Page Turner: 10th inning home run sends LSUS to World Series

/ Megan Lowe

THRILL OF VICTORY:  The LSUS Pilots celebrate their walk-off win Thursday at home sending them to the NAIA World Series. 

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

For almost 10 innings, LSUS senior Jaylin Turner didn’t do a whole lot in Thursday’s deciding game of the Shreveport Regional against Loyola (New Orleans). Basically, he just cheered for his teammates and maybe waved a towel or two.

And then he grabbed a bat and all that changed.

With one swing, Turner created one of the greatest moments in the Pilots’ athletic history.

Called on to pinch hit with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, the left-hander launched a ball well over the fence in right field to give LSUS a 9-7 win over the Wolf Pack at Pilot Field.

Greatest home run Turner has ever hit? “By far,” the 6-5 Georgia native said.

But it shouldn’t have come to anyone’s surprise. After all, Turner hit one in the seventh inning Wednesday in a game LSUS had to win in order to advance to Thursday’s regional-deciding contest.

“My teammates had been playing their behinds off all day,” Turner said. “If I hit it out, fine. If I don’t, I just needed to get on base. I was just trying to get something going.”

Instead of getting something going, he got something ending.

It was a nerve-racking game that was part of a nerve-racking week for LSUS, which came in as one of the top-ranked teams in the country but had to win four straight games after losing Monday’s opener (also to Loyola) to advance to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.

Turner’s home run came with two strikes. He might not have even had the chance if JJ Flores had not been hit by a pitch with two outs.

“To be honest with you, he (Turner) gets better the deeper he gets in the count,” said LSUS coach Brad Neffendorf. “He’s got really big power. That’s kind of what he does. He hit it out and we walked it off.”

It was a sudden end of a tense game throughout, one that saw the score tied three times in the late innings and featured multiple pitchers working on one day’s rest, two momentum-turning home runs – that corresponded with two major-league bat flips – and multiple ejections of coaches and fans.

Having played four games in three days, Neffendorf didn’t really have much of a pitching plan, other than to start Kevin Miranda and take it from there. It was obvious almost from the start that Miranda didn’t have his usual stuff, but that was to be expected since he was pitching on only one day’s rest. The most telling sign? He had walked only nine batters all year and walked one in the first and two more in the second. However, he did set the school record for strikeouts in the first inning.

After Loyola scored two in the first on back-to-back RBI singles, the Wolf Pack came right back with two more, scoring on a fumbled suicide bunt and an RBI single to center.

That marked the end of the day for Miranda and brought on Bobby Vath, another starter on short rest. Vath did a great job holding Loyola in check while the Pilots slowly overcame leaving men on base.

Allbry Major hit two homers, including one in the seventh that gave LSUS a 7-5 lead. But Loyola’s Cameron Trosclair matched him with his own two-run homer to tie the score again in the eighth, eventually sending it into extra innings.

Pilots reliever Brad White (8-0) denied any future threats by retiring all six batters he faced in the ninth and 10th innings.

Then Turner stepped into the batter’s box.

“It’s tough, but you have to have grit and determination,” he said. “If you want your boys to win, you got to come in and do the job.”

It’s the second straight year for the Pilots to reach the World Series and their fifth overall appearance.

“I’ve never been to Idaho,” Turner said. “It’s going to be one heck of a ride.”

It already has been.

Photos by JOHN JAMES MARSHALL

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A lot of baseball, and a lot of heart

/ Megan Lowe

About the only thing missing was the 1 o’clock-in-the-morning starting game time and the hand-written bracket that looked like a step-ladder.

Otherwise, the Shreveport Regional of the 2022 NAIA baseball tournament had all the appearances of a 1980s weekend softball tournament. Double elimination, but if you lose early in the event, the deck is stacked against you. The only favorable option is to just keep playing and playing and playing.

And playing, which is what happened Thursday at Pilot Field, where LSUS finally got its collective head to sea level after threatening to drown all week.

Once it got to a game where there were no more options for either team, the Pilots felt like they were on even terms.

And they were actually on more even terms than many realize. This would be the fifth game in four days for LSUS, having to work its way through the loser’s bracket to get to the final matchup with Loyola (New Orleans).

But this was also Loyola’s fifth game in four days, since the Wolf Pack did not have the opening round bye that the Pilots did on Monday.

Just put it this way – it’s a lot of baseball for both teams.

You would have thought that the winner of this game would be the team less worn out than the other one. Sure, the pitching staffs were a little used up, but what was most impressive is how both teams took gut punches and responded.

LSUS coach Brad Neffendorf wasn’t about to go down without at least giving the ball to his two best pitchers – Kevin Miranda and Bobby Vath – who had combined for almost half of the team’s 50 wins.

“We just needed somebody to start it,” Nefferdorf said of Miranda. “And Vath kind of has a bullpen mentality on the mound.”

Loyola got ahead 4-0 but before the game could get away from them, the Pilots posted two runs with two outs on a bloop single to right and a wild pitch.

Not exactly a highlight video, but 4-2 was a whole lot better than 4-0.

The first of two home runs by Allbry Major tied it in the fourth, but Loyola came back to take the lead before LSUS came back again to tie it in the bottom of the sixth.

That led to two-run homers by both teams to keep it tied.

That’s responding with it all on the line. Neither team was going to lay down.

Neffendorf wasn’t surprised in the least because he’d seen it before.

On April 20, LSUS was down 5-3 to Southwestern Assemblies of God University going into the bottom of the ninth when pinch hitter Zyon Avery hit a two-out, two-run home run to send it into extra innings. The Pilots went on to win in 10 innings.

Thursday, a two-run home run by a pinch hitter (Jaylin Turner) with two outs won the game. Sound familiar?

And how about this? Turner was pinch hitting for … Zyon Avery.

“If we hadn’t gone through a game like that (in April), I don’t know,” Neffendorf said. “We’ve gone through a little bit of everything in the last few weeks. We just kept battling.”

Asked what won it for the Pilots, Neffendorf didn’t hesitate.

“It’s all about the players,” he added. “They’ve been resilient the whole year. What credit don’t they deserve?”

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Centenary faces LaGrange College in first round of DIII championship

/ Megan Lowe

PRIMEAUX PERFORMANCE: Centenary pitcher Parker Primeaux and the Gents are in LaGrange, Georgia for the first round of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

JOURNAL STAFF

Centenary is on the road this weekend in Georgia to face LaGrange College in the first game of its best-of-five series in the 2022 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship today at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium.

The series begins today with a doubleheader between the Gents (27-16) and Panthers (37-6) at Noon Eastern time. The series continues Saturday with game three at noon Eastern and if necessary, game four will start 45 minutes following game three. If a game five is necessary, it will be played Sunday at noon Eastern time.

Centenary received an automatic bid to the championship after winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Championship. It is the Gents second NCAA national tournament after making their first appearance in 2017.

LaGrange claimed its fifth straight USA South Athletic Conference title to make its sixth overall appearance. It is the first time a LaGrange College athletic team has hosted a NCAA event.

The national tournament field is made up of 60 teams playing in 14 four-team regions and two two-team regions. The 16 region winners advance to the Super Regionals.

Photo courtesy of Centenary

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SPOTLIGHT: New football coach Scogin happy on Viking Drive

/ Megan Lowe

SETTING THE TONE: New Airline football coach Justin Scogin talks to the Vikings after spring practice ended this week with an intrasquad scrimmage.

By JERRY BYRD JR., Journal Sports

New Airline High School football coach Justin Scogin and LSU’s Brian Kelly have some things in common going into their first seasons. For starters, Scogin is taking a 1-0 record into year one on Viking Drive. The Vikings completed their spring practice on Tuesday night with an intrasquad scrimmage, like Kelly’s LSU team did.

For Scogin, it was nice to get on the turf and under the lights with his players and coaches for the first time. And it was a win, any way you measure it.

“It felt great,” Scogin said. “One, to be in the unbelievable stadium, one of the few places around with turf. Just to have the players and coaches out there playing football. It was good all the way around. Spring was a huge success for us.”

That is not where the comparisons between Kelly and Scogin end. Both will have some decisions to make during the fall when it’s time to decide on a starting quarterback.

Juniors Ladarius Epps and Preston Doerner, and sophomore Ben Taylor, have all impressed the head man when it comes to learning Scogin’s offense, especially considering there were only nine spring practices. 

“All three are really smart,” Scogin said. “All three are fun to be around. The quarterback position is wide open.”

But that is where the comparisons with LSU’s Kelly end, as far as Scogin is concerned. 

“Bo did a really good job establishing the culture here,” Scogin said of former Airline head coach Bo Meeks, who had been in the position for 11 years. “I’d hate to be a college coach and have to go in and establish the culture. You have to deal with the transfer portal and NIL. It’s a disaster.”

After Meeks stepped away, Scogin was hired on Friday, March 25 by Airline principal Justin James. And while he wanted the job that he calls “one of the best situations in the state,” he took a wait-and-see approach after his interview.

“In my experience, you never apply for a job and feel like without a shadow of doubt that you’re the guy,” Scogin said. “I thought with the situation Airline has here that Les Miles or Ed Orgeron may apply. I thought I had a 50/50 shot to get it. During the process, I didn’t hear any names of other candidates. After I was hired, I heard some names that applied and know they would have been good choices. I just feel lucky to be the guy who was selected.”

The skill of the athletes, the number of athletes in the school, and the facilities are the three reasons Scogin believes the Airline job is among the best in Louisiana.

“I was at Parkway for several years,” Scogin said. “I know the kind of athletes they have here. They also have 2,000 kids in the school. There aren’t many high schools in Louisiana that can say that. Finally, their commitment to improving athletic facilities here has been second to none.”

During Scogins’ time at Parkway, he met some Airline assistant coaches, who he held in high regard. He correctly believed taking the Vikings’ helm would be a tuneup, not a rebuild, and he would not have to clean house with an entirely new staff.

Scogin received the job offer from James at 3 on a Friday afternoon. In the next hour, his first as the Vikings’ head man, he reached out to the middle school coaches at Cope and Greenacres.

“It was that important to me,” Scogin said. “I have sat down with them (since). I want to be visible. I want those kids to come to our games on Friday nights. I want them to grow up wanting to wear the navy and columbia blue.” 

Scogin has brought in Zack Pourciau, who will serve as the defensive coordinator, and Logan Kreyenbuhl for his staff. Pourciau came from Pineville, where he served in the same position, and Kreyenbuhl came with Scogin from Leesville.

“(Pourciau) was good with taking lesser skilled guys at Pineville and making it tough for you to move the ball against them,” Scogin said. “He was a long shot for me to get. There were two that I wanted. Zack was 1A for me.

“(Kreyenbuhl) is a high energy guy and will assume the role that I had at Leesville,” Scogin said of Kreyenbuhl, who will coach wide receivers. “He brings a certain energy with him that will benefit our kids.” 

With his first spring finished, Scogin and the Vikings turn their attention to summer, when they will play as much 7-on-7 as they can.

“I think it’s important to build that team chemistry,” Scogin said. “We are going to compete every day. Of course, we’re going to lift and get on the track and run. We’re just going to continue to move in the direction we want on both sides of the ball.”

The only drawback in the first month and half?

“That’s easy,” Scogin said. “Being here with my family being in Leesville. That’s been brutal…on me.”

The Scogin family will soon be reunited for summer, while the Airline family has found their man to lead the football program.  

Photo by SETH STOWELL

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Mavericks’ home weekend features Saturday showdown with Enid

/ Megan Lowe

BATTLE FOR THE TITLE:  The Shreveport Mavericks begin their last regular-season homestand tonight, but Saturday’s contest with Enid is the main attraction, matching division-leading teams.

JOURNAL SPORTS

With only a couple of weekends left in The Basketball League’s Central Division schedule, it’s simple to circle Saturday night as the “Game of the Year” in the loop.

The Shreveport Mavericks and the Enid (Okla.) Outlaws lead the Central with 17-3 records. They meet Saturday night at 7:05 in the Gold Dome on the Centenary campus.

There’s a tuneup required, however, with a matchup tonight at 7:05 against the woeful Waco Royals (1-17) starting the SMavs’ last regular-season homestand.

Shreveport has an eight-game win streak after trouncing Sugar Land and Beaumont in a Texas swing last weekend. Barring an upset of epic proportions Friday night, Saturday’s game shapes up as the decisive contest to settle the regular-season division title and the top seeding for TBL playoffs.

The Mavericks enter tonight’s game 5-0 all-time against Waco, including a 138-93 rout in Texas on May 7. Ruston Hayward leads the Royals with 24.5 points per game.

Saturday will be the first time the Outlaws have played the Mavericks this season. Ricardo Artis II guides the Outlaws with 19.6 points per game. Daylon Guy ranks second on the Outlaws with 19.5 points per game and leads the team in assists with 8.3 per game.

The Mavericks will host their final game day youth clinic on Saturday. For more information contact Cedric Ellis at (318) 840-4629.

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Thursday’s Sports Scoreboard

/ NPJ

College Baseball

Charlotte 11, Louisiana Tech 3
Grambling State 11, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3
LSU 13, Vanderbilt 2
ULM 16, Arkansas State 9

NAIA National Tournament

LSUS 9, Loyola 7, 10 innings

Southland Conference Tournament at Lake Charles

Nicholls State 7, Northwestern State 6

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Page, Tigers overwhelm UAPB; LSU, ULM roll while NSU, Tech tumble

/ NPJ

DOMINANT, AGAIN: Shemar Page continues to overwhelm SWAC opponents, blanking UAPB through seven innings Thursday as Grambling won on the road.

JOURNAL SPORTS

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Grambling’s baseball team may have only a slight chance to overcome Southern and Prairie View to win the Western Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference this weekend, but it’s a better chance than UAPB had to overcome Shemar Page Thursday afternoon.

The Tigers’ ace dominated the Golden Lions, striking out 11 in eight innings while giving up just four hits and one run as Grambling drubbed UAPB 11-3 at Torii Hunter Complex.

Page (8-4) walked none and carried a shutout into the eighth inning as he raised his season strikeout total to 135, nearing the school record of 149.

Grambling (23-29, 18-10) stacked up 18 hits as John Garcia homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs against the Golden Lions (13-34-1, 9-19).

CHARLOTTE 11, LOUISIANA TECH 3: The 49ers (35-18, 17-11) scored five runs in the fourth inning before making an out, and steadily pulled away in the Conference USA series opener. Tech (36-18, 18-10) got an early two-run round-tripper by Jorge Corona and a solo shot from Taylor Young.

Charlotte, which has lost just one of its last 12 C-USA games, got a seven-inning relief outing from Spencer Giesting, who fanned eight Bulldogs.

Young singled in the ninth to break the school record with 280 career hits.

NICHOLLS 7, NORTHWESTERN STATE 6: The Demons got two home runs by catcher Austin Kirkpatrick, but failed to pad a 5-2 lead and fell in the opening round of the Southland Conference Tournament at Lake Charles.

NSU (25-28) loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but Nicholls reliever Chase Gearing stopped the threat and quieted the Demons while the Colonels (26-23) scored the next five runs. Northwestern drew within a run in the eighth on Kirkpatrick’s second homer, then had the go-ahead run on in the ninth with two out but a groundout ended it.

The Demons face Incarnate Word at 1 today in an elimination round game.

LSU 13, VANDERBILT 2: A six-run second inning put the Tigers in charge in Nashville. Centerfielder Dylan Crews drove in four runs and second baseman Cade Doughty blasted two homers at Hawkins Field.

LSU (35-18, 15-13 SEC) hit five home runs to increase its season total to 100. Vandy (35-17, 14-14) could not get going against Tigers’ right-hander Ma’Khail Hilliard (6-1) as he worked 5.1 innings and limited the Commodores to two runs – one earned – on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Crews was 4-for-4 with a three-run homer, a double and four RBI

ULM 16, ARKANSAS STATE 9: The Warhawks (17-34-1, 7-20-1) cracked five home runs and rolled up eight runs in the fourth inning to take command in the Sun Belt Conference series opener at Monroe. Michelle Artzberger’s grand slam capped the big inning against ASU (11-36, 5-22).

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WEEKEND SCHEDULE: Bulldogs wrap up series at Charlotte

/ NPJ

Friday

College Baseball

Grambling State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 2 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at Charlotte, 5 p.m.
Arkansas State at ULM, 6 p.m.
LSU at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m.

Southland Conference Tournament at Lake Charles

Northwestern State vs. Incarnate Word, 1 p.m.

NCAA Division III National Tournament

Best-of-5 series (at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium)

Centenary at LaGrange (Ga.), DH, 11 a.m., CST

Saturday

College Baseball

Louisiana Tech at Charlotte, noon
Grambling State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 1 p.m.
Arkansas State at ULM, 1 p.m.
LSU at Vanderbilt, 1 p.m.

NCAA Division III National Tournament

Best-of-5 series (at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium)

Centenary at LaGrange (Ga.), 11 a.m., if necessary, a second game will start 45 minutes after conclusion of previous game

Southland Conference Tournament

If Northwestern State wins Friday:

Northwestern State vs. Nicholls-McNeese loser, 1 p.m. ; if NSU wins it plays again at 6 p.m.

Sunday

College Baseball

NCAA Division III National Tournament

Best-of-5 series (at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium)

Centenary at LaGrange (Ga.), 11 a.m., if necessary

Note: The above schedule is subject to cancellations or reschedule

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Notice of Death – May 19, 2022

/ NPJ

Cherron Ann Frasier Landrum
September 27, 1947 – April 23, 2022
Services: Friday, June 17, 2022 at 4pm at Mission Point Baptist Church in Stonewall, LA.

Patricia Ann Platt Crocker
January 2, 1934 – May 18, 2022
Visitation: 10a with the service at 11a
Services: Saturday, 21 May 2022, at Grand Cane Baptist Church, Grand Cane, LA

Alfred C. Mosley
April 14, 1957 ~ May 17, 2022
Visitation: Saturday May 21, 2022 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM Lake Bethlehem Baptist Church 2842 Martin Luther King Drive Shreveport
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 9:00 AM Lake Bethlehem Baptist Church 2842 Martin Luther King Drive Shreveport

R. Justine Kearney
February 2, 1943 – May 15, 2022
Visitation: 11:30 a.m. until time of service
Services: Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 12:30 p.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport

Polan Wayne Hayes, Jr.
November 14, 1942 – May 17, 2022
Visitation: Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall Street, Shreveport, Louisiana, Thursday, May 19, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.
Services: graveside service to immediately follow at 12:00 p.m. in Forest Park West Cemetery, 4000 Meriweather Road, Shreveport

Antonio Alexander
June 2, 1968 ~ May 8, 2022
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 10:00 AM Bright Star MB.C. 2415 Hearne Ave Shreveport

Linda Faye Watson
December 1, 1948 ~ May 11, 2022
Visitation: 11 to 6 p.m., Friday at Heavenly Gates
Services: 11 a.m., Saturday, May 21, 2022 in the Chapel of Heavenly Gates 1339 Jewell st Shreveport

Ruthie Herndon Anderson-Lewis
March 21, 1924 ~ May 15, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 20, 2022 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM Mount Bethel #2 Baptist Church Keithville
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 11:00 AM Mount Bethel #2 Baptist Church Keithville

Henry Turner
March 5, 1957 ~ May 12, 2022
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 12:00 PM New Bethel MBC 3300 Greenwood Rd Shreveport

Velencia Thomas
February 22, 1932 ~ May 9, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 20, 2022 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM Heavenly Gates 1339 Jewell st Shreveport
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 1:00 PM Morning Star Baptist Church 5340 Jewella Avenue Shreveport

Earnestine Meaux
January 1, 1944 ~ May 15, 2022
Visitation: Thursday May 19, 2022 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM Heavenly Gates 1339 Jewell st Shreveport
Services: 11 a.m., Friday, May 20, 2022 at Galilee B.C. 

Sharon Kay Lewis
November 12, 1943 – May 12, 2022
Visitation: Thursday, May 19, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home

James Alvin Savell
October 21, 1948 – May 16, 2022
Visitation: Friday, May 20, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. until service time at the funeral home.
Services: Friday, May 20, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2500 Southside Dr., Shreveport

James Aurther Chandler
December 1, 1944 – May 15, 2022
Services: Friday, May 20, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Forest Park East Cemetery, 3700 St. Vincent Ave., Shreveport

Pearl Pauline Parmer
July 6, 1932 – May 12, 2022
Visitation: 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2022 at Rose-Neath Funeral Home
Services: 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 21, 2022 at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2201 Airline Drive Bossier City,

Jimmie Bradford McCullough, Jr.
January 24, 1955 – May 10, 2022
Visitation: 10:00 a.m. until the time of service
Services: June 11, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at the ­­­­­­­­Rose-Neath Funeral, 2500 Southside Dr., Shreveport, Louisiana

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SPOTLIGHT: Steele Netterville is double trouble

/ NPJ

SWEET SWING: Byrd High alumnus Steele Netterville has refined his batting stroke, denting outfield walls and the Louisiana Tech record book.

By TEDDY ALLEN, Journal Sports

Louisiana Tech rightfielder and three-hole hitter Steele Netterville is a bright dude.

For the third straight year, Netterville was last week named First Team Academic All-District by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

His GPA is 3.93. (In baseball terminology, that’s like hitting .995)

A fifth-year senior, he graduated with a degree in biology and is studying for his second degree in kinesiology and health sciences. He was accepted into medical school in May, but the school held the spot open so the Byrd High School product could return to Tech for his final year of baseball eligibility.

So grade-wise, he can’t even spell “B.”

But hitting a baseball? That’s a different kind of test.

Organic Chemistry was hard. But hey, he still made an A.

“Hitting is harder,” he said, “by a long, long, long shot.”

“I would never say I’ve figured it out,” said Netterville, who’s hitting .311 with 62 RBI, 13 homers and 13 doubles: his 60 career doubles is a program record. “As soon as you think you’ve got hitting figured out, you get your teeth kicked in.”

He hit only .253 as a sophomore — but he still led the Bulldogs with 26 extra base hits, tied for homers with seven, and was third on the team in RBI.

Not satisfied, he did what he does. He studied. And as the old saying goes, when the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear; former Northwestern State and Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard became Tech’s hitting coach before Netterville’s third season.

Lots of pitching machine sliders in the dirt. Lots of film. Lots of just talking about hitting. About making pitchers get the ball up. Just those two and baseball. Time and practice.

“You’d think that, righty on righty, slider would be his weakness,” teammate and righthanded pitcher Greg Martinez said. “And it was. But after pitching against him the last couple years, I can say that it’s not anymore. He’s learned to stay away from those (sliders out of the zone). His timing’s better. And he was already pretty much geared for the fastball.”

Netterville and his teammates, 36-17 overall, 18-9 and two games out of first behind Southern Miss, head into a three-game series today to complete the regular season against Charlotte, 34-18, 16-11 and the hottest team in the league, 11-1 in its last four conference series.

The CUSA Tournament begins next Wednesday in Hattiesburg, Miss. And Netterville likes his team’s chances, for reasons no one but those on the team would fully understand.

“I like us because of how much this team has gone though, dating back to the tornado (in April 2019 that destroyed Tech’s home field),” he said. “The newer guys on the team have heard about it. And this year we’ve got the same number of wins as last year (when Tech hosted a NCAA Regional), but it seems like none of them have been easy. We’ve been super resilient. We’ve been knocked down on the mat, and every time we’ve gotten up.”

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Tennis around the clock? 40 years ago, it happened here

/ Megan Lowe

Forty years ago, a couple of local tennis pros were kicking around an idea. Seems some guys in Oklahoma had set the Guinness Book of World Records for playing doubles for 87 hours in order to raise money for a worthy cause.

“Wanna try?” said Chris Brown.

Brown, then the head pro at Pierremont Tennis Club, was posing the question to assistant pro Jimmy Livesay, who already had the right cause in mind.

“This was back when Centenary (College) was getting ready to build the tennis courts,” says Livesay, now the head pro and owner of Indoors Racket Club. “My brother was playing at Centenary and so was Joe Prather. What a great cause. We could try to break the record and raise money for the Centenary tennis courts.”

And so the challenge was on. Brown and Livesay got in touch with fellow local pros Stuart Bunn (East Ridge Country Club) and Marvin Street (Shreveport Country Club) to find out if they were interested in the idea.

It wasn’t long before the four guys had come up with the idea – the Tennis Marathon would be held over Memorial Day weekend and consist of “3 Days and 18 Hours of Non-Stop Tennis.”

On May 27, 1982, at 6 p.m., the four pros started the marathon doubles match at Pierremont Oaks with the goal of breaking the record on May 31 at noon.

People pledged money for certain amounts of time with all proceeds to benefit the Shreveport Metropolitan Tennis Association and the Centenary Tennis Complex Project.

“We set the goal for 90 hours,” recalls Livesay, “and we did it. Three days of non-stop tennis.”

According to the rules set by Guinness, the foursome would get a five-minute break for every hour they played so they’d play for 12 straight hours and got to take an hour break. Cots were set up in the locker room but the pros were too amped up to sleep.

“At one point, Chris just stood there (on the court),” says Livesay. “He was just looking straight ahead and wasn’t saying anything. Then we figured out he had fallen asleep standing up.”

Sleep deprivation was a common consequence. At one point, local pro Lance Dreyer saw Marvin Street wandering in the parking lot and asked what he was doing. “I’ve got to play in the marathon,” answered Street.

Medical personnel were on standby for any emergencies, there was a masseuse on hand, and there were always people in the stands watching – sometimes more than others.

“The worst time was about two in the morning,” says Livesay, “and early mornings were tough.”

When it started raining, the foursome would run over to the indoor courts and keep playing until they could resume outside.

And so it went, on and on. “Even in those last hours, we played some pretty good tennis,” remembers Livesay. By the time Monday rolled around, Pierremont Oaks was packed with people. Radio stations and TV stations were on site to capture the world record.

“We felt like big celebrities,” says Livesay. “It was so cool.”

Not only had the local pros broken the record, they had also raised over $10,000 for local tennis to help in the construction of the Centenary Tennis Complex.

My, how times have changed. According to Livesay, those tennis courts for which they raised the money to build will soon be torn down. Brown and Bunn have retired from tennis and moved away. After serving as the pro at Querbes Tennis Center for years, Street has also retired.

So, no rematch? “No way,” says Livesay, who underwent his second knee surgery six weeks ago. “But we had a blast. It’s just hard to believe that was 40 years ago.”

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Pilots recover, reach homefield championship game today at 11

/ NPJ

MAKING THE PLAYS: After opening the Shreveport Bracket with a loss, LSUS has fought back to make today’s championship game.

JOURNAL STAFF

The bats woke up Wednesday, and LSUS rolled away from the brink of disaster to the edge of an NAIA World Series berth.

The Pilots scored 30 runs in two lopsided, do-or-cry wins in the Shreveport Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round baseball tournament, dispatching Lyon and dusting up Loyola.

Wins of 14-6 (Lyon) and 16-2 (previously-unbeaten Loyola) earned LSUS a one-game, winner-takes-off-to-Idaho contest against the Wolf Pack today at 11 at Pilots Field.

A berth in next week’s World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, is on the line today.

The Pilots (50-6) stumbled out of the batters’ box on the regional’s opening day, falling 7-4 Monday evening to Loyola (36-23), but blasted away Wednesday afternoon.

LSUS, the top seed in the bracket and ranked No. 4 nationally, will square off against a Loyola club that made all the right moves to shock their hosts Monday night.

The Pilots now have a three-game win streak after dropping two conference tournament games last week and the regional opener Monday night. LSUS scored a relatively pedestrian 17 runs in the skid, recording only six hits and four runs in the loss to Loyola.

Tuesday in the elimination round, the Pilots didn’t pound it around the park, notching only five hits, but they got timely, big hits, and didn’t chase bad pitches, drawing 11 walks. A five-run inning put them on the way to a 10-2 victory over the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, and into Wednesday’s action.

Despite the final margins, neither Wednesday win was a cakewalk until big innings late. LSUS rang up eight runs in the eighth inning to erase a Lyon lead and take command. Against Loyola, the Pilots were nursing a 3-1 edge when they exploded for 10 runs in the top of the seventh.

Fittingly, the first tally came from a player whose defensive brilliance had just preserved the lead. Rightfielder Carlos Pineyro ran down a two-out fly ball on the warning track in the right-center gap with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning, then a few minutes later with Pilots filling bases, was hit by a pitch to force in the first run. Julian Flores immediately blasted a grand slam and LSUS was in control, 8-1.

In Monday’s loss, LSUS made three errors. The Pilots are error-free since. While posting 40 runs, they’ve allowed only 10 in the three wins.

Those results appear to be a resounding signal that the boys are back.

Doubts, admitted coach Brad Neffendorf, were creeping around the Pilots. After a 47-3 regular season, following Monday’s upset, they were one loss away from a crushing collapse.

“We struggled in the conference tournament and in the first game this week,” he said. “Our hitting tailed off in that stretch, but we got back on track against USAO and it’s carried over. It’s the look and feel of what we’ve been this year.

“I’m not sure if it was confidence. Maybe they got to a point, I could be wrong, of questioning it a little bit. The morale after the USAO game has come back, and it’s carried over very well. Offensively we’ve put up some runs and we’ve pitched really well at times, made big pitches in big moments, and that was a big piece for us in the last two days. We’ve kept the game where it needed to be, and then our bats broke it open.

“We’re a team that has responded to challenges well this year, and obviously we have after that first game. We’ve got nine tough innings left (today),” he said.

Navigating them as they have all season will reward the Pilots with their second World Series appearance.

Photo courtesy LSUS Athletics

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Junior City Amateur tourney this weekend

/ Megan Lowe

ON THE BIG STAGE:  Benton’s Noah McWilliams advanced to the next qualifying stage for the 122nd U.S. Open Championship when he shot a 5-under 67 at the Anna, Texas, qualifying event earlier this week.

By HARRIET PROTHRO PENROD, Journal Sports

If you’re wanting to play in the 2022 City Amateur Golf Championship next month, you’ve got an opportunity to qualify this weekend.

The Greater Shreveport Medal Play and Junior Championships will be held this Saturday and Sunday at Huntington Park Golf Course. The lowest two-round total by a junior golfer (high school age or younger) will be the 2022 Junior City Amateur Champion.

The junior golfers will also be in contention for the City Am Championship, which will take place at Huntington Park June 17-19. They will play from the same tees as those individuals in their respective flight. The first- and second-place junior golfer will be the 3 and 4 seed in the match play championship in June.

The top 15 scores from the (first round) Medal Play Tournament this weekend will automatically be placed in the City Am.

Deadline for entering this weekend’s Medal Play and Junior Championships, which is open to all male amateur golfers, is 5 p.m. today. The $100 entry fee covers a practice round green fee, tournament green fees, carts, lunch Saturday and prizes. Tee times will be Saturday a.m. and Sunday p.m.

Registration forms can be picked up at Huntington Park. For more information, call 318-673-7765.

Golfers can also qualify for next month’s City Am on the set qualifying days of June 4-5, or June 11-12. Tee times and pairings will be assigned at the golf shop. Amateurs not wanting to play in the Championship Flight do not have to qualify. Just turn in your entry form with the USGA Handicap and the tournament officials will flight you.

If you do not have a USGA Handicap, you will have to qualify by playing in this weekend’s Medal Play Championship or by playing The City Am Qualifying round.

McWilliams moves on — If Benton’s Noah McWilliams were in town this weekend, he would probably be playing in the Medal Play and Junior Championships. Instead, he’ll be in Dallas playing some practice rounds in preparation for the next stage in qualifying for the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., June 16-19.

McWilliams, the 2021 LGA Player of the Year, shot a 5-under 67 to finish in a tie for fourth place at the local qualifying event held earlier this week at Hurricane Creek Country Club in Anna, Texas. The top eight finishers out of the 132-player field moved on to the next stage of qualifying.

McWilliams — who was one only three amateurs to advance out of the Anna, Texas, event – will tee it up on Monday in the next qualifying stage that will be held at Lakewood Country Club and Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas. Golfers will play 36 holes in one day at the two courses.

“I would have to play very well and probably shoot 10-under or so to make it,” said McWilliams, “because it will mostly be pros there.”

Local qualifying, conducted over 18 holes at 109 sites in the United States and Canada, takes place between April 23-May23. Those who advance out of local qualifying will join a group of locally exempt players in the final qualifying. A total of 8,880 players are competing for 530 final qualifying spots.

Photo by JOHN PENROD

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Demons open Southland tourney as other leagues finish regular season

/ Megan Lowe

SLC SAVVY:  Former player Bobby Barbier, in his sixth season as Northwestern State’s head coach, is hoping his Demons can win their second Southland Conference Tournament under his guidance. NSU opens play this afternoon in Lake Charles.

JOURNAL SPORTS

LAKE CHARLES – A new format for the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament awaits Northwestern State on Thursday.

The venue, however, will be familiar one.

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Demons travel to Joe Miller Ballpark on McNeese’s campus, this time to start bracket play in a two-week-long conference tournament. The fifth-seeded Demons (25-27) face No. 4 seed Nicholls (25-23) in the opening game of the Lake Charles bracket of the tournament at 1 p.m.

The winners of the four-team brackets (the other pod is in Hammond, hosted by Southeastern Louisiana) will meet May 26-28 at the home of the best remaining seed to determine the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. McNeese won the regular season crown in a wild scramble and SLU was second, earning the home field advantages.

Tournament games can be seen on ESPN+. Both Northwestern and Nicholls finished 12-12 in conference games. The Colonels won the regular-season series 2-1 April 14-16.

The location is a plus for coach Bobby Barbier’s Demons, who won two of three high-scoring games at McNeese from May 6-8.

“It’s good for us, being familiar with the field,” Barbier said. “Sometimes, when you go to a place you’ve seen, you’re comfortable. You’ve seen how the ball flies. For our pitchers, those turf mounds can be tough. They’ve been on them. I think (playing there) can be an advantage for us.”

Perhaps no group is looking forward to a return trip to Lake Charles more than the Demon offense.

Northwestern State homered seven times in three games against the Cowboys, part of a season in which the Demons have already tied their high-water mark for home runs in the six-year Barbier era with 50. Beginning with their May 6 win against the Cowboys, the Demons hit 15 home runs in their final eight regular-season games, including two Tuesday night at LSU.

“Any of these eight teams can come out with a championship,” said Barbier. “We had six teams in contention for the league title the last weekend of the season. The team that plays most freely and easy and gets after it for a weekend gives themselves an opportunity to move forward.”

LOUISIANA TECH:  After a home sweep over Western Kentucky last weekend, Tech has risen in the Conference USA standings to second place, trailing Southern Miss by two games and in front of UTSA and Middle Tennessee by just one game. Beginning today in Charlotte, they’ll meet another hot team.

The Bulldogs (36-17, 18-9 C-USA) outscored WKU 34-8 in three games. Charlotte (34-18, 16-11) has won seven of its last eight, including an 8-3 win Tuesday at South Carolina.  The 49ers are 11-1 in their last four league series.

The series, with ESPN+ coverage, has 5 p.m. (CST) first pitches today and Friday with a noon getaway game Saturday in the final regular-season outings for both squads. Tech is currently a strong contender for an at-large NCAA Tournament invitation.

Taylor Young, Tech’s senior shortstop, leads the nation in runs scored with 75 and sits just eight runs shy of the program season record he set just one year ago. Sophomore center fielder Cole McConnell is eighth in the nation with 68 RBI.

LSU:  The Tigers (34-18, 14-13 SEC) are in Nashville to wrap up the Southeastern Conference regular season at Vanderbilt (35-16, 14-13). LSU is considered unlikely to host a regional unless the Tigers can win the series and make some noise in next week’s SEC Tournament, but there’s no doubt NCAA Tournament play is ahead.

This evening’s 7 o’clock game is on ESPN2. Friday’s 6 p.m. contest is on SEC Network+ and the series finale Saturday at 1 is on SEC Network.

GRAMBLING: The Tigers (22-27, 17-10) could get to 20 Southwestern Athletic Conference wins this weekend with a sweep at UAPB (13-33-1, 9-18), but it’s very unlikely that will be enough to win the Western Division crown. Southern (18-9 in the SWAC) plays pathetic Alcorn State (2-25).

In Pine Bluff, the opener is at 3 today. Friday’s game starts at 2 and Saturday’s finale is at 1.

ULM: The Warhawks host Arkansas State in a battle that could give the winner a spot in the 10-team Sun Belt Conference Tournament. ULM (16-34-1, 6-20-1) is in 11th place and Arkansas State (11-35, 5-21) is a game back. Games start at 6 tonight and Friday, and at 1 on Saturday in Monroe.

Photo by CHRIS REICH, Northwestern State

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Road trip to Tensas doesn’t disappoint

/ Megan Lowe

Two years ago when I visited the Tensas National Wildlife Refuge in Madison Parish for the first time, I hoped to see a bear. It didn’t happen but I saw enough and triggered the interest in my wife sufficiently that she wanted to go see this remarkable place.

A year later, it all came together when we were invited by my friend and regular Tensas visitor, Dr. Terry Jones, for the trip over to tour the refuge which touches parts of three parishes, Madison, Tensas and Franklin.

This special part of our state has a fascinating history. Founded in 1980 to preserve one of the largest privately owned tracts of bottomland hardwoods remaining in the Mississippi River delta, the refuge encompasses some 80,000 acres of pure swampy bottomland hardwood majesty. This type of habitat once covered 25 million acres, the majority of which over the years was cleared to make way for farmland, the rich soils being the major attraction.

Today, these same rich soils support some 400 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. The largest population of the threatened Louisiana black bears live here. Tantalizing too is the fact that the last verified sighting of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, now believed to be extinct, was in 1940 on the area that now makes up the Tensas National Wildlife Refuge.

With that bit of history laid out, now back to this past Monday when we drove over to see what Tensas would show us. She didn’t disappoint.

First, Jones led us to the check station where mandatory forms were completed so refuge managers can keep count of the number of visitors. Then we headed down Mill Road where Jones and I had seen alligators on our previous visit. While not as many as we had seen on our last visit, they were there; we watched five gators paddling easily over the waters of a borrow pit with the largest being maybe 10 feet long.

After photographing the alligators, we reversed course, drove back to the check station where Jones suggested I lead out on a slow drive down Quebec Road, telling us to keep an eye out for “critters.”

“We have sometimes seen bears along this drive,” Jones said as we motored away.

A mile or so down the road, something caught my eye. There was a bear in the roadside ditch maybe 10 feet from the car. She ascended the shallow bank and stopped next to a large tree. My wife and watched spellbound as two tiny bear cubs followed her up the bank. Our cameras and those of Jones, who had pulled to a stop behind me, were busy photographing the bear and her little ones.

They remained in the same spot as we drove off down the road talking about how fortunate we were to see such a sight. Turning around half an hour later and returning to the spot, lo and behold, the trio of bears was still there.

We got to watch one of the little guys climb a few yards up the tree for a better look, with our cameras snapping away and disrupting their afternoon of doing whatever they were doing when we spotted them.

Finally, mama bear had had enough of all the attention. She glared at us sitting in our vehicles 20 steps away from her, then rushed forward a few feet making a “huff, huff” sound.

We got the message. We had gotten to witness what we came to see and drove away leaving the bears to themselves but left with memories we won’t soon forget.

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Tech’s Murphy struggles in final round of NCAA regional

/ Megan Lowe

CAPPING HIS COLLEGE DAYS:  Louisiana Tech’s Sam Murphy contended for a spot at the NCAA national championships, but faded from contention Wednesday at the regionals.

JOURNAL SPORTS

NORMAN, Okla. – Louisiana Tech golfer Sam Murphy faded from contention Wednesday and finished tied for 23rd in the 2022 NCAA Norman Regional, shooting a 76 (+4) to end the tournament at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.

Murphy had his toughest day in the closing round, carding a final 70-71-76 (217) three-round series in the regional. He notched just two birdies in his final round on a hot and humid afternoon. 

The front nine was a tough stretch for the fifth-year senior.  He was 4-over after seven holes, following a double bogey, and afterward managed only two birdies while picking up two more bogies.

Murphy played the last seven holes at -1 with the birdie coming on the 594-yard Par 5 No. 13 when he made it on the green in two after hitting his three-wood second shot 289 yards into the wind. 

“It was tough to watch Sam struggle,” said coach Matt Terry. “You are going to make mistakes and fail.  Other than a couple of shots early and one swing on the back nine, he hit it really well today. Overall, the tournament was fantastic for him.  He presented himself well on a national stage.”

Murphy was disappointed with the closing round but proud of being tied for eighth entering the final day, and his overall finish.

“I was not very good today.  I hit it about the same as I did yesterday, but I made some mistakes early,” he said. “I was too worried about what the end result was going to be instead of just hitting the shot.  It was good to learn from it.  I hated this round being the last of my college career.  Tying for 23rd in that kind of field is not terrible. All in all, it was a great experience.”

Photo by KANE McGUIRE, Louisiana Tech

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TODAY’S SCHEDULE: LSUS, NSU in postseason action

/ Megan Lowe

Thursday

College Baseball

Grambling State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 3 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at Charlotte, 5 p.m.
Arkansas State at ULM, 6 p.m.
LSU at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.

NAIA National Tournament

Loyola vs. LSUS, 11 a.m.

Southland Conference Tournament at Lake Charles

Northwestern State vs. Nicholls State, 1 p.m.

Friday

College Baseball

Grambling State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 2 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at Charlotte, 5 p.m.
Arkansas State at ULM, 6 p.m.
LSU at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m.

Southland Conference Tournament at Lake Charles

Northwestern State vs. McNeese or UIW

NCAA Division III National Tournament

Centenary at LaGrange (Ga.), 10 a.m.

Note: The above schedule is subject to cancellations or reschedule

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Notice of Death – May 18, 2022

/ NPJ

Cherron Ann Frasier Landrum
September 27, 1947 – April 23, 2022
Services: Friday, June 17, 2022 at 4pm at Mission Point Baptist Church in Stonewall, LA.

Alfred C. Mosley
April 14, 1957 ~ May 17, 2022
Visitation: Saturday May 21, 2022 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM Lake Bethlehem Baptist Church 2842 Martin Luther King Drive Shreveport
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 9:00 AM Lake Bethlehem Baptist Church 2842 Martin Luther King Drive Shreveport

R. Justine Kearney
February 2, 1943 – May 15, 2022
Visitation: 11:30 a.m. until time of service
Services: Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 12:30 p.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport

Polan Wayne Hayes, Jr.
November 14, 1942 – May 17, 2022
Visitation: Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall Street, Shreveport, Louisiana, Thursday, May 19, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.
Services: graveside service to immediately follow at 12:00 p.m. in Forest Park West Cemetery, 4000 Meriweather Road, Shreveport

Antonio Alexander
June 2, 1968 ~ May 8, 2022
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 10:00 AM Bright Star MB.C. 2415 Hearne Ave Shreveport

Linda Faye Watson
December 1, 1948 ~ May 11, 2022
Visitation: 11 to 6 p.m., Friday at Heavenly Gates
Services: 11 a.m., Saturday, May 21, 2022 in the Chapel of Heavenly Gates 1339 Jewell st Shreveport

Ruthie Herndon Anderson-Lewis
March 21, 1924 ~ May 15, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 20, 2022 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM Mount Bethel #2 Baptist Church Keithville
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 11:00 AM Mount Bethel #2 Baptist Church Keithville

Henry Turner
March 5, 1957 ~ May 12, 2022
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 12:00 PM New Bethel MBC 3300 Greenwood Rd Shreveport

Velencia Thomas
February 22, 1932 ~ May 9, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 20, 2022 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM Heavenly Gates 1339 Jewell st Shreveport
Services: Saturday May 21, 2022 1:00 PM Morning Star Baptist Church 5340 Jewella Avenue Shreveport

Earnestine Meaux
January 1, 1944 ~ May 15, 2022
Visitation: Thursday May 19, 2022 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM Heavenly Gates 1339 Jewell st Shreveport
Services: 11 a.m., Friday, May 20, 2022 at Galilee B.C. 

Sharon Kay Lewis
November 12, 1943 – May 12, 2022
Visitation: Thursday, May 19, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home

Frances Delora Loe Hughes
June 14, 1930 – May 13, 2022
Visitation: 5:00-7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Rose-Neath Southside Funeral Home
Services: Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at the funeral home

Deborah Poland Locke
January 27, 1958 – May 15, 2022
Visitation: beginning at 10:00 a.m. 
Services: Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2500 Southside Dr., Shreveport

James Alvin Savell
October 21, 1948 – May 16, 2022
Visitation: Friday, May 20, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. until service time at the funeral home.
Services: Friday, May 20, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2500 Southside Dr., Shreveport

James Aurther Chandler
December 1, 1944 – May 15, 2022
Services: Friday, May 20, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Forest Park East Cemetery, 3700 St. Vincent Ave., Shreveport

Pearl Pauline Parmer
July 6, 1932 – May 12, 2022
Visitation: 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2022 at Rose-Neath Funeral Home
Services: 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 21, 2022 at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2201 Airline Drive Bossier City,

Jimmie Bradford McCullough, Jr.
January 24, 1955 – May 10, 2022
Visitation: 10:00 a.m. until the time of service
Services: June 11, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at the ­­­­­­­­Rose-Neath Funeral, 2500 Southside Dr., Shreveport, Louisiana

Vonilla Jean Buck Princehouse
June 30, 1925 – May 8, 2022
Visitation: 1:00 p.m. until service time, Thursday afternoon in the parlor of the church.
Services: 2:00 p.m., Thursday, May 19, 2022, in the sanctuary of Broadmoor United Methodist Church

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SPOTLIGHT: Haughton’s Anderson, Calvary’s Legg top SBJ All-Metro baseball team

/ Megan Lowe

JOURNAL STAFF

Haughton coach Glenn Maynor didn’t have to look far to find someone to fill the hole caused by graduation to his pitching staff. He had the perfect replacement ready to go in Austin Anderson.

“Last year he was strictly a reliever and he did a great job with that,” said Maynor. “This year, we needed him to start games and he accepted that challenge and did a great job.”

Anderson, a junior, was 9-2 with a 1.72 ERA for the Bucs with 77 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched. But he did more than that, which is why he is the Outstanding Player on The Journal’s 2022 All-Metro baseball team.

“Throughout district, he was our best hitter and best pitcher,” Maynor said. “Obviously, he meant a lot to our team. Especially in the second half of the year, he was crushing it.”

When he wasn’t pitching, Anderson played first base and batted .398 with 12 doubles, one home run and 30 RBI.

The Coach of the Year is Calvary’s Jason Legg, who led the Cavaliers to a Division IV state championship in his first year as head coach.

Legg put together a schedule for Calvary that had them prepared for the state championship run, playing 12 games against Class 5A teams (the Cavs were 6-6 in those games). In addition to tough competition, the Cavs overcame adversity: they lost two starters to injury during the season and had another starter knocked out of the state semifinal game.

“I thought when we started (the season) that we could do what we accomplished this year,” Legg said. “We signed up for rings in week one and that wasn’t just coachspeak. I really believed it.”

Also considered for Coach of the Year was Northwood’s Austin Alexander, who led the Falcons to their first quarterfinal appearance since 2005 with a team that featured three freshman pitchers.

Four Cavaliers join Legg on the All-Metro team – senior pitcher Blaine Rogers, senior designated hitter Cody VanNoppen, senior shortstop Caden Flowers and sophomore outfielder Aubrey Hermes.

Only half of the players on the 16-player team are seniors.

Eight Shreveport-Bossier coaches, along with two local baseball observers, were invited to nominate and participate in selecting the Journal All-Metro team. The team was limited to one player at each standard position, plus a pitching staff consisting of four starters and a relief pitcher. Two utility players were chosen, based on having split time as both a pitcher and a position player.

The “Best of the Rest” is for those who were given strong consideration for the first team. The 11 selections were not chosen by position.

2022 SBJ ALL-METRO BASEBALL TEAM

Catcher – Zach Schoenborn, Parkway (Jr.)

First Base – Patrick Snead, Byrd (Sr.)

Second Base – Blake Fant, Captain Shreve (Sr.)

Shortstop – Caden Flowers, Calvary (Sr.)

Third Base – Harrison Waxley, Airline (Sr.)

Outfield – Tucker McCabe, Northwood (So.)

Outfield – Aubrey Hermes, Calvary (So.)

Outfield – Colin Rains, Haughton (Jr.)

Designated Hitter – Cody VanNoppen, Calvary (Sr.)

Pitcher – Austin Anderson, Haughton (Jr.)

Pitcher – Sawyer Simmons, Benton (Jr.)

Pitcher – William Soignier, Loyola (Sr.)

Pitcher – Blaine Rogers, Calvary (Sr.)

Relief Pitcher – Cale Latimer, Benton (Jr.)

Utility – Cade Josting, Parkway (Sr.)

Utility – Jaxon Bentzler, Northwood (Fr.)

Outstanding Player – Austin Anderson, Haughton

Coach of the Year – Jason Legg, Calvary

BEST OF THE REST

Christian Blackmon, Northwood (Fr.)

Jack Carlisle, Northwood (Fr.)

Reagan Coyle, Loyola (Soph.)

David Favrot, Byrd (Sr.)

Peyton Fulghum, Evangel (So.)

Trenton Lape, Parkway (Jr.)

Kennon Lauterbach, Benton (Jr.)

Chan Lytle, Haughton (Sr.)

Mason Morgan, Airline (Jr.)

Davin Watkins, Southwood (Sr.)

Carter White, Airline (Soph.)

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A country boy’s music can survive

/ NPJ

Conway Twitty was regretfully low-growling to a woman about how she was standing on a bridge that just won’t burn.

Ronnie Milsap was having daydreams about night things in the middle of the afternoon, somebody with not much sense was making Crystal Gayle’s brown eyes blue, and Barbara Mandrell was singing about sleeping single in a double bed, a situation difficult for a boy like me to contemplate, especially if you’ve ever seen Barbara Mandrell in person, which I did several times in the 1980s.

Country musically, it was a simpler time, a time I thought was forgotten until last week’s effort about the mournful passing of the entertaining singer and keyboard wizard Mickey Gilley at 86 prompted grateful mail that I am still answering. I thought the last fan of the Urban Cowboy music era had been stored away in some dusty attic, like the unwanted steel guitar and dobro.

Wrong. There are apparently more out there like me who wonder what happened to “our” music and have a hard time listening to anything past 1985 billed as “country.” Oh, every now and then a Toby Keith has squeaked in an “I’m Just Talkin’ ’Bout Tonight.” Travis Tritt got “Bible Belt” and “10 Feet Tall And Bulletproof” past the guardians of what passes for today’s country.

And thank goodness the new-schoolers weren’t looking when Lee Ann Womack showed up singing about how she should be ashes by now and also that she was a little past Little Rock but a long way from over you, (something “you” should be ashamed of).

It’s like the Statler Brothers sang when they sensed the sands shifting those hard-to-believe 35ish years ago: “I’ll tell you friend/a mandolin/won’t get you on a TV show/…whoa no…”

But there was a magical time, a bit after the Glory Days of George Jones and Johnny Cash, Mighty Merle and Roger Miller and Tammy Whynot (oops; typo?), Loretta Lynn, Jeannie Seely and Marty Robbins, all the fastball pitchers of my pre-driving days. After them came Gilley and the Gang, Country Music’s last stand.

Gene Watson picked the wildwood flower. Rosanne Cash explained the way we make a broken heart, and Rodney Crowell said she was crazy for leaving, a No. 1 song written by the great Guy Clark.

The Judds had to explain to momma that he was crazy. Don Williams was livin’ on Tulsa time, Keith Whitley was no stranger to the rain, all George Strait’s exes lived in Texas, and Emmylou Harris, the female standard bearer in this bureau, said she’d walk all the way from Boulder to Birmingham if she just had two more bottles of wine, and thank you Delbert McClinton for writing that.

Alabama. Wow. Nothing quite like old Alabama and old flames and Dixieland delights. The pre-Elvira Oak Ridge Boys in the Y’all Come Back Saloon. Janie Frickie was down to her last broken heart, and Con Hunley (“You Lay A Whole Lotta Love On Me”), Earl Thomas Conley (“Heavenly Bodies”) and John Conlee (“I Don’t Remember Lovin’ You”) had sound-alike names but sound-different-but-top-shelf hits.

The Bellamy Brothers. The dynamic Ricky Skaggs, who begged his girl not to cheat in their hometown or he’d tell Uncle Pen. Juice Newton, the queen of hearts. Vern Gosdin, who just wanted Joe to set ’em up and play “Walkin’ The Floor.” Not too much to ask, right?

Kenny gambling and Dolly warning me that it was going to be a hard candy Christmas unless I worked 9 to 5, and together they were islands in the stream.

Marshall Tucker. Charlie Daniels. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and “An American Dream.” And Sir Edward Rabbitt, who loved him on a rainy night and some rocky mountain music.

Two heavyweights were 1) Willie and the geographically challenging, ever-moving whiskey river, and 2) Waylon warning mommas not to let their babies grow up to be cowboys.

But if they did, well, that was OK too. Because Hank “Bocephus” Jr. said country folk and cowboy folk can survive … back when they were playing our song.

I’ll go punch up the next five tunes. . .Anybody got a quarter? A solid? Anyone?

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu

To report an issue or typo with this article – CLICK HERE

Pilots rebound for win, play today at 11 in NAIA’s Shreveport Bracket

/ NPJ

BACK ON TRACK: LSUS halted a three-game losing skid Tuesday night with error-free defense and a two-run home run by third baseman Julian Flores as part of the winning formula in an elimination-round victory in the Shreveport Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round tournament.

JOURNAL SPORTS

A five-run third inning put LSUS in control, then good pitching and improved defense kept the Pilots there Tuesday night in a 10-2 win over Science and Arts of Oklahoma to cap the second day of the Shreveport Bracket in the NAIA Opening Round baseball tournament at Pilots Field.

LSUS drew 11 walks and benefitted by five errors from Science and Arts (36-15). Kevin Miranda improved to 12-1 on the mound for the Pilots while fanning five in his five innings of work.

The Pilots used a bases-loaded balk, a sacrifice fly by Allbrey Major and a run-scoring error to get untracked in the third inning, and capped their outburst with a two-run homer by Julian Flores.

LSUS (48-6) halted a three-game losing skid that included a stunning 7-4 loss Monday night to Loyola of New Orleans in the Pilots’ first tournament game. The Pilots were error-free against the Drovers Tuesday after making three errors in Monday’s defeat.

Today at 11 a.m., LSUS resumes its effort to battle out of the elimination round and back into contention for an NAIA World Series berth next week, meeting Lyon.

Lyon was a first-day winner but fell 9-5 Tuesday afternoon to Loyola.

Science and Arts survived its first challenge Tuesday with a 13-2 triumph that sent Fisher home.

Photo courtesy LSUS Athletics

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