CLEVELAND, Miss. – The third-ranked University of West Florida softball team finished off a sweep over Delta State and improved to 14-1 in Gulf South Conference play with a 4-2 win over the Lady Statesmen in Cleveland on Sunday. UWF is now 31-4 overall and is now riding a four-game winning streak.
 
UWF took advantage of some timely hitting again on Sunday, and the offense started early. For the first time this season, Rachel Wright led off the game with a home run, marking the first UWF leadoff round-tripper since Wright did so on February 10 last season. The lead would not last for long, however, as DSU's Jordan Jones singled into right to even the score in the bottom of the first.
 
Tori Perkins and Lady Statesmen starter Nicole Fullilove traded zeroes for the next two innings, allowing just two combined hits in that time. UWF charged back ahead in the fourth, though, with Kathleen Smiley scoring after Ally Merrill reached on a DSU error in West Florida's three-hit inning.
 
Grace Gilbert earned her GSC-best 12th win of the season after she entered in the fourth with the lead and retired the first three DSU batters she faced, each with a groundout. Perkins finished her day with three innings pitched, allowing only three hits, and striking out three batters.
 
Gilbert finished her day with four innings of relief thrown, with a pair of strikeouts, no walks, and just three hits allowed. A solo home run from Jordan Jones in the seventh inning was the first earned run that a UWF reliever has allowed this year, giving the Argonauts bullpen a 0.19 ERA in 2019.
 
Smiley brought in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Mika Garcia, who led off the inning with a single. After Smiley hit a two-out single into center field in the seventh and Mallory Vining pinch-ran for her, a single to right from Merrill gave UWF another insurance run and put the score at 4-1.
 
Gilbert had an effortless seventh inning aside from the Jones home run, getting two groundouts and a strikeout to end the game.
 
All nine UWF starters in the lineup had at least one hit for the day.
 
The Argonauts will be back at the UWF Softball Complex next weekend for a series against Shorter, beginning on Saturday.