PINEVILLE, La. — The Union Belles had all day to decide whether they wanted to win and play again, or lose Monday’s game and head back to Union. The Belles showed in Monday’s 7-4 win vs. Alabama, they wanted to continue representing the state of South Carolina and show the region how Union girls play ball again on Tuesday.

Union’s Ashley Vaughan wasted no time showing her skills on the mound. Vaughan pitched shut-out ball through four innings and picked up the win in Monday’s night contest.

Through the first three innings, it looked like one run would win the game. But in the fourth inning, things took a turn in Union’s favor.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Union’s Tanijah Hunter laid down a bunt for an infield single. Catcher Andrea Eison came to the plate with one out and a speedy runner on first. Eison bunted to reach base safely. Hunter advanced to third base on Alabama’s throwing error. Logan Wade lined a two-RBI double to the out field. Union took the 2-0 lead. Cece Morman added one more run to the Union lead with her second double of the day. Wade scored for the growing lead. Morman took third base on a wild pitch and T. Vaughan received a base on balls. Union’s next hitter, Katie Melton, laid down a bunt for an infield single to drive in the run. Union is winning 4-0. The very next batter for Union, Tristan Tiday, hit a blooper for a single to score Tiffany Vaughan and Katie Melton. After four completed innings, Union was up 6-0.

Union’s big fourth inning gave Union coaches the chance to save Ashley Vaughan’s innings for the next game. She now has seven innings left to pitch in the tournament.

“It’s much easier when you start strong. You can save your starter,” coach Vaughan said.

Alabama managed one run in the sixth inning, before giving Union a scare in the seventh and final inning. Alabama put the first two batters on base. A Union fielding error brought in an Alabama run. Union’s third baseman Morman scooped the grounder and tagged third base for the force out. With one out, Melton fielded the grounder and went to Morman at third for the second out. Alabama loaded the bases on a couple of walks by Wade. Alabama lined a two-RBI rope to cut the lead to two. Union picked up the final out and the victory when Tristan Tiday snagged the ball in midair.

Union will play Tennessee tonight at 7 p.m.

Watch uniondailytimes.com for inning-by-inning coverage of tonight's game, or visit us on Facebook.

Union 5, Pineville 2

The Union Dixie Belles did not waste any time getting over the loss vs. Florida some seven hours earlier. The team used every opportunity to take out their opponent.

Union took the lead in the first inning on an RBI sacrifice fly by Ashley Vaughan. and never turned back.

Head coach John Vaughan said scoring early was a big factor to the win.

“It was real big. It puts pressure on the team to havet to go out there and make plays,” coach Vaughan said.

Tiffany Vaughan pitched a complete game for Union’s second win in the 2010 Dixie Belles World Series. Vaughan dominated Pineville hitters to pick up her first win of the tournament.

Union added to the 1-0 lead in the third inning by pushing three runs across home plate. The 4-0 lead came in part to two key Pineville errors and a walk that loaded the bases for Wade. Wade smacked an infield single to pick up the RBI. Then, two wild pitches later, Union took the demanding 4-0 lead. Pineville would rally back for one run in the bottom of the fourth inning, and T. Vaughan stranded two base runners to halt any more damage. Union could not gather another hit until a leadoff triple by Hunter in the top of the sixth inning. Eison picked up the sacrifice RBI on a grounder to bring Hunter in for the score and the 5-1 advantage.

Pineville scored one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning, to make the score, 5-2. Pineville left two more critical runners on base in the inning.

The scored remained 5-2 for Union’s second victory to stay alive in tournament play.

Florida 8, Union 1

Due to a heat advisory, first pitch was moved from 4 p.m. to 12 p.m. in Union’s second round action Sunday vs. Florida.

The team received a boost when teammate Abby Allen arrived unexpectingly in Louisiana Sunday morning. Allen was unable to play in the tournament due to surgery on Friday. In every game thus far in the tournament , the girls are wearing #22 on their right arm.

“That lifted the girls’ spirits, they were excited to se her,” coach Vaughan said.

Union scored first in the contest but Florida stormed back by putting up seven runs in the fourth inning in the 8-1 win against Union.

Union starting pitcher T. Vaughan gave up no runs in the first two innings before Union would take the first lead of the ball game. In the bottom of the second inning, Morman doubled down the line with one out. She later stole third base on a passed ball. Two batters later, Union’s Melton hit a ground ball to the shortstop, who then threw it over the first baseman’s glove to bring Morman home to score Union’s only run of the game.

Tiffany Vaughan pitched three consecutive shutout innings before being relieved by sister Ashley Vaughan in the fourth inning. Florida put away any hopes of a Union victory in the fourth inning. Florida’s leadoff hitter hit a grounder to T. Vaughan and reached first base on a throwing error. The runner ended up on third base after speeding around the bases on the error. A wild pitch for ball four scored the third-base runner and put another runner on base. A. Vaughan fought back to strike out the next hitter. With one out and a runner on first base, the Florida hitter singled to right field. The runners hustled to second and third base after the hit. Florida’s double over second base brought in the go ahead run for the 2-1 Florida lead. Two Union errors gave Florida two more runs and the three-run lead. Florida’s fifth run scored on an infield single. Union, finally, got the second out but not before Florida pushed their sixth run across the plate. The runner on third stole home for a large 7-1 lead. A. Vaughan struck out the Florida batter for out number three, but the damage had been done.

Union 9, Louisiana 5

The Union Dixie Belles wasted no time showing why they deserved to be playing with the best teams in the 2010 Dixie Belles World Series. After jumping out to an early 5-0 lead, Union would never look back in their first round victory versus Louisiana, 9-5.

Union used dominating pitching and timely hitting to gain the win.

Union Dixie Belles head coach John Vaughan credited the big first inning for the victory.

“They came out and hit the ball. We shocked the other team in the first inning,” head coach John Vaughan said.

Tanijah Hunter led off the game with a triple. Logan Wade, hitting in the third spot for Abby Allen, singled and a throwing error by Louisiana brought home Hunter for Union’s first run and the 1-0 lead. Allen was not in the line-up Saturday due to an illness. The next two Union batters reached base safely. Tiffany Vaughan stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and smacked a sacrifice fly to bring Wade home for the 2-0 lead. Katie Melton’s hard hit grounder bounced off the shortstop’s glove and rolled to the outfield. Ashley Vaughan and Cece Morman would come around to score. Melton used aggressive base-running to advance to third base on the error. Tristan Tiday reached first base and Melton scored on a throwing error for the 5-0 Union lead.

Union’s starting pitcher A. Vaughan gave up only one unearned run on two Louisiana hits in the bottom of the inning.

Hunter’s two-out triple- her second of the game- was the only hit in the second inning for the Union Belles.

In the third inning with two outs, Morman reached first base on a Louisiana fielding error. T. Vaughan knocked a single and Morman scored on smart base-running for the 6-1 lead. Melton reached base for the second time with a line drive up the middle to bring T. Vaughan in to score, 7-1. TIday singled to put runners on the corners, but the two would be left stranded on base to end the inning.

With the comfortable lead, the Union coaches decided to rest their starting pitcher.

“It’s much easier when you start strong. You can save your starter, “ coach Vaughan said.

Union lost no momentum when Wade took over the pitching duties for A. Vaughan. She pitched three consecutive innings of no-hit ball.

Union would put two insurance runs on the board in the fifth inning. Wade helped her own cause with a leadoff single in the fifth inning. Morman punched the ball over the left field fence for a two-run home run.

Morman’s home run put “the nail in the coffin,” coach Vaughan added.

Union took a demanding 9 -1 lead before receiving a scare in the sixth inning. Union coaches made the decision to pull Wade from the mound in an attempt to save her for later tournament play. Louisiana, who was held hitless since the first inning, took advantage of the pitching change. The Louisiana Belles chipped away at the Union lead as they gathered four runs on four hits to cut the Union lead to four, 9-5. Union coaches put Wade back on the mound to see if she could get the team out of the bind.

Wade delivered.

She retired the batter for the third out to end Louisiana’s late rally. After the game, Wade said she enjoyed the opportunity to help her team.

“I had to get that last batter out or they would’ve taken the lead. It felt good to know they (Union coaches) had that much confidence in me. It gave me a rush,” Wade said.

Union could not add to their lead in the final at-bat. Eison singled to start the inning. She would steal second base but would be thrown out attempting to steal third base. Union put two more runners on base but left them stranded on base.

Louisiana threatened again in the seventh and final inning, when the leadoff hitter singled. However, Wade continued dominating Louisiana hitters. She would leave the runner on base as she picked up three consecutive outs to secure the first round victory vs. Louisiana, 9-5.