DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of West Florida softball team split a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon against Hillsdale College, capped off by a no-hit bid from senior pitcher Kelsey Sweatt in Game 2. The no-hitter is Sweatt's first in a solo effort at UWF and the second she has been a part of as an Argonaut.
 
Sweatt was dominant in her start, striking out eight, walking just two, and improving to 2-1 on the year. This was UWF's first no-hitter since Sweatt combined with Grace Gilbert and Megan Warhurst to no-hit Christian Brothers last year, on March 5.
 
West Florida hit .302 on the day, with Ally Merrill's four hits leading the team. Merrill added four RBIs, including three in Game 2, and slugged 1.143 with a home run. Brett Leiva and Kara Wilson also added home runs and had multiple RBIs in the doubleheader.
 
Merrill led UWF with seven hits, four RBIs, and a .583 batting average over the weekend.
 
The Argonauts return to the UWF Softball Complex on Friday, February 19, and Saturday, February 20, for a weekend series against Gulf South Conference opponent West Alabama.
 
GAME 1: UWF 2, Hillsdale 3
The day started with a back-and-forth affair, with starting pitcher Grace Gilbert looking sharp in the circle and UWF jumping out to a 1-0 lead on an RBI single up the middle from Merrill to score Mika Garcia.
 
Hillsdale responded with a run of its own in the second, on a fielder's choice to first, and scored two more in the third on back-to-back RBI base hits from Madison Stoner and Elaine Townley, giving the Chargers a 3-1 lead.
 
Courtney McLellan brought in Merrill on an RBI single in the fourth, but that would be all the Argonauts could put together offensively.
 
Gilbert took the tough-luck loss after spinning five innings and striking out four. Freshman Montana Young entered the game in the sixth and threw two perfect innings of relief.
 
GAME 2: UWF 8, Hillsdale 0
The second half of the doubleheader was all UWF, and it started with Sweatt in the circle.
 
The senior pitcher from Jacksonville dominated as the game went on, and wiped out the two baserunners she allowed early in the contest. With a runner on second and just one out in the first, Sweatt got popups to shortstop and left field to end the inning, and she got a pair of strikeouts around a walk in the second that ended the frame. Townley for HC drew the walk and was thrown out by catcher Brett Leiva trying to steal second.
 
After cruising through the third, Hillsdale's Sarah Wojcik was hit by a pitch to start the fourth, but she would also be caught stealing by Leiva. That would be the last HC baserunner to reach, as Sweatt powered through the final 11 batters she faced. The senior also struck out the final five batters she saw in the no-hit bid.
 
West Florida got to Hillsdale starter Julia Sayles quickly, as Leiva lifted her first career home run into left-center field to give UWF a 2-0 in the second inning.
 
The Argonauts added two more runs in the third, when Merrill singled to left field and scored Garcia and Teala Howard, and Mallory Vining's RBI double in the fourth gave UWF a 5-0 lead through four innings.
 
Kara Wilson and Merrill put the final touches on the scoring in the seventh inning, with back-to-back home runs to stretch the lead to 8-0. The round-trippers were Wilson's second of the year and Merrill's first of her career.
 
For the latest information on the UWF Softball team, fans can visit GoArgos.com/Softball or follow the team @UWFSoftball on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.