LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Florida baseball team was two innings shy of sweeping No. 24 West Alabama as the Tigers used a three-run bottom of the eighth inning to steal a 7-5 victory from the Argonauts at Tartt Field on Sunday afternoon.
"It was really just two bad innings today," said head coach
Mike Jeffcoat. "I thought we scrapped and played hard today and yesterday. It was a good series victory on the road, just a little bitter today to have the sweep taken from us but West Alabama earned it there in the eighth inning."
Despite not recording a hit, UWF (23-14, 15-9 GSC) tallied three first-inning runs thanks to a pair of UWA (25-14, 15-9) walks and two errors that allowed those runners to advance.
After chipping away with a run in the second, UWA claimed its first lead of the game with a three-run fifth inning, which included a 2-RBI Dylan Little triple.
In his fifth start of the season,
Jared Gonzalez allowed four runs – three earned – on six hits. Gonzalez had his streak of 25.2 innings without allowing a walk snapped after allowing a season-high three free passes on Sunday.
A common theme throughout the weekend, UWF and UWA continued to go back-and-forth throughout the series.
Chase Kiefer's 2-RBI single in the sixth continued the trend by giving UWF a 5-4 advantage.
Steve McClellan pitched well to keep the Argonauts ahead with the senior delivering a scoreless sixth and seventh with just one hit allowed.
West Alabama would not go down quietly, however, as Tyler Lee hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off
JT Granat to take a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Granat entered today's contest with no runs allowed in his last six appearances.
UWA capped the scoring three batters later with back-to-back doubles bringing the score to its final 7-5.
West Florida looks to rebound on Tuesday in a nonconference tilt against Spring Hill. First pitch from Jim Spooner Field is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
To stay updated on all things UWF baseball, follow the team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball.
