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PENSACOLA, Fla. – Gulf South Conference play continues for the University of West Florida softball team, as the Argonauts will head to Rome, Georgia, for a series with Shorter this weekend. The road trip continues next Wednesday as well, when UWF visits Spring Hill in Mobile, Alabama, on Wednesday for a doubleheader.
 
The series with Shorter is slated for a 1 pm ET start on Saturday with a doubleheader, followed by the series finale on Sunday at 1 pm at Alto Park Softball Complex.
 
The doubleheader with Spring Hill will take place at 2 pm on Wednesday at Murray Field, on the SHC campus.
 
ABOUT LAST WEEK
West Florida fell in a series sweep against Mississippi College last weekend, despite close games on Saturday.
 
Montana Young turned in a solid start in Game 1, allowing just two runs through the first six innings before MC was able to strike for five more in the seventh inning.
 
Game 2 was a slugfest, where UWF fell 12-10. Kelsey Hodges led the team with three RBIs in the game, hitting her second home run of the season. Madelyn Vasquez also added three hits -- all doubles -- and two RBIs.
 
Hodges hit a team-best .556 and slugged 1.000 over the weekend, and Chelsea Dumas hit .375. Hannah Harper hit .364, going 4-for-11.
 
SCOUTING SHORTER
Shorter enters the weekend at 4-25 and 1-13 in the Gulf South Conference, having lost 17 games in a row. Despite their record, the Hawks have hung tight with several of the top teams in the GSC -- the took Valdosta State to extra innings twice, lost a pair of one-run games to Montevallo, and took a win against Union early in the season.
 
Carlee Graham leads the team with a .364 batting average this season, and Taylor Phillips has a team-best 27 hits and three home runs.
 
UWF is 11-17 all-time against Shorter but has gone 11-5 against the Hawks since 2016. The Argonauts are also 7-3 in the last 10 matchups and swept Shorter in Pensacola last year.
 
SCOUTING SPRING HILL
West Florida makes the trip across Mobile Bay on Wednesday, visiting Spring Hill for a doubleheader. The Badgers are 11-14 but a perfect 8-0 in conference play.
 
SHC started the season at the annual Gulf Shores Invitational, taking a 1-0 win against Saint Leo and falling in three one-run games against West Alabama, West Georgia, and Florida Tech.
 
Airyonna Weaver leads SHC in batting (.397), runs (20), home runs (3), slugging (.618), and total bases (42). Weaver, a two-sport athlete who also plays volleyball for the Badgers, ranks second on the team in doubles and RBIs.
 
UWF is 21-5 against Spring Hill since 2014, with a 9-3 record against the Badgers in Mobile. West Florida is 17-1 in the last 18 matchups.
 
A GOOD START FOR HANNAH HARPER
Hannah Harper has been on an absolute tear in her freshman season, batting a ridiculous .443 this year. Not surprisingly, that leads all freshmen in the GSC and is seventh in the league among all players. She also ranks sixth in the GSC in on-base percentage (.514) and leads UWF in hits and walks.
 
The rookie was moved to the leadoff spot in the Delta State series and that move paid off -- Harper hit .545, leading the team in both hits and runs for the weekend.
 
A WEEKEND FOR KELSEY HODGES
Senior Kelsey Hodges was on a tear last weekend, hitting a team-best .556 and leading UWF in hits (5), RBIs (9), slugging (1.000), and on-base percentage.
 
She had three hits in Game 2 of the series with a home run that tied the game in the third inning. It was her first three-hit game of the series and she's now riding a four-game hitting streak. The outfielder from nearby Milton, Florida, is hitting .538 (7-for-13) in her last four contests.