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PENSACOLA, Fla. – The homestand continues for the University of West Florida softball team with a weekend series against No. 15 Alabama Huntsvillle on Saturday and Sunday. First pitch in the Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for 2 pm, and the series finale on Sunday is slated for a 1 pm start.
 
UWF enters the weekend at 8-3 overall with a 3-0 Gulf South Conference record, and UAH is 7-2 and 2-1 in the GSC.
 
All games can be watched on a live stream and will feature live stats. Links for each can be found at GoArgos.com or at the links above.
 
University of West Florida athletics has increased attendance to 25 percent capacity for all softball home games at the UWF Softball Complex. Each game is first come, first serve to the general public. A set number of tickets will be held aside for Argonaut Athletic Club Booster members. AAC members can collect their tickets at the ticket window on gameday with their booster club card. Tickets are $7 for general admission, $5 for seniors, military members, and visiting students, and free for UWF students, UWF faculty and staff, and children under 6 years old.

Gates will open 60 minutes prior to first pitch. Tailgating in the parking lot is not allowed, and, as a reminder, pets are not allowed. Face coverings and at least six feet of social distancing will be required by spectators and staff at the UWF Softball Complex. All other COVID-19 visitor compliance guidelines must be followed.  
 
SCOUTING ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE
Alabama Huntsville is ranked No. 15 in the country, according to the most recent national coaches poll released on Wednesday. UAH leads the head-to-head series 36-21 since 2006, but the series is at an even 6-6 split in the last 12 matchups.
 
The weekend feature a meeting between two of the top offenses in the country. The Chargers rank first in Division II in triples (9), second in runs (94) and hits (108), third in batting average (.427), and fourth in scoring (10.4 runs per game) and on-base percentage (.510). The Chargers have also scored at least seven runs in eight of their nine games.
 
UAH gets production from all spots in the lineup, as well. All eight qualified starters for UAH are hitting over .300, and five are hitting over .400, with a good deal of power. The lineup is headlined by Heather Thompson, Shelby Booker, Mackenzie Nutt, and Kiara Akles. Thompson is batting .600, Booker leads the team with 14 runs scored, Nutt ranks second in DII with 16 RBIs, and Akles has 12 RBIs with a .433 batting average.
 
The Argonauts will also see Akles in the circle, along with a familiar face in Layton Murphy. Murphy has a 3.33 ERA in 21 innings, and Akles is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in 11.2 innings. In all, UAH has a 4.31 team ERA and their opponents are hitting .291.
 
WE ARE SLUGGING
There has been a major power surge at the UWF Softball Complex. West Florida hit seven home runs in the series against West Alabama, while slugging .750 as a team and adding eight doubles, and they added another six doubles and two homers on Wednesday against Spring Hill. UWF's team slugging percentage went up more than 100 points during the series, up to .572 for the year. UWF was 33rd in Division II in slugging before the weekend series against UWA -- their .572 team mark puts them up to 15th in the country.
 
And while UWF has hit for power in the past, it does not usually look quite like this. Of course the season is young and things will change, but UWF's .572 slugging percentage would be the highest single-season mark for the program since joining Division II.
 
COURTNEY MCLELLAN IS HITTING VERY WELL
Courtney McLellan's strong weekend against West Alabama was nothing new for the senior from Bradenton, Florida, and she has propelled herself to the team lead in batting (.480). In her last eight games, she has hit .500 (9-for-18) with two doubles, six RBIs, and a home run. Her opening weekend earned her GSC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
 
McLellan now leads the team in batting (.480), OBP (.536), and doubles (3), while ranking second in hits (12), and third in slugging (.800). She's also a career .370 hitter at the UWF Softball Complex, with a .571 slugging percentage at home. 
 
UWF also ranks third in the country in home runs (13), fourth in doubles (21), and sixth in runs (70) this year.
 
SCORING IN BULK
West Florida has made a habit out of putting crooked numbers on the scoreboard this year. The Argonauts have scored three or more runs in nine separate innings this season, and they've scored at least seven runs in each of their last six games. This recent scoring output has put them second in the GSC in total runs.
 
THE EXCITING TEALA HOWARD
Teala Howard has been one of the top players in the country since she arrived in Pensacola in 2019. The junior from Lake Butler, Florida, is UWF's all-time batting leader (.475), ranks fifth in school history in slugging (.590) and steals (83), and leads Division II in stolen bases this year. Howard also led DII in hits last season, and she tied the UWF single-season record for batting in 2019 (.464) as a freshman.
 
She has at least one hit in 10 of 11 games this season and is riding a six-game hitting streak. UWF's third baseman also wrapped up an 18-game hitting streak at the beginning of the season that dated back to February 19, 2020.
 
MIKA GARCIA AND THE ON-BASE STREAK
Senior shortstop Mika Garcia has been on a tear lately, having reached base in each of her last eight games and picking up at least one hit in each of her last five. Garcia has also been as clutch as can be, with nine RBIs in her last five games, while hitting .714 (5-7) with runners in scoring position, .800 (4-5) with two outs, and .625 (5-8) with any runners on. She has also picked up a team-best 5 two-out RBIs during this homestand.
 
Garcia has been a staple in the UWF lineup since her freshman season in 2018, starting 126 games in the last three-plus years. She is a career .304 hitter, who has walked more than she's struck out. This year has been her best so far -- she's batting a career-best .357 with career highs in slugging (.679), and on-base percentage (.424). She hit home runs in back-to-back games last weekend against UWA, with a game-winning two-run shot in Game 2 on Saturday.
 
YEAR THREE FOR MCLEAN
Ashliegh McLean enters her third year as the head coach of the University of West Florida softball team. Her first two years have been noteworthy, to say the least -- she led the team to the NCAA Championship and 54 wins in 2019, before going 17-9 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
 
She has a better winning percentage through her first three seasons (.775) than any other current Gulf South Conference coach did in their first three seasons, with the exception of Eric Newell at Auburn Montgomery (.780), who started his tenure in the NAIA.
 
MONTANA YOUNG IS GETTING EVERYONE OUT
Freshman pitcher Montana Young has impressed through the first month of the season, with 21 strikeouts and just 5 walks in 19.2 innings. Opponents are also hitting just .179 against the rookie from Slidell, Louisiana, which ranks seventh in the GSC. In Wednesday's doubleheader against Spring Hill, Young struck out 10 batters and did not walk any in 4 total innings of relief.