BATON ROUGE, La. — The Southern University softball team erupted for nine runs on nine hits to secure a 9–1 run-rule win over Arkansas–Pine Bluff in five innings on Friday evening at Lady Jaguar Field.
Southern improved to 25-12 overall and 12-5 in SWAC play behind a dominant performance in the circle from
Aaliyah Zabala and an explosive offensive showing that featured three home runs.
Zabala (12-4) was in complete control from the start, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while striking out six over five innings. The senior worked efficiently, retiring 15 of the final 17 hitters she faced to close out the contest.
The Lady Jaguars struck first in the opening inning. After
Katiana Maldonado singled and
Laila Clark doubled to put runners in scoring position,
Abigail Mitchell's RBI groundout and a UAPB (11-19, 4-7) throwing error allowed two runs to score for an early 2-0 lead.
Southern broke the game open in the third inning with a five-run outburst fueled by timely hitting and UAPB miscues. Clark launched a two-run homer to right-center, Mitchell and
Ariel Burton followed with RBI singles, and
Ava Wallace and Jaciee Massey added run-scoring hits to stretch the lead to 7-0. All five runs in the inning were unearned as Southern capitalized on defensive errors.
UAPB plated its lone run in the fourth inning, taking advantage of a pair of Southern errors to make the score 7-1.
The Lady Jaguars quickly answered in the bottom half of the frame with more power.
Kira Manganello opened the inning with a solo home run to left, and two batters later
Asia George blasted a solo shot up the middle to push the margin to 9-1.
Clark finished 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, and two RBIs, while George, Wallace, Burton, Massey, Mitchell, and Manganello each recorded a hit and an RBI in the balanced offensive attack. Southern did not draw a walk and did not strike out, putting constant pressure on the UAPB defense all game long.
UP NEXT
The series concludes tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at noon.
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