MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Three home runs and another strong outing from pitcher Grace Gilbert gave the 23rd-ranked University of West Florida softball team a 4-2 win at Auburn Montgomery on Friday evening. UWF improved to 14-6 overall and 8-2 in the Gulf South Conference, while AUM was handed its first loss of the season, falling to 14-1 and 6-1 in the conference.
 
Gilbert improved to 4-3 in the circle, striking out four and allowing just two earned runs over seven innings of work. The junior has been especially sharp in the last few weeks – she has a 1.14 ERA over her last 5 outings, throwing 24.2 innings and holding opponents to a .211 batting average.
 
The scoring started early on Friday evening. After Mika Garcia walked with one away in the first, Ally Merrill hit her fifth home run of the year to put UWF ahead 2-0. The home run tied Merrill for the second-most roundtrippers in the GSC this season.
 
AUM evened the score after two innings, with a Jaycie Walker RBI double and a Hannah Dailey solo homer putting the score at 2-2.
 
After a quiet top of the third, Gilbert got out of a jam in the bottom half of the inning. With the bases loaded and just one out, Gilbert got a grounder to Ally Merrill at first, when Merrill made the out at home, and a grounder to Teala Howard to end the inning.
 
UWF got a bigger shift in momentum in the top of the fourth, with Jacquelynne Poling's second home run of the year put the Argonauts ahead 3-2. It was a solo shot, and she is UWF's active career leader with 9 home runs.
 
Gilbert worked out of what could have been a tough spot in the fourth, striking out Parker Pinholster and getting a groundout from Allie Miller with just one out and a runner on second.
 
Teala Howard homered in the top of the fifth to stretch the lead a bit more, giving West Florida a 4-2 advantage. That home run also stretched Howard's hitting streak to 15 games – tied for the eighth-longest hitting streak in UWF history.
 
Friday marked the third time UWF has hit three home runs in a game this season.
 
Gilbert dominated the last four innings of her start on Friday. She allowed just three hits after the third inning and did not issue a walk.
 
UWF will face AUM on Saturday in a doubleheader starting at 1 pm in Montgomery.