Dillard’s defense hold Southern to two in 2–0 loss at Wesley Barrow

NEW ORLEANS — After Southern University A&M erupted for nine runs in the opener, Dillard spent the nightcap doing what it couldn't earlier: slowing the Jaguars' offense to a crawl.

Southern managed just two runs on six hits Tuesday as Aaliyah Zabala threw a complete-game shutout to secure a 2–0 win over Dillard at Wesley. The numbers underscored Dillard's response from Game 1 — no extra innings chaos, no big innings and no crooked numbers, as the Bleu Devils kept Southern off the board for four straight frames and limited damage to single-run moments in the fifth and sixth.

Dillard pitcher Kylie Price matched Southern's tempo for most of the afternoon, allowing only six hits and two earned runs with one walk and four strikeouts across seven innings. With Southern's earlier nine-run outburst still fresh, Dillard's ability to keep every inning playable was the story — Southern didn't score until the fifth and never produced a multi-run inning.

The game's first breakthrough came in the fifth, when Katiana Maldonado singled and drove in Jaicee Massey for a 1–0 lead. Southern added an insurance run in the sixth as Laila Clark doubled home Ava Wallace, pushing it to 2–0.

Dillard had trouble solving Zabala, finishing with two hits, a lone walk, and 11 strikeouts. Kyiera Torrence and Arianna Sanchez accounted for Dillard's hits, but the Bleu Devils couldn't string together the baserunners needed to answer.

Southern's win was built on just enough timely hitting — and, from Dillard's perspective, on a clear bounce-back effort that turned a nine-run opponent into a two-run one, even if the offense couldn't provide support.

-Bleu Devils-