Northwest Florida State Tops Pensacola State 7-2

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Northwest Florida State opened its final road series of the regular season with a statement win, defeating Pensacola State 7-2 on Wednesday afternoon. The Raiders capitalized on early opportunities and rode a strong outing from their pitching staff to secure the victory.

The Raiders wasted no time getting on the board, striking in the top of the first inning. Sister Arnold sparked the offense with a leadoff triple down the right field line, eventually coming around to score on a defensive miscue by the Pirates. Another error in the inning allowed an additional run to cross, giving NWF an early 2-0 lead.

After three scoreless innings, Northwest Florida added to its lead in the fifth thanks to a towering two-run home run from Falyn Beebe, who drove a pitch over the center field fence to make it 4-0. The Raiders tacked on three more runs over the final two frames, taking advantage of Pensacola's defensive struggles and adding insurance to their lead.

On the mound, Cailyn Heyl delivered a composed and efficient performance. The right-hander tossed five strong innings, allowing just two hits and two unearned runs while striking out three without issuing a walk. The victory marks her 27^th of the season and lowers her ERA to 0.86. Mallory Baker entered in relief and closed the door with two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out a pair. She currently sits behind Heyl in ERA with a staggering 1.01 earned run average.

Offensively, Beebe led the charge with a 1-for-3 day, driving in two runs on her fifth-inning blast. Haley Hughes, Hailey Henry, Anastasia Acree, and Arnold each contributed a hit to round out the balanced offensive effort. Arnold also reached base multiple times and continued to be a catalyst at the top of the lineup.

Despite the loss, Pensacola State had four players register a hit, including Gabbie York, Alexis Zerquera, Katie Morgan, and Morgan Maples. Starting pitcher Yala Zwakman took the loss after allowing six runs—only two of which were earned—on four hits over five innings of work.

With Wednesday's victory, the Raiders improve to an impressive 53-2 overall and remain perfect in conference play at 19-0. With just one regular season game remaining, Northwest Florida State will look to complete an undefeated conference slate and extend its remarkable win streak to 38 games. The Raiders will close out the regular season at home this Saturday, hosting Chipola at 1:00 p.m. in what promises to be a celebratory finale ahead of the postseason.