HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The No. 1 University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team maintained its position atop the national rankings on Wednesday and then went out and swept aside visiting Alabama A&M in a doubleheader that marked the first pair of games to be played under the lights at the Charger Softball Complex.
 
The wins – which came after the NFCA announced its latest top-25 poll – move UAH to 15-2 on the season, while the Lady Bulldogs fall to 3-5.
 
In the two victories, the Chargers were an impressive 14-of-14 in steals as UAH undoubtedly improved its position as one of the top teams in the country on the base paths after entering the night ranked 13th in the nation in steals per game.
 
The Chargers pounded out 12 hits in the first contest of the evening as Kelli Long, Abby MacKay, Kathryn Whitlock and Hannah Woodruff all recorded two hits in the affair, and Long drove in a pair of runs while notching a pair of doubles.
 
UAH also received a strong performance in the circle in the contest as Whitney Gilbert (4-1) scattered five hits and allowed just the two runs while striking out a career-best 12 batters in picking up her fourth victory of the season.
 
Anisa Britt (2-3) earned the loss.
 
The second game was a closer contest as the Lady Bulldogs pulled to within a run with two-run fifth inning that made the contest 4-3 in favor of UAH, but Stephanie Needham sent one out quickly to left for a two-run bomb – her ninth of the season – that put the Chargers up by the 6-3 final.
 
Needham finished the contest with four RBI as she also doubled in a pair of run in the first that helped push the Blue and White out to an early 3-1 advantage, and the Chargers tacked on a run on a Sam Deep sacrifice fly in the third to lead 4-1 before the visitors narrowed the gap.
 
Christina Boczek (4-0) tossed 6.0 innings in picking up the win to remain perfect on the season, and Whitney Toler (1) pitched the final three outs of the game to earn the save.
 
Cassandra Brown (1-2) was saddled with the setback for the Lady Bulldogs.
 
The Chargers will now hit the road to take on North Georgia and Columbus State this weekend. North Georgia is currently ranked No. 2 in the country.