BATON ROUGE, La. – In perhaps their most impressive win of the young season, the Jackson State University Lady Tigers softball team bombarded rival Southern University with six runs in the top of the first inning en route to a 9-0 victory here at Lady Jaguar Field on Wednesday.
 
The non-conference win, JSU's second shutout of the season, increased the Lady Tigers' record to 9-7, while Southern dropped to 2-12.
 
"Today's game was a testament to the players really starting to believe in the process," said JSU head coach Kevin Montgomery.  "We've been working all week on execution, being good teammates and pushing each other to do their jobs.  I think the outcome of the game today reflected the work that the team has been putting in on what needs to be done on each play in order to win a game."
 
In the eventful first inning, Lauren Stewart, Alexis Arredondo, Isabel Gusman all scored before the Jaguar faithful could sit comfortably in their seats.  That was followed by runs by Zoey Keyes and Monica Serrano on a Mari Stephens single to left field, making the score 5-0 JSU.
 
A sixth JSU run in the opening inning was scored when Stewart, in her second appearance in the inning, drove in Rachel Barker on a single.
 
The stunned Lady Jaguar team could not regroup following JSU's first inning heroics.
 
Two innings later, in the top of the third, JSU struck again, scoring three more runs when Stewart blasted a three-run homer to center field, giving the Lady Tigers a commanding 9-0 lead in the ballgame.
 
"Lauren came to us as a SEC transfer this semester and has been a great addition to the team," said Montgomery.  "She wanted the opportunity to play for an HBCU and we were lucky enough that she was interested in Jackson State.  Having her has really solidified our batting lineup as she can continuously put the ball in play and make something happen, as she did today by going 2-for-3 with a homer."
 
For the game, Stewart scored two runs and had four RBI.  Keyes was 2-for-3 in the game with two runs scored, while Stephens was 1-for-2 with two RBI.
 
As impressive as JSU's batters were at the plate, so too was pitcher Takiya Hill on the mound.  Hill pitched the complete game, allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out four Southern batters.  The win evened her record at 3-3 on the season.
 
"Takiya has really come into herself this year on the mound," said Montgomery.  "I think today's game really shows the maturity and confidence that she has gained coming out of her freshman year last year.  She has really been working on developing a winning pitcher's mindset and her performance against Southern is one step closer to accomplishing that goal."
 
JSU's next scheduled game won't be until Saturday, March 11, when it plays its first Southwestern Athletic Conference contest of the season against Bethune-Cookman University.  That 5 p.m. game will be played at the JSU Softball Field.