May 7, 2008
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - The West Florida Softball team captured a 2-1 victory in the opening round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament. Jillian LaFrance received the call from Head Coach Tami Cyr, when she was given the start against UAH, and answered with a solid day in the circle and the game-winning RBI in the seventh inning. "Jillian had a phenomenal game," said Cyr. "We felt like we were in control for the whole game. I'm very proud of all the girls and feel confident for the remainder of the tournament." The West Florida Softball team captured a 2-1 victory in the opening round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament.
The seventh seeded Argos will play tomorrow in round two against St. Leo at 4:00 pm (3:00 pm CT) in Miami Shores, Fla. St. Leo defeated Valdosta State 3-2 in the opening game of the tournament in 8 innings. The game will be broadcast on stretch internet, which is available on goargos.com, and live stats will also be available at goargos.com on the softball home page.
West Florida set the pace in the first, as Heather Bell led off with a single. After Bell was sacrificed to second, and moved to third on a groundout, Nicky VanCamp delivered a two out single to score Bell to put West Florida on the board. The 1-0 lead held up until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Chargers' Beth Lawson hit a solo homerun to deep left field to tie the score at one.
The pitchers dual between LaFrance and UAH's Sage Woodham continued until the top of the seventh inning when UWF delivered the winning run. Bell started the rally again with her second single of the day, and Whitney Gay reached base on a fielder's choice, as Bell was safe at second. Taren Walton laid down a bunt to sacrifice both runners into scoring position. After an intentional walk to Nicky VanCamp, Jillian LaFrance helped herself with a single up the middle to give the Argos a 2-1 lead and eventually the win. "Jillian took charge after the intentional walk to Nicky and did exactly what was needed to put a run on the board," said Tami Cyr. LaFrance defeated the Chargers twice this season, and pitched out of several trouble spots to shut down the second seeded and GSC champion Alabama Huntsville Chargers.
LaFrance, who was three-for-four at the plate, also picked up the win to improve to 17-7 on the season and 2-1 over the Chargers. With seven strikeouts on the day, LaFrance shut down several big hitters for UAH and pitched her way out of several jams to lead West Florida to victory. In addition to three hits from LaFrance, Heather Bell made her presence known going two-for-three with two singles. Taren Walton, Nicky VanCamp, and Caurie Miller also added to West Florida's numbers, each with a single. UAH matched UWF's eight hits, but in the end it was UAH that ran out of steam and the Argonauts that executed to clinch a first round win.
Round two for the Argos will be broadcast live on Stretch Internet, with live stats also available. Both can be found at www.goargos.com, and the game vs. 3rd seeded Saint Leo will start at 4:00 pm (3:00 pm CST) Thursday afternoon.
