CLEVELAND, Tenn. | The No. 21 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team earned a series victory by splitting with host Lee on Sunday, winning 11-6 in the day's first game before falling 6-3 in the nightcap. The Chargers move to 11-4 (2-1 Gulf South Conference), while Lee goes to 10-5 (1-2 GSC).
 
Next Time Out
-UAH will play its first home games of the season next weekend when the team welcomes West Georgia for a three-game set. The first pitch of the Saturday doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m. at Charger Park.
 
UAH 11, Lee 6
 
Game Changer
-National Player of the Year candidate Kaitlyn Bannister had a whale of a performance at the plate, going 4-for-5 in the contest while scoring four times and driving in four runs. For good measure, the senior also added a walk. Bannister started the UAH scoring when she homered for the third time season.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Both teams recorded 12 hits in the game, and joining Bannister in recording a multi-hit showing for the Chargers were Reagan Malone and Taylor Wascavage both had a pair in the contest.
-Two of the 12 hits for the Chargers were for extra bases as in addition to the long fly from Bannister, Malone had a double.
-The Chargers displayed a terrific patience at the plate with the team totaling 11 walks. The top two spots in the lineup were responsible for five of the walks with Haley Thompson drawing three and Malone earning two, and Brooke Miller also had a pair of walks.
-Thompson and Malone also scored twice in the contest.
 
Key Plays
-After Bannister put the Chargers on the board first with the home run in the top of the first, UAH quickly found itself in a significant hole as the hosts crossed the plate five times in their half of the inning to go up 5-1.
-UAH would quickly respond, however, in the second with Bannister's single up the middle plating Jada Hayes and Ashley Cornell, and the Chargers pulled within one when Miller drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 5-4.
-The score remained that way until the fifth when UAH would regain its advantage, going in front when an error on a ball put in play by Harrison allowed Thompson and Malone to score to put the Chargers in front, and the team would add on to its lead with RBI singles from Miller and Wascavage to push the guests ahead 8-5.
-After Lee got one of the runs back on an unearned tally in the bottom half of the fifth, the Chargers would create the 11-6 final when Bannister and Harrison drove in runs while also adding another run when Sarah Jordan reached on an error to allow the 11th run to cross the plate.
 
Noteworthy
-The 11 walks match a single-game program record which had been recorded previously twice: against Alabama A&M on March 2, 2000, and against West Alabama on April 25, 2010.
-Bannister became the second player to reach the 20-RBI mark this season in the GSC with her performance, joining Valdosta State's Chelsea Canara who has 26 on the year.
-Bannister now has 223 RBI in her career which is just 10 behind the UAH record of 233 established in 2000-03 by current assistant coach Melanie Carter.
-Malone's double was the third of the season for the freshman, and she is tied for second on the team in two-baggers.
-Glover moves to 6-1 on the season, and she regained the team lead in strikeouts as she now owns 46 on the year.
-Wascavage threw out her second would-be base stealer of the season in the bottom half of the seventh for the second out in the frame.
 
Lee 6, UAH 3
 
Game Changer
-The Flames pounded out 12 hits, limited the Chargers to just four, and built up a 4-0 advantage by the fourth inning on the way to the nightcap victory.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Though UAH was limited to just the four hits, the team once again had a keen eye at the plate as the Chargers drew seven walks with both Bannister and Miller earning a pair of free passes.
-Two of UAH's hits were for extra bases with Bannister logging a double, while Shannon Long had a run-producing triple in the fifth.
-Taylor Doriety was charged with the loss as she started the contest for the Chargers, surrendering six hits in 1.1 innings while allowing two runs. Harrison finished the game in the circle and picked up four more strikeouts.
 
Key Plays
-Lee scored a run in each of the first and second innings before plating a pair in the fourth to go up 4-0.
-Long's triple started the scoring for the Chargers, and it started a big inning for UAH who would also get an RBI ground out from Malone and a bases-loaded walk from Miller to make it a 4-3 game.
-The Flames then received some insurance when the hosts scored twice in the sixth to create the 6-3 final.
 
Noteworthy
-Harrison has now struck out 43 batters in 42.0 innings while issuing just six walks on the year.