HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville baseball team opened the 2016 season at Charger Park on Friday afternoon with a doubleheader against No. 14 Nova Southeastern, with NSU taking both games by a scores of 11-8 and 4-2, respectively. The Chargers dip to 0-2, while the Sharks improve to 2-3.

Game one
The Chargers started strong in the opener on Friday afternoon as the squad posted a five-run rally in the bottom of the first, after UAH starting pitcher Heath McRae worked a scoreless top half.

Sophomore AJ Walden – the GSC's Freshman of the Year for 2015 – began the Chargers scoring effort with a two-RBI single, followed by a sac fly to center by Trey Mathis. Walden later scored on a throwing error following a wild pitch, with Wright Hackett capping off the early rally with a RBI single up the middle.

Nova Southeastern cut into the UAH lead with four runs in the second inning, but UAH bounced back to extend the lead to 7-4 with two runs in the bottom half on a RBI single by Dugas and a sac fly by Walden.

UAH went on to add one run in the fifth inning to make it 8-4 Chargers, but the Sharks proceeded to score in each of the final four innings highlighted by a go-ahead, three-run home run by Dylan Woods in the eighth inning. Chris Kilpatrick was tagged with the loss for allowing NSU to take the lead in the eighth, giving him a 0-1 record on the year.

The Sharks tacked on one more run in the ninth, while previously scoring once in the sixth and seventh frames, respectively, to bring the game to its final score of 11-8.

The Chargers registered 11 hits total in the contest, with Dugas, Mathis and Tanner Gardner pacing the team with two hits apiece.

Game two
Nova Southeastern carried its offensive success into the early going in game two of the double dip, as the Sharks managed a three-run rally off UAH starting pitcher Wilson Adams in the top of the first.

However, Adams settled down the NSU bats in the ensuing six innings, posting zeros in five of the last six frames. The Montgomery native hurled his first career complete game, while allowing three earned runs and striking out a career-high nine batters. Despite the strong start, Adams' record dips to 0-1 on the season.

The Sharks starting pitcher Matt Hardy was able to quell the UAH offense through the first four innings, but sophomore Ben Rhodes' first career home run – a two-run shot – in the bottom of the fifth ended his shutout bid and cut the NSU lead to 3-2.

After Nova Southeastern added one run in the top half of the seventh to make it 4-2 Sharks, the Chargers were able to threaten the advantage with the bases loaded and one out. However, consecutive strikeouts by Walden and Justin Cantrell allowed the Sharks to sweep the doubleheader on Friday evening.

The Chargers and Sharks will return to action on Saturday at Charger Park with another doubleheader slated to begin for 12 p.m.