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STATS | VIDEO
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida wraps up its current homestand this weekend with a Friday-Saturday series against the Mississippi College Choctaws. UWF enters the weekend at 9-5 overall with a 4-2 Gulf South Conference record, and MC is 3-8 with a 2-4 mark in the league.
 
The series starts with a single game on Friday, scheduled for a 4 pm first pitch, and the Saturday doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 pm at the UWF Softball Complex.
 
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 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE
The Lady Choctaws from Mississippi College come into the weekend with a 3-8 record, standing at 2-4 in the Gulf South Conference after falling to No. 9 Valdosta State in a sweep on the road. It is an uncharacteristic start for a normally very strong program.
 
Jordan LaFosse and McCall Lee have led MC offensively, hitting .394 and .344, respectively. LaFosse also leads the team in hits (13), doubles (4), RBIs (7), OBP (.459) and slugging (.606), and Lee is right behind her in each category.
 
Avery Sanders has been the ace in the circle for the Choctaws, with 46 strikeouts in 40.0 innings and a .191 batting average against. Those marks put her near the top of the GSC, though she has also walked 40 batters and has an ERA of 3.85.
 
UWF leads the all-time series against MC 19-5, and the Argonauts are 10-5 since the Lady Choctaws joined the NCAA in 2015. 
 
HOMESTAND SWEET HOMESTAND
The Argonauts wrap up an 11-game homestand this weekend, and it's been a good start. Over the last eight games at home, UWF is 6-2 and has hit .329 while scoring more than seven runs per game. More surprisingly, the Argonauts have slugged .571, with 15 doubles and 12 home runs during that time.
 
Teala Howard has led UWF in batting (.500), runs (12), hits (14), steals (7), and on-base percentage (.533) in the homestand, and Mika Garcia, Brett Leiva, Ally Merrill, and Kara Wilson have each hit two home runs. Garcia leads the team with 10 RBIs over the last eight games, Wilson has added three doubles, and Leiva is slugging a team-best .846.
 
WILSON ON A ROLL
Senior outfielder Kara Wilson got off to a career-best start in 2020, and she has continued that hot streak into 2021. The Odessa, Florida, native is hitting .341 and leads UWF in doubles (3), home runs (4), and RBIs (12). Her four round-trippers lead the Gulf South Conference, and they are the sixth-most in Division II. She is also ninth in total bases (30), 16th in RBIs, and 20th in hits (15).
 
Wilson is on a nine-game hitting streak, dating back to February 13 against Hillsdale. Since then she has hit .333 with 8 runs, 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 11 RBIs, and a .733 slugging percentage that leads the team over the last nine contests.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEK
It was a busy few days for Argonaut softball, sweeping Spring Hill in a midweek doubleheader before hosting No. 15 Alabama Huntsville on Saturday and Sunday.
 
The offense stayed hot, scoring seven runs per game and slugging .468. The Argonauts hit .295 as a team, led by Teala Howard and Brett Leiva, who each hit an even .500. Howard led the team with nine hits and five stolen bases, and Leiva slugged 1.100 with a pair of home runs.
 
Freshman Montana Young was sharp in the circle, with 22 strikeouts and no walks over a team-high 15.0 innings pitched, with a 1.87 ERA. She struck out 10 Spring Hill batters on Wednesday, across four innings of relief in the two games.
 
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 (.474), ranks third in steals (86) and fifth in slugging (.589), and leads Division II in stolen bases this year (13). 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 13 of 14 games this season and is riding a nine-game hitting streak. She has hit .484 with 15 hits, 14 runs, a .529 on-base percentage, and seven steals over that time -- all of which lead the team. 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.