BATON ROUGE, La. – Southern's Aaliyah Zabala spun a gem in the pitcher's circle Friday afternoon in helping the Jaguars to a 7-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Softball series opening win from visiting Alcorn at Lady Jaguar Field in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Aaliyah Zabala held the Braves to just three hits while striking out seven without issuing a walk in the victory.
For Alcorn (11-19, 0-8 SWAC), the Braves best threat came in the top-half of the fourth inning, when shortstop
Olivia Miller reached on an error and advanced to third on a heads-up baserunning situation. However, Southern's defense and Zabala's composure held firm, leaving Miller stranded and preserving the shutout.
Southern (20-11, 6-4 SWAC) broke through in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run home run by Abigail Mitchell that plated Laila Clark and capped a three-run frame.
The host Jaguars added four more runs in the fifth, with Mitchell doing additional damage via an RBI triple to center field.
Mitchell finished the day 2-for-2 with a triple, home run, and three RBIs, while Clark went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Asia George also contributed a pair of hits and scored twice.
In the circle for Alcorn, starter
Alainah Felton battled through a tough outing, absorbing the complete-game loss. She allowed seven runs (six earned) on seven hits across six innings, while hitting four batters and issuing two wild pitches. However, the right-hander did not allow a walk in the game.
Offensively, the Braves received contributions from Miller,
Yahnya Acevedo, and
Mariah Morgan each collecting a hit.
Alcorn's defense committed three errors on the afternoon, which proved costly in two separate Jaguars scoring rallies.
The Purple and Gold will look to answer Saturday when the two sides return for games two and three, respectively, of the series with a doubleheader beginning at noon, back at Lady Jaguar Field.
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