CLEARWATER, Fla. – Rhiannon Sassman went 3-for-3 with 5 RBIs, a double, and two triples in West Florida's 8-3 win over No. 8 West Chester on Sunday afternoon. The win pushed UWF's record to 8-1 for the year, and four of the Argonauts' eight wins have come against ranked opponents. 

West Florida tallied a season-high 15 hits on the day, with 10 different Argonauts recording at least one hit. Sassman's five RBIs on the day match Teala Howard's five from Friday night against Palm Beach Atlantic for the team's single-game high this year. For each, those five RBIs are the most for an Argonaut since early March 2018, when Sassman drove in five against Christian Brothers. 

West Chester got out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, and UWF did not lead until the fifth inning when Sassman hit her first of the day. It was a bases-loaded knock that put UWF ahead 4-3, with Jibrasha Moore, Rachel Wright, and Teala Howard each scoring. In the fourth, Sassman took advantage by stealing home when Mallory Vining stole second and cut the deficit to 2-1 at the time. 

Sassman was back at it again in the seventh, giving UWF a pair of insurance runs with another triple that scored Wright and Howard, stretching the Argonaut lead to 6-3. She came around to score just a batter later, when Kathleen Smiley singled into center field. 

The final run of the day was scored by Sara Spears, who scored on Mika Garcia's single into the right-center gap, putting the lead at the final 8-3. 

The win also marked Tori Perkins' conference-best fourth victory of the season, after she went the full seven innings and allowed only four hits. The senior struck out five, giving her 12 strikeouts over 13 innings of work for the weekend, after she no-hit Cal (Pa.) on Friday. 

Wright, Howard, Sassman, and Smiley each had multiple hits in the game. 

After the game, Howard was named to the Leadoff Classic All-Tournament team, after hitting .556 (10-18) with eight runs scored, seven RBIs, and four stolen bases during the weekend. After each had multiple hits on Sunday, Howard, Sassman and Smiley have reached base in every game this season. Additionally, Sassman has reached base in each of her last 16 games, dating back to March 7 of last year. 

Jacquelynne Poling, after adding a single on Sunday, now has a hit in all seven games she has played in this season. The seven-game hitting streak is a team-high. 

After two weekends of play, UWF still leads the Gulf South Conference in batting (.356), on-base percentage (.438), opponent batting average (.172), and wins (8). Howard leads the league in batting (.600) and runs scored (15), 

West Florida opens its home schedule with a doubleheader against Spring Hill on Wednesday, February 13.