PENSACOLA, Fla. – Becca Taylor and Sarah Maloney held Lee to just a .108 batting average over two complete games on Saturday afternoon, as No. 12 West Florida swept the Lady Flames at the UWF Softball Complex. The two wins kept West Florida in second place in the Gulf South Conference standings and improved the team's record to 22-9 in the conference and 38-12 overall, which is the program's best record through 50 games since 2005.
 
UWF's pitching duo of Taylor and Maloney each went the distance, allowing just five total hits. Taylor out-dueled Leigh Beatenbough to earn her GSC-best 22nd win of the season and pick up her fifth shutout of the year, also a conference-high. Maloney pitched her way out of a couple of jams throughout the game and ultimately held Lee to just two hits and a .091 batting average with three strikeouts.
 
Freshman Baleigh Boltz stood out for UWF at the plate with a team-high four hits and three RBI, the first of which was the game-winner in the front end of the doubleheader. She had multiple hits in each game, giving her three such games in her last six contests. Jacey Castro had three hits from the leadoff spot, and Meghan Toney, Rhiannon Sassman and Caitlin Steel each had multiple hits on Saturday.
 
The two Saturday wins also gave UWF head coach Melissa Paul 99 career victories in her time at the university.
 
GAME 1: UWF 1, Lee 0
Taylor and Beatenbough battled through the first three-and-a-half innings, with Beatenbough working around a pair of UWF hits in the bottom of the third and Taylor retiring seven consecutive batters from the second through the fourth.
 
Boltz struck with the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the fourth, after Sassman led off the inning with a double in the left-center gap and Callan Taylor advanced her to third with a sacrifice bunt.
 
Boltz's single up the middle would be all the help Taylor needed in the circle, as the senior worked around one Lee single in the fifth and struck out Lady Flames 5-hitter Taylor Moran looking with a runner in scoring position to end the sixth.
 
UWF threatened again in the sixth when Callan Taylor led off with a walk for the second time in Game 1. Tiona Hill would move pinch-runner Jibrasha Moore to second and Boltz roped a single to right field, but a perfect delivery from Lee right fielder Brooklyn Frazier would catch Moore at the plate and cut the rally short.
 
Taylor made quick work of the Lady Flames in the seventh to wrap things up, getting a popout to Hill in foul territory and two groundouts. Taylor's work in the circle on Saturday moved her into fifth in the GSC in ERA (2.12) and opponent batting average (.229), while putting her conference-best win total to 22.
 
GAME 2: UWF 5, Lee 1
West Florida quickly jumped on conference ERA-leader Taylor Moran in Game 2. Sassman started a two-out rally in the first with a single down the left field line, Callan Taylor reached on an error to extend the inning and Hill drew a walk to load the bases for Boltz. The rookie then ripped a double down the left field line to bring in Sassman and Taylor and give West Florida the 2-0 lead.
 
Lee bounced back with a run in the top of the second, getting a leadoff walk from Frazier and a double into right field from Zoe Miller. Maloney held off the Flames from there, however, ending that inning with a strikeout and allowing just one hit the rest of the way.
 
The fourth was perhaps the most critical inning for Maloney, and she was able to silence the Lady Flames to maintain a 3-1 lead. After battling and picking up the first two outs of the inning, Maloney issued walks to Kayla Louie and Stevie Baird before Courtney Crawford reached on a walk to load the bases. After a first-pitch strike to Abby McKinney, Maloney forced a grounder back to the circle for the final out and then retired 10 of the final 11 batters she faced.
 
Hill provided an insurance run a half-inning before in the third, scoring Toney on a single to left, and Caitlin Steel and Jacey Castro added RBI singles in the sixth to stretch the lead to 5-1.
With three strikeouts and seven innings of one-run ball, Maloney picked up her 12th win of the season and moved into sixth in total strikeouts in the GSC. Her ERA also dropped to 2.14, putting her at seventh in the conference.
 
UWF will wrap up the regular season with a single game on Sunday afternoon beginning at 11 am at the UWF Softball Complex. The Argonauts will have a Senior Day celebration for Jacey Castro, Caitlin Steel and Becca Taylor following the game.