DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of West Florida softball team fell in a pair of games at No. 2 North Georgia on Friday afternoon, dropping to 2-2 for the season. West Florida will wrap up the weekend on Saturday with a doubleheader against Hillsdale at noon ET in Dahlonega.
 
Ally Merrill led all UWF hitters with a .600 average on the day, and Teala Howard's four hits also led the team. UWF hit .267 in the doubleheader, with nine hits in Game 2.
 
With a hit in Game 1 and three hits in Game 2, Howard extended her hitting streak to 18 games. That is the fourth-longest streak in UWF history, tied with Nikki Johnson from 2001. Howard also had a 16-game streak as a freshman in 2019, making her the only Argonaut to have two of the seven longest hitting streaks in program history.
 
GAME 1: UWF 0, North Georgia 8 (5 innings)
The Nighthawks got off to a hot start, putting up four runs in the first inning to jump ahead 4-0, capped off by a two-run home run by Mallory Parker.
 
The Argonauts struggled to get anything going offensively against two-time national player of the year Kylee Smith, though Ally Merrill picked up two hits, Teala Howard had a hit and a stolen base, and Grace Gilbert drew a walk.
 
Starting pitcher Kelsey Sweatt was charged with four runs over 0.2 innings in the circle, falling to 1-1 on the year, while freshman Montana Young went 3.2 innings with four runs allowed.
 
North Georgia's Smith struck out eight over five shutout innings.
 
UNG added a solo home run in the second, a two-run homer in the fourth, and a double in the fifth to finish off the win.
 
GAME 2: UWF 4, North Georgia 5
The second half of the doubleheader turned out to be a good one. Kara Wilson got the scoring started with her first home run of the year, with one out in the fourth inning. It was her third career home run, giving UWF the 1-0 lead.
 
Grace Gilbert cruised through the four innings, and she did not allow a hit until a walk with two outs in the fourth. UNG tacked on two runs in the fourth to jump back head 2-1, with a triple and a double.
 
West Florida didn't go away easily and bounced back in the fifth. The Argonauts put three runs on the board in the inning, taking a 4-2 advantage. After Kayla Mayo drew a one-out walk, Mika Garcia doubled to tie the game 2-2, and Howard singled immediately after to put two runners on.
 
Wilson pushed across Garcia and Howard with two away, hitting a sharp grounder up the middle that skipped by UNG shortstop Margaret Simmons and gave UWF a 4-2 lead.
 
But UNG also struck for three in the bottom of the fifth, and it would be enough to take the win. The Nighthawks got an RBI double to left-center, an RBI single to center field, and a game-winning single through the left side to improve to 4-0 on the year.
 
Gilbert went the distance, striking out three and allowing seven hits in a solid start.
 
The team will be back in action on Saturday with a doubleheader against Hillsdale in Dahlonega, Georgia, with first pitch set for noon ET.