LIVINGSTON, Ala. | The No. 7 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team picked up a road split on Friday, winning 8-3 in the series opener at West Alabama before falling 9-8 in eight innings in the nightcap. The Chargers are now 31-10 (15-5 Gulf South Conference), while UWA moves to 21-17 (10-9 GSC).
 
Next Time Out
-The two teams will conclude the series on Saturday with a tilt that is slated for 12 p.m.
 
UAH 8, West Alabama 3
Game Changer
-Amber Hammonds drove in a UAH season-high six runs thanks to two home runs including a grand slam that put the Chargers up by an insurmountable 5-0 margin in the third inning.
 
Inside the Box Score
-UAH pounded out 13 hits compared to seven for the Tigers.
-Each spot in the UAH lineup had a hit including Hammonds, Shelby Booker, Amber Hammonds, and Mackenzie Nutt all having a pair.
-Nutt added a double to the two home runs by Hammonds to give UAH three hits for extra bases.
-Alaina Hampton drove in a pair of runs.
-Kiara Akles went 5.1 innings in the circle to earn the win, scattering six hits and allowing the three runs while picking up a strikeout.
 
Key Plays
-After Hammond threw a runner out at the plate from center in the bottom of the first, she homered in the top of the second to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead.
-In the top of the third, Reagan Malone, Booker, and Akles strung together three straight singles, and after a fly out and fielder's choice resulted in a pair of outs, Hammonds drove a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left center for a grand slam that made it a 5-0 advantage.
-After UWA got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, Hammonds would drive in another run in the visiting half of the fifth before Hampton singled in a pair of runs, pushing the UAH advantage out to 8-1.
-The Tigers then scored a pair of runs in the sixth, but after allowing a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, Sydnee Uhlman induced a double play ball and a ground out to create the 8-3 final.
 
Noteworthy
-Hammonds now has six home runs on the season, and she ranks second on the squad with 35 RBI after her 10th multi-RBI game of the season.
-Akles moves to 6-1 in the circle.
 
West Alabama 9, UAH 8 (8 inn.)
Game Changer
-Alli Craft singled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, plating the winning run to cap the comeback for UWA.
 
Inside the Box Score
-UAH outhit the Tigers 11-9 in the nightcap.
-Booker finished the contest going 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, while Hampton was 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored.
-Jada Hayes drove in three runs in the contest.
-The Chargers totaled four doubles in the contest with Booker having a pair in addition to one each from Akles and Hampton.
-Sydnee Uhlman was charged with the loss in the circle, pitching the final 3.2 innings, allowing five runs of which three were earned.
 
Key Plays
-The first RBI of the contest for Hayes came in the top of the first when she drove in Malone on a sac fly, but the Tigers would answer with a pair of runs in the first to take a 2-1 lead.
-The score remained that way until Hayes drove in another run in the third before Hampton hit a bases-clearing double to give the Chargers a 5-2 advantage.
-A productive ground out from Hayes in the top of the fourth extended UAH's advantage to 6-2 before UWA got on the board in its half of the inning to cut its deficit to three runs at 6-3.
-Booker then would double with the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, scoring a pair and giving the Chargers an 8-3 cushion.
-West Alabama's biggest inning of the night came in the home half of the fifth, scoring four times before tying the game with a run in the bottom frame of the sixth.
-After the Chargers stranded a runner at second in the seventh, Uhlman would retire in the side in order in the seventh to force extras, but a one-out double in the eighth would eventually lead to the winning run as UWA claimed the 9-8 victory.
 
Noteworthy
-Booker is now hitting .485 on the season, owns a 14-game hitting streak which is the longest this season by a Charger, and has totaled 10 doubles.
-The two-game total of five RBI is the best showing from Hampton since the start of the Christian Brothers series when she also had five RBI in the first two contests of the set.
-Hayes moves her team-high season RBI total to 46.