PENSACOLA, Fla. — West Florida (44-13) dominated in two must-win games Friday at the NCAA South Regional, securing a decisive 10-0 victory over 6-seed Montevallo (39-18, 20-13) and following it up with a 4-1 win against 3-seed West Alabama (44-14-1).
UWF advances to face the 7-seed UAH after the Chargers won the first two games of their weekend to advance to the championship game.
Individual Highlights:
Pitchers
Haley Guffey and
Hannah Harper each had their own moment in the effort Friday, as Guffey earned a career milestone and Harper secured a shutout run-rule win along with a monster day at the plate.
Guffey earned career win No. 100 in game two, pitching seven innings and allowing one earned run and two hits to get the win for UWF. It is also Guffey's 29
th win of the season, good enough for 8
th most in a single season in program history.
Hannah Harper pitched a shutout in her start in the circle against Montevallo, allowing two hits and no walks. She also posted a 4-for-6 day at the plate, with three of those hits being doubles. She also accounted for three runs, two RBI, and a walk.
Elsewhere on the Argonaut lineup,
Miranda Harmon hit 3-for-6 with three runs, two RBI, a walk, and two stolen bases.
Abigail Pippen also went 3-for-6 with two RBI and a double.
Emma Brice,
Meg Fountain, and
Nicole Mergen also had multi-hit performances in the combined effort.
#2 UWF 10, #6 Montevallo 0
In the first game against Montevallo, West Florida delivered an outstanding performance with a total of 15 hits and a seven-run third inning. The game saw the Argonauts limit their opponents to just two hits over five innings.
Miranda Harmon opened the scoring by singling up the middle and later crossing home plate on a double by
Hannah Harper, giving West Florida an early 1-0 lead.
The second inning saw further contributions from the Argonauts as
Emma Brice doubled, and
Jessie Baughan walked, scoring on a single by
Nevaeh Hayes, extending the lead to 2-0. The explosive third inning featured a flurry of runs, with Harper doubling and scoring on a single by
Abigail Pippen, while
Nicole Mergen and Baughan added to the scoring with RBIs. The inning culminated in Harmon's RBI single and Mergen's two-run single, putting West Florida ahead 9-0.
In the fifth inning, Harper singled again and scored on a double by Pippen, finalizing the score at 10-0.
#2 UWF 4, #3 UWA 1
In the second game against West Alabama, West Florida maintained its momentum with another strong performance, securing a 4-1 victory. The Argonauts capitalized on early offensive momentum, scoring all their runs in the first two innings and holding the Tigers to just two hits throughout the game.
Miranda Harmon again set a strong pace, walking and stealing two bases before scoring on a throwing error in the first inning.
Hannah Harper followed with a double and scored on a failed pickoff attempt, allowing West Florida to lead 2-0 after one inning.
The second inning saw West Florida build on their lead when
Jessie Baughan walked, advanced on
Bella Holliday's sacrifice bunt, and then scored on a double from
Meg Fountain. Harmon added an RBI single, extending the lead to 4-0.
West Alabama managed to respond in the fourth inning with a run, but the Argonauts' defense held firm and prevented any further scoring. 4-1 was the final as UWF managed to hold off multiple Tiger base runners in the sixth and seventh, and
---
The No. 2 seeded Argos play for a spot in the super regional round tomorrow against UAH. UWF will need to beat the Chargers twice to advance, with the if-necessary game beginning right after game 1. The game begins at 12:00 CT at the UWF Softball Complex. For news updates, meet results, rosters, bios, schedules, and more, visit GoArgos.com or follow @UWFSoftball on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
-- GoArgos.com –
