The Lee softball team saw its bats silenced by the red hot pitching staff of the No. 12 West Florida Argonauts as they dropped both games of Saturday's Gulf South Conference doubleheader.
The losses drop the Lady Flames to 19-12 in league play and 33-16 overall. The win propels the red hot Argonauts to 22-9 in the GSC and 38-12 overall. The two teams will wrap up the series and the regular season tomorrow with first pitch slated for 2 p.m.
With two wins today Alabama Huntsville has clinched the regular season title and will host the GSC Tournament beginning Thursday, May 4.
With one game remaining The Flames will range anywhere from the 4-6 seeds while the Argonauts can finish no worse than third.
GAME 2 – LEE 1 UWF 5
Sarah Maloney danced a tight-rope most of the evening but worked out of several jams set up from seven walks to earn the 5-1 win for the Argonauts over the Lady Flames in Saturday's nightcap.
Taylor Moran (11-5), this week's GSC Freshman of the Week, was tagged with the loss for the Lady Flames. She allowed five runs (three earned) in six innings. She surrendered eight hits, walked two and had two strikeouts.
Maloney went all seven innings and allowed just two hits to go along with the seven free passes. She finished with three strikeouts to improve to 12-3 on the season for the Florida club.
Despite just two hits the Lady Flames drew seven walks and left seven runners on base in the game two loss. Zoe Miller provided the only score of the day for Lee with an RBI double down the right field line in the second frame.
Abby McKinney singled to account for the only other Lee base knock. Stevie Baird and Brooklynn Frazier each walked twice in the contest.
West Florida struck early as Baleigh Boltz doubled home two runs in the bottom of the first. Hill would make it 3-1 with a single in the third. Caitlin Steel and Jacey Castro would tack on two insurance runs with back to back RBI singles in the sixth inning.
GAME 1 – LEE 0 UWF 1
West Florida's Becca Taylor out dueled Lee University's Leigh Beatenbough to give the No. 12 Argonauts a 1-0 victory over the Lady Flames in game one on Saturday.
Taylor allowed just three singles and struck out five to improve to 22-7 on the season. Beatenbough deserved better than her seventh loss of the season as she falls to 16-7 on the year. The junior from Canon, Ga. scattered eight hits and walked three over six innings. She struck out a pair and gave up a solo run in the fourth inning.
Boltz was the difference in the game as she singled home Rhiannon Sassman for the game's only score in the fourth frame. Bolts finished with two hits. Sassman doubled to set up the run and supplied the games' lone extra-base hit.
The Lady Flames struggled to muster any offense against the West Florida ace. Senior Courtney Crawford and freshmen McKinney and Miller recorded singles.
Lee's only real threat came in the top of the fifth inning. With one out Miller singled through the right side. After a strikeout she stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error but was stranded there to end the inning.
West Florida's first two hitters went 4 for 6 against Beatenbough. Leadoff hitter Castro delivered two singles while Meghan Toney followed suite in the two-hole.