COLUMBUS, Ga. | The 18th-ranked University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team split on the opening day of the 2016 season, defeating Columbus State 13-5 before falling 1-0 to Armstrong State at the PBC-GSC Southern Softball Showdown. UAH starts the year at 1-1.
 
The Chargers return to action on Sunday, taking on No. 1 North Georgia at 10:30 a.m. CST and then battling Augusta State at 3:30 p.m. CST to close the weekend.
 
UAH 13, Columbus State 5
 
The story of UAH's season opener was the long ball as both Savannah Smith and Tyler Harrison belted a pair of home runs in the victory, and Smith's performance was particularly impressive as she drove in seven runs to tie the program's single-game record for RBI.
 
Smith becomes the seventh player in UAH history to log seven RBI, matching the feat that was most recently done by Michal Robertson against Nova Southeastern last season.
 
Smith finished the game with four of UAH's 12 hits.
 
Taylor Doriety pitched an inning of scoreless relief to earn the victory in the circle, while Kimberly Jack tossed four hitless frames en route to the save giving her 20 for her career which is just one off second all-time in the UAH record books.
 
It was Harrison's first homer that provided the Chargers with their first runs of 2016 as she belted a two-out shot with Kaitlyn Bannister standing at second after doubling to give UAH a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Columbus State would respond with three runs in the bottom half and another pair in the second to go in front 5-2.
 
Cutting the deficit to one, Harrison homered for the second time in the fourth, and this time it was Smith on base to make it a 5-4 game.
 
Smith then put the Chargers ahead in the fifth with the first of two three-run jacks, homering in back-to-back at-bats with her other long fly coming in the sixth to give UAH a commanding 10-5 lead.
 
UAH would add three more runs in the seventh as Brianna Sullivan drove in a pair while Smith added her seventh in the frame to drive in the final run of the 13 UAH scored.
 
Harrison finished the contest with three hits to join Smith in recording a multi-hit performance, while Sullivan and Smith both scored three times with Harrison crossing the plate twice. Haley Thompson reached base twice and matched Harrison with the two runs.
 
Armstrong State 1, UAH 0
 
The day's second game saw the UAH bats not perform as well as the Chargers were only able to total four hits in the 1-0 loss to Armstrong State, and Harrison earned the tough-luck loss in the circle, scattering eight hits and allowing just one run while striking out six.
 
The lone run of the contest came in the third when Hannah Reppert picked up an RBI single for Armstrong.
 
Taylor Wascavage, Smith, Bannister, and Thompson each picked up a hit for the Chargers in the game.