PENSACOLA, Fla. –  The University of West Alabama softball team dropped a pair of Gulf South Conference affairs at No. 19 West Florida on Sunday. UWF blanked the Tigers, 2-0 in the opener and turned back UWA, 7-3 in the second contest.  UWA falls to 25-5 overall and 1-3 after the opening weekend of GSC play.

A solo home run in the second by Shannon Miles to lead off the second and a RBI off the bat of Amber Ingram in the third was all UWF starter Jillian Lafrance needed in the opener, as she silenced the Tiger bats in a complete game shutout.  Lafrance allowed just three UWA hits and fanned eight Tigers in her outing.  The eight punch outs by recorded by Lafrance tied a UWA season-high for strike outs.  Laura Bagwell, Valisha Fincher and Courtney Gordon were the only three Tigers to solve Lafrance.  The three hits by UWA was a season-low.  The lone UWA threat came in the second after Fincher laid down a bunt for a single and an Emily White walk put the tying run in scoring position, but Lafrance pitched around the trouble.

In the second game, UWA jumped on the board early with a solo home run by Lauren Mills in the opening frame to take the early lead but the advantage was erased in UWF’s at bat in the second.  The Argos put together a two spot in the frame to erase the Tigers’ edge.  UWF tied the game with a bases loaded walk and added the go-ahead run on a booted ball by Gordon.  

The Tigers clawed within a run in the fifth after Mills collected her second RBI of the contest with a double down the right field line, plating Angela Smith, who reached base with a bunt single.  Mills finished the tilt with a pair of hits to lead the Tigers at the dish.  UWA had the tying and go-ahead run on the base paths, but a Jessica Powell ground out and a Kelli Hartley inning-ending fly ball closed out the threat.  The Argos exploded in their next plate appearance, posting four runs in the inning.  UWA registered a run in the sixth on an Emily White home run to left field.  The round tripper was her third of the weekend. 

Senior Aubree Hudson was dealt the loss in both contests in the circle.  On the day, she posted six strikeouts.  As a staff, the Red and White gave up just three UWF hits in the opening game.  UWA was credited with three fielding miscues along with 11 walks combined on the day.

The Tigers return to the diamond on Tuesday, March 24, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. against Stillman College.  First pitch is set for 4 p.m. on the SC campus.  Following the mid-week twinbill, UWA returns home to face in-state rival North Alabama at the UWA Softball Complex, as part of Super Tiger Day festivities on the Livingston campus.  The GSC East doubleheader is slated for 3 p.m.