BATON ROUGE, La. — Southern University softball standouts Aaliyah Zabala, Laila Clark and Abby Mitchell earned All-Louisiana honors from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, the organization announced Tuesday.
 
Zabala and Clark were selected to the All-Louisiana First Team, while Mitchell earned Second Team honors. It marks the first time since 2018 that Southern has placed players on the All-Louisiana team and ties for the second-most selections in a single season in program history, trailing only the four honorees in 2009.
 
Zabala was one of four pitchers named to the First Team after putting together one of the best seasons in program history. The sophomore finished 18-6 with a 1.77 ERA, 110 strikeouts and five shutouts. She ranked among the nation's top 50 in ERA (15th), shutouts (25th), victories (39th) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (43rd). The Southwestern Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year tossed 32.1 innings during the SWAC Tournament, helping lead the Lady Jaguars to their first conference championship game appearance since 2009. Zabala earned All-SWAC First Team and SWAC All-Tournament honors, highlighted by back-to-back shutouts in elimination games, including a one-hit masterpiece against Florida A&M in the first championship game.
 
Clark was one of three outfielders selected to the First Team after a dominant season at the plate and in the field. The Addis native batted .428 with nine home runs, 51 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. She produced a 12-game streak with both a hit and an RBI, the second-longest such streak in the nation behind only UCLA All-American Megan Grant. Defensively, Clark recorded 15 outfield assists, including nine runners thrown out on 9-3 putouts, both of which led the nation. She also posted 21 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI performances while making several highlight-reel defensive plays that helped propel Southern to the SWAC Tournament finals.
 
Mitchell earned Second Team honors after batting .386 with 10 home runs and 51 RBIs. She closed the season on a 10-game hitting streak and reached base safely in 13 consecutive contests. Mitchell homered in three straight games, spanning a doubleheader against Xavier on March 24 and the opening game of the Alcorn State series on March 27. She also homered in consecutive plate appearances against Louisiana Christian on March 18. During the SWAC Tournament, Mitchell hit .591 (13-for-22) with six RBIs and six runs scored, earning All-Tournament recognition while helping Southern advance to the championship game.
 
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