PENSACOLA, Fla. – Emily Pettigrew extended her on-base streak to 27 games and stretched her hitting streak to 10 games in the University of West Florida softball team's Saturday sweep over West Alabama. UWF improved its record to 32-11 overall and to 13-2 at home with the two wins. West Florida now stands at 18-8 in the Gulf South Conference, while UWA is 6-20 in league play.
 
With three hits in Game 1 and two in Game 2, Pettigrew led all batters with five hits on the day, and her batting average is now higher than .400 for the year.
 
Rhiannon Sassman etched her name into the UWF record books in a bit of an unconventional way in Game 1, after being hit twice. The freshman has reached via a hit by pitch seven times this season, which is the sixth-most in a single season for a UWF player.
 
GAME 1: UWF 8, West Alabama 0 (6 innings)
Chapman struck out four of the first six UWA batters she faced, on the way to a total of seven Ks over six innings. Chapman was at the top of her game against UWA, allowing just one hit on the day and throwing her third shutout of the season.
 
She picked up her 15th win of the year and saw her opponents batting average drop to .210 for the year, both of which rank fifth in the GSC. It was the 10th game this year in which Chapman has struck out at least seven batters and her fourth one-hitter this season.
 
It was a pitcher's duel through the first 4 ½ innings, with the teams totaling three hits and no runs entering the bottom of the fifth. UWF opened the game up in its half of the inning, as Rhiannon Sassman started the scoring with an RBI triple to bring in Meghan Toney. It was Sassman's third triple in her last four at-bats, with the other two coming in Wednesday's game against Spring Hill.
 
Sassman was followed by a walk from Kathleen Smiley, and Jacey Castro's single through the left side brought in Sassman for the second run of the inning. It was Castro's 10th RBI in her last four games, dating back to her two-homer game against Union on April 2.
 
Rachel Wright tallied two RBIs with a single into right field. The hit landed safely but was bobbled by UWA right fielder Jenna Goldsmith, allowing Smiley to score and getting Castro to third. Wright got halfway up the line on the throw home, before getting into a rundown between first and second. Castro began creeping down the line before an errant throw from Lacey Santiago got by first baseman Audrey Diekmann and allowed Castro to score and put Wright on second.
 
The final run came across on Chapman's line drive single into left field that brought in Wright. All of UWF's runs in the fifth came across with two outs.
 
West Florida picked up its final three runs in the sixth, starting with a pinch-hit walk from Jessica Wilkinson. Pettigrew followed that with a double, and Toney and Sassman were each hit by pitches and Wright drew a walk, all adding up to give UWF two runs. Chapman brought in the eighth UWF run with a sharp single up the middle.
 
Pettigrew and Chapman led all players with three hits in the game, while eight of UWF's nine hitters reached base at least once. Wright led everyone with three RBIs in the game, in her fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
 
GAME 2: UWF 11, West Alabama 1 (5 innings)
Kathleen Smiley ripped a two-run double into right field to start the scoring for West Florida in Game 2, giving the Argonauts a 2-0 lead after an inning of play. Pettigrew and Toney led the game off with a hit and a fielder's choice, respectively.
 
UWF extended the lead to 7-0 after putting up five more runs in the second inning and stretched the lead even more with four more runs in the third.
 
Kayla Rosario and Chelsy Krantz reached to start the second, and Pettigrew's sharp grounder through the right side brought both of them in, putting the score at 4-0. Sassman singled to score Pettigrew, a triple from Jessica Wilkinson scored Sassman and Smiley's double into deep right field brought Wilkinson around.
 
With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Toney hit a grounder to third baseman Ashlend Rodriguez, who overthrew the catcher trying to make a play at the plate. Caitlin Steel also scored on the play, coming around after the overthrow. Sassman followed with another triple, her fourth in three games, and brought in Pettigrew and Toney for her second and third RBIs in the game.
 
UWF pitchers Becca Taylor and Sarah Maloney did more than their share in Game 2, holding West Alabama to just five hits over five innings, while walking none and striking out five. The win was Taylor's 12th of the year and marked the 14th time in 22 games that she did not issue a walk. Opponents are hitting just .258 against Maloney after her perfect fifth inning, and she now has 52 strikeouts in as many innings this year.
 
The series wraps up tomorrow afternoon with a 1 p.m. start at the UWF Softball Complex.
 
For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.