Tiona Hill

Softball

No. 17 Argonauts Visit No. 13 North Alabama to Continue Conference Play

Games moved to Sunday and Monday, with threat of impending bad weather

NOTES
STATS | VIDEO
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The 17th-ranked University of West Florida softball team will continue Gulf South Conference play on Sunday afternoon with a three-game set at No. 13 North Alabama. UWF (9-5) will play a doubleheader beginning at 2 pm on Sunday before wrapping things up with a series finale at 1 pm on Monday in Florence, Alabama.
 
Fans can follow along with live stats and a live video broadcast of each game over the weekend series by clicking the link above or by finding direct links at GoArgos.com.
 
A Look at Last Week
* West Florida went 2-1 at the Gulf South Conference Opening Weekend Festival in Montgomery last Saturday and Sunday, moving to a six-way tie for second place in the league after a weekend of conference play.
* Jibrasha Moore led UWF over the weekend in hitting (.556), hits (5), and on-base percentage (.556), and UWF had a team 2.01 ERA over the three games.
 
To the Lion's Den
* UWF and North Alabama have provided as even a series history as any teams could. Through the first 45 meetings between the Argonauts and Lions, West Florida has gone 22-23 with a 10-7 record at the UWF Softball Complex and a 12-15 overall record in Florence.
* A couple of Argos stood out in last year's series against North Alabama, with Tiona Hill going 3-9 in the series with a pair of runs and two RBIs, and Sarah Maloney striking out 8 Lions hitters over 8.1 innings, allowing UNA to hit a meager .185 against her. Rhiannon Sassman has a career .429 on-base percentage against North Alabama.
* UNA has been one of the best teams in the country through the first three weeks of softball action, holding a 10-2 record, a 3-0 Gulf South Conference record, and the seventh-best team earned run average in the country (1.28).
* North Alabama got wins over Auburn Montgomery, Union and Valdosta State at the GSC Opening Weekend Festival last week.
* Freshman pitcher Laken Distefano was named the conference freshman of the week on Tuesday, after the right-hander worked 6.1 innings without allowing a run over the weekend.
 
So Clutch
* UWF's offensive numbers may look a bit underwhelming on the surface, but the Argonauts have thrived on timely hitting en route to their nine wins this year.
* West Florida has hit an impressive .304 with runners on, .321 with runners in scoring position, and .294 with two outs. UWF has also driven in runners on third with less than two outs 64 percent of the time that situation has come up -- nearly 3 times as often as the opposition has this year.
* Jibrasha Moore leads the team with a .444 average (8-18) with runners on base, which includes her walkoff single against West Alabama last Saturday. Meghan Toney and Rachel Wright are each 7-for-18 with runners on, good for a .389 clip.
* Tori Perkins has been West Florida's biggest run-producer with 9 RBIs, and a big reason for that has been her performance in clutch situations: She leads the team with 7 hits with runners in scoring position and 8 hits with any runners on at all.
* The pitching has been just as good as UWF's offense in these situations. The Argos staff has held the opposition to a .214 with runners on base and .185 with runners in scoring position.
 
We're Ranked
* With a 9-5 record through the first three weeks of play, the University of West Florida softball team is ranked No. 17 in Division II in the first National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll of the regular season. UWF is one of three Gulf South Conference teams that is ranked, and one of six South Region teams that is either ranked or receiving votes.
* UWF currently ranks 12th in the country with a 1.48 team ERA and is 15th with 3 shutouts through the squad's first 14 games. West Florida recently went 2-1 at the GSC Opening Weekend Festival to start conference play, with sophomore Jibrasha Moore leading the team offensively with five hits.
* No. 13 North Alabama and No. 20 Valdosta State join UWF in the poll, while Lee earned 20 points and is the third team receiving votes. Reigning national champions Minnesota State held steady at No. 1, and North Georgia is ranked No. 2.
 
Moore at the Plate
* Sophomore right fielder Jibrasha Moore is UWF's leading hitter, among qualified batters. The Pensacola native is hitting .351, ranking second on the team with 13 hits and a .385 on-base percentage.
* Moore has been particularly good over the last four games, with three multi-hit games, seven hits, a .583 batting average, and a team-high four RBIs, while raising her batting average from .240 to .351. She totaled five hits and four RBIs at the GSC Festival last weekend.
* The lefty has been outstanding since moving to the No. 9 spot in the lineup against North Georgia on February 4, hitting .423 and leading UWF with 11 hits since that time.
 
Way to Go, Meghan Toney
* Second baseman Meghan Toney had three multi-hit games to start her senior season at the Gulf Coast Invitational, including one in the season-opening win over Nova Southeastern when she also drew a walk. She also leads the conference with five double plays turned on the year.
* She leads UWF with 5 multi-hit games, 16 hits, 9 runs scored, and 9 stolen bases this year, and she's currently in the middle of a 6-game hitting streak. Toney has hit .435 (10-23) over the streak and leads UWF in hits (10), runs (5) and steals (5) in that time.
* Toney went a perfect 3-for-3 on the basepaths last weekend, giving her 54 stolen bases in 59 career tries. That efficiency (.915) ranks ninth in UWF career history, and she is West Florida active career leader in runs scored (120), hits (184) and stolen bases (54).
 
Meghan Toney Series-by-Series Numbers
 
            Series                         AVG     H          R          SB       OBP
            Gulf Coast Invitational .400     6          4          3          .438
            South Florida Trip        .300     6          3          3          .364
            GSC Festival               .333     4          2          3          .333
 
#ARGOS#
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Players Mentioned

Meghan Toney

#5 Meghan Toney

MI
5' 0"
Freshman
L/R
Sarah Maloney

#9 Sarah Maloney

P
5' 7"
Freshman
R/R
Tiona Hill

#7 Tiona Hill

IF
5' 1"
Senior
R/R
Jibrasha Moore

#12 Jibrasha Moore

OF
5' 5"
Sophomore
L/L
Rhiannon Sassman

#24 Rhiannon Sassman

IF
5' 7"
Junior
L/R
Rachel Wright

#14 Rachel Wright

OF
5' 6"
Junior
R/R
Tori Perkins

#20 Tori Perkins

P
5' 8"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Meghan Toney

#5 Meghan Toney

5' 0"
Freshman
L/R
MI
Sarah Maloney

#9 Sarah Maloney

5' 7"
Freshman
R/R
P
Tiona Hill

#7 Tiona Hill

5' 1"
Senior
R/R
IF
Jibrasha Moore

#12 Jibrasha Moore

5' 5"
Sophomore
L/L
OF
Rhiannon Sassman

#24 Rhiannon Sassman

5' 7"
Junior
L/R
IF
Rachel Wright

#14 Rachel Wright

5' 6"
Junior
R/R
OF
Tori Perkins

#20 Tori Perkins

5' 8"
Junior
R/R
P