Dillard blasts early, holds off late push to top Stillman 6-4

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dillard (La.) put together an 11-hit afternoon and built a five-run cushion before withstanding a tense final-inning rally to defeat Stillman 6-4 on Saturday.

Dillard, winless entering the matchup, produced its biggest swing of the day in the third inning. After Mhallayah Picou came around to score, Grace Hunter delivered an RBI single to open the scoring, then Jessica Battiste crushed a two-run homer to left to make it 3-0. Stillman answered with an RBI single from L. Stone in the bottom half, but Dillard kept control by adding another run in the fourth when Ca'Terra Bates lined an RBI single to left for a 4-1 lead.

Hunter provided the separation again in the seventh, launching a two-run home run to left-center that plated Picou and pushed the advantage to 6-1. Hunter finished with a standout line: 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs, accounting for half of Dillard's run production. Battiste added two RBIs on her home run, while Picou was a steady catalyst at the top of multiple scoring sequences, going 2-for-3 with two runs and a double. Haley Weatherspoon chipped in 2-for-4 with a run, and Dillard also used speed to pressure the defense with stolen bases from Kyiera Torrence and Weatherspoon.

In the circle, Mary-Elizabeth Landry anchored the effort, working 6 2/3 innings and allowing just one earned run on four hits, though Stillman's patience (six walks overall) helped spark a late surge after Landry exited. Stillman scored three times in the seventh—one on a passed ball and two more on A. Lumpkin's two-run single—before Dillard escaped to secure the win.

Stillman managed just four hits for the game, with Stone and Lumpkin providing the key RBIs during the comeback attempt. Stillman starter J. Wade took the loss after Dillard tagged him for four runs (three earned) in 3 2/3 innings, and Dillard's two homers proved decisive in the two-run final margin.

-Bleu Devils-