GULF SHORES, Ala. – With a 6-0 win over Tuskegee on Sunday, the University of West Florida softball team finished up a 4-0 weekend at the Gulf Coast Invitational in Gulf Shores. Grace Gilbert, Tori Perkins (2-0), and Kelsey Sweatt combined to two-hit Tuskegee in the shutout and struck out eight batters.
 
The win marked the first time since 2011 that UWF has started a season 4-0, and the Argonauts outscored opponents 35-8 over the season's opening weekend.
 
UWF got strong performances in the game from newcomers and returners alike. Freshman Teala Howard went 3-3 with a walk, two runs scored and a stolen base, while fellow newcomer Sweatt earned her first save of the season with a three-inning outing in which she allowed just one hit and struck out four.
 
Several returners also stood out, including Rachel Wright (2-for-4, 1 RBI) and Rhiannon Sassman (2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 run scored). Kathleen Smiley and Kara Wilson each had a hit and an RBI, and Grace Gilbert and Tori Perkins combined for four innings pitched, one hit, and four strikeouts in the circle.
 
Sassman started the scoring when her bunt single brought Howard around in the first inning, and Sassman herself scored on a line drive single up the middle from Smiley just a batter later. In the second, catcher Ashley McNally scored on a passed ball to stretch the lead to 3-0, and Jibrasha Moore scored on a Rachel Wright single to left later in the at-bat.
 
No scoring went on for the next three innings, but Sassman and Wilson had back-to-back RBI hits in the sixth to extend the UWF advantage to 6-0.
 
In the circle, Gilbert got the start and retired the first three batters she faced, before allowing only one hit in the second and finishing off the Golden Tigers batters with back-to-back groundouts after a strikeout.
 
Perkins followed and earned the win, with two strikeouts and no hits allowed, before Sweatt finished off the game with a scoreless three innings and four strikeouts.
 
Twelve of thirteen Gulf South Conference teams played in the Gulf Coast Invitational over the weekend, and West Florida leads the league in batting average (.368), runs scored (35), and ERA (0.81).
 
UWF will be in Clearwater, Florida, next weekend for the NFCA Leadoff Classic. For all information on the tournament and all things UWF softball, visit GoArgos.com.