VALDOSTA, Ga. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team picked up a huge road doubleheader sweep on Saturday, beating No. 18 Valdosta State 11-8 in the day's first game before run-ruling VSU 10-0 in the nightcap. The Chargers improve to 17-6 (7-4 Gulf South Conference), while the Blazers slip to 17-6 (7-4 GSC).
 
Next Time Out
-The two teams will close the series on Sunday at noon CDT.
 
UAH 11, Valdosta State 8
Game Changer
-After falling behind 8-6 with VSU posting a four-spot in the bottom of the fourth, the Chargers answered with a five-run fifth that was punctuated by a three-run bomb by Kiara Akles that proved to be the difference in the contest.
 
Inside the Box Score
-UAH pounded out 17 hits in the contest compared to 11 for the hosts, and six of those for the Chargers were for extra bases.
-Four different Chargers – Reagan Malone, Shelby Booker, Taylor Wascavage, and Akles – logged three hits in the game, while Jada Hayes had a pair.
-Akles drove in a team-best four runs while scoring twice, and Malone knocked in three runs and scored four times.
-Hayes picked up the win in the circle in relief, going four innings and giving up just one run on four hits while striking out five.
 
Key Plays
-The back-and-forth affair started right away as Wascavage drove in a pair of runs in the top of the first before VSU immediately knotted it up at 2-2 with a pair in its half of the inning.
-Malone homered in the second and Hayes had a run-scoring single in the third to put the Chargers up 4-2, but the hosts answered in the third with a two-run homer that tied the contest.
-Par for the course, the visitors went back in front in the fourth when Malone had her second home run of the game to go along with an RBI double from Akles to push the Chargers ahead 6-4, but Valdosta State then had the four-run fourth to take an 8-4 lead.
-UAH then put together the big fifth inning that saw Malone and Booker have back-to-back, run-scoring singles before the bomb from Ankles put the Chargers ahead 11-8.
-Hayes then walked the first two in the bottom of the fifth before buckling down and retiring the next three in order, and she would strand three in the bottom of the sixth before retiring the side in order in the seventh to seal the win.
 
Noteworthy
-The victory for Hayes is her first of her career in the circle.
-The two home runs for Malone mark the first multi-homer performance of the sophomore's career.
-Akles now has a team-high seven bombs on the year.
 
UAH 10, Valdosta State 0
Game Changer
-Malone led the game off with a homer, and it would be the first of three hit in the opening inning as the Chargers took complete control of the game with an eight-run inning.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Layton Murphy tossed a gem in the circle for the Chargers, going the distance and allowing just one hit while striking out four and walking none.
-The Chargers racked up 10 hits in the contest with each of Malone, Booker, Akles, Alaina Hampton, and Amber Hammonds having a pair.
-Each of Malone, Wascavage, Hampton, and Ashley Cornell had a home run in the game.
-Wascavage paced the team with four RBI – all on one swing of the bat – while Cornell drove in a pair.
-Malone, Booker, and Hampton all crossed the plate a team-high two times.
 
Key Plays
-After Malone's homer in the first, Wascavage had the next big blast as she homered with the bases loaded, and Cornell would make it three home runs in the inning with a two-run shot that made it 7-0 before another run scored on an error later in the frame to give the Chargers an 8-0 lead.
-Murphy then went to work and immediately retired the first nine batters she faced before VSU got its first hit of the game to lead off the fourth, and the guests rounded out the scoring in the top of the fifth when Hampton homered to lead off the inning before Akles drove in a run later to create the 10-0 final.
 
Noteworthy
-This marks the second time in four games that UAH pitching has limited the opposition to just one hit.
-The four RBI in the game for Wascavage mark a career high for the junior, and it is also the first grand slam of her career.
-The four home runs for the Chargers mark a season high for the team.
-Murphy is now 11-4 in the circle.