CLEVELAND – The Argonauts of the University of West Florida pulled out two last-inning victories Saturday to sweep a doubleheader from the stunned No. 10 Delta State Statesmen at Ferriss Field.
The Argonauts scored five unanswered runs in the top of the ninth inning Saturday to claim a 6-4 win in game one of the twinbill, then eked out 4-3 victory thanks to a seventh-inning RBI by Zach Cates in game two.
West Florida collected six runs on eight hits with five errors, while Delta State delivered four runs on five hits with one error in the opener.
After falling behind early 1-0, the Statesmen rallied for three runs in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead.
In the eighth, DSU tacked on an insurance run for a commanding 4-1 lead.
The Statesmen bullpen couldn't make it stand up, as UWF's Zach Taylor and Jack Materne delivered the tying and game-winning RBIs in the top of the ninth, giving the Argonauts the 6-4 win.
Toby Easterly (1-1) took the loss in relief, allowing four earned runs on three hits in relief of starter Trey Griffin, who pitched 8.0 innings of two run baseball.
Sixto Velasco (1-0) won the game in relief for the Argonauts. Jason North shutdown the Statesmen in the ninth for his third save of the year.
Michael Vinson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs to lead DSU in the opener.
Game two saw West Florida take a 3-0 lead after three innings before Delta State rallied to tie the game at the end of six innings of play.
Billy Ray Todd and Patrick Taylor collected RBIs in the sixth inning to erase West Florida's lead and tie the game at three, and remove Argos starter Kevin Johnson from the decision.
Nathan Hardy (1-1) absorbed the loss for the Statesmen in game two, giving up one run and three hits and striking out one in two innings of work. He got the first two outs of the seventh inning before giving up a single, a walk and Cates' RBI double.
Zach North picked up his fourth save of the season for West Florida after pitching a hitless ninth.
The Statesmen conclude their series with West Florida with a single game Sunday at Ferriss Field. First pitch for the series finale is set for 2 p.m.
