GULF SHORES, Ala. | The No. 23 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team started off the season in fine fashion on Friday, knocking off eighth-ranked North Georgia 8-0 in six innings before defeating No. 22 Missouri-St. Louis 11-5. The Chargers start the season off at 2-0, UNG slips to 0-1, and UMSL drops to 1-1.
 
Next Time Out
-The Chargers continue play in Gulf Shores on Saturday, taking on Rollins at 3 p.m. before facing Embry-Riddle at 5:30 p.m.
 
UAH 8, North Georgia 0 (F/6)
 
Game Changer
-Tyler Harrison was brilliant in the circle in her 2017 debut as she struck out five and walked none in going the distance while surrendering just three hits in the shutout.
 
Inside the Box Score
-National Player of the Year candidate Kaitlyn Bannister went 2-for-2 with a pair of intentional walks, and the senior drove in a pair of runs including on a solo homer.
-Reagan Malone and Harrison also both knocked in a pair of runs in the contest, and Haley Thompson scored a team-best three runs from the leadoff spot in the lineup.
-The Chargers totaled seven hits to the three for North Georgia, and the team also drew six walks in the game.
-In addition to the Bannister homer, two other Chargers had hits for extra bases as Malone had a triple and Thompson had a double.
 
Key Plays
-UAH got on the board in the bottom of the first when Bannister notched her first RBI of the game by driving in Thompson who had doubled to start off the inning, and she made it a 2-0 game in the third she homered to left center.
-The Chargers sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth with a pair of runs scoring off errors and another run coming in off a Jada Hayes single.
-Malone's triple came in the bottom of the sixth, and Shannon Long – who had drawn a pinch-hit walk to start the inning – scored on the play.
-Harrison then ended the game with a base hit into right that plated Malone and created the 8-0 final.
 
Noteworthy
-The home run for Bannister marks her 39th career round-tripper.
-Thompson establishes a career-high in runs scored in a game with the three.
-By earning the victory in the circle, Harrison now owns 39 wins in her career.
 
UAH 11, Missouri-St. Louis 5
 
Game Changer
-UAH turned what had been a back-and-forth contest into a comfortable victory by sending 10 to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring six times to break a 5-5 tie and produce the eventual final of 11-5.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Taylor Wascavage had a strong showing at the plate in the victory, going 3-for-3 with a walk, and she also scored a run and drove in another.
-Two other Chargers logged a pair of hits in the contest with Thompson and Bannister both recording two including a double for Bannister, and Brooke Miller and Emily Glover also logged doubles in the game.
-Miller drove in a team-best two runs in the contest.
-Glover also earned the victory in the circle as she went 5.2 innings while striking out eight and scattering six hits. The senior allowed five runs of which were four were earned.
-For the game, UAH outhit UMSL by an 11-6 margin.
 
Key Plays
-The Chargers started off the game in a strong way, scoring three times in the bottom of the first with Bannister, Miller, and Wascavage all driving in runs, but the 3-0 lead would be whittled away when the Tritons scored a run in the second and a pair in the third to make it 3-3.
-In the bottom half of the fourth, Thompson singled to left to start the inning, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then stood at third after a passed ball, and that allowed her to score on a sacrifice fly by Miller. Harrison made it a two-run inning and put the Chargers ahead 5-3 by singling through the right side to plate Malone who had walked earlier in the frame.
-UMSL had another answer, however, as the nation's 22nd-ranked team scored twice in the fifth to pull back even at 5-5.
-UAH then had the big inning with a leadoff walk from Wascavaage starting the frame, and the UAH catcher scurried from first all the way home on a double off the bat of Glover for what would be the game-deciding run.
-A sacrifice bunt from Thompson and an RBI single from Malone would drive in two more runs, and after Malone stole home, UAH would add on the 11th run when Harrison scored on a dropped pop-up by the UMSL second baseman.
-Taylor Doriety entered the game in the circle in the top of the sixth with two outs, promptly picked up a strike out, and then ended the game in the seventh with a perfect 1-2-3 inning.
 
Noteworthy
-The eight strikeouts for Glover represent a career-high for the senior who had previously recorded seven strikeouts in four different games.
-After having a career-best of three runs in a game through her first two seasons, Thompson matches her new career high of three runs in the day's second game.