MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Saturday's opening games to the Gulf South Conference schedule were a mixed bag for the third-ranked University of West Florida softball team. After battling back and ultimately falling to Shorter on a walkoff single in the first game of the day, the Argonauts worked to their own extra-inning walkoff win over West Alabama in Game 2, improving to 8-5 on the year and 1-1 in conference play.
 
Jibrasha Moore, who hit the walkoff winner against West Alabama, Ally Merrill, and Meghan Toney each picked up three hits for the day, and Grace Gilbert had a pair of hits and earned the win with a complete game against UWA. West Alabama hit just .167 against Gilbert and Olivia Printiss allowed only two earned runs in the first game of the day against Shorter.
 
Game 1: UWF 4, Shorter 5
Shorter took a walk-off win in West Florida's first game of the day, with a single up the middle from Kiera Dudley ending the game. The Hawks got out to a quick lead, with a 2-0 advantage after an inning of play, but West Florida would again battle back and take a lead.
 
It was a tough-luck loss for Olivia Printiss, who threw six innings of relief while allowing just two earned runs and striking out four. The sophomore's record dropped to 1-1 on the year, and her ERA still stands at an impressive 0.88.
 
Several Argonauts had standout performances in the loss. Meghan Toney had a pair of hits, Ally Merrill reached three times, through a hit and two walks, and Rhiannon Sassman had an RBI triple to plate West Florida's first run.
 
Sassman brought in Toney in the third inning to cut the deficit to 2-1, after Toney singled and stole second base. An inning later, Merrill drew a walk and scored on a Mika Garcia RBI single down the first base line, after advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt from Kathleen Smiley. Garcia's single tied the score, and UWF brought in two more runs in the inning, with singles from Jacquelynne Poling and Jibrasha Moore to put the score at 4-2 in favor of West Florida.
 
Shorter started its comeback in the fifth with a two-out single from Taylor Martin. Dudley brought Martin in just a few batters later when a high fly ball into shallow left center bounced off Tori Perkins' glove as she was on the run, cutting UWF's lead to 4-3.
 
Carson Carriker drew a leadoff walk, and Lindsey Newell lifted a double down the right field line that hit the chalk and put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the 7th. After Printiss struck out Dani Lukas, back-to-back singles gave Shorter the tie and the win.
 
Sassman was hit by a pitch in the top of the 1st, and she now ranks third in the UWF record books with 18 times hit by pitch. She is also now tied for fifth on UWF's career triples leaderboard, with her RBI triple in the third inning giving her 15 in her time as an Argonaut.
 
Game 2: UWF 5, West Alabama 4 (11 innings)
UWF took its own walkoff victory in the second half of Saturday's doubleheader, getting an infield single from Jibrasha Moore in the 11th to end it. The hit was one of Moore's two RBI singles in the game, including her single up the middle in the second inning to give West Florida a 2-0 lead.
 
Grace Gilbert earned her team-best fourth win of the season in the effort, going the full 11 innings in the circle and allowing just three earned runs while striking out six. Gilbert also picked up a pair of hits, and fellow freshman Ally Merrill did the same, with a 2-for-5 afternoon at the dish.
 
West Florida got the scoring started in the second inning, when Callan Taylor lifted a double into right field and came around to score on Garcia's single up the middle. Moore singled up the middle two batters later to make it 2-0.
 
West Alabama picked up three unanswered runs, scoring one in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings, before Rachel Wright laced a double into right center field to score Garcia following a leadoff walk.
 
The Argonauts and UWA each threatened in extra innings, but nothing came across until the 10th when West Alabama's Audrey DIekmann singled up the middle in the top half and Merrill singled through the right side to even it up in the bottom of the inning.
 
Moore's infield single with two outs scored pinch-runner Sara Spears and pushed West Florida to a 1-1 record in GSC play after Saturday's action.
 
West Florida will finish its time at the GSC Festival on Sunday with a game against Delta State at noon in Montgomery.