PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF baseball opened its 2019 season with a 9-5 comeback win over No. 4/5 Florida Southern Friday at Jim Spooner Field. Joey Bend led the Argos attack with a 3-for-4 night that included three RBIs.
 
UWF struck six times in the seventh inning to erase a three-run deficit. The season-opening win was the first for the Argos since 2015. Much of the game was played through a steady, driving rain, which caused multiple pauses in the action but never an extended delay.
 
"I'm proud of the guys for fighting and staying with it," said UWF head coach Mike Jeffcoat. "Obviously both teams had to deal with the rain tonight, so the pitching and the command were a problem for both teams. Luckily, we got back in the dugout there in that heavy part and took advantage of some walks they had and were able to put that six-spot on the board and retake the lead."

Appalachian State transfer Andrew Vaccacio got the start for the Argos and went 3.2 innings, allowing five hits and one run (one earned) while striking out three and walking five. He took a no-decision in the first outing of his UWF career. Florida Southern starter Cooper Bradford, a transfer from North Florida, carded a similar start, allowing two runs (two earned) on three hits in four innings. He struck out four and walked five, also receiving a no-decision.
 
Reigning GSC Freshman of the Year Matthew Estrada got the scoring started in the second with a two-RBI single to plate Matt Sullivan and Robert Lopez. The 2-0 lead would not last long though, as the Mocs struck for five runs vs. Vaccacio and reliever Daniel Floyd from the fourth through the sixth.
 
Down 5-2 entering the seventh, Floyd posted a scoreless frame before the Argo offense sprung to life. After being held to just one hit, an infield single by Bend, from the third to the sixth, the team boarded seven straight against FSC relief men Trevor Castell and Cole Crowder, erasing the three-run deficit and turning it into a three-run lead in a furious six-run rally.
 
Isaac Phillips, Matt Jones, Mike Farnell, and Bend all picked up RBIs in the big seventh inning. Bryant Harris Jr. and Trevor Payne scored the first two runs of the inning after boarding on a walk and a double respectively. Phillips, Jones, Estrada and Farnell joined the scoring parade later in the inning. Phillips would score his second run of the game when Bend provided insurance in the eighth with an RBI double down the left field line.

Floyd (1-0) picked up the win despite allowing four runs (four earned) and seven hits over 3.1 innings. The relief man was able to strand the bases full in the fourth behind Vaccacio though, and he kept the Argos in the game by stranding two in scoring position in the sixth and posting a scoreless frame in the seventh.
 
Josh Pahlad earned his first save of the season after stranding two baserunners he inherited from Dylan Mills-Derouen in the eighth and posting a scoreless ninth. The save was his second of his UWF career.
Castell (0-1) suffered the loss. The reliever set aside six straight out of the bullpen before failing to quell the Argo surge in the seventh.
 
UWF and FSC will meet again Saturday at Jim Spooner Field. Tony Rossi (0-0) is expected to make his first start for West Florida. Matt Martin (0-0) will make his first start of the season for Florida Southern. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m.
 
"They're another good club this year. They're going to be a team to be reckoned with," Jeffcoat said of the rest of the series vs. the Mocs. "Thankfully we finally got an Opening Day victory, and we're proud of that, and hopefully we can build on that for tomorrow."
 
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