PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida softball team split a doubleheader with Spring Hill on Wednesday afternoon. The Argonauts are now 20-20 on the year after the split.
Montana Young threw her fifth shutout of the season in Game 1 and improved to 12-7. She has thrown 12.2 innings this season against Spring Hill with a perfect 0.00 ERA and 13 strikeouts.
UWF will wrap up its regular season over the weekend with a series at Valdosta State. The Gulf South Conference series is currently slated to start with a single game on Friday at 6 pm ET at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.
GAME 1: UWF 7, Spring Hill 0
Montana Young turned in a sharp start against the Badgers, spinning a shutout with five strikeouts and only four hits and a walk allowed. Young ran into a bit of a jam in the sixth with a pair of runners on base with no outs, but got a strikeout, an infield popup, and a flyout to retire the heart of the SHC order.
West Florida got ahead early with two runs in the first, on back-to-back doubles by Erin Moon and Emma Brice that scored Hannah Harper and Moon.
Young and SHC's Emma Curry were locked in a pitcher's duel for much of the game, with UWF holding the 2-0 lead until the sixth inning.
Moon singled with one out in the sixth, and Ayana Powell pinch-ran for her. Powell stole second, advanced to third on the throw to second, and scored on a wild pitch to put UWF's lead at 3-0.
Pinch-runner Jessica Ford – in for Brice – also scored in the sixth on a single up the middle from Kayanna Perez. Halie Wetherington drove a single up the middle just a batter later, scoring Perez and Madelyn Vasquez to give UWF the 6-0 lead.
Mayo wrapped up the scoring with a line drive double to center field that scored Wetherington.
GAME 2: UWF 3, Spring Hill 4
The Argonaut offense took some time to get things going against Emma Curry, who started Game 2 for the Badgers in the circle.
SHC scratched across a run in the third and two more in the fourth to lead 3-0, despite Hannah Harper allowing only five hits through six innings and not issuing a walk.
But West Florida got some offensive spark in the sixth, starting with a leadoff single from Kayla Mayo. Mayo moved to second on a grounder from Hannah Harper, before Chelsea Dumas put down a bunt single and stole second to put two runners in scoring position with one away.
Erin Moon then delivered a sharp single through the right side to score Moon and Dumas, cutting the deficit to 3-2 after six innings.
Spring Hill picked up one more run in the top of the seventh, giving the Badgers a two-run cushion in the final frame, but West Florida did not go away easily.
Kelsey Hodges drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh, and Kayla Mayo brought her in a few batters later with a single to cut the SHC lead to a run. That, however, would be all the offense UWF could muster in the inning.
#ARGOS#
