HUNTSVILLE | The No. 17 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team stepped out of conference play for the final time in the 2017 regular season, splitting with visiting Auburn Montgomery with a 5-1 win in the first game of the doubleheader and a 4-2 setback in the nightcap. UAH goes to 33-14 on the year, while AUM moves to 23-18.
 
Next Time Out
-UAH will play its final home conference series this weekend as it welcome Union. The games have been shifted around to attempt to avoid rain, so the doubleheader will be Friday at 1 p.m. with the series finale on Saturday at noon.
 
UAH 5, AUM 1
 
Game Changer
­-The Chargers exhibited a strong patience at the plate, drawing 10 walks in the contest, and three of those walks came in the home half of the third when UAH scored twice – including the eventual game-winner – without the benefit of a hit.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Six of the team's 10 walks came from the three and four holes as Kaitlyn Bannister and Tyler Harrison both walked three times, and Caroline Burns drew a pair.
-UAH was in fact outhit by AUM by a 7-5 margin with the hits for the Chargers coming from Ashley Cornell, Emily Glover, Reagan Malone, Bannister, and Harrison.
-Harrison earned the win in the circle as she went the distance, working around seven hits while walking none and striking out 11 Warhawks.
-Cornell also reached base twice more in addition to the hit as she was plunked twice, and she came around to score twice.
 
Key Plays
-The Chargers loaded the bases in the bottom of the first with a pair of walks bookending a Harrison hit, but after the bags were left packed, the scoring wouldn't open until the third.
-Cornell was hit by a pitch to start the third frame, and that was followed by free passes issued to Bannister and Harrison, with Cornell able to score on a passed ball during Harrison's at-bat.
-The second run in the third then came later in the inning when Taylor Wascavage hit a sac fly that allowed Bannister to score.
-UAH once again scored twice without a hit in the fourth with Harrison drawing a bases-loaded walk and Glover recording a run-scoring groundout on which Erin Jewell scored.
-The guests pushed across a run in the top half of the sixth to make it a 4-1 game, but the Chargers immediately answered in the bottom frame to create the 5-1 final when Cornell doubled to lead off the frame, moved to third on a single from Bannister, and then scored on Glover's base hit through the left side.
 
Noteworthy
-The 10 walks for UAH represent the third time this season that the Chargers have reached double-digits, and the three walks from Bannister and Harrison tie a season high for the Chargers which has been done several times.
-The sacrifice fly for Wascavage is her first of the season, and the Chargers now have 13 as a team which is eight more than the five that the opponents have recorded.
 
AUM 4, UAH 2
 
Game Changer
-Back-to-back home runs for the visitors in the top of the second gave the Warhawks a 3-0 advantage that UAH would not be able to overcome.
 
Inside the Box Score
-The Chargers outhit AUM in the nightcap by a 9-5 advantage as each of Malone, Harrison, Wascavage, and Brooke Miller had a pair in the contest.
-Harrison finished the contest going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI as she hit a two-run home run.
-Glover took the loss for UAH in the circle as she struck out seven and walked none while surrendering the five hits and four runs.
 
Key Plays
-Kendall Tucker opened the scoring in the second when she hit a two-run homer which was followed by a long fly from Rose Schmidt to give AUM a 3-0 advantage, and though the Chargers would threaten in the third and fourth, the team ultimately left five on base in those two innings.
-Harrison's two-run jack then would come in the fifth as Malone singled down the line in left before a pair of outs was recorded, but the two-out situation did not phase Harrison who belted it inside the foul pole down the right field line to pull UAH within two.
-AUM would get one of the runs back in the top of the sixth and then retired three straight with the bases loaded in the bottom frame to create the eventual 4-2 final.
 
Noteworthy
-The home run is the first of the year for Harrison, and she now has 24 RBI.
-Glover moves her strikeout total to 115, while Harrison's 11-K showing in the first game gives her 143 on the season.