MILLINGTON, Tenn. – John Church, a 6-foot-2 right-hander from Pace, Fla., worked 7.0 solid innings Monday afternoon, lifting the Argonauts (32-21) of West Florida to a 9-2 upset victory over the Statesmen (36-15) of Delta State in the opening game of the Gulf South Conference Tournament for both clubs at USA Stadium.

The Argonauts jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. After a leadoff walk to Brandon Brewer, Eric Kroll gave UWF a 1-0 lead with a double to right-center. Zack Cates added a sac-fly RBI, and Lee Huggins singled to right for the 3-0 edge.

In the fourth, UWF exploded for four runs on only one hit, a bases-clearing triple by Kyle Brown for a 7-0 lead.

The Argos tacked on two runs in the fifth on an RBI-double by Tyler Hastings and a run scoring single by Jack Materne.

Delta State's two runs would come in the eighth on Cade Hoggard's 13th home run of the season, a 400-foot shot over the right-center field wall.

Church (8-3) earned the win for the Argos.

Cody Kelley (6-3) was saddled with the loss for the Statesmen. Kelley worked 3.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs. Joey Haston worked just 0.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits. Brandon Hall pitched three scoreless innings of relief with six strikeouts, and Nathan Hardy closed out the final two innings, allowing just one hit.

It was an afternoon of missed opportunities for the Statesmen, who left 13 runners on base.

Kellen Bozeman led the Statesmen at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a run scored. Hoggard was 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Steven Oswald also recorded two hits for the Statesmen.

Kyle Brown led the Argos, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs.

The Statesmen will face the University of Alabama-Huntsville, who lost to Harding 9-6 in the first game on Monday, Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in a loser's bracket elimination game. Matt Jones and Jim Ervin will have the call on the Statesmen Sports Network staring 15 minutes prior to first pitch with the “SouthGroup Insurance Dugout Report.”