West Florida softball drops two games in Clearwater

February 9, 2013

UWF falls to Sunshine State Conference opponents in day two of the EC Triton Invitational

Junior Audrey Harner went 2-for-3 and drew a walk in the game one loss to Florida Tech. (Photo by Chris Nelson)

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of West Florida softball team dropped two games to Sunshine State Conference opponents on day two of competition at the EC Triton Invitational on Saturday. West Florida fell to Florida Tech in game one 6-4 before dropping game two to No. 8-ranked Tampa 3-0.

Game One Box

In game one West Florida came out strong after back-to-back wins to open play at the EC Triton Invitational on Friday night. The Argonauts struck first in the bottom of the second inning as Aubrey Sumlin brought in Jordan Camp on a bunt. Florida Tech answered in the following inning as the Panthers scored two runs off of two hits in the top of the third.

West Florida equalized in the bottom of the third as Elizabeth Nugent hit a RBI single to left field to tie the game at two runs. UWF took the lead in the fifth inning as Jenna Belser scored an unearned run as Hannah Camp reached on an error by the Florida Tech thirdbaseman.

With a 3-2 lead, FIT scored the tying run in the top of the seventh to tie the game and push the game into extra innings. With the momentum on their side, Florida Tech came away with the win as they scored two runs in the top of the ninth to defeat the Argos 6-4.

Sophomore Taylor Bailey earned her first loss of the season. After going three-straight starts and an appearance in relief, Bailey allowed her first earned runs of the season in the 6-4 loss. However, Bailey has only allowed four earned runs in 31.1 innings pitched and has 27 strikeouts.

Game Two Box

In game two the No. 8-ranked University of Tampa Spartans lived up to their billing as the Spartans defeated the Argonauts 3-0. Florida Tech pitcher Kayla Cox was coming off a 20-strikeout performance in her previous start and looked solid against the Argonauts. Cox struck out nine batters and allowed only three hits in the 3-0 win over UWF.

Senior Jordan Ratliff went seven strong innings and allowed seven hits and three earned runs.

West Florida will be back in action tomorrow at 9 a.m. against Nova Southeastern to wrap up play at the EC Triton Invitational. Live stats and audio will be available on GoArgos.com.

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