Dillard breaks open tight game with seven-run seventh to top SUNO, 11–4

NEW ORLEANS — Dillard turned a sloppy, back-and-forth afternoon into a runaway on March 15, erupting for seven runs in the seventh inning to defeat Southern University at New Orleans 11–4 at Wesley Barrow.

The Bleu Devils trailed 4–3 after SUNO pieced together four largely unearned runs through the first four innings, capitalizing on defensive miscues and a balk. Dillard steadied itself behind the long ball and timely pressure, tying the game in the fifth when Noah Riley launched a solo home run to make it 4–4.

From there, Dillard's pitching and patience flipped the game. After starter Keymoni Coleman worked three innings, Trenton Rosebourgh delivered the decisive stretch—five shutout innings, allowing just three hits while navigating traffic with four strikeouts and four walks. With SUNO held scoreless from the fifth on, Dillard's offense finally cashed in.

The seventh inning became the turning point and the headline: Dillard used aggressive baserunning, SUNO wildness, and a string of plate appearances that forced mistakes to pour in seven runs, turning a tie game into a 10–4 cushion. The rally included a run scoring on a wild pitch, another on a passed ball, and multiple unearned tallies as Dillard repeatedly put runners on base and kept innings alive.

Offensively, Dillard finished with 14 hits and seven walks, led by Monroe Evans (3-for-3, two runs, walk) and Riley (3-for-5, two runs, homer). Ronaldo Rivera drove in two with a second-inning single and added more damage during the decisive frame, while Eddie Velazquez capped the scoring with an RBI double in the eighth.

SUNO collected nine hits and eight walks but couldn't convert late chances, stranding 19 runners overall as Dillard's bullpen locked down the final six innings. Dillard also overcame three errors of its own, using the big seventh to put the game out of reach and close with Kobe Wimberly's scoreless ninth.

Dillard's surge turned a tense contest into an emphatic statement: withstand early adversity, get the tying swing, then overwhelm with depth on the mound and relentless pressure at the plate.

-Bleu Devils-