats picked up exactly where the pitching and defense left off in the bottom half, as Emily Pettigrew laid down a bunt single and advanced to third on a wild throw from third baseman Kaitlyn Bannister. Meghan Toney came through with a single up the middle to score Pettigrew, and Rhiannon Sassman hit a deep two-run home run to right field to give UWF the early 3-0 lead.
 
Chapman continued her dominance over the eighth-best scoring offense in Division II over the next six innings. UAH totaled just seven hits against the senior, who held the Chargers to one extra-base hit on the afternoon. It was the Boonville, Indiana, native's 20th victory of the season, making her one of just four pitchers in the GSC to achieve the feat.
 
Trouble for UWF seemed like it could have been on the way in the third inning when UAH led the inning off with back-to-back singles from Wascavage and Bannister. With those two on and nobody out, UWF catcher Caitlin Steel blocked a ball in the dirt and fired a bullet down to second to pick off Wascavage for the first out. Following that, Chapman got a fly ball out from Savannah Smith and a popup from Harrison to end the threat and the inning.
 
West Florida totaled 15 hits on the day, with four of those coming in the three-run fourth inning that extended the Argo lead. Steel started the rally with a one-out single up the middle, and Pettigrew followed by reaching on an error by pitcher Taylor Doriety. Toney loaded the bases with her second single of the day, and Sassman chipped in her third RBI with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Steel.
 
Kathleen Smiley came through immediately after, hammering a single through the left side to score Pettigrew and Toney and give UWF a 6-0 lead. The game was Smiley's 13th with at least two RBIs, a team high, and Sassman's 10th with three runs driven in.
 
Alabama Huntsville scored a run in the top of the sixth, but UWF responded quickly with another three-spot in the bottom half to get its second walkoff win of the tournament. Sassman singled through the right side and Chapman followed two batters later with her third home run of the GSC Tournament, this one a shot to dead center field.
 
Rachel Wright singled up the middle with the score at 8-1, and Jacey Castro doubled down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position. Krantz battled at the plate before a wild pitch got away from Wascavage behind the plate and allowed Wright to score the game-winning ninth run.
 
Timely offense was the key for UWF today, as the Argonauts tacked on 10 of their 15 hits in the first, fourth and sixth innings, in which they scored all nine runs.
 
Saturday's game will feature live stats and a video broadcast, provided by the GSC. Links can be found at GoArgos.com or GSCSports.org.