LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The series finale was never in doubt for the University of West Florida softball team, which took a 9-2 win over West Alabama in Livingston on Sunday afternoon. Every batter in UWF's lineup had at least one hit, and freshman pitcher Megan Warhurst earned her third win of the year.
 
UWF is now 10-6 on the year with a 3-3 record in the Gulf South Conference.
 
West Florida started out hot, scoring three runs in the first and two more in the second. Centerfielder Teala Howard drew a walk and stole second and third before junior Grace Gilbert lifted a sacrifice fly to put UWF up 1-0. After a Mika Garcia double to left-center and an Ally Merrill single, that duo performed a double steal that allowed Garcia to cross the plate.
 
In the same at-bat, catcher Ashley McNally ripped a single down the right field line and brought in Merrill, giving West Florida a 3-0 lead.
 
Those three runs would be enough support for Warhurst. The rookie ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the first but got out of the jam with no harm done, and she retired nine consecutive batters from the second through the fourth innings.
 
In all, Warhurst improved to 3-1 on the year with 5.2 innings pitched, just a single hit allowed, and four strikeouts. Kelsey Sweatt entered the game in relief in the sixth and threw 1.1 innings of hitless softball without issuing a walk.
 
Kayla Mayo led off the second inning for UWF with a bloop single to center field, and, after she stole second base, scored on a bunt single from Howard to stretch the lead to 4-0. Sophomore Angela Agurkis reached on a dropped fly ball two batters later to score Howard and put UWF ahead 5-0.
 
Gilbert hit another sacrifice fly to score Howard in the fourth, and UWF added three more runs in the top of the sixth. Agurkis doubled to left field to bring in Garcia, pinch-runner Laurynn Boggs scored on a wild pitch, and Jibrasha Moore hit an infield single that brought in McNally to cap off the scoring.
 
Sunday marked the third time in the last four games that UWF has scored at least six runs and had double-digit hits. Howard now leads the GSC with 20 runs scored, 24 hits, and 12 stolen bases, after swiping three bags, scoring three times, and adding two hits on Sunday. And with another pair of RBIs, Gilbert leads the conference with 20 runs driven in.
 
The Argonauts return to the UWF Softball Complex on Saturday, February 29, to start a weekend series against Delta State.