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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The University of West Florida softball team's run in the Gulf South Conference Tournament came to a close on Sunday with an 8-5 loss to Mississippi College in Huntsville. The Argonauts now stand at 40-13 on the year and will await the NCAA Tournament selection show to see where they will be for next week's South Regional.
 
For their efforts in the two days of tournament action, Tiona Hill and Baleigh Boltz earned spots on the All-GSC Tournament team. Boltz had multi-hit games on each day of the tournament and led UWF with a .571 batting average on a team-high four hits. Hill's three RBI, including the game-winner on Saturday, were a team-high.
 
Caitlin Steel, Hill and Boltz each had two hits on the day, with Hill's two doubles and four total bases leading the way.
 
UWF got out to a quick start on Sunday afternoon, with three runs in the first three innings. The first came on a second-inning fielder's choice from Jacquelynne Poling that scored Hill, who was also hit by a pitch and reached three times on the day.
 
West Florida added two more runs in the third, with back-to-back RBI doubles from Boltz and Hill to put the Argonauts ahead 3-0.
 
Becca Taylor started strong, striking out three in her first 2.1 innings and retiring the first seven batters she faced. Taylor worked out of a jam in the third, getting Mississippi College 3-hitter Tylan Buckley to ground out to second with the bases loaded to keep the Choctaws scoreless.
 
UWF ran into some tough luck in the fourth, after a leadoff triple from MC's Kristen Qualls and a one-out double from Carly Crawford to cut the UWF lead to 3-1. Megan Everett added a single to right field to make it 3-2, and three consecutive well-placed MC singles gave the Choctaws a 6-3 lead at the game's midway point.
 
The Argos would not go quietly, however, with three long flyouts in the ffith from Rhiannon Sassman, Boltz and Hill that included an over-the-fence grab from Choctaws center fielder Katherine Lee to rob Boltz of a home run. After MC put two more runs on the board in the seventh, UWF added two more itself to put the final at 8-5.
 
Those two runs came on a double from Steel, bringing in Rachel Wright after a single and Miranda Smith, who pinch-ran for Poling.
 
Sarah Maloney subbed into the circle in the fourth for UWF, going 3.1 frames and allowing just three hits and two runs, while striking out five.
 
The Argonauts will see where they play in the NCAA South Regional during Monday's NCAA Tournament selection show, at 9 am CT.