PENSACOLA, Fla. – West Florida's comeback effort against Delta State on Saturday afternoon came a bit short, as the Argonauts fell 7-3 in the series finale. Despite the loss, UWF still holds sole possession of first place in the Gulf South Conference standings with a 19-8 league record.
 
Tiona Hill and Rachel Wright finished the weekend with four hits each, with Hill scoring four times in the series and Wright driving in four runs.
 
Sarah Maloney pitched 3.1 innings of shutout relief, striking out three and allowing just three hits. A day after going the distance against DSU, Maloney's season ERA dropped to 2.31.
 
Becca Taylor and DSU's Mari Alex Sandridge traded zeroes in the circle for the first two innings of the game, but Delta State jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third with a three-run double from Sandridge and an RBI single from Carlie Vice. The Lady Statesmen would stretch their lead to 7-0 with a three-run double from Carah Nunez against Taylor Rolison, before Maloney entered in relief.
 
Maloney retired six of the first seven batters she faced, and worked through a bit of a jam in the sixth to hold off the Delta State offense.
 
Tiona Hill picked up UWF's first hit of the day with a leadoff double in the left center field gap in the bottom of the fifth, and she came around to score after Baleigh Boltz moved her to third with a fly ball to right field and Rachel Wright brought the run in with a hard ground ball to shortstop.
 
With the score at 7-1, UWF threatened again in the sixth but was held without a run, though the Argonauts would put two on the board in the seventh.  
 
Boltz reached on a wild pitch after a strikeout and Wright brought her in with a triple into the right center field gap. Caitlin Steel brought in the final run of the afternoon for UWF with a single up the middle that scored Wright, putting the final at 7-3.
 
UWF will be back in action next Saturday and Sunday at Shorter in Rome, Georgia.