PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF baseball (22-10, 12-4 GSC) split its Friday doubleheader with West Georgia (20-11, 9-8 GSC) at Jim Spooner Field. The Argos dropped Game 1 3-2 before rebounding for a 6-3 victory in Game 2. The teams will decide the series tomorrow with a single game at 1:00 p.m.
"I'm just proud of the way our guys held on," said UWF head coach Mike Jeffcoat. "It certainly wasn't one of our normal offensive days, but their pitching had a lot to do with that."
It was a great day on the mound for both teams. The Argos got great performances on the rubber throughout the doubleheader, surrendering just two earned runs over 16 innings. The Argo bats were kept off balance for a large part of the day by West Georgia pitching but broke out late in Game 2 to salvage a split. Jacob Silverstein, hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time this season, fueled the Game 2 win with three hits and two RBIs.
Game 1: Wolves 3, Argos 2
Tony Kucera (4-2) got the start in Game 1 for UWF and lasted into the ninth. The lefty made just one mistake, allowing a two-run home run in the sixth to Logan Taylor that would ultimately prove to be the difference. Kucera threw 109 pitches, striking out three and allowing just one walk while scattering eight hits. Only one of the three earned runs he allowed was earned.
"Tony Kucera gave us a great start," said Jeffcoat. "Eight innings and went back out in the ninth. Couldn't have given us more. Made one mistake pitch after we made the error [in the sixth], gave up the two-run homer. It was one of those 3-2 games, whoever blinks first, and unfortunately we did."
The Wolves took the lead in the third on an RBI base hit by Ben Utley only to see the Argos tie it later in the frame at 1-1 on a squeeze play RBI from Brandon Harmon.
The Argo bats struggled vs. West Georgia starter Ryan Parker(4-1), who held UWF in check over 6.1 innings. Parker, like Kucera, struck out three and walked one. He surrendered seven hits. Wolves relief pitchers thwarted an Argo comeback attempts late. Wes Bucher stranded two in scoring position in the eighth before Dalton Reagin picked up his fourth save of the season by leaving the tying run on second in the ninth.
Joey Bend finished the game with two hits for the Argos, as did Matthew Estrada. UWF got an RBI from Matthew Jones to draw within one in the seventh but ultimately left nine on base in the loss.
Game 2: Argos 6, Wolves 3
Kirk Maddox got the start for UWF in Game 2 and allowed a two run homer to Utley in the first. He settled down from there though, facing the minimum over the next four innings to keep the Argos in it. Maddox allowed just three hits over 5.2 innings, striking out five and walking three in a no-decision.
Down 2-0 in the fifth, the Argos finally got the bats going vs. UWG starter Greyson McLeod. Jones and Silverstein tagged him for RBI base hits to even the score at 2-2.
"I was really proud of Jacob Silverstein," said Jeffcoat. "Put him at the top of the order… wanted to change it up a little bit, and Silver had three hits and drove in two. That was big for us."
The Argos scored four times in the sixth to put the game out of reach. An RBI base hit from Robert Lopez put UWF ahead. Mason Dinesen added to the lead with a 2-RBI double, and Silverstein tacked on another RBI single to make it 6-2. Both Dinesen and Estrada finished the game with two runs scored.
Whitt Davis picked up the win after entering the game in the sixth for Maddox. Josh Pahlad, who also fired a scoreless frame in Game 1, sealed the 6-3 win in the seventh.
The Argos and Wolves close the series tomorrow. LHP Hunter Lucas is expected to start the 1:00 p.m. rubber match on the mound for UWF.
"We're going to go with the freshman Hunter Lucas," said Jeffcoat, who noted that usual weekend starter Dylan Mills-Derouen has been dealing with an injury. "Look forward to him giving us a quality start and hopefully he can hang in there so we can get it to the bullpen and win tomorrow's rubber match."
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