Photo courtesy of UNA Sports Information

Southaven, Miss. - Freshman pitcher Whitney Gilbert tossed her first career no-hitter as the Chargers avoided elimination at the Morgan Keegan/Gulf South Conference Softball Tournament on Friday with a 7-0 win over North Alabama.

Gilbert (18-4) was masterful, striking out five in seven innings to earn her second shutout of the tournament. She was a walk and an error away from a perfect game.

With the win, the Chargers (39-10) avoided elimination and advanced to the tournament semifinals to face No. 2 Valdosta State, while UNA had its season end at 29-29.

Erin Duke had two hits to lead the Charger offense, while Abby MacKay hit her fourth home run and drove in two runs.

The Chargers found themselves with one foot on the bus after losing a hard-fought game to West Florida in the second round 3-2 in 12 innings. Argonauts pitcher Jillian Lafrance not only outlasted Charger hurler Whitney Hawkins, but she had the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Hawkins pitched 11 2/3 innings, allowed three runs on 10 hits with six strikeouts and three walks.

Duke was 3-for-5 with two steals, while Whitney Schrimsher had a pair of hits. Beth Lawson also hit her 12th home run of the season. Her bomb, a long smash over the left field fence gave UAH a 2-1 lead in the top of the 11th inning. However, UWF tied it in the bottom of the inning and won it in the 12th.

The Chargers did all of their damage in the third inning in the opening game. Kelli Long plated the first run on an RBI single. Then, two more runs scored on a single up the middle by Beth Lawson to make it 3-0. A walk with the bases loaded made it 4-0, then pinch-hitter Meagan Billingsley capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly.

Whitney Gilbert (18-4) went the distance for the Chargers to get the win. She scattered five hits, struck out two and walked three.

Sam Deep was 2-for-4 and scored a run, while Lawson was 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBI.

For the third consecutive year, UAH head softball coach Les Stuedeman was named Gulf South Conference East Division Coach of the Year. It's Stuedeman's sixth time in her career she has received the league top honor. UAH entered the season as the top team in the nation and Stuedeman has guided the Lady Chargers to a 37-9 record and the East Division championship. During the season she also reached another milestone in her career, winning her 700th game.

In addition to Stuedeman's honor, seven Chargers made the All-GSC team. Senior pitcher Whitney Hawkins, senior designated player Beth Lawson, sophomore outfielder Kelli Long, freshman third baseman Abby MacKay and junior catcher Krystal Johnson all made the first team. Meanwhile, senior outfielder Erin Duke and junior first baseman Emily Roach earned spots on the All-GSC second team.

Hawkins has had a solid senior season, piling up an 18-3 record with a save, seven shutouts and an ERA of 1.40. She has 15 complete games this season. Lawson recovered from offseason surgery to lead the Charger offense with a .397 batting average. She led the team with 11 home runs to go with nine doubles and 37 RBI. Long wasn't far behind Lawson, ranking second on the team at .379 with four homers, four triples, five doubles and 28 RBI. She also stole 13-of-16 bases. MacKay batted .284 with three home runs, six doubles and 17 RBI. Johnson also returned to the lineup after missing the 2009 season with a knee injury, reclaiming a spot on the All-GSC team. She hit .325 with three homers, six doubles and 19 RBI.

Roach and Duke both hit .374 this season and have 52 hits apiece. Duke was right on Lawson's tail in home runs with 10 and was the Chargers' leading run producer with 46 RBI. She also had a triple and eight doubles. In addition, Duke led the team in steals swiping 16-of-16. Roach had seven homers, and a triple, tied for the team lead in doubles with nine and drove in 32 runs.

The Chargers head to Southaven, Miss. this weekend for the 2010 GSC Championship tournament. Ranked No. 13 in the NFCA poll and No. 2 in the South Region poll, the Chargers hope to reclaim the conference tournament title after having a string of three straight snapped last season.

Photo by Chuck Edgeworth
(Seniors - Standing LR - Erin Duke, Michelle Ingram, Whitney Schrimsher...Kneeling LR - Beth Lawson and Whitney Hawkins decked out in 1996 throwback uniforms)

The Chargers gave the home crowd a scare on Senior Day, blowing a 6-0 lead, but coming back to steal a 10-9 victory over West Alabama on dramatic walk-off homer by Kelli Long in the opening game of the regular season finale. The final game wasn't nearly as stressful as UAH rolled to an 8-0 win to complete the sweep.

With the wins, the Chargers (37-9, 22-3 in the GSC) clinched the Gulf South Conference East Division regular season title. UAH also sowed up the top seed in the East Division in the 2010 GSC Tournament, April 30-May 2 at the Greenbrook Complex in Southaven, Miss. Meanwhile, by virtue of North Alabama's sweep of West Georgia on Sunday, West Alabama saw its season come to an end at 38-23 and 10-15.

With the East side of the brackets set, Monday's rescheduled games against UNA are no longer necessary, as the GSC only deems a makeup date necessary if it will determine whether a team or teams makes the tournament field. The doubleheader has been canceled.

However, the Charger seniors, Beth Lawson, Whitney Hawkins, Erin Duke, Whitney Schrimsher and Michelle Ingram enjoyed a Senior Day they won't soon forget.

After a pregame ceremony which included UAH President Dr. David Williams honoring Coach Les Stuedeman for her 700th career win which she picked up in early April at the GSC Crossover, the Chargers got down to business. 

The Chargers scored their first run on a bases-loaded walk to Hawkins. Then in the third, Ingram drove home two more runs on a double, giving UAH a 3-0. In the fourth inning, Hawkins doubled the lead with a line-drive three-run homer.

It appeared as though the Chargers would make short work of the Tigers in the opening game. However, the visitors refused to quit. In the top of the sixth inning, the Tigers posted two runs, cutting the UAH advantage to 6-2. Then in a stunning seventh inning, UWA rallied for seven runs on Hawkins and reliever Alex Lewis. The big blows in the inning were a three-run home run by Kelli Hartley and a bases clearing single by Meagan Sloke. 

With their backs against the wall, the Chargers battled back. Schrimsher walked to lead off the inning. An out, wild pitch and Ingram walk later, the Chargers got one step closer on an RBI double by Krystal Johnson. That was followed by Long's bomb over the center field fence.

Long and Johnson were both 2-for-4 in the game. Long's homer was her fourth of the season. Hawkins drove home four runs on her homer and one of 11 walks issued to UAH in the game.

Hawkins (18-3) was also the winning pitcher. She pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowed five runs on eight hits. She struck out three and walked one.

In the second game, Whitney Gilbert tossed her sixth shutout of the season. She worked six innings, allowing only four hits, while striking out five and walking two.

Duke and MacKay were both 3-for-4 at the plate. MacKay had a double and three RBI while Duke scored twice. Johnson also had two hits and an RBI for the Chargers.

The two double-dips will wrap up the regular season. The Chargers enter the weekend with a one game lead in the Gulf South Conference East Division over Valdosta State. Meanwhile, UWA and UNA are deadlocked in the standings and battling for the fourth and final spot in the East for next week's GSC tournament, April 30-May 2 at the Greenbrook Complex in Southaven, Miss. The top four teams in each division will advance to the tournament field.