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April 29, 2016
 
CLEVELAND, Tenn. -  For the first time since the 2011 season, the University of West Florida baseball team clinched the Gulf South Conference Regular Season Championship by defeating the Lee University Flames, 7-5, on Friday evening.
 
With securing the first place spot, West Florida will now host the GSC Tournament beginning on May 7^th. The regular season title marks as the fifth in program history and the first regular season title since the conference decided to merge the East and West Divisions.
 
For the fourth time in the UWF's last five games, West Florida faced an early deficit as Lee took a 1-0 in the top of the second.
 
The Argos would respond with a five-run fourth inning, beginning with reigning NCBWA South Region Hitter of the Week Robert Lopez hitting a two-RBI triple to take a 2-1 lead. Jean Figueroa, Nic Strasser and Justin Ambrosino each added an RBI single before the conclusion of the inning to provide the Argos with a 5-1 lead. 
 
Lee chipped away with a run in the fourth, before coming through with three runs in the fifth to tie the score at 5-5.
 
Walker O'Connor started the game and pitched 4.2 innings, allowing five earned runs and 10 hits. After O'Connor suffered a rough fifth inning, head coach Mike Jeffcoat brought in Jarrod Petree to limit the damage.
 
Petree was nearly unhittable in his outing, going 3.1 innings and allowed only one base runner to halt any opportunity of Lee taking a lead in the late stages of the ballgame. In his outing, Petree earned his sixth win of the season and lowered his season ERA to 0.86 and opponent's batting average to .145.
 
UWF would take the lead in the top of the sixth, as Jimmy Redovain recorded his team-high sixth game-winning RBI of the season hitting a 3-2 fastball for a single through the left side of the infield. The Argos added some breathing room in the seventh as Lopez stayed hot with a RBI single to left.
 
Argonaut closer Steve McClellan earned his South Region-high ninth save of the season after allowing one hit and recording one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning to complete UWF's 11th comeback victory of the season. 
 
Figueroa and Lopez, UWF's seven and eight hitters in the contest, led the team offensively as Figueroa posted a 3-for-4 evening and Lopez went 2-for-5 with a team-high three RBI.
 
UWF will look to win its 12^th consecutive GSC series tomorrow, as the Argos and Flames begin a doubleheader tomorrow at 11:00 am CT/12:00 p.m. ET.

To stay updated on the UWF baseball team, follow the team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball. For information on all UWF Athletics, visit GoArgos.com.