LIVE STATS/VIDEO
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida baseball team (24-21, 15-14 GSC) wraps up its regular season schedule with a three-game home series against Lee (26-21, 12-18 GSC) beginning Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The series will conclude on Sunday with a single game also stating at 2:00 p.m.
 
About The Seniors: West Florida will celebrate 11 seniors in a pregame ceremony at 1:15 p.m. at Jim Spooner Field on Saturday. This group has helped UWF post a 163-81 (.668) winning percentage since 2013 and has helped UWF be one of just four GSC clubs (UWF, West Alabama, Alabama Huntsville, Delta State) to make the GSC Tournament every year since 2013.
 
Chase Kiefer – R-Sr. – Outfielder/Infielder – Pensacola, Florida – Pensacola Catholic HS
Kiefer will finish his career as UWF's all-time stolen base leader, having stolen an astounding 83 bases in just 94 attempts over his five-year career with the Argonauts. Kiefer ranks 10^th in Gulf South Conference history with 83 swiped bags and in addition to his base running ability, he has been one of the strongest and most versatile defenders UWF has ever had, seeing time in the outfield, at second base and at third base in his career. As a junior in 2015, Kiefer hit .328 with three home runs and 19 RBI to earn 2015 All-GSC Second Team, GSC All-Tournament Team, and GSC All-Academic team honors.
 
Steve McClellan – R.Sr. – Relief Pitcher – Windermere, Florida – Olympia HS
McClellan has recorded 10 saves as UWF's closer the past two years, putting him in a tie for eighth in program history. During UWF's 2016 run which featured a NCAA South Regional appearance, McClellan posted a strong 2.63 ERA to help lead the backend of one of the nation's best bullpens.
 
Ladeavon Matthews – Sr. – Outfielder – Douglasville, Georgia – South Paulding HS
Matthews has been an offensive leader for the Argonauts in 2017, posting a team-best .341 batting average heading into the final series of the regular season. Matthews earned Gulf South Conference Player of the Week honors in March after posting a .381 batting average with three home runs and six RBI in a five-game stretch against Embry-Riddle and West Georiga. In just two years, Matthews has climbed to 17^th in program history with eight career home runs.
 
Colby Brown – Sr. – Designated Hitter – Lakeland, Florida – Lakeland HS
An inspirational and motivational leader for the Argonauts, Brown has appeared in 39 games with 25 starts over his two-year career with UWF. Brown has posted sixteen RBI and six extra-base hits in his UWF career since transferring from College of Central Florida two years ago.
 
Jarrod Petree – R-Sr. – Pitcher – Apopka, Florida – Apopka HS
With a 15-5 career record at UWF, Petree will finish his career as one of the most successful pitchers in program history. In arguably the most dominant season ever by UWF relief pitcher last year, Petree was a unanimous All-South Region selection and a GSC First Team honoree a year ago and his career .750 winning percentage is tied for 11^th best in program history.
 
Justin Ambrosino – Sr. – First Baseman – Brandon, Florida – Bloomingdale HS
Ambrosino started the 2017 season in dominating fashion and has been the centerpiece of the 2017 lineup with a team-high seven home runs and 44 runs batted in heading into this weekend's series against Lee. Ambrosino's career .346 batting average is the best career average the program has seen since 2011 and he is just seven RBI shy of cracking UWF's top 10 highest single-season RBI totals.
 
Michael Savas – Sr. – Outfielder – Ovideo, Florida – Hagerty HS
Savas has patrolled the Argonaut outfield for 70 games over the past two seasons and has accumulated 18 runs batted in to go along with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage the past two years. Savas led the Argonauts in its 2016 NCAA South Regional Tournament with a pair of home runs, including one in the team's 11-5 win over Lynn.
 
Tanner Halstead – Sr. – Catcher – Pensacola, Florida – Pensacola Catholic HS
Tanner Halstead has been an offensive leader for the Argonauts down the stretch of the 2017 season, leading the team with a .324 batting average in the month of April. The Pensacola Catholic product made stops at Northwest Florida State and South Alabama before joining the Argonauts for 2017 and most recently, Halstead posted a career-high three RBI in the team's 11-4 win over Columbus State two weeks ago.
 
JT Granat – Sr. – Pitcher – Pensacola, Florida – Tate HS
Granat was the ace of the staff in UWF's 2016 season, earning All-GSC First Team honors in addition to being named a unanimous All-South Region starting pitcher. Granat has recorded 10 wins in his 30 appearances as an Argonaut and has accumulated 96 strikeouts and allowed only 109 hits in 119 innings of action.
 
Walker O'Connor – R-Sr. – Pitcher – Bedford, Massachusetts – Malden Catholic HS
O'Connor started his career earning 2014 Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year honors and he has been a mainstay in UWF's pitching staff ever since. O'Connor earned All-GSC and All-South Region honors in 2016 and stands fourth in the UWF record books with 217.2 career innings pitched. Throughout his career, O'Connor has posted 1.86 walks allowed per nine innings, also leaving him fourth in the UWF record books.
 
Brian Browning – Sr. – Relief Pitcher – Homewood, Alabama – Homewood HS
Browning joined the Argonauts prior to the 2017 season and has been a dominant force out of the UWF bullpen, owning a 1.25 ERA as a reliever so far this season. He posted a span of 19 innings without allowing a run, and he currently leads the team with a .215 opponent batting average.
 
Thank You Members First Credit Union: After Senior Day ceremonies at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, UWF will have a check presentation with Members First Credit Union who gave a $100,000 gift from to name the hitting facility used by both the baseball and softball teams. The facility will be named Members First Credit Union Hitting Facility, pending UWF Board of Trustees approval.
 
Educators Appreciation Weekend: All area educators with a valid name badge or pay stub will receive free admission to this weekend's contest. 

GSC Playoff Implications: West Florida, currently sixth place in the Gulf South Conference, clinched its ninth consecutive GSC Tournament appearance last weekend. UWF can fall as low as the eight seed, but can climb as high as the four seed heading into Friday night's games. This year's GSC Tournament features a two-pool system, where the winner of the pool consisting of the No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 8 seeds, will play the winner of the pool of the No. 2, No. 3, No. 6, and No. 7 seeds. All teams will play a minimum of three games, and the two teams to come out of each pool will play a winner-take-all championship game on Tuesday, May 9, at 6:00 p.m. The tournament starts on Saturday, May 6, with the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds squaring off. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday will all feature four tournament games, with the first game beginning at 10:00 a.m. and the last game scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. Delta State, currently in first place with a two-game lead on North Alabama, would clinch hosting rights with at least one win in its series against Mississippi College or one UNA loss in their series against Valdosta State.
 
Scouting Lee: Lee comes to Pensacola having dropped three of its last four GSC contests and most recently took a 6-5 road win at Tusculum on Tuesday. Offensively, the Flames are led by Nathan Wierzgac, who is seventh in the GSC with 10 home runs and four triples. Lee's closer Kit Larson owns a 2.43 ERA and leads the conference with nine saves on the year.
 
Series History With Lee: West Florida clinched the 2016 GSC Regular Season Championship in a 7-5 road win and one week later, the Argonauts defeated Lee in the first round of the GSC Tournament behind a walk-off grand slam by Justin Ambrosino. The Argonauts are 7-1 all-time against the Flames, with UWF's only loss against Lee coming on March 29, 2015.