PENSACOLA, Fla. — 2-seed West Florida (44-14) finished their season against the 7-seed UAH Chargers (39-22), losing a hard fought game to a walk-off solo home run in extra innings of the NCAA South Regional 2 Final.
UWF came back from being down by 3 runs, but the Chargers ultimately clinched their ticket to a showdown with 1-Seed Saint Leo in the NCAA South Super Regional Series. UWF ends their final season in the Gulf South Conference, and their final appearance in the NCAA Division II postseason before UWF transitions to Division I.
Individual Highlights:
Hannah Harper completed her final game as an Argo, going down with yet another all-around performance to end her college career. The senior from Orlando, FL hit 2-for-4 with two RBI, driving in her fourth double of the weekend and the first runs of the day for UWF. She also pitched five innings and struck out two with four scoreless innings.
Emma Brice also had a solid showing in her final game as an Argo, hitting 2-for-4 with an RBI and a team-leading 21
st double on the season.
Star Freshmen
Meg Fountain and
Miranda Harmon each accounted for a hit, a run, and a walk in the effort.
#2 UWF 4, #7 UAH 5 / 8 innings
West Florida opened the scoring in the first inning with
Miranda Harmon singling to second base and advancing on a sacrifice bunt by
Angelia Discenza.
Hannah Harper then doubled to right center, allowing Harmon to score. The inning concluded with West Florida leading 1-0.
In the third inning, Alabama Huntsville turned the game around. Jill Cockrell tripled and scored on a passed ball. Later, Kylie Ballentine hit a three-run homer, bringing the score to 4-1 in favor of the Chargers.
West Florida responded in the fifth inning.
Meg Fountain singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Harper singled to bring Fountain home, and
Olivia Keith, pinch running for Harper, scored on a double by
Nicole Mergen.
Emma Brice's single to right field allowed
Alex Whitfield, running for Mergen, to score, tying the game at 4-4.
Haley Guffey entered to pitch for UWF in the sixth inning and held the Chargers scoreless for two. The eighth inning saw the Chargers take down the Argos in order. They went on to secure their ticket to the South Super Regional in the bottom of the inning, with Keli Madden hitting a solo home run to right field. The final score was Alabama Huntsville 5, West Florida 4 in eight.
Season Recap:
The Argos capped off their best season since 2019 and had multiple Argos earn their place in the UWF program records. UWF was ranked as high as No. 7 in the country and had their best winning streak to start the season in almost two decades. They won the GSC Regular Season Title with a 25-8 mark in conference.
The Argos also had six all conference selections, a Freshman of the Year in
Miranda Harmon, The GSC Coach of the Year in Ashleigh McLean, and the first GSC Golden Glove team awardee in
Nicole Mergen.
Jessie Baughan clinched the top spot on the career home runs list in her final season, hitting ten this year and totaling 35 in her career.
Senior leaders
Hannah Harper and
Emma Brice also had impressive power hitting seasons, driving in 20 and 21 doubles respectively. Brice's 21 doubles is fifth most in program history, while Harper's 20 is tied for sixth. The tandem were both named All-Conference and NFCA All-Region Selections.
Nicole Mergen's 17 home runs ties
Jessie Baughan's 2024 campaign for second most in UWF history. Her 25 career home runs in just two seasons is already tied for 7
th in program history.
Haley Guffey's 29 wins is 8
th most in program history, and she has a top-10 season winning percentage at 29-7 (.805)
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The offseason begins now for UWF Softball as they begin a new era in NCAA Division I athletics, competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference beginning in Spring of 2027. For news updates, meet results, rosters, bios, schedules, and more, visit GoArgos.com or follow @UWFSoftball on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
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