NOTES
 
STATS LINKS
Vs. Saint Leo
Vs. Lander
Vs. Eckerd
Vs. Tuskegee
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida softball team's 2019 season gets underway on Friday in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with a four-game slate at the Gulf Coast Invitational. UWF kicks off the year against No. 5 Saint Leo at 3 pm on Friday, before facing Lander (11:30 am) and Eckerd (7 pm) on Saturday, and wrapping things up with Tuskegee (2 pm) on Sunday.
 
All games will feature live stats, and the links for those games can be found at GoArgos.com.
 
UWF is 14-11 all-time against SLU, Lander, Eckerd, and Tuskegee, and went 1-2 against Saint Leo, Eckerd, and Tuskegee at the tournament in 2018.
 
We've Got A New Coach
The University of West Florida and athletic director Dave Scott announced the hiring of assistant coach Ashliegh McLean as head coach of the UWF softball program. McLean is the fourth head coach in the program's 32-year history and she replaces Melissa Paul, who stepped down to spend more time with her family.
 
Over the last three years under McLean, the UWF pitching staff ranks in the top three in the Gulf South Conference in ERA (2.72), shutouts (32), opponent batting average (.241), strikeouts (822) and wins (119), and Argonaut pitchers have earned nine All-Gulf South Conference or All-South Region awards.
 
McLean also played for the Argonauts in 2011 and 2012, acting as a key utility player for West Florida and totaling 22 career wins.
 
It's Another Tough Schedule
West Florida's 2019 schedule is strong from the start, with UWF facing a ranked team in four of its first nine games – including reigning South Region Champions Saint Leo twice. West Florida has nine opponents on its schedule that ended the 2018 season ranked, and 21 of UWF's 53 games will be played at the UWF Softball Complex.
 
"We have a tough stretch early on that we think will help us as we get into a challenging conference schedule," McLean said.
 
The Argos will start the season at the Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores, Alabama, for a fourth consecutive year. The Argonauts are 10-5 at the Invitational since 2015 and have averaged 6.7 runs per game at the tournament. The tournament begins with UWF and No. 5 Saint Leo on Friday, February 1 at 3 pm and will run through Sunday, February 3.
 
From there, the Argonauts head to Clearwater, Florida, from Friday, February 8-10 when they will face Florida Tech, No. 4 Saint Leo, California (Pa.), No. 22 Palm Beach Atlantic, and No. 8 West Chester.
 
This Group of Seniors
A group of five seniors headline a talented UWF roster this year, including four-year starters Rhiannon Sassman, Kathleen Smiley, and Rachel Wright -- who has started all 172 of West Florida's games since her freshman year.
 
That trio, along with fellow seniors Sara Spears and Tori Perkins, has been an integral part of West Florida's rebuild. Over the last three years, the Argonauts have won 119 games – the most for the program over a three-year stretch since 2008-10.
 
Sassman, Smiley, and Wright have each been major factors in UWF's offensive firepower since 2016. Wright, a two-time member of the Gulf South Conference All-Tournament Team, ranks eighth in UWF history in doubles (38), Smiley leads current UWF student-athletes with 105 career RBIs and 16 home runs, and Sassman is in UWF's top 10 in triples (5th; 16), slugging percentage (7th; .572), and batting average (10th, .353).
 
Those three have combined for 276 runs, 296 RBIs, and 147 extra-base hits in their UWF careers.
 
Who's Back?
While the offense has lost starters in Meghan Toney and Tiona Hill, UWF will return a majority of the offensive performers who put the team in the top half of the GSC in most categories in 2018.
 
West Florida's returners in 2019 scored 75 percent of the team's runs, had 78 percent of its hits, hit 76 percent of its home runs, and had a .369 on-base percentage.
 
In the circle, returning pitchers Grace Gilbert and Tori Perkins earned 17 of West Florida's 31 wins.
 
Top Newcomers
Freshmen Teala Howard and Mallory Vining have been selected as UWF's top newcomers to the Gulf South Conference. Howard, from Lake Butler, Florida, was a first team All-State and the Florida Miss Softball Runner-Up in 2018, and Vining was a two-time All-State Honorable Mention pick out of Ponchatoula HS.