GSC TOURNAMENT HOMEPAGE
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Rachel Wright reached four times in the University of West Florida softball team's 10-2 win over Delta State in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament in Pensacola on Thursday evening. UWF improved to 44-8 with the win and will face 5-seed West Alabama in the next round of the tournament on Friday, at 5:30 pm.
 
UWF got out to a quick lead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first after loading the bases with no outs. Wright scored on a passed ball to start the scoring, Callan Taylor lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in Teala Howard, and a Courtney McLellan groundball brought in Rhiannon Sassman to give UWF the 3-0 lead after a frame.
 
That would be enough for starting pitcher Grace Gilbert, who earned her conference-leading 18th win of the season on Thursday. The sophomore went the full five innings, picking up her 13th complete game of the year. Delta State could muster only four hits against Gilbert, three of which came in the two-run third inning.
 
Gilbert sat down the first six and the final nine batters she faced, striking out four batters and forcing seven groundouts in the win.
 
The Argonauts added another run in the second, when Mika Garcia scored on a Rachel Wright single, and the team added another in the third and fourth innings with a fielder's choice by Ashley McNally and a single to right field from Kathleen Smiley that stretched the UWF lead to 6-2.
 
UWF put together a four-run fifth inning to take the walkoff win, after Garcia reached on a throwing error that plated two runs, Wright singled through the left side to bring in Jacquelynne Poling, and Sassman grounded out to second to bring in Garcia.
 
UWF leads the tournament with a .500 team batting average (11-for-22) after a day of action.
 
West Florida faces West Alabama on Friday at 5:30 pm at the UWF Softball Complex in the second round of the tournament. The first game of the day – an elimination game between 2-seed Alabama Huntsville and 3-seed Mississippi College will begin at 10 a.m.