MONTGOMERY, Ala- Rachel Cumiskey launched a two-run home run in the top of the first inning and Mackenzie Thompson tossed a complete game and struck out five to lift the Gardner-Webb softball team to a 5-3 victory over Alabama State late Friday night at the Alabama State Hornet Invitational.

With the victory, GWU has won four games in a row and improves its record to 8-4, while Alabama State falls to 4-10.

Thompson scattered eight hits over seven innings and struck out five to improve her record to 5-0, while Megan Gibbons went 2-4 in the game with a run and an RBI.

The Runnin' Bulldogs were limited to just five hits for the game, but collected timely hits as they went 8-of-18 in opportunities to advance a runner and limited the Hornets to just 3-for-16 when they had runners on base.

Kaylee Wacaster walked to begin the game for the Runnin' Bulldogs and after Gibbons flew out for the first out of the inning, Cumiskey launched a two-run bomb over the left center field, her second of the season, to give GWU a 2-0 lead.

The Hornets came back in the bottom half of the inning and trimed the defecit to one on Charlene Castro's solo shot, as GWU led 2-1 after one inning of play.

Neither side scored any runs in the second or third inning, but the Runnin' Bulldogs took a 3-1 lead in the fourth when Jill Blank smacked an RBI single to second base scoring Megan Champion.

Gibbons scored GWU's fourth run of the game in the fifth inning and collected her second hit of the game on a single in the sixth inning. The Hornets plated a run in the fifth and sixth inning, but Thompson sent down Alabama State 1-2-3 in the seventh to send Gardner-Webb to a 5-3 victory.

Gardner-Webb returns to action tomorrow for two games, facing Akron at noon, followed by a matchup with Eastern Kentucky at 8:00 p.m.