NCAA DII Regional Rankings
GSC Tournament Central
 
OXFORD, Ala. – For the first time since 2019, UWF Softball (36-14, 22-8) is moving on to the second round of the GSC Tournament – in the winner's bracket. 
 
The Argos were down early to the Union Bulldogs (29-23, 16-14) by a score of 0-2 entering the third inning but climbed out of it by the third and never looked back.
 
Jessica Ford gave UWF the lead in the sixth by hitting home run no. 16 on the season, blasting a ball to left center. Ford is now in sole possession of third most single-season home runs in UWF softball history. 
 
Brianna Jennings' contributed an RBI single from the designated hitter spot and sophomore Emma Brice hit her first RBI triple of the year to add to the win. Gianna Guerriero also stole two bases, moving in to fourth in the GSC with 26 stolen bases this year.
 
Montana Young (19-4) and Hannah Harper (17-10) pitched in a combined effort, with Harper earning the win after entering in the fourth inning. The tandem combined for five strikeouts on the day, and Harper threw three of them with no walks in four innings. 
 
The Argos next opponent will be Auburn-Montgomery after the Warhawks hit a walk-off home run to win their opening game against West Alabama. UWF played no. 16 AUM in Montgomery back on April 19-20 and took the road series over the ranked Warhawks 2-1. 
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS: UWF Falls to 9 in Region
 
The most recent regional rankings were released by the NCAA earlier Wednesday, with UWF dropping from the no. 7 spot in the NCAA DII Softball South Region Rankings to the no. 9 spot following last weekend's 2-1 series win over Lee. This is the final ranking before the DII Softball Selection Show on Monday, May 6 at 9:00 a.m. 
 
Today's win against Union and any other wins or losses during the GSC Tournament will be factored in to the selection process after the conclusion of the week. Three of the eight available regional spots for the south region will be filled by the conference champions (GSC, SIAC, SSC) leaving five at-large bids. A full breakdown of the regional rankings is linked above.
 
GAME RECAP: UWF 4, UNION 2
Union stunned the Argos early by going up 2-0 early in the first inning. A fielding error by UWF allowed a runner to score from second for the Bulldogs, and an RBI double shortly followed it. 
 
UWF left 11 total runners on base against the Bulldogs, including five through the first two innings. Brianna Jennings finally broke the trend with an RBI single to center field, scoring Erin Moon. That single also moved up Madelyn Vasquez, who scored from third on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2.
 
Both teams were stifled for the fourth and fifth until Ford stepped up and rocketed a home run to left center, igniting the Argos' dugout and putting them up 3-2. UWF wouldn't relinquish the lead, and added an insurance run through Brice's RBI triple that scored Guerriero. 
 
In the seventh, Union managed to get the tying run to the plate with a single to shortstop but the next play resulted in an out at second base, ending the game 4-2 in favor of UWF.
 
---
 
UWF and Auburn-Montgomery face off in the winner's bracket on day 2 of the GSC Tournament starting tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. CT. Live stats available on the GSC Tournament Central website and broadcasted on FloSports. 
 
Keep up on West Florida Softball by following @UWFSoftball on X, Instagram, and Facebook.