PENSACOLA, Fla. | The No. 15 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team split its series-opening doubleheader at West Florida, falling 5-4 in eight innings in the first game before winning 3-2 in the nightcap. UAH moves to 8-3 (3-2 Gulf South Conference), while UWF is now 9-4 (4-1 GSC).
 
Next Time Out
-The two teams will play in the rubber match to close out the weekend on Sunday. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m.
 
West Florida 5, UAH 4
Game Changer
-An RBI single with two outs in the top of the seventh would prove to be the difference for the Argos in the series opener.
 
Inside the Box Score
-West Florida outhit the Chargers by an 8-6 margin in the contest.
-Six different UAH players had a hit in the game with Mackenzie Nutt having a double and Alaina Hampton belting a two-run homer.
-Lila Young had an RBI single for UAH.
-Layton Murphy went the distance in the circle for UAH, striking out three and allowing the five runs of which four were earned.
 
Key Plays
-An error led to the first run of the game in the top of the first, but Hampton would put the Chargers ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the second – UAH is the home team on the scoreboard this weekend – with her two-run blast to center.
-The fourth inning saw the Argos slip back in front when they scored three times to go up 4-2, but Kiara Akles scored on a wild pitch and Young would single in Nutt to tie the game at 4-4.
-Neither team would leave more than a runner on in scoreless fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, and UWF would go in front with a two-out single in the top of the eighth.
-UAH would threaten in the bottom half, but an outfield assist would throw out the tying run at the plate for the final out of the contest.
 
UAH 3, West Florida 2
Game Changer
-Akles broke a 2-2 tie with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the sixth and then needed just 10 pitches in a perfect top of the seventh to give UAH the 3-2 win.
 
Inside the Box Score
-The Chargers racked up eight hits in the game compared to just four for UWF.
-In addition to the home run at the plate, Akles was also strong in the circle as she threw a complete game, working around the four hits and walking none while striking out eight, and just one of the two runs she allowed was earned.
-Each of Shelby Booker, Reagan Malone, and Nutt had a pair of hits in the game, with Booker getting a double and Nutt having a home run.
 
Key Plays
-West Florida opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the top of the first, but the "guests" would have a fast response as Nutt sent one out down the line in left to make it 2-1 after one.
-After UAH stranded a pair of Argos in the top of the fifth, Kaylee Vaught would drive in Booker in the bottom frame to tie the game at 2-2.
-Akles would strike out the side in the top half of the sixth, and riding that momentum from the circle to the plate, she took a 3-2 pitch in her leadoff at-bat in the sixth and deposited it over the fence in left to give the Chargers the 3-2 lead.
-Akles then induced a pair of ground balls and finished the game off with her eighth strikeout.
 
Noteworthy
-Akles and Nutt are now tied with Booker and Vaught for the team lead with two homers on the year, and Nutt has a team-high 17 RBI.
-The eight strikeouts for Akles are her most since she had 10 against Christian Brothers on March 12, 2019.