No. 17 Argos fall to AUM in series finale

PENSACOLA – The 17th-ranked University of West Florida softball team fell to Auburn Montgomery in the Monday series finale, dropping the game 6-0. Following the loss, UWF is tied for fourth in the Gulf South Conference standings at 15-10 and has a 24-14 overall record.

Starters Grace Gilbert and Chanel Newcomer traded zeroes and each allowed just one baserunner in the first two innings of the game, but AUM catcher Abby Krueger hit her first home run of the season with a round-tripper in the third to give the Warhawks a 1-0 lead. 

Following the home run, Gilbert did not allow a hit until the fifth inning, when Auburn Montgomery put four runs on the board and stretched the lead to 5-0. AUM took advantage of a pair of Argonaut errors and some bad luck for UWF in the inning, scoring one run on a squeeze bunt, one on an error, and another on a single up the middle that bounced off Gilbert’s glove. 

That RBI single up the middle marked the end of the day for Gilbert, who allowed just three hits and struck out two in her 4.1 innings. 

It was also the start of the day for Sarah Maloney. The senior threw 2.2 innings and struck out 7, while allowing just two hits and one run. Maloney has shined as a reliever in her last three appearances, posting a 0.60 ERA over 11.2 innings, striking out 20 batters and allowing just 5 hits. 

UWF struggled to manage any threat against Newcomer, with the team’s best opportunity coming in the sixth after a Jibrasha Moore leadoff double. 

UWF will host Spring Hill at 4 p.m. today at the UWF Softball Complex.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: No. 17 Argos fall to AUM in series finale