PENSACOLA, Fla. – Grace Gilbert recorded her third shutout of the season and improved to 7-1 in the circle on Friday night, as the University of West Florida softball team took a 1-0 win in a pitchers' duel over Mississippi College. The win stretched UWF's winning streak to 15 games and the Argonauts' record improved to 19-1, matching the program's best 20-game start in history (2005).
 
UWF also improved to 7-0 in the Gulf South Conference, giving the Argonauts a four-game lead over Union (10-6, 3-0 GSC) for the top spot in the conference.
 
Gilbert was phenomenal in her best start of the year, allowing just four baserunners and striking out five to earn her Gulf South Conference-best seventh win of the season. The sophomore set a personal season-high with five strikeouts and allowed more than one runner to reach base in only the sixth inning.
 
The difference in the game was a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning from Kathleen Smiley, her second of the year. The round-tripper was a no-doubt shot that moved Smiley into a tie for 10th place on UWF's all-time home run leaderboard, with 18 career homers.
 
Gilbert retired the first five batters she faced, before giving up a two-out single to Alexia Harmon in the second inning, and she then sat down the following eight Mississippi College hitters.
 
The only real drama for Gilbert and the Argonauts came in the sixth inning, when Mississippi College got a pair of singles to lead off the inning. With Gracie Trahan and Ashley Elsensohn on first and second, Shayla McKissock put down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with only one out and the heart of the MC order coming up.
 
Gilbert worked out of the jam with no trouble, getting Baylee Freudenberg to ground out back to her and forcing a grounder to third base from Carly Crawford to end the threat.
 
This is the 11th time in 20 games this season that UWF has allowed three or fewer hits.
 
West Florida continues the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, scheduled for a 2 pm first pitch.