GULF SHORES, Ala. – The University of West Florida softball team saw an action-packed second day at the Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores, splitting against Rollins and No. 8 North Georgia on Saturday. UWF now stands at 2-1 on the year.
 
Meghan Toney followed up a 3-for-3 day on Friday by going a combined 5-for-7 with three RBI, a walk and a hit by pitch. The junior from Huntsville, Alabama, is hitting .800 on the year from the 2-spot in the lineup.
 
Rhiannon Sassman also impressed on Day 2 of the GCI. The Orlando, Florida, product added four hits, including a home run that kickstarted UWF's 8-run rally in the fifth inning against Rollins.
 
Becca Taylor picked up the win in Game 1 and struck out 12 batters in 9.2 innings of action on the day.
 
In all, five Argonauts drove in at least a run and eight players scored at least once.
 
Game 1: West Florida 11, Rollins 10
 
Despite what the score may suggest, the first three innings of Game 1 were the textbook definition of a pitcher's duel. Taylor and Rollins' Sarah Piening allowed just four hits between them in the first three innings, before Rollins put up five runs in the bottom of the 4th. In the inning, RC scattered five hits and drew a walk.
 
Though the offense started slow to begin the day, UWF bounced back from the five-run deficit, beginning with Sassman's first home run of the year. Toney followed that with a single, and she moved to third on a double down the left field line from Jacey Castro, which forced a Rollins pitching change.
 
Freshman Callan Taylor provided a sacrifice fly to put the score at 5-2 in favor of Rollins, and Caitlin Steel's single up the middle after back-to-back walks from Rachel Wright and Tiona Hill put UWF within a run. Sara Spears drew a walk to load the bases for Sassman, who singled up the middle and gave UWF the lead.
 
The scoring for the fifth finally came to a close with a single from Castro that drove in two runs and gave UWF an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom half of the 5th.
 
UWF stretched the lead farther in the 6th, with another single from Sassman that drove in Wright and a 2-run single from Toney that brought in Steel and Jibrasha Moore. Rollins was forced to bring Piening back in after Toney's single, and UWF led 11-5.
 
Freshman Taylor Rolison issued two walks to start the 6th but got out of the jam by forcing three flyouts and allowing just a run. With the score at 11-6, Rollins struck again in the 7th. The Tars scored four runs to get within a run, when Taylor re-entered and struck out Sarah Harrison to end the game.
 
UWF improved to 5-4 all-time against Rollins with the win.
 
Game 2: West Florida 1, No. 8 North Georgia 5
 
Toney added another pair of hits in Game 2, giving her multiple hits in all three games UWF has played this year. Her first came in the 3rd inning, when she drove in Tiona Hill to give UWF a 1-0 lead. It would be the only run UWF scored against UNG on the day, and UWF picked up just three hits the rest of the way.
 
The Nighthawks struck back with five hits and four runs in the 4th to take a 4-1 lead, and they scored again in the 6th to put the score at its final 5-1.
 
Along with Toney, Sassman reached base twice, with a single and a walk. Taylor went 5.1 innings, striking out five and walking one, while Rolison struck out a batter and allowed no hits in her 0.2 innings of work.
 
West Florida wraps up its time at the Gulf Coast Invitational on Sunday. UWF will face No. 22 Missouri-St. Louis at 9 am in Gulf Shores, before going to battle with Tuskegee at 2:30 pm.