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PENSACOLA, Fla. – No. 20 UWF baseball will travel to Montevallo this weekend, returning to GSC action in a battle of two of the conference's top teams. The Argos check into the weekend in third place in the Gulf South standings. Montevallo is just a game behind in fourth place.
The Argos have lost three straight games for the first time since Feb. 13-17, when the team dropped games vs. Columbus State, then-No. 2 Tampa and Palm Beach Atlantic.
"They're going to be a good club, tough to beat up there, I've heard they've got three good starting pitchers," said Jeffcoat of the upcoming GSC series vs. the Falcons. "Scrappy ballclub, put-the-ball-in-play-type team. We're going to have our work cut out for us, especially reeling from three straight losses."
RESCHEDULED TIMES AT MONTEVALLO
* Due to the threat of inclement weather, this weekend's UWF baseball series at Montevallo has undergone scheduling changes.
* The Argos and Falcons will now play a single game Friday beginning at 6:00 p.m. and close the series with a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams were originally scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m. and close the series with a doubleheader Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
ARGOS COME IN AT NO. 20 NATIONALLY
* UWF baseball has risen three spots in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll to No. 20. The ranking is the highest of the season in the Collegiate Baseball poll for UWF.
* Azusa Pacific topped the national poll. Florida Southern checked in at No. 2 while North Greenville came in at No. 3. Tampa came in at No. 4 while GSC leader Delta State came in at No. 5.
* The No. 20 ranking is the third time in the Collegiate Baseball Top 25 for UWF this season. The Argos checked in at No. 23 in each of the last two weeks.
UWF LOOKS TO REBOUND AFTER SWEEP AT UNG
* No. 20 UWF baseball fell in the series opener at North Georgia Tuesday evening 9-8. The Argos scored six times in the top of the seventh to erase an 8-2 lead before the Nighthawks reclaimed the lead and held on for the victory.
* Matthew Jones keyed the late inning rally with a grand slam that Matt Sullivan followed with a solo shot of his own to tie the game at 8-8. Brandon Harmon finished 2 for 4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
* UWF baseball dropped another one-run game at North Georgia Wednesday, falling 3-2 in the series finale. Nick Kerkmann and Matthew Jones each went deep, but the Argo lineup was limited to five hits.
* UWF hit into a season-high four double plays, including one in the ninth before the Jones home run. West Florida was once again without veteran bats Robert Lopez and Nic Strasser due to injury.
GULF SOUTH LEADERS
* Dylan Mills-Derouen leads the Gulf South with an opponent batting average of .151 and is second in ERA at 1.81. Tony Kucera is fourth with a 2.30 ERA and ninth with an opponent batting average of .231.
* Mills-Derouen leads all qualified pitchers with just 23 hits allowed. He is tied for first with just 12 runs allowed this season and leads the conference with only 9 earned runs surrendered.
* Matt Sullivan is currently tied for the conference lead in doubles (17) with Union's David Robins. Trevor Payne has the least strikeouts among qualified batters with just 3. Joey Bend is tied for first in the GSC with five sacrifice flies. Nick Kerkmann is currently tied for ninth with 11 hit-by-pitches.
* The Argos are fourth in the GSC in team batting average (.324), second in team ERA (3.74), and third in fielding percentage (.965).
SCOUTING MONTEVALLO
* The Falcons check into the weekend fourth in the GSC at 30-13 overall and 16-7 in conference play. The team has won three straight and eight of the last ten.
* Montevallo leads the conference with a 3.54 staff ERA. The Falcons are sixth with a team batting average of .302 and seventh with a team fielding percentage of .961.
* Chad Wagner ranks fifth in the GSC with a .383 batting average. Caleb Ledbetter is tenth with an average of .368. Ledbetter is eighth with a slugging percentage of .637. Wagner is tied for seventh in the conference with teammate Colin Dupree with an on-base percentage of .466.
* Ledbetter (63) and Wagner (62) ranks second and third in the GSC in hits. Ledbetter is fourth in the conference with 50 RBIs. Ledbetter leads the conference with 171 at-bats. Jason Cryar ranks second in the GSC with 41 walks.
* The Argos are 30-30 vs. Montevallo since 1991. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2016 when the Argos swept a two-game series Mar. 29-30 by finals of 7-2 and 5-4.
ARGOS TIED FOR 6TH IN SOUTH REGION POLL
* UWF baseball came in at sixth in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II South Region Top 10.
* The Argos won the series at home last weekend vs. Auburn Montgomery. UWF has won 22 of the last 28 games. The Argos have won or split their last seven conference series.
ESTRADA WINS FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS
* Argo baseball outfielder Matthew Estrada was named the Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time in the last three weeks.
* Estrada turned in another memorable performance last weekend vs. Auburn Montgomery. The Argos took two of three games, and Estrada finished with five hits, including one double, and two walks. He scored two runs in three games vs. the Warhawks while piling up three RBIs. Estrada reached in six straight plate appearances spanning the end of Game 1 through the beginning of Game 2.
For the latest information on the Argos, follow the team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball.
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