HUNTSVILLE | The newly appointed seventh-ranked team in the country picked up a non-conference sweep on Wednesday afternoon as the University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team cruised past Tuskegee, winning 9-1 in five innings in the first contest of the day before turning around for a six-inning 8-0 victory in the nightcap.
 
The Chargers – who jumped up a position to No. 7 in the latest edition of the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll on Wednesday – move to 18-5 on the season, while Tuskegee slips to 4-9.
 
Michal Robertson and Kailtyn Bannister both had big days at the dish as Robertson used a three-run bomb in the first game to total four RBI in that contest, and Bannister matched her in the following game by driving in four runs including a pair on a two-run jack that ended the second game in the sixth.
 
In the circle, Tyler Harrison (6-2) earned the complete game win in the 9-1 triumph, working around a pair of hits while striking out three, and Taylor Doriety (2-0) went the distance in the nightcap as she earned the shutout, striking out four while also allowing just two hits.
 
Setting the tone for the day, Victoria Frith led off the home half of the first in the first contest with her first triple of the season before later scoring on Brianna Sullivan's infield single. Sullivan would then score as Bannister reached on an error, and Robertson made it a three-run inning by singling to short for her first RBI in the contest.
 
After a scoreless second, the Chargers blew the contest wide open when Robertson belted a three-run shot down the left field line to make it 6-0, and the home team went in front 7-0 as Abby Roberts made it back-to-back jacks with her second bomb of the year.
 
Tuskegee would push a run across in the top of the fourth, but UAH would end the game in the fifth as Roberts doubled in a run before Savannah Smith recorded an RBI single to conclude the contest at 9-1.
 
UAH outhit Tuskegee 12-1 in the contest with both Sullivan and Robertson having three hits, while Frith, Roberts, and Smith each had a pair.
 
The Chargers jumped ahead early in the second game, also, as Bannister notched her 11th career sacrifice fly to make it a 1-0 lead, starting a string of four consecutive innings in which UAH would score.
 
Emily Glover and Sullivan both drove in runs in a two-run second before Smith singled in a run in the third to produce a 4-0 advantage for the Chargers, and Bannister knocked in a run and eventually scored herself in the a two-run fourth that made it 6-0 in favor of the hosts.
 
After a scoreless fifth, Bannister picked up her team-best sixth homer of the season, ending the contest on a two-run jack that also gave her 30 RBI on the season.
 
Helping the team hold a 9-2 lead in hits in the contest, Bannister, Sullivan and Robertson each recorded a pair in the contest.
 
The Chargers will return to action this weekend when they continue Gulf South Conference action as Delta State visits Charger Park. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for a 2 p.m. start.