PENSACOLA, Fla. –  The opening day of Gulf South Conference play did not go entirely as hoped for West Florida Softball (6-5, 1-1) as the Argos split the first two games of a series with the Montevallo Falcons (4-5, 1-1).
 
UWF won a close defensive battle 2-1 in the first game at 3:00 and then lost the lead late in game two 3-5. The Argos' game two loss ends a five-game streak against the Falcons and a four-game win streak this season. 
 
Haley Guffey (3-3) picked her third win of the season during game one, holding the Falcons to a single earned run and adding three K's to her season total. The Argos fielders also stranded seven Montevallo runners on base in the tight victory. 
 
UWF base runners have been a force on the base paths, as the Argos are third in the conference with 29 stolen bases this season after adding five in the doubleheader Friday. They are just two behind the conference leaders in AUM and West Alabama with 31 each. 
 
UWF 2, Montevallo 1
 
Haley Guffey started in the circle in game one and cleared the Falcons the first two innings, taking them down in order in the first and stranding two in the second. Nicole Mergen put the Argos on the board early with an RBI single to score Emma Brice. 
 
Neither team scored until the sixth Inning until Montevallo recorded three singles to tie the game up at 1-1. UWF wasted no time in responding thanks to a Jessie Baughan RBI single to score Brianna Jennings as a pinch runner to put the game at 2-1 Argos.
 
The Falcons were down to their last outs and managed to get a runner on due to a UWF error. Guffey struck out a pinch hitter and a line out marked the final out for the UWF win in game one. 
 
UWF 3, Montevallo 5
 
Hannah Harper got her fourth start of the year in game two of the twinbill. The Falcons went down in order to start the first, and UWF jumped on top shortly after when Gianna Guerriero doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and stole home. 
 
Montevallo took the lead back in the top of the second on two straight RBI doubles. UWF tied it up at 2-2 when Baughan was walked, stole second, advanced to third on an out, and scored on a Navaeh Hayes RBI bunt. 
 
The Falcons were clipped in the third and a Harper single scored Bella Holliday pinch running. Both teams put up zeroes on the scoreboard for the next three innings until the seventh when two errors proved catastrophic for the Argos. Both occurred with multiple base runners on and both resulted in scores for Montevallo. 
 
UWF was down 3-5 in the bottom of the seventh and couldn't get anything going, resulting in their first conference loss of 2025. 
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The Argos and Falcons have one more game to decide the series tomorrow at 12:00 PM. For news updates, meet results, rosters, bios, schedules, and more, visit GoArgos.com or follow @UWFSoftball on X, Instagram, and Facebook.