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PENSACOLA, Fla. – The GSC Tournament Champion and seventh-seeded UWF Baseball Team opens NCAA Tournament play on Thursday at 2 PM ET/ 1PM CT against regional host and second-seeded Saint Leo, at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.
 
West Florida (32-21) is making their 10^th NCAA Tournament appearance, and their second straight trip to the regional bracket after hosting the NCAA South Regional in 2023.  Along with Saint Leo (38-11), the NCAA South Regional #2 bracket features third-seeded, Embry-Riddle, and sixth-seeded, Delta State.
 
After Thursday's first-round games, Friday will feature an elimination-game with a winner's bracket game to follow. A regional championship game will take place on Saturday night with a contest on Sunday if needed depending on the results of the double-elimination bracket.
 
UWF won five out of six games to claim their fourth GSC Tournament Championship in program history earlier in May, as the Argonauts knocked off regionally ranked foes, Delta State, Auburn Montgomery and Valdosta State on their way to earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional.
 
Cade Easterbrook was named the most outstanding player of the tournament after hitting .500 (13-26) over the six-game period with five doubles, two home runs and 13 runs batted in.  Jackson Grabsky, Jadon Fryman and Darrien McDowell were also named to their all-tournament team.
 
Player Of The Year, Darrien McDowell: First Baseman, Darrien McDowell, has had one of the best offensive seasons in program history. McDowell leads the team in average (.417), OPS (1.389), runs scored (68), hits (80), home runs (22), RBI's (65), total bases (161), slugging (.839), walks (50) and on-base percentage (.550).  He was named the second GSC Player of the Year in team history as his 22 home runs are second-most in Division II, while his marks in total bases, slugging percentage and home runs are the most in a single-season by an Argonaut.
 
Easterbrook's Big Week: Outfielder, Cade Easterbrook, put on a showcase at the GSC Tournament in Oxford, Alabama as he was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.  He registered a grand-slam to go along with his game-high seven RBI's in a 13-7 win over AUM, while he recorded a 3-4 performance with a double and two runs batted, the next game in a victory over Valdosta State.
 
Cade finished the tournament with four hits, two doubles and a home run on the championship day against Delta State.
 
Gritty Pitching Performances Lift UWF To GSC Title: With five wins in six days, six UWF pitchers made at least two appearances during the championship period.  Dalton Neuschwander collected his first career save while also throwing 5.1 innings two days later.  Jacob Heath and Kade Manderscheid combined for 21 innings of work among four collective appearances, while Chase Wilkerson, Major Posey and Gabriel Moorer threw on three different days of the tournament.
 
Dilan Lawson also had an inning of relief against Auburn Montgomery before picking up a win with five innings in a start, only his fifth start of the season, three days later in the championship game.  Caidan Peeples also contributed with six innings, holding Montevallo to one run, in a victory.
 
Major Offensive Contributions From Entire Lineup: To go along with McDowell and Easterbrook, UWF had other hitters in the line-up step up as well.  Grabsky had nine hits, three doubles and six RBI's in a three-game stretch, with Jadon Fryman collecting four extra-base hits in the contests against Valdosta State and Montevallo.
 
While Fryman and Grabsky are both hitting over .350, Trent Jeffcoat rounded out the top of the line-up with five extra-base hits, including a 4-5 performance against Delta State on May 7^th.  Jeffcoat leads all Argonauts with 18 doubles on the year.
 
Scouting Saint Leo: The Lions come into the tournament at 38-11 overall with a 21-9 in Sunshine State Conference play.  It's the second time in three years that Saint Leo has hosted an NCAA Regional.
 
Six Lions were named to the All-SSC teams, with four of those players earning first-team honors.  Callen Moss paces the offense as the first baseman hit .363 with a .631 slugging percentage to go along with eight home runs and 43 RBI.  Mikey Scott is another one to watch on offense as the designated hitter batted .329 with a slugging percentage near .600 as he belted eight home runs with 39 RBI.
 
Luke Lashutka paces the pitching staff with a 10-1 record for Saint Leo, garnering a 2.68 ERA on the year.  He led the SSC in strikeouts (98) and innings pitched (94), while only surrendering 11 walks.  
 
For the latest information on the UWF Baseball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @UWFBaseball.