LIVINGSTON, Ala. | The No. 18 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team started its crucial series at West Alabama on Friday night, earning a 2-0 victory behind another solid pitching performance. The Chargers improve to 37-14 (22-9 Gulf South Conference) on the year, while UWA slips to 21-29 (11-20 GSC).
 
Game Changer
-With the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, Tyler Harrison snagged a line drive back at her out of the air for the second out of the inning and then wiggled completely out of the jam with a groundball to end the frame and preserve UAH's 2-0 lead.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Harrison went the distance, scattering six hits in the shutout while striking out four and walking none, and she featured a particularly strong stretch in the middle innings when she retired seven in a row from the third to the fifth.
-For the game, West Alabama outhit UAH by a 6-5 margin as Andrea Edmonds settled down in the circle for UWA by only allowing a pair of hits after the Chargers got her for three in the top of the first.
-Ashley Cornell at the top of the UAH lineup led the way with two of the five hits, while Kaitlyn Bannister, Harrison, and Erin Jewell had the others.
 
Key Plays
-UAH turned in some two-out magic for the only runs the team would need in the top of the first as Bannister singled and then scored on a base hit from Harrison, and Bannister was plated by the next batter Jewell to give UAH the 2-0 advantage early.
-Neither team would have multiple baserunners until the bottom of the third when the first two Tigers reached before a batter's interference was called for the first out, followed by a caught stealing from Taylor Wascavage, and then a fly out ended the inning.
-UAH then put two on in the top of the fifth with one out, but a double play would end that threat.
-Then after getting out of the jam in the bottom of the sixth, Harrison worked around a one-out single in the home half of the seventh to seal the contest.
 
Noteworthy
-A sweep on Saturday for the Chargers will give UAH the GSC regular season championship.
-Harrison earns her 17th win of the season, tosses her 16th complete game, and picks up her fifth shutout, and her ERA drops to a 1.54.
-Cornell's two-hit showing is her seventh of the season.
 
Next Time Out
-The two teams will wrap up the series with a doubleheader that is slated for a 12 p.m. start in Livingston on Saturday.