GULF SHORES, Ala. – The first day of the 2020 season was a bit of a mixed bag for the University of West Florida softball team, which opened the year at the Gulf Coast Invitational Saturday. No. 4 UWF defeated No. 9 Florida Tech in Game 1 before falling late to Nova Southeastern 8-1.
 
Grace Gilbert led UWF with five hits and four RBIs over the first two games of the year, Teala Howard added four runs scored, and freshman Kayla Mayo stood out in her first collegiate game.
 
The team returns to action on Sunday against No. 25 Saint Leo at 9 am in Gulf Shores, and UWF wraps the weekend with Miles at 2 pm.
 
GAME 1: NO. 4 UWF 11, NO. 9 FLORIDA TECH 2
UWF and FT traded zeroes for the first two innings, before Jacquelynne Polnig and Ally Merrill tallied back-to-back RBI hits. UWF never looked back from there, scoring two more in the fourth, two in the sixth, and five in the seventh.
 
Kelsey Sweatt earned her first win of the season after going five innings and striking out five batters, while allowing just three hits and a run. Sweatt did not allow a hit through 4.2 innings, and she escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth to keep UWF"s lead intact.
 
Gilbert had a four-hit day to start her season, and she added four RBIs across the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings. It was her first game with four hits or four RBIs. Howard added three hits and three runs in the win, and Mallory Vining went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
 
Mayo stood out in her first game for UWF, picking up her first career hit, stolen base, and run in the fourth inning, and she added a double down the right field line in the seventh to tally her first two career RBIs.
 
Sweatt handed the ball off to freshman Megan Warhurst in the sixth. The rookie struck out two batters in the final two frames and did not allow a hit.
 
West Florida's 11 runs and 15 hits in Game 1 were the program's most of each since March 13 of last season, when the Argonauts matched those totals against Montevallo.
 
GAME 2: NO. 4 UWF 1, NOVA SOUTHEASTERN 8
Gilbert was in total control through the first 5.1 innings of her start on Saturday evening, retiring 15 consecutive batters from the first into the sixth inning. But West Florida struggled to keep its offense going after the first game, with Mika Garcia's RBI fielder's choice coming through in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Howard had a one-out single in the fifth and moved to second on a single from Gilbert. Garcia then hit a grounder to second baseman Allie Janowiak and NSU converted the out at second, before trying a throw to first that was too late to get Garcia. Howard was fast enough to round third and cross the plate before NSU had a chance to catch her at the plate.
 
That gave UWF the 1-0 lead for an inning, but NSU cashed in on four hits and three UWF errors in the top half of the inning to take a 4-1 lead. The Sharks added four more in the seventh, and Gilbert was ultimately charged with seven runs allowed – only four of which were earned – despite a strong start.