BATON ROUGE, La. — History was made at Lady Jaguar Field as the Southern University Lady Jaguars softball defeated Prairie View 5-4 to capture the program's record 32nd win of the season on Senior Day at Lady Jaguar Field. The victory surpasses the previous single-season mark of 31 wins set in 1999 and again in 2005.
 
Game 1 – Southern 4, Prairie View 3
Southern (32-13, 18-6) matched the long-standing program record with a gritty 4-3 victory behind a composed, complete-game performance from Aaliyah Zabala.
 
The Lady Jaguars established the tone immediately in the first inning with aggressive baserunning and timely hitting. Asia George led off with a single and quickly stole second to move into scoring position. Katiana Maldonado followed with a base hit to put two on before Abigail Mitchell ripped a double into the left-center gap, bringing home both runners for a 2-0 lead.
 
Prairie View (25-27, 17-4) scratched across a run in the third, but Southern answered in the bottom half with heads-up play. Maldonado reached on a bunt single and advanced into scoring position. After Mitchell moved runners with productive contact, Ariel Burton reached on a fielder's choice that plated Maldonado. During the next pitch, Laila Clark broke for home on a perfectly timed double steal, sliding in safely to extend the advantage to 4-1.
 
The Panthers mounted their biggest threat in the fifth. A throwing error allowed a runner to reach, and Prairie View capitalized with two runs to trim the lead to one. Zabala, however, remained unfazed. The right-hander limited damage, induced key flyouts, and allowed just one baserunner over the final two innings.
 
Zabala went the distance, allowing seven hits and three runs, only two earned, while striking out four. Her command in the late innings preserved Southern's 31st win, tying the program record that had stood for more than two decades.
 
Game 2 – Southern 5, Prairie View 4
With history within reach, Southern delivered a resilient comeback performance to claim sole possession of the program record.
 
The Lady Jaguars again struck early. George singled and pressured the defense with her speed, eventually scoring on a wild pitch to open the scoring. Later in the inning, Laila Clark doubled down the left-field line and Mitchell followed with an RBI single to give Southern a 2-0 lead.
 
In the second, Maldonado came through with a clutch two-out double to left that scored George and pushed the lead to 3-0.
 
Prairie View responded in unusual fashion in the third inning. The Panthers did not record a hit but capitalized on three walks and a pair of fielder's choices to plate three runs and tie the game.
An error in the fourth allowed Prairie View to take a 4-3 lead despite managing minimal hard contact.
 
Southern's response came in the fifth and proved to be the defining moment of the day. Mitchell opened the inning with a single and Burton was hit by a pitch to put two runners aboard. A sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position, setting the table for Izabell Astran, who laced a single to left to tie the game. Moments later, Ava Wallace followed with another single to left, bringing Burton home and restoring the Southern lead at 5-4.
 
In the circle, Jordynn Jennings delivered the outing that preserved the record. Entering in relief in the third inning, Jennings immediately halted Prairie View's momentum. She scattered four hits across 4.2 innings and allowed just one unearned run while keeping the Panthers off balance with efficient pitching and strong defensive support behind her.
 
Jennings retired Prairie View in order in the seventh inning, punctuating the historic afternoon and securing her eighth win of the season.
 
George scored twice in the contest and wreaked havoc on the bases throughout. Mitchell recorded two hits and an RBI, while Maldonado, Astran and Wallace each delivered pivotal run-scoring hits.
 
UP NEXT
With makeup games left to play, the Lady Jaguars will wait to see what seed they will earn in the SWAC Tournament. Southern has already locked in the second seed in the west and can still earn the first seed depending on the outcome of the Arkansas—Pine Bluff and Prairie View series.
 
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