WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Valdosta State Blazers put plenty of runs on the board, but Alabama-Huntsville's offensive outburst was too much to overcome, as the Chargers outlasted the Blazers 11-6 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II South Regional on Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Huntsville freshman Kiara Akles curled a two-run homer inside the left field foul poul in the bottom of the second inning to open up the scoring in the game and give the Chargers a 2-0 advantage, but the Blazers fired right back in the top of the third with a pair of RBI's by Jessica Mohl and Taylor Hartenbach.

The Chargers struck again in the bottom half of the third with a Jada Hayes homer, before the Blazers fired back to take their first lead of the game with a three-run fourth. Valdosta State used four hits in the frame and capitalized on one Charger error to score three runs, and Danielle Patterson delivered an RBI during the rally before stealing home later in the half inning to put VSU on top 5-3.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the bottom of the fourth, and the Chargers took the lead for good after a Brooke Miller solo homer and two unearned UAH runs on three Blazer errors.

Valdosta State nearly matched UAH on offense with 13 hits, but nine of the The Chargers' 14 base hits were for extra bases. As a result, Alabama-Huntsville scored at least one run in five of their six offensive half-innings and ran away with the contest in the latter innings to finish off VSU 11-6.

Despite giving up six runs, Akles scored the victory to improve to 12-3 on the year, while Kasie Johnson took the loss for the Blazers to fall to 13-6.

Alabama-Huntsville improved to 36-15 on the season with the victory, while the Blazers' fell to 41-12 overall.

The Blazers will face the loser of Thursday night's Palm Beach Atlantic matchup against Albany State. Valdosta State's Friday matchup is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start. Stay tuned to www.vstateblazers.com for live links.