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PENSACOLA, Fla. - The 20th ranked UWF Baseball team will open their 2021 season with a three-game home series against Gulf South Conference foe, West Alabama, on Saturday and Sunday.  

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday night, while Sunday's double-header will begin at 1 p.m.  New this season, both contests of the double-header will be at nine innings in length.

Returning For The Argos: West Florida, 14-8 and 9-3 in the GSC last season, returns eight position players who started at least 13 games last season.  Matt Estrada and Cullan O'Shea, both named players to watch by the conference, lead the Argos in the field.  Estrada, a Red-Shirt Junior, hit .314 in 22 starts last season.  The Pensacola native tied for a team-best four doubles and drove in 14 runs, good enough for second on the team.  O'Shea, also a Red-Shirt junior, started all 22 games for the Argonauts and hit a team-high three home runs to go along with one triple and three doubles.

Estrada is flanked in the outfield by seniors Justin Dunnam, who led the team with a .362 batting average last season, and Bryant Harris Jr. while Dylan Menhennett, Adam Imwalle, Miller Hancock and Jack Copley will play the infield alongside O'Shea.  UWF also brings back Ryan Brewer and Hunter Lucas, who started weekend games last year, on the pitching side.  Sean Means, Josh Pahlad and Brendon Case are additional options on the bump.

What's New For UWF: This weekend will see the debuts of eight new players for the UWF Baseball Team.  Three pitchers join the staff to give Head Coach Mike Jeffcoat more options with local products Chase Stanhope and Robert Sherlock.  Jack Schad, a transfer from Tennessee Tech, will play behind the plate.  Two infielders, Kyle D'Amour and Tyler Dowdy, also join the fray.  Joey Wozniak will be in the outfield with Estrada, Harris Jr. and Dunnam, while Northwest Florida natives, Jason Roberts and Josh Majors, will be all over the diamond as utility players.

Argos In The NCBWA Rankings: West Florida checks in at 20th nationally, and third in the south region, in the initial NCBWA rankings.  The Argos finished last season tied for fourth at the end of the 2020 season.  Tampa and Barry are the other two south region teams in the top 25, with both the Spartans and Buccaneers, ranking first and second, respectively in the region.  GSC member, Alabama Huntsville, comes in at 24th nationally and fourth in the south region, with Delta State and Valdosta State, ranked fifth and sixth, being the only other Gulf South Conference teams in the top 10 of the South region.

Limited Home Attendance In January: In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, University of West Florida Athletics will limit attendance for the 2021 home baseball and softball seasons to immediate family members of UWF Student-Athletes and Coaches.  Visiting teams will be permitted a pre-approved guest pass list.  Face coverings and at least six feet of social distancing will be required by spectators and staff at both the UWF Softball Complex and Jim Spooner Field.  All other COVID-19 visitor compliance guidelines must be followed.  Additionally, there will not be any concessions available for sale during the first two weekends of baseball and softball.

Scouting West Alabama: The Tigers, picked to finish 11th in the GSC, are led by Coach Gary Rundles who is in his 20th season with the program.  He has amassed a record of 629-396 and has led the team to six NCAA Regional appearances.  Last season, UWA went 9-11 overall and 1-8 in the GSC.  Second baseman Connor Christian paced the squad in 2020 with a .314 average in 18 appearances. The graduate student led the team in doubles (6), runs (13), and finished second in RBI's (10) and total bases (23).  Peyton Warren, a right-handed pitcher from Brentwood, Tennessee, leads the Tiger pitching staff as he is coming off a season in which he accumulated a 4-2 mark.  The junior had an ERA of 1.80, good enough for third in the league, in 35 innings as he made six starts.

Series History: All-time the Argos hold a 31-22 advantage over West Alabama, which includes a 14-7 mark in Pensacola, Florida.  West Florida went took two out of three from the Tigers in 2020, winning 6-3 and 15-0 in Livingston, Alabama.  Six different returning Argonauts knocked in a run in the 15-0 shutout last year, with Dunnam's four leading the way.

For the latest information on the UWF Baseball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the Team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball.