BATON ROUGE, La. — The Southern University softball team delivered an offensive showcase in its home opener, erupting for five runs in the sixth inning to defeat the University of Memphis 10-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Lady Jaguar Field.
 
Southern improved to 8-7 overall, collecting 13 hits and taking advantage of four Memphis errors to pull away late after the Tigers battled back to tie the game midway through.
 
After two scoreless innings to open the contest, the Lady Jaguars broke through in the third. Asia George drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Keira Miracle-Tilford. With two outs, Ava Wallace ripped a double down the left-field line to plate the game's first run. Izabell Astran followed with a groundout that moved Wallace to third before Prestaisha White lined an RBI single to right. Laila Clark then delivered the big swing of the inning, launching a two-run homer to left to cap a four-run frame and give Southern a 4-0 cushion.
 
Memphis (4-9) responded in the fourth inning with a pair of home runs. A leadoff single and stolen base set the stage for a two-run blast by Davis to cut the deficit to 4-2. Later in the inning, F. Brown connected on a two-run homer to right-center, tying the game at 4-4 and shifting momentum briefly in the Tigers' favor.
 
Southern starter Aaliyah Zabala worked through the first three innings before Jordynn Jennings entered in relief following the Davis home run. Jennings settled the game down, limiting Memphis to just two hits over the final four innings while stranding a runner in the fourth and retiring the side in order in the sixth and seventh.
 
With the score still tied in the bottom of the sixth, Southern seized control for good. Miracle-Tilford reached on an error to ignite the rally, and Wallace followed with a single to put two aboard. Astran delivered an RBI single up the middle to give Southern a 5-4 lead. White struck again with a two-run single, extending the advantage to 7-4. Clark added an RBI single and later used aggressive baserunning to swipe third and score on a throwing error, highlighting a five-run inning in which all runs were unearned due to Memphis miscues.
 
Clark turned in a dominant performance at the plate, finishing 4-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and three stolen bases. White matched her with three hits and three RBIs, while Wallace went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Miracle-Tilford added two hits, and Astran chipped in an RBI as part of the balanced attack.
 
Jennings (3-2) earned the victory in the circle, tossing four innings and allowing two runs on two hits with one walk and one strikeout. Zabala gave up four hits and two runs over three innings of work.
 
Southern closed the door in the seventh, retiring Memphis in order to seal the win. The Lady Jaguars finished with 10 runs on 13 hits and committed just one error in a complete team effort to open the home slate with a statement victory.
 
UP NEXT
Southern will take the weekend off before preparing for conference play starting on March 6. The Lady Jaguars will be back in action on March 3 when they travel to New Orleans to take on Dillard.


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