PENSACOLA, Fla. --- The University of West Florida baseball team gets ready for their first top ranking matchup of the season. UWF heads on the road to Winter Park, Fla. to take on #25 Rollins in a three-game non-conference series. Afterwards, the Argos will travel down the road to Mobile, Ala. for a single mid-week game against Spring Hill.
 
UWF (5-1) will begin with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 16 at 2:00 p.m. ET and 5:00 p.m. and finish off with a single game on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 1:00 p.m. ET. All games will be played at Alfond Stadium.
 
The Argos will have a quick turnaround against Spring Hill on Tuesday, Feb. 20. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at Historic Sims-Galle Field.
 
This is the start of a nine-game road slate for the Argos. The team will face four opponents during the rest of February that includes conference opponent West Alabama and Columbus State from the Peach Belt Conference.
 
About UWF

• Mike Jeffcoat enters his 19^th season as head coach with UWF.
• Jeffcoat led the team as GSC Champions and was awarded the GSC Coach of the Year in 2023. Additionally, he gained his second career NCBWA South Region Coach of the Year honor.
• The Argos sit at No. 11 in the NCBWA national rankings, No. 15 in the Collegiate baseball newspaper poll, and tabbed the one spot in the GSC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• This is the fifth time UWF topped the GSC Preseason Coaches Poll since 2014 and the third time in the last four seasons.
• UWF set a league-high of six Preseason All-GSC selections: Trent Jeffcoat, Darrien McDowell, Kade Manderscheid, Dalton Neuschwander, Major Posey and Mike Scordo.
• Neuschwander and Scordo were named NCBWA Preseason All-South Region First Team.
• Neuschwander was named NCBWA Preseason All-America First Team.
• UWF joins eight transfers and seven freshmen to the squad.

 
Recap of the Memorable 23' Season

• The Argos finished first in the GSC after going 39-17 overall, 22-8 in conference.
• The team captured their fifth GSC Regular Season crown and third GSC Tournament title. UWF hosted the South-Region tournament as the two-seed for their ninth NCAA tournament appearance.
• UWF set a school record of most runs scored in a single game in a 23-4 victory (April 19).
• Darrien McDowell led the team offensively with a .357 batting average. McDowell led in hits (75), doubles (16), home runs (14) and RBI (63).
• McDowell set a UWF single season home run record of 14 in the GSC Tournament (May 9).
• Neuschwander finished the season with a 1.87 ERA. In 101.1 innings pitched, he threw 77 strikeouts and held opponents to a .198 batting average.
• Neuschwander drew up an impressive resume that contained 14 accolades throughout the season including GSC Pitcher of the Year and South Region Pitcher of the Year for the NCBWA, D2CCA and ABCA. He was also named an All-American by the NCBWA, D2CCA and ABCA.

 
Newcomer Watchlist

• Junior transfers Brett Rowell, Parker Tubb and Marcus O'Malley are on the Newcomer Watchlist and they are players to keep an eye on.
• Rowell, a Florida native, will be a strong asset in the backstop. The catcher comes from Coastal Alabama CC – East. In his two-year, 80 appearance career at Coastal Alabama, Rowell recorded 258 putouts and 27 assists. He sat at a .338 batting average his freshman year and .301 the following year. He racked up a combined 25 doubles, a triple and four homers.
• Tubb makes hisway to the outfield in his first season with UWF. The Pace, Florida native is coming off a .418 batting average and a .527 on base percentage at Coastal Alabama – South. In this impressive sophomore season, Tubb tallied 69 hits, a pair of homers and 29 RBI in 54 appearances. He also recorded 24 stolen bases.
• O'Malley is a FIU transfer. Before that, he was at Virginia Commonwealth his freshman year. He was an Atlantic 10 Champion and Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. O'Malley collected 42 hits that included three doubles and a home run for 30 runs and 22 RBI.

 
Recap Over USC Aiken

• UWF got their first sweep after an 11-4, 8-5 and 6-4 victories.
• McDowell and Jackson Grabsky led the weekend offensively. Grabksy tallied five hits and McDowell followed with four.
• McDowell racked up a total of five RBI in two games of a two-run homer and three-run homer.
• Neuschwander, Dilan Lawson and Parker Wakeman all got a win on the mound. These were first season wins for all three pitchers and Wakeman's first UWF career win.
• The Argos never trailed until the final game. The team scored five straight runs over two innings to come back from a 4-1 deficit and take the win.
• Cade Easterbrook had a successful weekend with two starts and three appearances. He tallied a pair of hits and four RBI including a three-run homer.

 
About No. 25 Rollins

• Rollins are 4-2 on the season after taking on three opponents so far.
• The Tars opened the season with a single game against Alabama Huntsville and took a 5-2 loss. Since then, they've gone 4-1 over two ranked opponents.
• The Tars took a pair of win over previously #24 ranked Montevallo and took the series 2-1 over #11 Colorado Mesa.
• Rollins are led by outfielder Chris Sparber. He has made six consecutive starts and records a .526 batting average. The senior out of New Jersey leads the team in hits (10), doubles (3), homeruns (3) and RBI (8). Sparber is currently averaging a 1.158 slugging and .591 on base percentage.
• Starting pitchers Nick Berger and Ryan Furey are 1-0 on the mound in two starts and two appearances. They combine for 20 innings pitched and 15 strikeouts.
• First baseman Jeslyn Whitehead leads the team with 58 putouts and 59 catches for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Offensively, he is third on the team with a .360 batting average on nine hits, a triple and three RBI in 25 at bats.

 
About Spring Hill

• The Badgers are 2-5 on the season. They opened the season with a solid 13-4 win over Florida Tech but fell short by one run each in the following two games.
• The latest series was against Delta State. Spring Hill lost the series 2-1.
• The Badgers will take on Edward Waters in a three-game series before meeting with the Argos.
• The team is led by catcher, Parker Serio who sees a .333 batting average. Serio leads with a .500 slugging percentage. He has racked up eight hits, a double, and homer and five RBI.
• Miachel Racobaldo and Harun Pelja lead the pitching squad with two starts each. Pelja has seen more time on the field with eight innings pitched but remains 0-0 on the mound.

 
Argo vs. Rollins History

• The Argos and Tars have a long history of close matchups. The Argos are 23-12 overall and 8-7 at Rollins home turf.
• The team's played in a two-game series in 2023. The Argos were the underdogs but took down the 10^th-ranked Tars in a 6-3 and 5-4 victory.
• Jadon Fryman hit a walk off single that advance the team to a sweep.
• It is a constant back and forth as no team has taken more than four wins in a row since 2014.

 
Argo vs. Badger History

• The most recent Argo-Badger matchup finished with a 23-4 final in favor of the Argos. The win broke the school record for most runs scored in a single game. The game ended in seven innings.
• The Argos have seen four losses to the Badgers since 2007.
• The longest winning streak was eight games that ran from 2015 to 2017.
• UWF is currently on a five game winnings streak over the Badgers since 2022.
• UWF averages 8.22 runs.