LONGWOOD, Fla. – It was a split afternoon for the University of West Florida softball team, as the Argonauts defeated Florida Tech in the first game of the day before falling to No. 17 Tampa.
 
With multi-hit games against Florida Tech, Madelyn Vasquez and Hannah Harper each lead the team with two on the year.
 
UWF wraps up the Panther Invitational on Saturday. The first game of the day will be against Rollins at 11:30 a.m. ET before the weekend finale against Embry-Riddle at 1:30 pm ET.
 
GAME 1: UWF 5, Florida Tech 3
Like many of the contests between West Florida and the Panthers before, Friday's tournament-opener was a back-and-forth thriller.
 
Mikayla Lewin gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI single, but UWF got momentum back on their side just a few pitches later, when Erin Moon threw out Cheyanne Nelson at third on a steal attempt.
 
That momentum carried into the fourth, when Madelyn Vasquez led off with a triple and an infield single from Hannah Harper put two runners on with no outs.
 
From there, the Argonauts got a sacrifice fly from Madilynne Webb to tie the game at 1-1, and a double to center field from Laurynn Boggs brought in Harper and gave UWF the 2-1 lead.
 
Florida Tech took the lead back later in the fourth with a two-run home run from catcher Ella Gibson, but it wouldn't last for long.
 
Vasquez led off with a single in the top of the sixth and came around to score, after Harper put down a bunt single and Webb reached on an error to bring the run in.
 
Boggs followed with her second RBI base hit of the game, driving a ball into center field to score pinch-runner Ayana Powell to put UWF ahead 4-3. And with the bases loaded two batters later, Jessica Ford was hit by a pitch to bring in a run and stretch the lead to 5-3.
 
Harper entered the circle in the fourth inning and had little trouble. She earned her first career win, going 3.2 innings of shutout, hitless relief with two strikeouts. She also led all players with three hits in the game, while Vasquez, Boggs, and Webb each had two hits.
 
Montana Young got the start in the circle, going 3.1 innings and striking out four batters with no walks. The home run in the fourth spoiled an otherwise quality outing from the junior.
 
West Florida hit .345 in the game with four extra base hits, and the Argos hit .294 (5-17) with runners on base.
 
GAME 2: UWF 2, No. 17 Tampa 13
West Florida struggled to get the offense going against Tampa starter Mariah Galhouse on Friday afternoon. The Spartans scored three runs across the first two innings, and UWF took advantage of a pair of Tampa errors in the second, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
 
But UT picked up four more runs in the fourth, on a pair of singles and an RBI groundout. Galhouse would hit a grand slam in the sixth and put the game out of reach.
 
Jessica Ford and Madelyn Vasquez each had a hit in the game, while Vasquez and Emma Brice scored West Florida's runs.