MONTGOMERY, Ala. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville embraced the challenge on Friday, winning a pair of elimination games to remain alive in the NCAA South 1 Regional as the Chargers defeated eighth-seeded Tuskegee 4-1 before turning around to knock off No. 4 seed Nova Southeastern 7-1. UAH improves to 40-16 with the victories.
 
The Chargers now will square off against a familiar foe in No. 1 seed and host Auburn Montgomery, needing a pair of wins to advance to the Super Regional round. The first of the potentially two contests is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The pair of victories gives UAH its 22nd 40-win season in 27 years (with one of those years being the Covid-shortened 2019 season), and the program has now won 65 NCAA tournament games.
 
UAH 4, Tuskegee 1
The Chargers faced a stiff test in the SIAC-champion Golden Tigers and were forced to earn a gritty win to continue on in the regional.
 
It was a combined effort in the circle as Megan Shurtz started the contest and went 3.0 innings while striking out five and scattering four hits before giving way to Grace O'Berry who earned the victory after tossing 3.1 innings in which she struck out a pair and did not allow a run.
 
Layton Murphy entered in the seventh and promptly retired a pair of batters to pick up her second save of the season.
 
Sadie Thompson finished the contest going 2-for-3 with a triple and a pair of runs, while Shelby Booker also went 2-for-3 and scored once. 
 
UAH totaled eight hits in all including an RBI single off the bat of Lawren Hayes who would later score on an error in the fourth inning to give UAH the 4-1 lead that would prove to hold through the rest of the contest.
 
That advantage held up in part due to UAH's 22nd double player of the year which came in the fifth inning, and the Golden Tigers would get just one more hit the rest of the contest to finish with eight.
 
UAH 7, Nova Southeastern 1
After being held scoreless against the Sharks on Thursday, UAH's bats would have a much better go of things against NSU ace Ashley Connor.
 
The first run of the game for UAH came in the second when Lila Young doubled in Thompson, and Kiara Akles chose an emphatic way of picking up her first hit of the tournament as she crushed a ball out to left for her 12th home run of the season in the third to double UAH's advantage. 
 
The home run is the 53rd of the terrific career Akles has put together.
 
Murphy would allow just one run to the Sharks in going the distance, and it came in the fifth as NSU cut the Blue and White's lead to just 2-1 but could do no more damage as it would leave the bases loaded. For the contest, Murphy scattered seven hits while moving to 19-9 on the year.
 
The momentum generated from leaving the bags packed in the top half helped the Chargers plate a pair of runs in the fifth as Thompson singled in Booker before she scored herself on Mackenzie Nutt's base hit that made it 4-1.
 
UAH then scored three times in the sixth to ice the contest, with two of the runs crossing the plate on Booker's record-breaking 14th triple of her career.
 
The 14 triples are the most by a UAH player and are tied for the 10th most in GSC history.
 
Akles then picked up her second RBI of the night as she hit a sac fly to score Booker and create what would be the 7-1 final.