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PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF baseball (28-16, 18-8 GSC) plays its final regular season non-conference game at Spring Hill (24-16, 15-1 SIAC) tonight at 6:00 p.m. The Argos previously defeated Spring Hill on Feb. 18 and Feb. 22 by finals of 8-3 and 11-2.
UWF is coming off trips to North Georgia and Montevallo last week. The team played in three one-run games vs. the Nighthawks and Falcons and ended up 1-4 for the week. The Argos will look to rebound vs. the Badgers and then close the regular season strong against Valdosta State at home this weekend before traveling to Delta State for the GSC Tournament May 5-8.
ARGOS REMAIN IN SOUTH REGION TOP 10
* UWF baseball (28-16, 18-8 GSC) came in at No. 8 in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II South Region Top 10.
* Tampa (32-7) came in at No. 1 in the South Region for the fourth straight week with 78 points and six first-place votes. Delta State (35-7) jumped to No. 2 while Florida Southern (34-5-1) dropped back to No. 3. Nova Southeastern (29-10) is fourth while Saint Leo (32-8) came in at No. 5. Montevallo (32-14), North Alabama (30-15), West Florida, Mississippi College (28-12), Lee (23-23) and West Georgia (27-16) rounded out the poll.
* The Argos currently stand at third in the GSC. The team has clinched a conference playoff berth, and will travel to Delta State for the GSC Tournament May 5-8.
ARGOS WIN VS. SHC IN FEBRUARY
* The Argos won the first matchup of the year vs. the Badgers 8-3 at Jim Spooner Field. Every spot in the order reached at least twice for the Argos. Matthew Jones became the first Argo to reach base five times this season, and Trevor Payne finished the day with four hits. UWF loaded the bases in five of eight turns at bat. The team also stranded a season-high 17 baserunners.
* The Argos once again defeated Spring Hill, this time by a final of 11-2 four days later. Dylan Mills-Derouen started the game for the Argos. The junior transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College went three innings, striking out three and walking one. He gave up two doubles but no runs. Josh Pahlad (1-0) entered in the fourth and pitched a perfect two innings to pick up the win. The freshman faced seven in the middle innings and used just 11 pitches to stymie the Badgers. Five Argo relievers appeared after Pahlad, combining for four strikeouts, three walks, two hits and two earned runs over the game's final four innings. The Argo bats may have been even more impressive than the arms. The team's 11 runs were a season-high. Seven Argos combined for a total of 12 hits on the game. Robert Lopez went two for two with two doubles and three runs scored, and Nick Kirkmann added a pair of singles plus three RBIs.
ARGOS GO 1-2 AT MONTEVALLO
* UWF Baseball snapped its three-game losing streak Friday evening, opening a pivotal GSC series at Montevallo with a convincing 12-2 win in seven innings. Nick Kerkmann finished with four RBIs, Matt Estrada racked up three doubles, and Tony Kucera turned in a complete game four-hitter to power the win.
* The Argos were unable to complete the series win Saturday though, dropping a doubleheader on Saturday to the Falcons. Nick Kerkmann racked up RBIs in both games of the doubleheader and finished with seven RBIs in the series. Matthew Jones finished the day with five hits and five runs.
SCOUTING SPRING HILL
* SHC currently sits at 24-16 overall and 15-1 in the SIAC. The team is 14-6 at home, 10-6 away and 0-2 on neutral fields.
* Spring Hill most recently swept a conference home series vs. Kentucky State. The team has won four of its last five. The Badgers have won each of their last four matchups vs. GSC opponents.
* Spring Hill is hitting .307 as a team and has a staff ERA of 6.44. The Badgers are led by Luke Wall, who is hitting .432 across 36 games. Brennan Fontenot is hitting .345 with eight homers and 40 RBIs.
* Rob Ewald paces Badger pitchers who have at least five appearances with an ERA of 3.80.
* The Argos are 51-15 vs. the Badgers since 1991.
For the latest information on the Argos, follow the team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball.
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