PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Argonauts are the Gulf South Conference regular season champions as No. 14
West Florida (40-10, 25-8) won both games of a doubleheader against No. 22 Montevallo (39-14, 20-13) at Orr Park on Saturday, securing a series sweep.
UWF's 25-8 record earns them the No. 1 seed in the GSC Tournament, beginning Wednesday. It is the first outright regular season title since 2019 and the 10
th as a program.
Jessie Baughan earned a major career milestone of her own and set a program record with her 34
th career home run with a blast to center field in the first game of the day. She passes Blake Baskin's 33 career home runs hit between 1998-2000.
UWF secured a 3-0 victory in the first game and a 5-1 victory in the second game of the doubleheader. In the first game, West Florida recorded six hits and a home run, while its pitching staff allowed only four hits in a complete-game shutout. In the second game, the Argonauts scored all five of their runs in the first inning with an
Emma Brice grand slam and maintained the lead throughout.
Individual Highlights:
In addition to Baughan's record, several Argonauts stood out in the twinbill.
UWF's pitching staff was led by
Hannah Harper (12-4), who completed her second full-game shutout of the season in game one. Harper allowed just two hits through five innings and four total by the end of the game. She issued no walks, and struck out four batters, demonstrating efficiency with 67 strikes out of 111 pitches. She also added two hits, a run, and an RBI in the effort.
Haley Guffey (26-4) pitched a complete game for West Florida in the second game, allowing just one earned run over 7 innings. She conceded four hits and issued one walk while striking out three batters. Guffey threw 94 pitches, with 60 of them being strikes, contributing to her 26th win of the season against four losses.
Emma Brice's grand slam was the main catalyst for the Argos' win in game two, as she went 2-for-6 with two runs and four RBI in the effort Saturday.
Nicole Mergen also contributed two hits and two runs.
Game 1: No. 14 UWF 3, No. 22 UM 0
In the first game, the game remained scoreless through the first three innings, with both teams showing solid defense as Harper and Montevallo's Kinsley Byrd dueled.
In the fourth inning, West Florida took the lead when
Nicole Mergen singled to left field, followed by
Abigail Pippen's single, advancing Mergen.
Emma Brice then singled, loading the bases.
Jessie Baughan reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Mergen to score. The inning concluded with West Florida leading 1-0.
The seventh inning saw West Florida extend its lead as Brice reached first on an error, setting the stage for Baughan, who hit her record two-run homer to center field, adding insurance and increasing the lead to 3-0. West Florida maintained its defensive performance, preventing the Falcons from scoring in the bottom half and securing the series with the shutout.
Game 2: No. 14 UWF 5, No. 22 UM 1
In the second game, West Florida secured a decisive victory with a strong start in the first inning.
Miranda Harmon singled to right field and stole second base.
Angelia Discenza's sacrifice bunt advanced Harmon to third, allowing
Hannah Harper to drive in the first run with a double down the left field line.
Nicole Mergen followed with a single, placing runners on the corners.
Abigail Pippen walked, loading the bases for
Emma Brice, who hit a grand slam to center field, adding four more runs, concluding the inning with a 5-0 lead.
Montevallo responded in the third inning when Taylor Rogers tripled to center field and scored on Emma Hawkins' RBI single. However, this was the only run they managed to score throughout the game.
Haley Guffey limited the Falcons to just four hits in the game and helped UWF clinch the series sweep and regular season title.
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The Argos are the regular season champions and will be the No. 1 Seed in the 2026 GSC Tournament. UWF heads to Oxford, AL for the tournament with the first round beginning Wednesday. 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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