HUNTSVILLE | The No. 18 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team started the 2020 campaign in fine fashion, picking up a 12-9 win over Bellarmine and following that up with a walk-off 5-4 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan. The Chargers start the season at 2-0 with the pair of wins.
 
Next Time Out
-The Chargers will close out play at the UAH Invitational on Saturday, playing a doubleheader against Trevecca Nazarene at the Huntsville Sportsplex.
 
UAH 12, Bellarmine 9
Game Changer
-With the game tied at 9-9 in the sixth, back-to-back sacrifice flies from Ashley Cornell and Mackenzie Nutt put the Chargers ahead before Alaina Hampton's second homer of the game provided an insurance run and created the eventual 12-9 final.
 
Inside the Box Score
-The two teams combined for 24 hits with the Chargers totaling 13 to Bellarmine's 11.
-Both Hampton and Shelby Booker went 4-for-4 at the plate in the contest with Hampton driving in five runs thanks to a pair of homers while also scoring three times, and Booker crossed the plate each time she got on base.
-Nutt finished the contest with three RBI and had two sac flies, while Ashley Cornell drove in a pair of runs and scored twice.
-Reagan Malone also scored twice in the contest.
-Ava Jacobs pitched the final 1.2 innings for UAH, earning the win as she allowed just one hit and no runs in her relief outing.
 
Key Plays
-Bellarmine got on the board early with a leadoff homer and threatened to tack on more, but Cornell would earn an outfield assist, throwing out a runner at the plate for the third out of the inning and keeping the score at 1-0.
-The Chargers had an immediate answer in the home half of the inning when Booker tripled and scored on a Cornell double, and UAH would take a 2-1 lead after Nutt's sac fly scored Cornell.
-The Knights immediately tied the contest with a run in the second and tacked on two more in the third to go up 4-2, but the Chargers would put a four-spot on the board in the third with Hampton knocking in a pair, Kiara Akles having a productive groundout that scored a run, and Gracie Green doubling in the fourth run to make it a 6-4 lead.
-After Maddie Tankersley dialed up a 1-2-3 inning in the top half of the fourth, Hampton would hit a two-run bomb that nearly cleared both fences on the field while putting the Chargers up 9-4.
-After a scoreless fifth for both teams, the Knights would cross the plate five times in the top of the sixth to level the contest at 9-9.
-With Reagan Malone and Booker at second and third after walking and singling, respectively, Cornell would fly out to left to push Malone across before Nutt's sac fly drove in Booker, and Hampton then hit her second of the game to crate the 12-9 final.
 
Noteworthy
-This is the second time in Hampton's career that she has belted two home runs in a game after she did it on April 25, 2018, against Miles in her freshman year.
-Both Green and Kaylee Vaught record their first collegiate hits.
 
UAH 5, Kentucky Wesleyan 4
Game Changer
-With the Chargers trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh inning and with the bases loaded, Shannon Long doubled into center to plate both Cornell and Nutt and give the Chargers the walk-off win.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Kentucky Wesleyan finished the contest with 11 hits, while the Chargers totaled eight in the game.
-Each of Cornell, Nutt, and Long had a pair of hits with both of Nutt's being doubles, and both Nutt and Long drove in a pair of runs.
-UAH totaled three steals in the contest with each of Booker, Cornell, and Hampton swiping a bag.
-Picking up the win in the circle was Sydnee Uhlman who scattered three hits over 2.2 innings while not allowing a run.
 
Key Plays
-After the Panthers struck first to take a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first, a groundout from Nutt would score Booker who had reached earlier in the inning after being hit by a pitch, cutting UAH's deficit to one at 2-1.
-Each of the second, third, and fourth innings would be scoreless for both sides, but KWC pushed two across in the top of the fifth to go up 4-1.
-Once again cutting the deficit in half, Nutt would double to right in the fifth to score Malone and make it 4-2, and the Chargers would pull within one when Vaught homered to left to lead off the sixth and make it a 4-3 game.
-After Uhlman stranded runners at second and third in the top of the seventh, Cornell would get a one-out single in the bottom frame to start the Charger rally.
-Nutt and Hampton then drew back-to-back walks to load the bases, and after working a 3-1 count, Long doubled into center to plate Cornell and Nutt and give the Chargers the victory.
 
Noteworthy
-The home run for Vaught is the first of her freshman season.
-Uhlman earns her 10th win in a Charger uniform after posting a 9-5 record a season ago.