LIVINGSTON, Ala. | The winningest program in Gulf South Conference softball history has added another title to its impressive list as the 18th-ranked University of Alabama in Huntsville won the 2017 regular season championship with a doubleheader sweep of West Alabama on Saturday, winning 13-2 in the day's first contest and 12-1 in the nightcap. UAH ends the regular season at 39-14 (24-9 GSC), while UWA concludes the year at 21-31 (11-22 GSC).
 
The Chargers have won six regular season titles with four being East Division championships, and this year's championship marks its second since the league went away from divisions in 2012 as the team also finished first in the regular season in 2013.
 
The program also has eight conference tournament titles, and UAH will look to add to that total when its hosts the 2017 GSC Softball Championships next week at Charger Park.
 
UAH will play the No. 8 seed at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Full details will be announced when they are available.
 
UAH 13, West Alabama 2
 
Game Changer
-Kaitlyn Bannister drove in three runs and three others – Ashley Cornell, Tyler Harrison, and Erin Jewell – each knocked in a pair of runs as the Chargers outhit UWA 17-6 in day's first game.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Bannister finished the contest going 4-for-5 at the plate with a double and a home run, and she scored a team-best four times in the game.
-Brooke Miller and Harrison both logged a three-hit game, and both picked up a double in the contest.
-Six other Chargers also had a hit in the game including Reagan Malone who recorded a pair.
-The guests also drew five walks with Harrison leading the team with two as she reached safely in each of her five plate appearances.
-Emily Glover earned the win in the circle for UAH, scattering six hits and two runs – only one of which was earned – in five innings while striking out four and walking three, and Harrison pitched the final two innings, not allowing a hit while picking up a strikeout and a walk.
 
Key Plays
-Harrison drove in the game's first run with an RBI single with two outs in the first, and though UWA would answer with a run in its half of the inning, Harrison would again provide the Chargers with a lead with a run-scoring single in the third.
-Bannister made it a three-run lead in the fifth with a two-run homer, and after the hosts pulled within two at 4-2 in the bottom half, the Chargers would score three times in the sixth to go up 7-2.
-UAH then sent 11 to the plate while adding six more runs in the top half to the seventh to create the 13-2 final.
 
Noteworthy
-Glover moves to 16-5 on the season in the circle, and she has struck out 127 batters while allowing the opposition to hit just .222 on the year.
-An astonishing 12 of the team's 13 runs came with two outs.
 
UAH 12, West Alabama 1 (F/5)
 
Game Changer
-Bannister hit her seventh career grand slam to tie the NCAA Division II record and bust the game wide open in the fourth, sparking what would be an eight-run inning as the Chargers closed out the 2017 regular season with a rout.
 
Inside the Box Score
-UAH picked up 18 more hits in the nightcap with seven different players having a multi-hit performance including Malone and Jewell who both had a three-hit showing.
-Each of Bannister, Miller, Harrison, and Jada Hayes had a pair of hits in the contest.
-Harrison went the distance in the circle as she worked around three hits and struck out three while walking none.
 
Key Plays
-Harrison started the scoring in this one, also, as she doubled in the first to bring in Sarah Jordan and give the Chargers an early 1-0 lead, and an RBI single off the bat of Cornell in the second lifted UAH to a 2-0 advantage.
-UWA had a solo homer in the bottom half of the second to make it a 2-1 game, but Miller would give the Chargers their two-run advantage back in the third when she singled.
-Bannister's grand slam started the scoring in the eight-run fourth as Jewell, Hayes, and Malone also drove in runs in the inning.
 
Noteworthy
-After "dropping" to .461 on last weekend during the Union series, Bannister's average is back up to a strong .476 on the season, and she has driven in 62 runs on the strength of 14 doubles and 18 home runs.
-Harrison is now 18-7 on the year in the circle, and she has racked up 159 strikeouts.