PENSACOLA, Fla. – The 17th-ranked University of West Florida softball team split a doubleheader with Alabama Huntsville on Saturday afternoon, getting a strong pitching performance and timely, late offense to take the win in Game 2.
 
With the split, UWF is now 22-10 overall and 15-5 in the Gulf South Conference, and Alabama Huntsville is 21-14 and 11-9 in conference play.
 
Teala Howard led UWF with three hits and two stolen bases, while Erin Moon, Jessica Ford, and Brett Leiva each had multi-hit games. Leiva and Madilynne Webb also hit home runs in Game 2 to kickstart the Argonaut offense.
 
West Florida will go for the series win on Sunday with a 1 pm start.
 
GAME 1: UWF 3, Alabama Huntsville 8
Early home runs for Alabama Huntsville were the difference in Game 1.
 
The Chargers got ahead in the first with a two-run homer from Kiara Akles, and Akles struck again with a grand slam in the third to put six runs on the board.
 
Following the third, starter Kelsey Sweatt settled in and held UAH without a hit from the fourth through sixth innings. She would ultimately be charged with the loss and drop to 9-7 on the year, allowing seven earned runs over seven innings while striking out four batters.
 
West Florida's offense did bounce back in the second and third innings, cutting the deficit to 3-6. Kelsey Hodges brought in a run with a grounder in the second, and Erin Moon delivered a two-out, two-run single.
 
Moon and Jessica Ford each had a pair of hits in the game. Game 1 marked Moon's ninth multi-hit game of the year and Ford's seventh. Those rank second and third on the team.
 
Alabama Huntsville added two more runs in the seventh, via a single and a bases-loaded walk, to reach the final 8-3 score.
 
GAME 2: UWF 7, Alabama Huntsville 3
The Argonauts trailed 3-0 after four innings, but some timely, late offense helped UWF to a good win in the second half of the day.
 
Montana Young ran into a bit of trouble early in the game, when UAH scored on a wild pitch in the second and added two more runs in the third with a solo home run and a sacrifice fly.
 
But after the third, Young found a groove and kept West Florida in the game. The sophomore retired the final seven batters she faced and 14 of the final 15 UAH hitters. She improved to 8-0 on the year, striking out six and allowing just three hits in her seven innings of work.
 
Young is one of two undefeated pitchers in the Gulf South Conference and has the sixth-most wins in the league this year.
 
While UWF battled offensively through the first four innings, the offense came alive in the fifth with a two-run, two-out Madilynne Webb home run. It was Webb's second of the year and cut the UAH lead to 3-2.
 
The Argonauts blew up for a five-run sixth inning, starting with a Teala Howard single and stolen base. She would come around to tie the game on an RBI single from Kayla Mayo, who scored just a batter later on a bunt from Erin Moon that was misplayed by the Chargers' infield.
 
Already holding the 4-3 lead, Moon scored on a wild pitch to stretch the lead to 5-3, and Brett Leiva drove a two-run home run over the scoreboard beyond left field to extend the lead to 7-3. That roundtripper was Leiva's second of the season and the sixth of her career.