Game 1 | Game 2

PENSACOLA, Fla.–The UWF Baseball Team advanced to the final of the NCAA South Region by defeating Lee, 7-0, on Saturday night at Jim Spooner Field.
 
After dropping their first game of the day to the University of Tampa, West Florida responded to secure their spot in the regional final.  Action begins at 12 p.m. with game 10 of the regional as the Argonauts need to win to force a championship game, approximately 30 minutes after the first game.  Tampa would win the regional with a victory in either game.  The winner of the region will advance to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship in Cary, North Carolina on June 5-12.
 
West Florida tallied 27 hits and 14 runs on the day as Miller Hancock and Cullan O'Shea each had four hits in the two contests.  Both players recorded a home run on the afternoon with Hancock launching his in game one, while O'Shea knocked a round-tripper to cap the scoring in game two. O'Shea drove in three runs in game two while Justin Dunnam and Matthew Estrada each had two RBI's in game two.  The 10^th home run of the year for O'Shea extended his team lead and made him the first Argonaut since Greg Pron and Dustin Lawley in 2011 to hit 10 home runs in a season.
 
Josh Pahlad, the starter in game two, recorded his first career complete-game as he finished with nine innings pitched, while only allowing one hit and a walk while striking out nine.  He only faced four batters over the minimum number of batters after allowing a leadoff single.  After allowing the leadoff batter to reach in the bottom of the third, Pahlad ended up retiring the final 20 batters he faced.
 
Game 1: Hancock led off the game with a home run to left center, giving the Argos a quick 1-0 lead.  UWF added a run each in the second and fourth innings as Dunnam scored on a fielder's choice with Dunnam scoring again on a sacrifice fly by Sam Clement.
 
Ryan Brewer started on the mound for UWF and the right-hander cruised through the first four innings, keeping the Spartans off the scoreboard.  However, UT's offense would find their footing later as they scored four in the fourth inning, six runs in the sixth inning, a run in the seventh and six more in the eighth.  Brewer dropped to 6-3 on the mound in 2021 with the loss as he gave up six runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings.
 
West Florida was able to put together a four-run inning of their own in the bottom of the eighth as Dunnam doubled to right field to score O'Shea and Kyle D'Amour with Estrada singling up the middle to score Menhennett and Dunnam and put the score at 17-7.  Dunnam and Estrada led all Argos with three hits in the contest.
 
E.J Cumbo had two home runs for UT, while Drew Erhard and Josh Rulli each had three hits for Tampa.  Alex Passarella earned the win on the mound for Tampa as the right-hander threw three scoreless innings, collecting two strikeouts in the process.
 
Game 2: Needing innings from their pitchers as they faced elimination, Pahlad delivered in a big way for UWF to keep their season alive.
 
Josh was dominant from the start as the Kissimmee, Florida native threw a season-high nine innings on 96 pitches and was the second pitcher in three starts for UWF to throw a complete-game with Tyler Dowdy hurling a complete game in a contest against Delta State on Friday night.  It is the sixth complete game of the year by an Argo starting pitcher.
 
For the second straight game, UWF got on the board in the first inning as O'Shea was hit by a pitch, allowing him to reach base.  After a passed ball and two straight wild pitches by Lee starter, Chandler Ring, O'Shea scored to make it 1-0.  That run marked the 53^rd time that O'Shea has scored this season, tying him with Peter Antoske for seventh all-time in program history for runs scored in a season.
 
West Florida added another run in the third inning as Dylan Menhennett knocked his 12^th double of the year to score Hancock from second and make it a 2-0 game.  UWF would not score again until the ninth, where they pounded the Flames with five runs to put the game out of reach.
 
True Fontenot knocked a single to left field to score Clement, while Hancock followed with a single of his own to score Smitty Luttermoser who entered as a pinch runner.  With two runners on, O'Shea launched a three-run home run off reliever Andy Rivera, to make it 7-0, and ice the game.  O'Shea also hit a grand slam against Rivera at the GSC Tournament on May 9^th.
 
Ring got the start on the mound for LU and threw 8.1 innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits with a walk and six strikeouts.  Thomas Zazzaro recorded the only hit of the game for the Flames.  With the loss, Lee is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.
 
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