FLORENCE, Ala. – The University of West Florida softball team's season came to a close on Friday, following a 4-1 win over No. 22 Embry-Riddle and a loss to regional host No. 4 North Alabama in the nightcap. After splitting the day, UWF finishes its season at 31-21.
With 31 wins on the year, UWF has won 119 games over the last three years, the program's highest three-season win total since 2008-10, when the Argos won 123 games. This also marked the first time since 2008-10 that UWF has reached the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons.
Grace Gilbert picked up a win in Game 1, earning her team-high 12th pitching victory of the season. She also went 3-for-6 at the plate between the two games, raising her batting average to a team-high .365. Gilbert is the second player in UWF history and the first since 2001 (Krissy Styrna) to lead the team in both wins and batting average in the same season.
Her .365 batting average is also the highest by a freshman in program history.
Game 1: UWF 4, Embry-Riddle 1
Gilbert pitched six innings of sterling relief in Game 1, coming in for Sarah Maloney after the senior suffered an injury early in the second. Gilbert allowed just two hits and an unearned run in the effort, improving to 12-5 on the year.
West Florida got on the board quickly by taking advantage of some defensive miscues by Embry-Riddle, starting with a throwing error on a bunt laid down by Tiona Hill that allowed pinch-runner Harley Tagert to score and put UWF up 1-0.
An inning later, Mika Garcia came around to score when a throw from Embry-Riddle down to second went into the outfield, giving the Argonauts the 2-0 lead.
ERAU cut into the lead with a ReAnne Drayton fielder's choice in the fifth that allowed Destiny Carroll to score, and put the score at 2-1.
West Florida got a pair of insurance runs in the sixth when Callan Taylor blasted her fifth home run of the year into left-center field, scoring Gilbert and giving the Argos the final 4-1 lead. The game was Taylor's ninth this year with multiple RBIs, giving her the team lead in that category.
Game 2: UWF 2, North Alabama 10
The final score in UWF's season-finale does a poor job of showing how close the game was. After UNA put a run on the board in each of the first two innings, West Florida battled back to even the score in the third.
The first of those runs came on an RBI double from Meghan Toney that brought around Mika Garcia, who led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jibrasha Moore.
The second run of the inning was scored by Toney, when she advanced home after Gilbert was caught in a rundown between first and second and Toney crossed the plate before the final out was made, evening the score at 2-2.
UWF ran out of steam after the third though, and UNA added three runs in the fourth on back-to-back run-scoring extra-base hits from Bailey Nelson and Kara Brewer before the Lions scored five more runs in the sixth to end the game.
Gilbert was charged with the loss, falling to 12-6.
#ARGOS#
