PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida softball team rolled over the Mississippi College Lady Choctaws after a shutout from pitcher Grace Gilbert on Friday evening.
 
The Argos improved to a 10-5 record and 5-2 in the Gulf South Conference following tonight's victory. Mississippi College fell to 3-9 and 2-5 in the GSC.
 
Stellar pitching by Gilbert and strong play from the Argonaut infielders left Mississippi College stunned and scoreless. Gilbert threw 100 pitches, 67 of which were strikes, while conceding only a total of three hits for the game. She struck out six and did not issue a walk in her strongest start of the season.
 
The pitchers' duel between Gilbert and MC starter Avery Sanders was tight for the first three innings, before UWF started running away with the game at the bottom of the fourth.
 
Though the Argonauts picked up only one hit, UWF drew seven walks off Sanders over 3.2 innings, with five coming in the fourth inning. Jacquelynne Poling and Gilbert each drew bases-loaded walks in the fourth, giving West Florida a 2-0 lead.
 
In the top of the fourth, Gilbert induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the frame while facing the heart of the MC order, and she got out of a jam with a pair of weak ground balls in the sixth. Gilbert sat down 11 of the 12 batters she faced from the second through the fifth.
 
Already with a 2-0 lead, Kara Wilson blasted her fifth home run of the season – a solo shot over the left field fence. She leads the GSC in home runs, and the Argonauts also lead the conference, with 17 roundtrippers on the year.
 
Poling's double to lead off the sixth turned out to be the dagger for Mississippi College. Teala Howard singled her in two batters later, giving UWF the final 4-0 lead.
 
Howard and Wilson each picked up a hit in the game, extending their hitting streaks to 10 games each.
 
UWF and Mississippi College will meet again on Saturday, with a doubleheader starting at 1 pm to wrap up the series.