PENSACOLA, Fla. — West Florida edged past Union with a 7–6 victory in a 12-inning battle on Friday at Jim Spooner Field.
Union took an early lead in the first inning when a run scored on a throwing error, putting them up 1–0. The Argonauts responded in the second inning as
William Lybrook homered to left field, tying the game at 1–1. Union regained the lead with an unearned run, ending the second inning at 2–1 in their favor.
West Florida surged ahead in the third inning.
Alex Urias was hit by a pitch and later scored on a sacrifice bunt by
Zack DeJesus.
Zack Stokes, who singled, later scored on a single by
Trent Kelly, pushing West Florida to a 3–2 lead.
Union countered in the fourth inning with two runs, regaining the lead at 4–3. The Argonauts again answered back in the fifth inning. Stokes advanced to third base and scored on a single by Kelly. Lybrook followed with an RBI triple, bringing Kelly home and giving West Florida a 5–4 lead.
In the seventh inning,
Gustavo Mendez walked and later scored on a bases-loaded walk by
Gann Nobles, extending West Florida's lead to 6–4. However, Union tied the game in the eighth inning with two runs, making it 6–6.
The tension remained high as the game extended into extra innings, with both teams held scoreless through the 11th. In the bottom of the 12th inning, Stokes walked and scored the game-winning run on a double by Mendez, securing a 7–6 victory for the Argonauts over Union.
Tucker Ricks pitched 6 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 earned runs, while striking out 1 and issuing 3 walks. He faced 28 batters and threw 95 pitches, with 63 being strikes.
Blake Thomas followed with 1.1 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs, striking out 1.
Micky Scheetz delivered a strong performance over 4.2 innings, allowing just 1 hit and no earned runs, striking out 3 to secure his second win of the season.
The Argos will finish the series against Union on Saturday, March 21. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.
