PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida softball team kept its hot streak from two midweek doubleheaders going on Saturday, taking two games from No. 14 Alabama at the UWF Softball Complex. After Saturday's action, UWF stands at 15-8 overall and 4-7 in the Gulf South Conference.
Senior left fielder Jacey Castro had five hits on the day, which led all players, and Kathleen Smiley, Rachel Wright and Caitlin Steel each added multi-hit games.
The UWF pitching was exceptional against UAH, allowing just four runs to one of the top offensive teams in the conference. Becca Taylor allowed just four hits in Game 1, and Sarah Maloney struck out eight Chargers in her complete game victory.
GAME 1: UWF 3, No. 14 UAH 2
Offense was at a premium for both teams through the first five innings, as West Florida and UAH totaled just five hits and no runs.
Becca Taylor was in top form against the Chargers on Saturday, going the distance for the seventh time this year and allowing just four hits while striking out one She retired the first six batters she faced to start the day and it wasn't until Tyler Harrison drove in the go-ahead run that Taylor faced too much danger.
In that sixth inning, Kaitlyn Bannister led off with a single and was moved to second by a sacrifice bunt from Taylor Wascavage. Two batters later, Harrison lined a single up the middle and gave UAH the lead. Alabama Huntsville tacked on another run later in the inning when Jada Hayes stole third base and came across on a wild throw.
UWF got a few back in the bottom half, however, starting with back-to-back two-out singles from Rachel Wright and Caitlin Steel. With the runners on first and second, Sara Spears hit a high chopper to short, and a combination of some heads-up baserunning and aggression from Wright brought the center fielder in to cut the deficit to 2-1. Jacey Castro then drove a single into left and Meghan Toney punched one into center field to bring the score to 3-2.
Castro, Wright and Steel each had multiple hits in the game, with Castro's three leading all players.
Taylor improved to 8-5 on the year with the victory.
GAME 2: UWF 4, No. 14 UAH 2
UAH jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first, but UWF wasted little time getting that run back. Steel led the third inning off with a single, and after moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from Sara Spears, she came around to score on a single from Castro that evened the score.
West Florida picked up another in the fourth, starting with back-to-back singles to lead off the inning from Kathleen Smiley and Callan Taylor to put runners at first and third with nobody out. Two batters later, Wright drove a liner into center field to bring in pinch-runner Miranda Smith from third and give UWF the 2-1 lead.
Alabama Huntsville struck back in the fifth with an RBI double from Reagan Malone, but Sara Spears got on to lead off the bottom half and put UWF in great position to re-take the lead. Castro moved her to third with a ground ball to the right side, and Toney singled through the left side to put up UWF 3-2 after five innings.
The Argonauts added an insurance run in the sixth, following a leadoff walk from Tiona Hill. Baleigh Boltz pinch ran for Hill and came around to score two batters later on an infield single from Spears to put the score at 4-2.
Sarah Maloney and UAH's Emily Glover went head-to-head in a game that featured the two best strikeout pitchers in the Gulf South Conference. UWF had a much easier time making contact on Glover, striking out just one batter in five innings, while Maloney totaled eight punchouts.
Saturday marked the sixth time that Maloney has had at least one strikeout per inning pitched this year. Maloney's mark of 8.4 strikeouts per seven innings leads the league, and Glover's 7.7 strikeouts per seven innings rank first and second in the Gulf South Conference this season.
Maloney retired seven of the last nine batters she faced and moved her record to 4-2.
UWF wraps up the series on Sunday at 1 pm at the UWF Softball Complex.
#ARGOS#
