PENSACOLA, Fla. --- The University of West Florida baseball team is back at their home field for a three-game series and will take on Delta State in a regular season conference matchup.
All games will be played at Jim Spooner Field beginning Friday, March 3 at 5:00 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Recap Against Spring Hill
UWF (9-4 overall, 1-2 GSC) defeated the Badgers in their second meeting this season in an away matchup Tuesday night (Feb. 28) at the Historic Sims-Galle Field.
Jack Bellah earned the win and
Chase Wilkerson was awarded the save to uplift the Argos in an 11-8 win.
Dean Hotz hit 3-for-4, had a walk and tallied five RBI.
Darrien McDowell totaled for three hits, two runs and four RBI.
Trent Jeffcoat led off with a triple and was driven in by the next batter, McDowell, off a single to left field. In the following plays,
Jadon Fryman reached on a fielder's choice and
Preston Moore made base on an error and were both ran in by a double to center field from Hotz.
In the second inning, UWF had six runs on four hits and took a 9-0 lead. During the inning, Hotz hit a three-run homer to left field. This was his first career homerun.
Through the next six frames, UWF was unable to do any further damage. Meanwhile, the Badgers put up six runs and decreased the Argo lead 9-6 entering the eighth.
UWF broke the scoreless innings in the top of the eighth. Jeffcoat was hit by pitch and ran the bases in the following at bat which was a McDowell double. In the next play, McDowell advanced to third base on a passed ball then scored off a Fryman single to outfield and pushed through the Badgers.
Week 3 NCBWA National and Regional Poll
Following last weekend's losses at Union (Feb. 24-25), UWF dropped out of the NCBWA Top-25 poll and now sits at No. 7 in the South Region Rankings.
UWF's Weekend Rotation
Right hander
Dalton Neuschwander (3-0) will open Friday's game against the Statesmen. In four starts and four appearances, he has pitched 27.0 innings and has a 0.67 ERA. In 91 faced at bats, Neuschwander has allowed only 12 hits and has struck out 24 batters while holding his opponents to a .132 batting average. After a strong opening season performance against Florida Southern (Feb. 4), he received a no decision in the 3-2 loss but was named GSC and NCBWA South Region Pitcher of the Week.
His latest win was against Union (Feb. 24) in a 16-0 defeat. In 5.0 IP, he totaled six strikeouts and allowed two hits.
Beginning game one on Saturday is sophomore
Kade Manderscheid. The right handed pitcher is 1-0 in four game appearances and four starts. With a 2.49 ERA in 21.2 IP, Mandersheid totals for 14 strikeouts.
Despite a 2-0 loss against Florida Tech (Feb. 17), he had an incredible 8.0 IP and kept the Panthers scoreless through the eight frames. His win came in opening weekend against Florida Southern (Feb 4) in a 2-1 defeat in 5.1 IP.
Starting on the mound to finish off the series in game two on Saturday will be Florida native,
Major Posey (2-1). Posey earned two wins in one week. The first win was against Spring Hill (Feb. 14) in an intentional 2.0 IP and against Florida Tech (Feb. 18) in 6.0 IP for a 9-0 win.
With 15 strikeouts to his name, he has faced 57 batters and has allowed just 11 hits and has a 2.25 ERA.
Scouting the Delta State Statesmen
The Statesmen (5-8 overall, 1-2 GSC) are coming off a mid-week non-conference loss to Henderson State. The Statesmen had a 5-0 lead entering the sixth but a two-out grand slam by Henderson State tied the game. The Statesmen lost 8-7 in extra innings by a homerun.
The Statesmen lost the opening conference series 2-1 to Valdosta State. The series opened with a 7-2 loss (Feb. 24) followed by splitting the doubleheader with a 6-2 win and 6-0 loss.
Left handed pitcher Kameron Koch (1-0) earned the win against Valdosta State. In 5.1 IP, he had one strikeout and allowed two runs on five hits.
Brett Burrell leads the team with a .356 batting average. In 13 consecutive starts, the infielder has 16 hits, four doubles, and seven RBI.
UWF vs. Delta State History
Since 2006, UWF is 28-25 in overall history with a successful 21-12 home record.
In 2022, UWF dropped a series opener at Delta State by a final of 17-6. Teams were set to play a doubleheader the following day but was canceled due to weather.
In 2021, the teams saw competition seven times: A three-game series in regular season conference, a three-game series in the GSC Tournament Championship, and a game in the South Regional. Within those seven games, UWF took five wins.
