No. 5 Seed UAH (38-15) vs. No. 4 Seed Saint Leo (38-6)
WHEN	Thursday, May 5 | 2 p.m.
WHERE	UNA Softball Complex | Florence, Ala.
FOLLOW	Video | Live Stats | Tournament Page
SOCIAL MEDIA	Twitter (@GameDayUAH)

HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team will make its 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament on Thursday when the team opens up play at the 2016 NCAA South 1 Regional in Florence where the fifth-seeded Chargers will take on No. 4 seed Saint Leo from the Sunshine State Conference.
 
First pitch between UAH (38-15) and Saint Leo (38-6) is slated for 2 p.m. at the UNA Softball Complex.
 
The Chargers will be making the program's 19th overall appearance in the national postseason tournament and will be aiming to build upon the team's 54-37 record in NCAA postseason play, and three of UAH's last five berths have resulted in trips to the Super Regional round.
 
Last season, UAH dropped a heartbreaker to Shorter in the tournament's opening game, falling in 11 innings before bouncing back with a win over Tuskegee. The tournament run then concluded with a setback to last year's top seed Valdosta State.
 
Heading into this week's tournament, UAH continues to be led by Kaitlyn Bannister offensively who has an astonishing 80 RBI while also leading the team with 65 runs and a .420 average with 17 doubles and 17 home runs, while freshman Taylor Wascavage has also been strong with a .391 average at the plate.
 
Abby Roberts is second on the squad with 43 RBI, and her patient approach at the plate gives her a team-best on-base percentage of .474 as she has 32 walks on the year to help the team sit at 229 for the season which just four free passes off the UAH single-season record of 234.
 
Those players will look to lead UAH against a Saint Leo program that the Chargers are 3-0 all-time against in the NCAA tournament, but the teams have not met since UAH won a 3-2 thriller in 13 innings – matching UAH's longest NCAA tournament game – in 2006.
 
This year's Saint Leo team is presently ranked eighth in the nation after cruising to the SSC title with a 21-3 conference record. Brooke Samios-Uy leads the Lions with 35 RBI on the season, but the team's true strength is in its pitching as the staff has an ERA of 0.93 with Stephanie Adkins leading the way with a 17-3 record, 0.93 ERA and 153 strikeouts.
 
The winner of Thursday's game will take on the winner of North Alabama and Tuskegee on Friday at 1 p.m., while two losers will meet at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.