LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Audrey Diekmann and Allison Craft combined for three home runs, while Ashlend Rodriguez posted a pair of triples as West Alabama swept Division I Mississippi Valley State 10-6 and 11-3 in a collegiate softball double header at the UWA Softball Complex on Tuesday.
 
The Tigers improve to 14-13 on the season, while the Devilettes fall to 4-18 overall.
 
"I thought our girls did an exceedingly good job running bases," UWA head coach Carie Dever-Boaz said. "We also called on a lot of key players – Devan Hines, Brianna Buie, Bree Thompson and Abby McKee – everyone came in and executed when we needed them to."
 
West Alabama drew first blood in Game 1 on a solo homer off the bat of Diekmann in the top of the first. However, MVSU's Ikeyia Alexander called the Tigers' homer with a game-leveling homerun in the bottom of the frame.
 
Diekmann set single-season high in the second inning, recording her 10^th homer of the year with a three-run blast over center field to put UWa back in front 4-1. The Tigers added one more run in the inning, bringing Jenna Goldsmith in for an unearned run on a Devilette fielding error.
 
Rodriguez extended the West Alabama lead to 7-1 in the third, driving in two runs on a triple to right field.
 
Mississippi Valley State pulled within one run, scoring five on a pair of 2-RBI homers from both Deja Talton and Alexandra Dobbins in the fourth before a Tiger fielding error in sixth helped the Devilettes cut the deficit to 7-6.
 
The Tigers secured the Game 1 win with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, starting with a two-RBI single from Ashley Smart before in infield grounder from Hines drove Kierra Hague across the plate for the final 10-6 margin.
 
Diekmann paced UWA in Game 1, totaling four runs-batted-in while crossing the plate three times on two hits. Allison Craft and Smart each tallied two hits, while Goldsmith and Rodriguez chipped in a hit apiece. Rodriguez and Smart each grabbed two RBIs and Hines finished with one.
 
Dejanae Gage, Kailyn Dunn, Talton, Alexander and Dobbins recorded each of the Devilettes' five hits. Talton and Alexander led MVSU with two RBIs each.
 
UWA struck first in the nightcap as well, jumping out to a 2-0 lead with an RBI triple from Rodriguez in the second and an RBI single from Hague in the third.
 
However, MVSU took its first lead of the day in the top of the fourth with a game-tying, two-run shot over left center from Alexander before a Tiger fielding error allowed the Devilettes to seize a 3-2 lead.
 
"It's really easy to get distracted in a game with all of the commotion and hesitation, but the girls didn't let it get to them and fought back," Dever-Boaz said."
 
The Tigers tied things up in the fourth thanks to a wild pitch, allowing Rodriguez to touch home before Craft sent a solo homer over center field in the fifth to push UWA back in front 4-3. Deikmann and Thompson drove three more Tigers around in the frame, extending the West Alabama lead to 7-3.
 
Craft placed a single up the middle in the sixth, driving Smart and Hague in for a 9-3 lead before an illegal pitch and an MVSU error allowed the final two runs to cross the plate, securing the 11-3 Game 2 win for the Tigers.
 
Hague paced UWA with three hits, while Craft's three RBIs led all batters in Game 2. Craft and Rodriguez finished with two hits. Abby McKee, Chelsea Lobitos, Diekmann and Thompson each contributed hits in the win. Alexander led the Devilettes with three hits and a pair of RBIs.
 
"Bob (Andrea Edmonds) did a great job," Dever-Boaz said. "We reversed her pitches and mixed in some stuff she hasn't worked with in a long time."
 
Edmonds (10-9) earns both wins on the day, sitting down 14 while giving up six earned runs in 13 innings pitched. Rebekah Clinton (2-10) takes the loss in Game 1, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits. Chandler Ellis (1-2) takes the Game 2 loss with five earned runs on nine hits in five complete innings of work.
 
The Tigers will hit the road to face off against the defending national champions, No. 21 North Alabama, starting with a double header on Saturday. First pitch of the Gulf South Conference series is set for 1 p.m.