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PENSACOLA, Fla. - The 15th ranked University of West Florida Baseball Team travels to Auburn Montgomery for their first road trip of the 2021 season on Friday and Saturday.

First pitch from Lowe Field in Montgomery on Friday night is set for 5 p.m. while Saturday's double-header will begin at 1 p.m.  

UWF is currently on a five-game winning streak as they have outscored opponents, 49-10, over their last five games.  In that span which dates back to a February 28th win over Alabama Huntsville, the UWF pitching staff has been dynamic.  Led by starters Ryan Brewer and Evan Floyd, the Argonauts have allowed only two runs per game, while striking out 34 batters in the five contests.  Floyd was named the GSC pitcher of the week after his seven-inning complete shutout with 10 strikeouts against Mississippi College, while Brewer pitched six innings, allowing one run on eight hits while striking out six in a game one victory over MC.

Not to be outdone, West Florida's offense has also been special over the last week.  Tallying seven home runs over the past four games, the Argonauts have relied on the long ball on their way to averaging 10 runs per contest in games against the Choctaws and Spring Hill.  UWF hit five home-runs combined in their first 12 games of the season.  Reigning GSC freshman of the week, Jason Roberts, has sparked the offensive attack as he has nine hits, including five extra-base hits, in his last four games.  Roberts has two home-runs in that same span, tying him for the team lead.  Outfielder Matthew Estrada has seen his batting average jump to .333 on the year, after his eight hits in his last three games, which includes three doubles and five runs batted in, while first baseman, Cullan O'Shea, continues to his team leading 17 RBI's with seven in the last four games.

Leading Off: The Argos have been able to get off to quick starts all season long thanks to their top three hitters in the line-up in True Fontenot, Estrada and O'Shea.  Fontenot, a red-shirt freshman from Tallahassee, has delivered for Head Coach Mike Jeffcoat in the lead-off spot as he has tallied 16 hits, two doubles, one home-run and nine RBI's while hitting .302 for the year and getting on-base at a .415 clip.  Estrada, meanwhile has picked up his offense recently with eight hits and five RBI's in his last three games.  Both players have set-up O'Shea, who has benefited in the third spot with his aforementioned 17 RBI's, ranking first on the team.  He is also tied for first on the team in doubles (5), and has a .484 slugging percentage, which leads all players who have participated in at least 10 contests.

Menhennett; The Mississippi Hitter: Dylan Menhennett, a red-shirt senior from Biloxi, Mississippi has been a driving force in the Argonaut's being the top offense in the GSC this season.  Contributing a team-high 22 hits and 16 runs, Dylan is also tied for the team lead in total bases with 31 and home-runs with two.  He also carries a .517 slugging percentage thanks to three doubles.  Menhennett also ranks second on the team in RBI's with 14.  The 16 runs scored tie Menhennett for 10th most in the GSC.

Roberts; The Two-Way Star: Since being inserted into the starting line-up at DH on February 27th, Jason Roberts has been a big-bat for the Argos.  Totaling a team-best 12 RBI's in that span, Roberts is slugging .955 (best on the team) with three doubles and two home runs to go along with his 12 total hits in only 22 at-bats.  The reigning GSC player of the week, Jason launched his first two home-runs of the season with both coming to left-center field.  Nine of his 12 RBI's have come in the last two games.

Along with his dominance at the plate, Roberts also made his first start on the mound against Spring Hill on March 9th.  In three innings, Roberts only allowed one run on three hits, while he also recorded his first career strike-out.

The Top Pitching Staff In The GSC: Coming into the weekend with a 3.40 team earned run average which is best in the GSC, the Argos have regularly received dominant performances from their pitchers.  Floyd leads all pitchers for UWF with a 1.29 ERA, which leads all starters in the conference.  He also ranks eighth in total strikeouts and third in strikeouts looking with 30 and 13, respectively.  Ryan Brewer, the game one starter, has also been incredibly consistent with his 4-0 record in five starts.  Brewer's four wins pace the GSC.  Pitching to a 2.64 ERA in 26 innings, Brewer has only allowed 11 runs in his five starts, while striking out 26 batters and holding opponents to a .244 batting average.

West Florida's bullpen has also been able to shutdown opponents with Brendon Case being the primary closer.  In 2021, Case has been one of the top relievers in all of division II, racking up four saves while pitching to a 1.93 ERA with 10 strikeouts in just over nine innings pitched.  The four saves are the most by a pitcher in the entire nation, while his .200 opponent batting average is fifth best in the GSC.

Argos In The NCBWA Rankings: With their five straight-wins, the Argonauts have moved to 15th nationally in the latest NCBWA rankings.  Jumping up to the 15th spot, this is the highest West Florida has been ranked since the final regular season rankings of the 2019 season.  Additionally, the Argos were placed third in the South Region rankings, behind Tampa and Lee University with Valdosta State and Florida Southern rounding out the top five.

Scouting AUM: Auburn Montgomery (10-7 overall, 8-7 in the GSC), has won four of their last five contests which includes a 13-3 mid-week win over Tuskegee.  The Warhawks, led by Head Coach Marty Lovrich, feature the top hitter in the GSC in Freshman infielder, Jackson Ceman.  Ceman, hitting .451 in 17 games, has paced AUM's offense as he is also leading the team with 23 hits, four doubles, one home run and 22 RBI's and an OPS of 1.104.  He is also second on the team with 20 runs scored.  As a team, AUM has the top scoring offense in the Gulf South Conference with 135 runs scored while they are also batting .282, which is sixth in the conference.  Three other batters are hitting over .300 for the Warhawks.

On the mound, AUM has a 4.43 team ERA, which is sixth best in the conference.  Despite striking out 141 batters over 150 innings pitched, which is the most innings in the GSC, the Warhawks have allowed the second most runs in the GSC with 107.  Hunter Viets and Micah Henderson have both started five games for AUM with Viets holding a team-low, 2.83 ERA while Henderson holds a 4-0 record with a 3.37 ERA.  Combined, the two pitchers have 53 strikeouts with both holding opponents to a batting average under .257.

Series History: All-time, the Argos are 8-3 against AUM, which includes a 4-2 meeting in Montgomery, Alabama.  In the teams last meeting of April 2019, the Argonauts' took two of three against the Warhawks, with UWF winning the last two games of the series as they scored 13.5 runs per contest.

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