MONTEVALLO, Ala. | The No. 17 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team split its conference-opening doubleheader on Saturday, falling 6-1 to Montevallo before roaring back with a five-inning 14-6 win in the nightcap. UAH is now 6-2 (1-1 Gulf South Conference), while Montevallo is 1-5 (1-1 GSC).
 
Next Time Out
-The teams will wrap up the series on Sunday. First pitch for the rubber match is slated for 11 a.m.
 
Montevallo 6, UAH 1
Game Changer
-A two-run single in the bottom of the second gave Montevallo all the cushion it would need in the opening game of the doubleheader.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Hits in the game were even at three for both teams.
-Ashley Cornell had an RBI single for the Chargers, and the other two hits for the team came from Shelby Booker and Kiara Akles.
-Booker scored the lone run for UAH.
-Layton Murphy took the loss in the circle, scattering three hits while giving up six runs of which four were earned.
 
Key Plays
-The Falcons scored twice in the first to go up 2-0 early, and the score would remain that way until the fifth when a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and a fielder's choice scored another pair for the hosts.
-Cornell would single up the middle in the top of the sixth to pull UAH within three, but a bases-loaded walk and another run that scored on an error in the home half of the sixth created the 6-1 final.
 
Noteworthy
-The start for Cornell marks her first appearance in the UAH lineup this season.
-The loss for Murphy is her first since March 11 of last season.
 
UAH 14, Montevallo 6
Game Changer
-Trailing 6-2 in the fourth, the Chargers would push across three runs to pull within one before Cornell belted a three-run homer to put the guests in front 8-6.
 
Inside the Box Score
-The Chargers outhit the Falcons by a 13-9 margin in the nightcap.
-Cornell was especially impressive at the plate, going 3-for-4 with another RBI in addition to the three on the homer to total four in the contest.
-Booker, Nutt, and Alaina Hampton each had two hits in the game, including a homer for Booker and a triple for Hampton.
-Giving the Chargers three homers in the contest, Akles had a grand slam to match Cornell's four RBI.
-Gracie Deaton earned the win in the circle, throwing two innings of middle relief and surrendering two hits while striking out one.
 
Key Plays
-Booker led the contest off with her solo homer, and it was an early 2-0 lead for the Chargers after Nutt singled in Cornell later in the first.
-Montevallo had an immediate response, getting a three-run home run in the bottom of the first to go up 3-2, and they scored three more times in the third to hold a 6-2 lead.
-In the big fourth, the scoring was started when Lila Young drove in Kaylee Vaught, and an error on a ball put in play by Heather Phillips allowed two runs to score to pull UAH within a run before the Cornell long fly made it 8-6.
-A Reagan Malone RBI single and an infield single that knocked in a run for Cornell pushed the Chargers in front 10-6 in the top of the fifth before Akles provided the Chargers with the eight-run cushion later in the frame.
 
Noteworthy
-The home run is the second of the year for Booker, while both Cornell and Akles record their first of the season.
-Deaton is now 2-0 on the year.