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STATS | VIDEO
GSC TOURNAMENT HOMEPAGE
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – After posting a 43-8 regular-season record with a 25-4 mark in conference play, the No. 2-ranked University of West Florida softball team will host the Gulf South Conference Tournament this weekend, beginning on Thursday. UWF's first game of the tournament will be against Delta State at 5:30 pm on Thursday at the UWF Softball Complex.
 
All games of the tournament will be held at the UWF Softball Complex, starting at 10 a.m. Thursday. Every game will have a live broadcast and live stats, which can be found by visiting GoArgos.com.
 
Adults can purchase single-day passes for $8 or an all-tournament pass for $20, children ages five and under are free, and children aged 6-17 will be $5. UWF students can enter the tournament for free with a valid Nautilus card, and students from other GSC member schools can enter for $5.
 
At the GSC Tournament
UWF holds a 38-25 all-time record at the GSC Tournament, with three titles and six appearances in the championship game. That's good for a .603 winning percentage, which ranks as the third-best in conference history.
 
West Florida is 14-3 against the field in this year's GSC Tournament and won the regular-season title with a 25-4 conference record.
 
The Argonauts are 5-4 over the last three seasons at the GSC Tournament, averaging 5.5 runs per game. This is the first time UWF has hosted the GSC Tournament, and the Argonauts last won a conference championship in 2005.
 
About Delta State
West Florida took a sweep over First Round opponent and 8-seed Delta State in March, outscoring the Lady Statesmen 14-6 in the series. DSU finished the regular season with a 22-23 overall record and a 12-18 conference mark.
 
Kathleen Smiley, Kelsey Sweatt, and Grace Gilbert stood out in the series, with Smiley's 5 hits and .625 batting average leading all Argonauts. Sweatt threw a complete game in a 5-1 victory in Game 2 of the series, and Gilbert threw 11 innings -- including a complete game -- with a 1.27 ERA.
 
DSU had one All-GSC selection, in first-teamer Kelly Byrd. Byrd leads the GSC in on-base percentage (.565) while ranking fourth in batting (.429) and slugging (.723). The senior also leads the Lady Statesmen with 8 home runs.
 
Nicole Fullilove is the GSC leader in innings pitched (160.2) and has posted a 2.92 ERA.
 
The Regional Rankings
UWF ranked No. 1 in the latest South Region rankings, which decide the field for the NCAA Tournament. Florida Tech remained No. 2, Alabama Huntsville is No. 3, Valdosta State is No. 4, and Tampa is No. 5 in the region. Reigning South Region champions Saint Leo came in at No. 6, Mississippi College is No. 7, and Rollins, West Alabama, and West Georgia round out the top 10.
 
The champions from the Gulf South, Sunshine State, and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic conferences earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, and the highest-ranked teams that remain earn at-large bids.
 
Our All-GSC Awards
It has already been a banner year for the University of West Florida softball team, and the Argonauts can now add several Gulf South Conference yearly awards to the accolades. Rhiannon Sassman has been named the GSC Player of the Year, Teala Howard was named Freshman of the Year, and first-year coach Ashliegh McLean has been named the GSC Coach of the Year.
 
In addition to those, five Argonauts earned First Team All-GSC status on Wednesday afternoon. Sassman is the third baseman on the first team, Courtney McLellan earned a spot as an outfielder, Howard is a utility player on the team, and pitchers Kelsey Sweatt and Grace Gilbert made the first team, with Gilbert earning an at-large spot.
 
McLean has led UWF to top-10 rankings in every in-season national poll this year, which includes four weeks at the No. 1 spot in the NFCA Coaches Poll. Under the leadership of the UWF graduate, West Florida has recorded the eighth-best winning percentage in Division II this season, ranks third nationally in fielding percentage (.977), 15th in shutouts (14), 18th in ERA (1.93), and 20th in batting average (.332). Winona State and Grand Valley State are the only other schools in the country to rank in the top 20 in each of those categories. This marks the fifth Coach of the Year award for UWF and it is McLean's first.
 
Against the Conference
To little surprise, UWF ranked among the best teams in the GSC against league opponents. With a 25-4 record against the conference, the Argonauts rank second in batting (.317), on-base percentage (.395), and ERA (2.57), while leading the league in opponent batting average (.222).
 
Teala Howard (.438) leads the league in batting in conference play, while Rhiannon Sassman is fifth in batting (.414) and OBP (.500). Howard's 42 hits are the most against GSC opponents, and her 23 stolen bases rank second.
 
Home Sweet Home
There has been no place quite like the UWF Softball Complex for the Argonauts this year. The team went 20-1 at the friendly confines in the regular season.
 
UWF is hitting .369 and is getting great production from all over the lineup. Jacquelynne Poling leads the team with a .500 average (17-34), Rhiannon Sassman has a team-high 24 RBIs to go along with a .460 batting average, Teala Howard is hitting .459 with 21 runs scored, and Courtney McLellan leads UWF with 7 doubles at home.
 
In the circle, Kelsey Sweatt and Grace Gilbert are a combined 15-0 with a 1.67 ERA and four total shutouts.