Month: May 2022

OBIT: William Terry Monday

/ JSLLC

A memorial service will be held for William Terry Monday at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 27, on the A.A. Fredricks Stage in the Performing Arts Center of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. Monday, age 70, passed away March 17, 2022, at his home in Jacksonville, Florida.

Terry Monday was born November 5, 1951, in Shreveport, Louisiana, to William Horace Monday and Billie Sue Nelson Monday. Terry graduated Fair Park High School in 1969, and attended NSU, earning a BA in Speech and Journalism Education in 1975, and an MA in Speech and Theatre in 1981. While at NSU, Terry was the President of Tau Kappa Epsilon Social Fraternity and a photographer for the Current Sauce campus newspaper. Monday was a member of the University Players and Alpha Psi Omega Drama Fraternity.
Following graduation Terry toured with a children’s theatre group and several Broadway productions before relocating to Jacksonville and his life’s work, teaching technical theatre at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. He also was a member of the International Alliance of Theatre and Stage Employees Local 115.
Terry was an integral part in the formative years for several generations of theatre lovers. His passion for the arts and teaching helped his students build careers as stage managers, producers, designers, and technicians on Broadway and beyond. Students that did not find their way in the theatre were motivated by the pride in effort and strong work ethic he instilled in them.

After teaching for 25 years at DASOTA, he leaves a legacy of students, artisans and technicians to carry the mantra of his teaching, “Work hard, do your best, be proud.” Terry’s passion for the arts, music, gardening, his cats, and BMW motorcycles could always bring a colorful story, memory, or life lesson.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his younger sister, Kathie Monday Driver (Albert Richard “Dick” Driver, Jr.). He is survived by his nieces, Danielle Driver Roussel (Paul), Deann Driver, and Darcy Driver, grandnephew Sutton Driver, and grandniece MacKayla Milczarski, as well as numerous cousins and relatives in the Shreveport metro area.

In lieu of flowers, you may contact the NSU Alumni Association to make a donation to the Creative and Performing Arts Fund.

Notice of Death – May 24, 2022

/ JSLLC

Joseph C. Tauzin, Jr.
September 23, 1936 – May 14, 2022
Visitation: Thursday, May 26th from 5:00pm-7:00pm at St. Jude Catholic Church located in Benton
Services: St. Jude Catholic Church on Friday, May 27th at 1:00pm

Celia Mae Hamilton
August 20, 1925 ~ May 17, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 27, 2022 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Winnfield Funeral Home – Shreveport 3701 Hollywood Avenue
Services: Friday May 27, 2022 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM Winnfield Funeral Home – Shreveport 3701 Hollywood Avenue

Clotiel Craig
November 28, 1938 ~ May 20, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 27, 2022 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Winnfield Funeral Home – Shreveport 3701 Hollywood Avenue
Services: Saturday May 28, 2022 1:00 PM Winnfield Funeral Home – Shreveport 3701 Hollywood Avenue

Madgie D. Hill
March 1, 1937 ~ May 21, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 27, 2022 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Winnfield Funeral Home – Shreveport 3701 Hollywood Avenue
Services: Saturday May 28, 2022 11:00 AM Carver Memorial Park Cemetery 498 Kennie Road

Lois J. (Smith) Walker
June 28, 1938 ~ May 22, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 27, 2022 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Winnfield Funeral Home – Shreveport 3701 Hollywood Avenue
Services: Saturday May 28, 2022 11:00 AM Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery 6915 W. 70th Street

Ashley Jane Fuller
January 10, 1987 – May 16, 2022
Services: Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 11am at Jenkins Community Cemetery

Bobette “Bobbye” Goodman
February 25, 1931 – May 24, 2022
Services: Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. at B’nai Zion Congregation, 245 Southfield Rd., Shreveport

Randall “Randy” B. Shovan
April 12, 1961 – May 21, 2022
Services: Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at Forest Park East Cemetery, 3700 St. Vincent Ave., Shreveport

Lois J. Walker
June 28, 1938 ~ May 22, 2022
Visitation: Friday June 3, 2022 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Winnfield Funeral Home – Shreveport 3701 Hollywood Avenue
Services: Saturday June 4, 2022 11:00 AM Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery 6915 W. 70th Street Shreveport

Johnny Lee
November 12, 1950 ~ May 16, 2022
Visitation: 11 to 6 p.m., Friday at Heavenly Gates
Services: 11 a.m., Saturday, May 28, 2022 at Genesis A M E Church, 6203 Singletary St.

Forrest Lamette
February 26, 1960 ~ May 20, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 27, 2022 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM Heavenly Gates
Services: 11 a.m., Saturday, May 28, 2022 in the Chapel of Heavenly Gates

Thomas K. Scott, Jr.
August 2, 1932 ~ May 16, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 27, 2022 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM Heavenly Gates
Services: Saturday May 28, 2022 11:00 AM New Elizabeth Baptist Church 2332 Jewella Avenue Shreveport

John Troupe Dark
August 17, 1956 – May 19, 2022
Visitation: 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at Rose-Neath Funeral Home
Services: 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 26, 2022, at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2201 Airline Drive, Bossier City

Diana Mae Dupin Thibodeaux
August 23, 1939 – May 8, 2022
Visitation: Wednesday, May 25, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Services:  Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport

Jim Guy Gibson
August 24, 1926 – May 19, 2022
Visitation: Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport
Services: Friday, May 27, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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

SPOTLIGHT: Broadcaster Dave Nitz takes a well-earned bow in Sioux City

/ Megan Lowe
IS THIS HEAVEN?:  No, it’s Iowa, where the Sioux City Explorers minor league baseball team honored Haughton resident and iconic Louisiana Tech broadcaster Dave Nitz (middle) last week for his years of broadcasting their games.

By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Journal Sports

Dora the Explorer has nothing on “Freeway Dave.”

Over the course of a 48-year career serving as a radio broadcaster for Louisiana Tech combined with 16 years of doing the same on the minor league level, Dave Nitz earned the nickname of “Freeway Dave.”

That’s partly because the longtime Haughton resident did a lot of driving himself across the country, especially broadcasting for minor league teams.

Nitz’s last minor league job was announcing games for the Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers from 2009-17, with the team mascot seeming especially appropriate for a man nicknamed “Freeway Dave.” 

Last Tuesday Nitz got to explore Sioux City for the first time in five years as he was invited up to participate in Opening Day First Pitch ceremonies for the Explorers.

“I guess it’s true that with all of the driving I’ve done, I’ve done a lot of exploring over the years,” Nitz said. “They brought back five of us — me; Ed Nottle, the first Explorers manager (1993-2000), Benny Castillo, the Explorers’ manager in 2001-02; Jay Kirkpatrick, the Explorers’ manager in 2003-04; and Stan Cliburn, the Explorers’ manager from 2011-13.”

The Explorers are part of the American Association League, which is an affiliate of Major League Baseball. The league stretches from Canada to Texas with teams in Winnipeg, Canada; Fargo, North Dakota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Lake County and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; Gary, Indiana; Lincoln, Nebraska; Kansas City, Kansas; Kane County, Illinois; Cleburne, Texas; and Sioux City.

Over the 16 years Nitz broadcast games in five minor league cities. His first was the then Bluefield Orioles in the Appalachian League. Then came Oklahoma City with the Rangers’ AAA organization; in Shreveport with the Captains and the Sports; and one season for a Baton Rouge Independent League team before closing out his minor league career in Sioux City.

“When I was in Sioux City, they furnished me with a car and gas, and apartment and the whole thing,” Nitz said. “I would drive to most of the road games. The only times I didn’t drive was when we traveled to play up in Winnipeg in Canada. It’s only eight hours straight north from Sioux City on Interstate 29, but the broadcaster for Winnipeg warned me about two things if I drove up there. 

“One was to make sure I got gas before crossing the border, because it’s much more expensive in Canada, and if I parked my car in the parking garage at the hotel in downtown Winnipeg, to make sure I don’t leave anything in the car, because apparently late at night a car with out-of-country plates will be broken into. So, I rode the bus to Winnipeg.”

But it wasn’t the same kind of bus trip like the ones he’s taken traveling with the Louisiana Tech baseball team.

“It was a sleeper bus,” Nitz said. “We’d leave Sioux City around midnight and arrive in Winnipeg around 8 in the morning, check into the hotel, sleep a little bit and get to the ballpark around 3 or 4 in the afternoon to begin a three- or four-game series.

“After the last game we’d usually bus back to Sioux City, or sometimes we’d travel on to Fargo, North Dakota, which was on the way about halfway home, right on I-29.”

Nitz admitted that when he traveled for two series in Texas in Cleburne and Grand Prairie, he’d often fly down to the Lone Star state as opposed to driving.

“I’d fly in and get a good deal on an Enterprise rental car, because I worked for Enterprise and had a pretty good deal with them,” Nitz said. “So those Texas road trips weren’t a big deal for me.”

Sometimes Nitz was joined on his road trips.

“Every once in a while, the manager Steve Montgomery and the pitching coach would ride with me,” he said. “They didn’t trust the bus driver a lot of times, I guess, and said that they’d rather ride with me.

“So they’d ride with me, especially on trips home. We’d talk baseball. You learn a lot of things when you’re in a car with somebody like that, talking strategy and all that kind of stuff with guys who’ve been at the professional level.”

As Nitz, a 2019 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee, prepares to broadcast Tech baseball this week in the Conference USA Tournament and hopefully the NCAA regionals next week, he knows what’s coming this summer — lots of down time at home in Haughton.

“I’ve been lost, just to be honest,” Nitz said. “The first year I was back home for the summer, at 4 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon I’d start thinking I need to be at the ballpark getting lineups and doing interviews. 

“Now it’s going out to mow the yard or something like that. I miss it. But I’ve kept up with Sioux City baseball. I broke in the guy who replaced me there as a broadcaster.  So, I guess I’m still exploring through him.”

Story courtesy of the Lincoln Parish Journal

PGA Championship drama: we all picked JT, didn’t we?

/ JSLLC

What kind of major golf championship was THAT?

No defending champion. Stupidity, Phil Mickelson.

No Chilean champion. Audacity, Mito Pereira.

No first-time champion. Step back, Will Zalatoris.

A champion who hit two shots in a row, in the final round, horribly, just like me? Why, salute to one of the best shotmakers in golf, Justin Thomas.

That’s what we got from Tulsa Town, with the 123rd PGA Championship at fabled Southern Hills Country Club.Another one of the PGA Tour’s better shotmakers, Shreveport’s Sam Burns, lurked in hailing distance of the lead Saturday and Sunday, leaving us with anticipation for Father’s Day weekend and the U.S. Open, and many majors to come.

Burns was never quite close enough Sunday to make you think that Shreveport-Bossier might produce another major champion at Southern Hills – or a third Wanamaker Trophy winner, following Hal Sutton (1983) and David Toms (2001). Former local caddie and club pro Tommy Bolt, who moved to Shreveport when he was 6 and dropped out of Byrd High in his sophomore year, won the first major played at Southern Hills, the 1958 U.S. Open, four shots better than a fairly famous foreigner, Gary Player.

Back to Burns for a moment. He’s got the talent and the game and the low-key personality that is comparable to Thomas. After the Calvary Baptist grad and LSU All-American narrowly missed a spot on the 2021 Ryder Cup team, none other than Mickelson, then a USA vice captain, said this:

“Look at Sam Burns, he was inches away from being on (the team). He’ll most likely, definitely, be on the next one. I just don’t see how a guy that talented won’t be.”

There’s one thing, in fact, one of the last things, that Phil’s said that’s easy to understand.

His reprehensible alignment with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf loop starting up with big money appearance guarantees is rooted in his horrific gambling losses and continuing financial stumbles. A guy whose persona has been undeniably charming on the course and in the public eye reportedly blew $40 million betting from 2010-14. Not a crime, but a shame.

It was a shame when he withdrew from playing in Tulsa, not wanting to face the barrage of pointed questions that his battle with the PGA Tour and his dubious decisions warrant. In the aftermath of so much stupidity, Mickelson smartly ducked out of sight. Painful, but prudent. There are really no acceptable answers for Phil the Pariah.

That left the stage open for the impossible – Tiger Woods’ valiant effort to complete on a mangled leg – and the improbable, with a talented but unproven Pereira poised to par the final hole Sunday to take a permanent place in golf history.

But Mito took a baseball swing with his driver, bouncing his tee ball into a creek on the way to a disastrous double bogey, and thrusting Thomas into a playoff with Zalatoris, another young gun on the Tour.

Don’t know if this mattered, but it seems likely. After both players birdied the first extra hole, as Zalatoris tried to match Thomas driving the 17th green, just before he started his swing, in the silence, a siren sounded. Zalatoris didn’t back away and his tee ball nearly finished in a hazard. Thomas birdied again, the upstart parred, and the deal was all but done.

On 18, Thomas hit the perfect drive, the perfect approach, two-putted for par and thanked his lucky stars.

How lucky? He pointed it out immediately. He is surely the first major champ to overcome a dead shank in the final round. One like we hit. Five-iron, dead right off the No. 6 tee on a par-3, 108 yards into a tree. Second shot? Just like us. Off another tree, just seven yards closer, 102 from the pin. Oh, and in a bunker, those traps at Southern Hills that the players griped about all week because the grainy sand made for Okie Roulette.

Then the real JT arrived. A picture-perfect pitching wedge to 18 feet, followed by a laser-guided putt to the cup, for the best bogey he’ll ever make. At the 11th, he was four shots off Pereira’s pace, and 64 feet away from a birdie. He waved his magic wand, drained the putt and dropped the gloves for a fight past the finish.

The chump who shanked on the sixth? Same guy. My kind of champ. Shank you very much.

‘Chaplain Jimmy’ brings spirituality to Louisiana Downs

/ JSLLC
ON A MISSION: Each race day at Louisiana Downs, ‘Chaplain Jimmy’ Sistrunk (middle, back) visits with jockeys at Louisiana Downs, and leads them in a prayer and devotional.

By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Sports

Not long after midnight, the tornado roared.

A tree fell.

And 2-year-old Carly Ortiz was dead.

She had been asleep in her family’s “little trailer,” as Carly’s father, Amaniel, called it.

“In the middle of the night, everything happened,” he remembered.

Four years later, Amaniel still grieves. But time has allowed him to appreciate those who were there when he needed them most.

And appreciate one person, in particular.

“I don’t have no words for how he helped me,” said Amaniel, from Guatemala, in broken English.

“He helped me a lot. I don’t have no words for this guy, all what he done for me and my family.”

“This guy” is Jimmy Sistrunk, better known to pretty much everyone at Louisiana Downs as “Chaplain Jimmy.” For 18 years as the track’s chaplain, he has offered horsemen on the backside —trainers, jockeys, hot walkers and others — the gift of spirituality. In the hours and days after Ortiz’ tragedy, it was a gift that kept on giving.

“He come to visit with me every day,” Ortiz said. “To talk to me. To be with me. He take me to the store. I lost everything. When that happened, I lost everything. Then, I don’t wanna drive. I don’t want to go nowhere. He took me and my wife wherever we needed. To the grocery store. All we had to do, he do for us.”

Chaplain Jimmy sees what he did — and what he does for so many — as part of his calling.

“I had always felt led — really, pulled — toward the mission field,” Chaplain Jimmy said. “I really felt that one day God would take me to a mission field. I always thought it would be across the seas, or in another country. But God brought the mission field to me.”

In the late 1990s, Chaplain Jimmy was helping out with the track’s chaplaincy program, driving an hour each way from his “good job” with a bank in Vivian. When the chaplain left, Jimmy was the popular choice to take over. But the way he saw things, it was someone else’s choice.

Someone high above.

“I tried to make it as difficult as possible, because I wanted to make sure it was God,” Chaplain Jimmy said. “God just kept opening the doors, so finally I went to my boss at the bank. He was a great man. He had racehorses. He said ‘Jimmy, you need to go do what you’re supposed to be doing.’”

Chaplain Jimmy’s full-time work includes giving a daily devotional and prayer, which is heard throughout the barn area. Every race day, an hour before first post, he goes in the jockeys’ room and leads a devotional and prayer. Friday evenings, Chaplain Jimmy conducts a worship service in English and, with help from a translator, Spanish.

“One night at our service, I asked how many nations were represented. There were 13.”

And then there are things like what Chaplain Jimmy did for the Ortiz family, and does for others. Recently, a trainer’s barn burned at his home. He lost some horses. Chaplain Jimmy helped organize a bake sale to raise money.

“The people in the racing industry are some of the most generous people you will ever meet in your life,” Chaplain Jimmy said. “They rally around each other. They give to each other. Whenever one is down, they’re there to help.”

That includes Chaplain Jimmy.

“I don’t work. When you get to do what is your passion, it’s never work. I get the three loves of my life: God, people, and horses. God allows me to have all three, and to work around those three things every day.”

And the hard-working horsemen at Louisiana Downs — many far from home — are thankful for Chaplain Jimmy.

“Every Hispanic on the backside at the racetrack loves Chaplain Jimmy,” Ortiz said, “for all the things he do for us. He do a lot of things for us. If you ask on the backside at the track, everybody loves Chaplain Jimmy.”

And Chaplain Jimmy loves them.

Mr. Menu is an advertising company that produces in-house and take-home menus for locally owned restaurants statewide. The menus are full color, printed on heavy stock paper and provided to the restaurants at no charge. The menus cycle every three to four months and they allow advertisers to speak to the customers of popular locally owned restaurants.

Mike Whitler became the owner/operator of Mr. Menu in 2006, and has since grown the business to include dozens of menus and hundreds of advertisers across the state of Louisiana.

High stakes for all in this week’s conference tourneys

/ Megan Lowe
DOUBLE DOG:  Byrd High product Steele Netterville has shattered Louisiana Tech’s career doubles record. His bat is a key to the Diamond Dogs’ NCAA Tournament aspirations.

JOURNAL STAFF

There’s a lot at stake this week for the NCAA Division I baseball teams of local interest whose seasons culminate in conference tournaments.

Berths in next week’s NCAA Regionals are within reach of LSU, Louisiana Tech, Grambling and even ULM.  The season is finished for Northwestern State, eliminated in last week’s bracket play in the Southland Conference Tournament.

Here’s a look at the NCAA prospects for each of the SBJ’s remaining four clubs.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (38-18, 20-10)

Bulldogs fans in general aren’t barking loudly about the 2022 Diamond Dogs, but they should be. It’s not the 2021 team that was undeniably the greatest in school history, but this Tech club has handled business and finished second in Conference USA behind only nationally-ranked Southern Miss.

Does this team have the Midas touch it did a year ago? No. But there’s plenty of punch, solid defense, good frontline pitching, an excellent closer (Kyle Crigger) and superior coaching by Lane Burroughs and his staff.

Taking two at Charlotte last week was impressive since the 49ers entered that series 11-1 in its last four C-USA weekends. Tech has won 10 of its last 13, five of its last six, and looks very capable.

Regional chances: Should be good. But don’t go two-and-cue this week. Winning twice locks it down.

Chance to host: Jump on the bus, Champ.

C-USA Tournament prospects:  Hoping to prevail in Hattiesburg is a tall order for any team, but being on the other side of the bracket from host USM is prime position to have a shot. Trouble is, even seventh-seeded Charlotte, Tech’s first-round foe Wednesday, is far from an easy out.

LSU Tigers (37-18, 17-13)

When new coach Jay Johnson took over last summer and added plenty of firepower to an already stout returning roster in Baton Rouge, it wasn’t just Tiger fans who expected LSU would be a lock to return to Omaha as a favorite to win the College World Series.  College baseball analysts pegged the Tigers as one of the country’s best.

It hasn’t worked out quite like that. However, just in time, the Tigers looked like that while sweeping Vanderbilt in Nashville last week. 

Vandy brought the nation’s No. 3 RPI into the series but the Tigers brought the lumber. The results have greatly upgraded LSU’s postseason profile.

Regional chances:  No doubt, they’re in.

Chance to host: Doubtful. D1 Baseball has the Tigers taking the No. 2 seed in the Hattiesburg Regional hosted by Conference USA champion Southern Miss. But a strong showing in Hoover at the SEC Tournament could bring baseball back to Alex Box Stadium once more this spring.

SEC Tournament prospects:  LSU’s sweep at Vandy demonstrated these Tigers have the goods. But all season long, they’ve lacked consistency – it was just two weekends ago that Ole Miss limped into Baton Rouge and brought out the brooms. An SEC Tournament crown is far-fetched.

Grambling State Tigers (25-29, 20-10)

The G-Men earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They won 20 – count ’em, 20 – conference games. They’ve got a shot.

Ace Shemar Page can only pitch so often, but he also swings a mean bat. The Tigers can score. The question is, after Page leaves the bump, can they stop the top-flight teams from piling up more runs?

Regional chances:  Must win the tournament.

Chance to host:  None.

SWAC Tournament prospects:  Upsets in the SWAC happen this time of year. Grambling winning would be an upset. But if those bats get crackin’, the Tigers could make a run.

ULM Warhawks (18-34-1, 9-20-1)

The Warhawks are well coached by former USM assistant Michael Federico, who turned around the ULM program quickly in his first four seasons, but this year has been a massive meltdown.

Regional chances:  Must win the tournament.

Chance to host:  None.

SBC Tournament prospects:  Enjoy the time in Montgomery, state capital of Alabama. The Sun Belt will get three teams in the regionals, led by nationally-ranked Texas State, and might sneak a fourth bid if the right squad wins this week. It won’t be ULM, who opens play today.

Photo by TIM SMITH, Louisiana Tech

Free youth football clinic registration underway for June 4 I Bowl event

/ Megan Lowe

JOURNAL SPORTS

The 11th Annual Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Youth Football Clinic is just over two weeks away on Saturday, June 4, and several of the region’s college football programs are set to be represented by coaches at the free clinic.

Louisiana Tech, Northwestern State, Centenary College, Sam Houston State, Southern University-Shreveport and East Texas Baptist University coaches will be on hand to coach the youth.

The clinic will kick off at 8 a.m. on June 4 at Independence Stadium. Coaches from the colleges above, as well as former NFL players, will lead boys and girls from ages five through incoming- eighth graders through drills at the free, non-contact football clinic.

Parents can register their children in advance of the free clinic at RadianceTechnologiesIndependenceBowl.com/youth-football-clinic. Spots for the clinic are limited to 400 participants.

All participants will receive a free lunch following the clinic and a free T-shirt.

Check-in for preregistered participants and registration if space is still available on the morning of the event will begin at 7 a.m. in the southwest entrance of Independence Stadium. The clinic will run from 8 a.m. until approximately 11 a.m.

The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Youth Clinic provides boys and girls with an opportunity to learn football fundamentals by participating in offensive, defensive and special teams drills from some of the best regional college football coaches. Youth will also learn different important fitness techniques and the importance of being physically active.

Sponsors of the 2022 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Youth Football Clinic include Willis-Knighton Health System, First Bossier, Sports World, Little Works in Progress and D1 Training Shreveport.

SCHEDULE: ULM opens tournament with Georgia State

/ Megan Lowe

Tuesday

College Baseball

Sun Belt Tournament (at Montgomery, Alabama)

ULM vs. Georgia State, 3 p.m.

Wednesday

College Baseball

CUSA Tournament (at Hattiesburg, Miss.)

Louisiana Tech vs. Charlotte, 12:30 p.m.

SEC Tournament (at Hoover, Alabama)

LSU vs. Auburn-Kentucky winner, 8 p.m.

SWAC Tournament (Birmingham, Alabama)

Grambling State vs. Bethune-Cookman, noon

Sun Belt Tournament (at Montgomery, Alabama)

ULM vs. TBD (if ULM wins Tuesday)

Note: The above schedule is subject to cancellations or reschedule

Obit: Kristy Cathey Salter

/ JSLLC

September 3, 1954 – May 16, 2022

Krista Kay “Kristy” Cathey Salter, age 67, of Natchitoches, Louisiana, peacefully passed away on May 16, 2022, after a long battle with liver and kidney disease. A private funeral for family and close friends was held to honor her life at Aulds Funeral Home in Shreveport, Louisiana, on May 18, 2022.

Kristy was born on September 3, 1954, to Laris and Era Pullig Cathey. She grew up in Hodge, Louisiana, and graduated from Jonesboro-Hodge High School in 1972. She went on to attend Louisiana Tech University where she was a member of Sigma Kappa sorority.

She is survived by many including her loving and devoted companion, Richard Mutter, of Shreveport, Louisiana; her 93-year-old aunt, Jimmie Lou Carse of Orlando, Florida; her son, Rob Harrell and wife Heather of Marshall, Texas; her daughter, Mary Beth Fair and husband Jack of Natchitoches, Louisiana; her step-children, Lita Hopkins and Scotty Mutter of Shreveport, Louisiana; her favorite cousin, Vicki Carse Rodriguez and husband Jimmie of Orlando, Florida; her sister, Ann Martin and husband Hadley of Ruston, Louisiana; her grandsons, Austin Harrell, Luke Fair, and Beau Fair; and granddaughter, Halle Harrell.

Kristy is preceded in death by her parents; her high school sweetheart and first husband, Robert Ardle Harrell; her second husband of 35 years, John Thomas Salter; her sister, Terri Cathey; and her brother, David Cathey.

Kristy owned and operated her own business for over 35 years which gave her the opportunity to do a great deal of traveling throughout her life. She had many talents and an innate ability to make things around her more beautiful. Whether it was hair styling, applying make-up, painting, crafting, monogramming, sewing, wreath making, or interior decorating, she could do it all.

Kristy loved all things pageants. She assumed the title of Miss Jackson Parish in 1972 and became actively involved in the Miss Louisiana Organization for nearly four decades. She helped contestants prepare for competition, directed many preliminaries including the Miss Super Derby Pageant, and chaperoned several Miss Louisiana winners at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Kristy was also an avid collector of antiques. Some of her most memorable times were with her mother at flea markets, estate sales, and auctions buying Depression glass, vintage treasures, bric-a-brac, and her beloved cookie jars.

Kristy would do anything for those she cherished as family and friends. Her four greatest loves in life were her grandchildren, Austin, Halle, Luke, and Beau, who affectionately referred to her as G-Momma.

Kristy will be fondly remembered for her quick wit and dry humor. Anyone who knew her always had a funny story to tell about their time together.

The family would like to thank the physicians who took wonderful care of her at the John C. McDonald Regional Transplant Center at Willis Knighton in Shreveport, especially her two favorite, Dr. Gazi Zibari and Dr. Veron D. Browne. In honor of her life, please register to be an organ donor in Louisiana at lopa.org or donatelifela.org.

Notice of Death – May 23, 2022

/ JSLLC

Joseph C. Tauzin, Jr.
September 23, 1936 – May 14, 2022
Visitation: Thursday, May 26th from 5:00pm-7:00pm at St. Jude Catholic Church located in Benton
Services: St. Jude Catholic Church on Friday, May 27th at 1:00pm

Randall “Randy” B. Shovan
April 12, 1961 – May 21, 2022
Services: Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at Forest Park East Cemetery, 3700 St. Vincent Ave., Shreveport

Lois J. Walker
June 28, 1938 ~ May 22, 2022
Visitation: Friday June 3, 2022 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Winnfield Funeral Home – Shreveport 3701 Hollywood Avenue
Services: Saturday June 4, 2022 11:00 AM Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery 6915 W. 70th Street Shreveport

Johnny Lee
November 12, 1950 ~ May 16, 2022
Visitation: 11 to 6 p.m., Friday at Heavenly Gates
Services: 11 a.m., Saturday, May 28, 2022 at Genesis A M E Church, 6203 Singletary St.

Forrest Lamette
February 26, 1960 ~ May 20, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 27, 2022 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM Heavenly Gates
Services: 11 a.m., Saturday, May 28, 2022 in the Chapel of Heavenly Gates

Thomas K. Scott, Jr.
August 2, 1932 ~ May 16, 2022
Visitation: Friday May 27, 2022 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM Heavenly Gates
Services: Saturday May 28, 2022 11:00 AM New Elizabeth Baptist Church 2332 Jewella Avenue Shreveport

John Troupe Dark
August 17, 1956 – May 19, 2022
Visitation: 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at Rose-Neath Funeral Home
Services: 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 26, 2022, at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2201 Airline Drive, Bossier City

Diana Mae Dupin Thibodeaux
August 23, 1939 – May 8, 2022
Visitation: Wednesday, May 25, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Services:  Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport

Jim Guy Gibson
August 24, 1926 – May 19, 2022
Visitation: Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport
Services: Friday, May 27, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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

SPOTLIGHT: City Am champs didn’t need to rally to win

/ JSLLC
HOISTING HARDWARE: Walking away as winners of the City Amateur golf championships Sunday evening were Chris Baker (left) and Byrd High sophomore Grant Reagan.

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

They talk a lot about golfers “sleeping on the lead” on the night leading up to the final round of a tournament. There’s the idea that the leader has a whole lot of time to think about what could happen, both good and bad, before they show up on the first tee the next day.

Chris Baker shot a four-under 68 in the opening round of the 36-hole Greater Shreveport City Amateur Championship on Saturday to lead the field. But sleeping on a three-stroke lead was not an issue for him.

“We have four kids,” Baker said. “I didn’t have time to think about that. Actually, I didn’t even know until the morning I was leading when they posted the scores.”

Baker made his way around Huntington Park Sunday with a 74, but it was good enough to take a one-stroke win over Patrick Blount to win the medal play title.

Byrd High sophomore Grant Reagan finished third overall but was also the winner of the Junior Division with a 72-72-144. “It’s exciting,” the 16-year-old said. “I’m ready for the summer.”

Meanwhile, Baker will be heading back to work. Actually, it’s Dr. Chris Baker, an anesthesiologist at Christus Highland.

It’s interesting how Baker and Reagan made it to the victory stand. Reagan was part of a Byrd team that won the Division I state championship earlier this month, finishing in the top 10 in the individual competition. Once he gets through final exams this week, he will be off to play in tournaments all summer.

Baker knows all about that life. He once was a star on Captain Shreve’s golf team (he’s a ’98 graduate) before playing collegiately at Louisiana Tech.

Then he stopped playing golf completely. “I didn’t pick up a club for probably 10 years,” he said.

Going through the rigors of medical school and residency doesn’t exactly do wonders to help the short game.

After living in Chicago, Baker and his family moved back to Shreveport. Playing golf at Huntington and Querbes began to rekindle that same interest he had in the game a couple of decades ago.

Now, he will have his name permanently etched on the City Am trophy.

“Yesterday was pretty easy,” Baker said. “Today was a little tougher.”

Certainly the course conditions were. Saturday, Huntington played dry and fast. The overnight rains and cool temperatures made Sunday’s round completely different. (The field was allowed to lift, clean and place due to the conditions.)

Baker was all over the place on the front nine – three birdies and three bogeys – but bogeyed the par 5 11th hole and No. 14.

“I was going the wrong way until 15,” he said. “I got down for a birdie on that par 5 to get back to two (shot lead).”

He didn’t exactly waltz in from there – bogeys on 16 and 18 – but it was enough for the win.

Reagan matched his Saturday 72 with another on Sunday, but said there was a key shot that turned things around.

After consecutive bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8, he hit a 6 iron to a foot away from the pin on No. 9.“That got the momentum going,” he said. “I couldn’t get the putter going early, but I got it going after that.”

Reagan was three under on the last 10 holes and did not have a bogey. “I just kind of figured it out,” he said. “Today was a lot better with the ball striking. Yesterday was better with the putter. It hit it a lot better today. More fairways and greens.”

Photo by JOHN JAMES MARSHALL

My way: Dez Duron follows his heart to nirvana

/ JSLLC

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Dez Duron’s career was at a crossroads. He’d hit Hollywood and pursued mainstream music stardom and then took the stage on the New York theatre scene. He enjoyed the adventures, including a top-8 finish on “The Voice” in 2012, but something was missing.

In his gut, he’d yet to find his calling.

However, during the height of the pandemic, Duron took advantage of the nationwide lockdown and moved back to Shreveport to enjoy family time. During the respite, the guy who was pretty dang good at tossing touchdowns for the Evangel Eagles, wrote song after song and realized he simply couldn’t avoid the fire in his heart.

“I woke up to what I wanted to do,” Duron, 32, told The Journal. “I’m going to release the music I want to release and do it my way.”

Unintentional, but incredibly revealing words.

The process included buying a car and moving to Nashville nearly one year ago to chase the dream of becoming a Crooner — a slow, sentimental approach (think Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra) made popular in the mid-1900s.

After years of singing private events, Duron (with the help of friend and co-creator David Byerley) took residency at the Dream Hotel in Nashville for a show dubbed “Frankly Dez” – a weekly Sinatra-themed show.

“This type of music brings me a lot of joy. I began to embrace it. Now, people are gravitating to this,” Duron said.

The show features a host of Sinatra covers, but showcases Duron’s showmanship and wide-range of ability. He parlays covers of John Legend (“All of Me”) and Michael Jackson (“The Way You Make Me Feel”) with Dez originals, like “Promise Me.”

“I felt the pressure to do mainstream and abandon what I wanted to do originally,” Duron said. “When I moved to New York, I did a musical set in the 1940s. I did five songs and during those four months I grew to love my voice.”

Duron moved the Nashville gig to monthly so “Frankly Dez” could hit the road. Friday, the show stops in Shreveport (the show is semi-private and already sold out). The plan is to also hit cities like Dallas and Miami.

Private events are still on the schedule. Not long ago, Duron sang at the wedding of PGA Tour star Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky.

“It’s been a journey,” said Duron, upon looking back at his teenage years when he had an agent and aimed for a dream that frankly, wasn’t Dez.

It’s clear, Duron’s time managing a huddle and chasing state championships on the gridiron helps him command a stage.

“Singing on stage and playing quarterback are very similar,” Duron said. “You have a plan and then stuff happens. You have to roll with the punches. The pocket is going to break down. It happens during every show.”

Duron is having the time of his life, but admits he may not be the best or second-best singer in the family. The title of a Duron-only “American Idol” or “The Voice” competition would be … his mother.

“I don’t think it gets better than DeAnza,” said Dez, who also has a gig at the Broadway Speakeasy at the Paradise Club in New York City. “She would sing ‘Moon River’ and it would be over for the rest of us.”

The Durons’ love for music has been constant, unwavering and furious.

Holidays at the Durons are spent around a piano.

“It’s heaven for me,” Dez’s father, Denny Duron said. “I sit as quiet as a mouse and just record it all with my phone.”

Back in the day, the Durons were a modern-day Partridge Family.

“With evangelists as parents, we were loaded in a 16-passenger van driving across the country,” said Dez, the fourth of six children. “This was before iPads. We were bonding over songs my parents had written and the music we grew up on — Abba, Celine Dion, Huey Lewis and the Beatles.

“That was our childhood.”

“Frankly Dez” recently featured Dez’s sister DawnChere (a founder of Vous Church in Miami) as a special guest.

Said Dez: “A huge Sinatra fan, who had seen the show a couple of weeks earlier, came up to me and said, ‘Your sister sings you under the table. You better be glad she decided to be a preacher or you wouldn’t have a job.’”

The Duron lineup, from top to bottom, is loaded.

“The only thing that differentiates us is that I was willing to sleep on couches for six years to stay in it,” Dez said.

Bigger thrill, making a run at a state championship or nailing a performance on stage?

“The community aspect of sports is unmatched, but it’s a similar feeling with a band,” Duron said. “The best part of performing is when you get lost in the moment of a performance and you just drop in — with the crowd, with the band. It’s a nirvana of sorts.”

Especially when you do it your way.

LSUS to start NAIA World Series on Friday

/ Megan Lowe
JUBILATION:  The LSUS Pilots celebrated their walk-off, extra-inning win over Loyola at home last Thursday to earn an NAIA World Series berth. 

JOURNAL STAFF

The LSUS Pilots baseball team played five games in four days to survive the Shreveport Bracket and earn a return trip to the Avista NAIA World Seriers, but won’t have to rush to be ready for its first-round competition.

Action starts Friday as No. 4 seed LSUS takes on No. 5 seed Bellevue at 1:30 p.m. in Lewiston, Idaho.

The Pilots (51-6) fought through the loser’s bracket of their own regional. A 10th-inning, two-out walk-off Jaylin Turner home run Thursday lifted LSUS past Loyola (New Orleans) to send the program to its fifth World Series.

Bellevue (48-11) needed the if-necessary game in its own regional, bouncing back from a 16-2 loss to Concordia to score a 5-2 victory to go to the program’s 15th World Series.

Photo by JOHN JAMES MARSHALL

Gents baseball season ends in Georgia

/ Megan Lowe

JOURNAL STAFF

Centenary’s baseball season came to an end on Saturday as the Diamond Gents lost game three 14-9 to No. 4 ranked LaGrange College of Georgia and dropped the best-of-five series at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium.

The Gents season ended with a 27-19 record at their second trip to the Division III Baseball Championship.

LaGrange (40-6) won the first two games of the series Friday, 7-3 in game one and rallied for a 9-7 win in game two. 

Centenary scored a run in the first inning of Saturday’s game three and four more in the fourth for a 5-0 lead going to the bottom of the fourth. The Panthers got cranked up with three runs in the fourth and took the lead 7-5 with four more in the fifth. They continued to score in each of the next three innings.

Centenary outhit the hosts 17-15 with Brady Robinson, Gary Hewitt and Noah Koehmstedt all registering three hits. Hewitt and Tyler Welch (2 hits) had doubles.

In Friday’s first game Gent hurler Tyler Herrera (7-1) suffered his only loss on the season despite allowing just three earned runs in six and 2/3 innings. Ben Bridges had a single and home run and drove in two runs. He was joined by Welch, Preston Ludwick and Tyler Erickson all with two hits.

The Gents took a 7-4 lead into the eighth inning of game two when LaGrange got two runs in the eighth and erased a 7-6 deficit to score three more in the ninth to pull out the win.

Again, Centenary was not short on hits with 11 and four finished with multiple. Welch, Robinson, Hewitt and John Beaudion all had two with Erickson and Beaudion getting doubles.

Parker Primeaux (9-6) suffered the loss on the mound for the Gents.

Burns posts first top 20 in a major

/ JSLLC

JOURNAL STAFF

Shreveport native and Calvary Baptist graduate Sam Burns flirted with a top 10 finish Sunday at the PGA Championship in Tulsa, and despite bogeys on the final two holes posted his best-yet finish in a major championship.

His closing 72 left him six shots back of the top score, shared by playoff winner Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris. Burns, winner of two PGA Tour events already this season, shot 71-67-71-72 – 281 and collected a $191,250 paycheck.

Burns made four birdies Sunday, but six bogeys – four on the front nine. He rallied with birdies on the par-5 13th hole and the par-4 15th to move into a tie for eighth place at 1-under, but bogeyed 17 (the second-easiest hole Sunday) and 18 (the toughest hole in the final round).

The finish moved him to sixth place on the Tour’s money list for the season, with $4.6 million.

The 25-year-old former LSU All-American stands third on the Tour’s Fed Ex Cup standings, with his 1,601 points in 15 events trailing only Masters’ champ Scottie Scheffler (2,842) and Players’ champ Cameron Smith (1,603), and just ahead of Thomas (1,568) in fourth place.

 

Weekend Sports Scoreboard

/ Megan Lowe

Friday

College Baseball

Grambling State 18, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 13
LSU 8, Vanderbilt 3
Louisiana Tech 8, Charlotte 3
ULM 13, Arkansas State 7

Southland Conference Tournament

Incarnate Word 14, Northwestern State 10

NCAA Division III National Tournament

LaGrange (Ga.) 7-9, Centenary 3-7

Saturday

College Baseball

Louisiana Tech 14, Charlotte 5
Grambling State 16, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2
ULM 6, Arkansas State 3
LSU 21, Vanderbilt 10

NCAA Division III National Tournament

LaGrange (Ga.) 14, Centenary 9

Sunday

No events scheduled

LSU pounds Vandy, Tech rebounds impressively

/ Megan Lowe
LUCKY 11: Louisiana Tech’s Jorge Corona was a good luck charm for the Bulldogs as they rallied to take two of three, cooling off Charlotte to end the Conference USA regular season. Corona went 8-for-13 in the series.

JOURNAL SPORTS

After suffering its first home sweep at the hands of Ole Miss in program history, LSU made sure to pack its broom along with its bats in a road series at Vanderbilt.

The Tigers embarrassed No. 21 Vanderbilt with wins of 13-2, 8-3 and 21-10 as LSU secured itself the No. 4 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and strengthened its case to host an NCAA Regional.

Brayden Jobert launched two home runs and tied a school-record nine RBI as the Tigers (37-18, 17-13 SEC) completed its first sweep of Vanderbilt in program history.

Jobert crushed a grand slam and a three-run homer to add to a two-RBI double with his grand slam sparking an 11-run, eighth inning to wipe out a 9-7 Commodore (35-19, 14-16 SEC) lead.

“We made some small adjustments this week with Brayden, he went to work with it, and it’s really gratifying to see the results,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “It’s allowed him to connect his bat to his strength, and he’s incredibly strong, so it’s been a great week for him.

“Vanderbilt is the gold standard of college baseball right now, and to come in here and sweep them is something I’m really proud of.”

On Friday, Dylan Crews belted two home runs totaling three RBI to push his season home run total to 20.

LSU won its first series at Vanderbilt dating back to 2005.

The Tigers will begin the SEC Tournament on Wednesday, awaiting the winner of No. 5 seed Auburn and No. 12 seed Kentucky.

LOUISIANA TECH: Byrd High product Jonathan Fincher earned the win Saturday as the Bulldogs completed a series win at Charlotte with a 14-5 victory.

Fincher (7-2) pitched 2 2-3 scoreless relief innings to make sure that Tech’s seven-run first inning stood up.

Taylor Young, who broke Tech’s all-time hits record in the series opener, supplied three RBI to support Wade Elliott’s first-inning grand slam, giving coach Lane Burroughs his 200th win with the program.

After losing the opener Thursday, Tech rallied for an 8-3 win Friday. Charlotte had won 11 of its last 12 conference games entering the series.

The Bulldogs (38-18, 20-10 CUSA) wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the league tournament and will meet Charlotte again in the first round Wednesday at 12:30.

GRAMBLING: The Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division title may have been out of reach as leader Southern swept lowly Alcorn State, but Grambling snatched the second spot in the division by finishing a sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Tigers (25-29, 20-10 SWAC) handled business with wins of 18-13 and 16-2.

Friday, GSU dug out of a seven-run hole and ended the game on a 13-1 run. On Saturday, it was all G-Men as they put up a 10-run fourth inning highlighted by a Terry Burrell III grand slam.

ULM: The Warhawks earned their first series sweep since early April 2019 as ULM polished off Arkansas State with a 6-3 victory.

ULM (19-34-1, 10-20-1) secured the No. 10 seed in the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Championship and will face No. 7 Georgia State Tuesday in Mobile, Ala.

The Warhawks had dropped seven straight Sun Belt Series and nine consecutive conference games heading into the matchup with the Wolves (11-38, 5-24 Sun Belt), but the Warhawks get the sweep with wins of 16-9, 13-7 and 6-3 in the finale.

ULM weathered deficits of five and three runs in the first innings Thursday and Friday before methodically building a lead Saturday.

NORTHWESTERN STATE:  The Demons’ season ended Friday with a 14-10 loss to Incarnate Word in an elimination game of the Southland Conference Tournament.

The No. 5 seed Demons (25-29) couldn’t muster enough pitching after starter all-conference arm Johnathan Harmon didn’t survive three innings as No. 8 seed UIW took a 5-2 lead.

The Cardinals feasted on NSU’s bullpen, although the Demons mounted a comeback with seven runs in the final three innings. UIW won 20 games this season – four against NSU, sweeping the Demons in San Antonio last month.

Photo courtesy LOUISIANA TECH

Tigers’ softball season ends in Tempe Regional

/ Megan Lowe
DONE FOR NOW:  Airline product Raelin Chaffin’s freshman season ended Saturday as LSU was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament’s Tempe Regional.

JOURNAL SPORTS

TEMPE, Ariz. – Despite taking an early lead in an elimination game at the Tempe Regional of the NCAA Softball Tournament, the No. 20 LSU Tigers (34-23) couldn’t muster enough offense to get past Cal State Fullerton (37-21) Saturday at Farrington Stadium. After taking an early 2-0 lead, LSU ended its season with a 3-2 loss to the Lady Titans.

Georgia Clark, who registered her 10th multiple-hit game of the season (and second of the tournament), put the Tigers up 2-0 with her two-RBI single in the top of the first inning against Cal State Fullerton. Danieca Coffey and Ciara Briggs had singled and advanced to second and third on Taylor Pleasants’ sacrifice bunt before being driven in by Clark.

The Lady Titans responded in the bottom half of the first with three runs on two hits and one LSU error to grab the 3-2 lead. While the Tigers allowed only five baserunners the rest of the game, they were unable to push across another run despite having five runners in scoring position.

“Obviously, this year did not go how we had planned,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “I think our team is talented, but we just could not overcome some of the distractions and some of the things that happened throughout. It’s not always about talent. This is not where we want to be, or where we plan to be and we plan to use our off-season to find ways to improve so that we’re not in this spot again.”

Junior Ali Kilponen (18-9) tossed a complete game, striking out four and giving up four hits, three runs, and two walks against the Titans. She also picked up the loss in Friday’s game after allowing five hits and five runs in 2.2 innings.

“I was just trying to trust my stuff and defense,” Kilponen said after Saturday’s loss. “I didn’t really throw my best game, honestly, but I know I’m going to be pushing myself this offseason.”

LSU’s 10-5 loss to San Diego State in the regional opener on Friday afternoon put the Lady Tigers in a must-win situation on Saturday. LSU and San Diego State were tied 5-5 after the first three innings, but the Lady Aztecs pulled away with five unanswered runs.

While disappointed in the outcome of the weekend, Torina praised the contribution to the LSU program by seniors Shelby Wickersham, Jordyn Perkins, and Shelbi Sunseri.

“This team was really special in a lot of ways and I’m proud of our three seniors and what they accomplished in their time,” said Torina. “They led our team and were a huge part of everything we did for the last five years.”

Sunseri pitched 3.1 innings in Friday’s game, giving up six hits and five runs.

“I think the standard of our program is to fight and I think that’s what we did all weekend,” said Sunseri. “Every game we were in until the very last out and I think that’s what Tigers are. That’s what we do. That’s what LSU does well. I think you’re going to continue to see that in the years to come.”

Enid outruns Shreveport in first-place showdown

/ Megan Lowe
IN THE FLOW: Mavericks forward AJ Cheeseman (42) got going Friday night, scoring a season-high 24 points in a rout of Waco.

JOURNAL SPORTS

Enid’s frenetic pace was a bit too much for Shreveport to keep up with as the Outlaws outran the Mavericks 139-126 in a battle of The Basketball League Central Division leaders at Centenary’s Gold Dome Saturday night.

Enid ran its win streak to 12 games with the win and its record to 18-3. The loss snapped Shreveport’s win streak at eight and dropped the Mavericks to 18-4.

Shreveport plays again Friday when it travels to Oklahoma to face Potawatomi before clashing with Enid again Saturday.

Shreveport was led in scoring by its top scorers on the season as Paul Parks and Paul Harrison both tallied 26 points. Alanie Moore followed with 18 points, PJ Meyers 16 and Tyrone Jordan 15 on a team-high four 3-pointers. Meyers led the Mavs with seven assists.

Enid got a double-double from Ricardo Artis II who had 33 points and 15 rebounds. Darin Johnson had 31 points and Daylon Guy 27 points. Guy and Kadavion Evans both gave out seven assists and Evans scored 15.

The Mavericks kept pace for a half by shooting 65 percent and trailed by just 72-70. 

But the Outlaws gradually pulled away, building a 16-point lead at 97-81 on a Darin Johnson 3-pointer seven minutes in. Enid led 101-87 after three quarters and built its biggest lead of the game at 116-98.

Shreveport went on a 12-0 run to pull within 116-110 on a DeAndre McIntyre layup with a little more than seven minutes left. McIntyre made one of two free throws a minute later to get the Mavs within 118-113 but that was the closest they got.

A Paul Parks driving layup with four and a half minutes left got Shreveport within six at 123-117. The visitors scored the next six points to move on top 129-117 and the Mavs couldn’t get any closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Shreveport finished the game shooting 56 percent from the field (54-of-96) but hit on only 30 percent of its 3-point attempts (8-of-27). Enid hit 60 percent of its shots (54-of-90) and 42 percent from beyond the arc at 13-of-31.

Friday night, Shreveport had more players score in double figures than Waco dressed out in a 142-105 beating of the Royals.

AJ Cheeseman led eight Mavericks scoring in double-digits with 24 points (a season high) and added nine rebounds. Tavin Cummings scored a point a minute in playing time with 19 points, DeAndre McIntyre scored 16, Paul Harrison 13 and Tyrone Jordan, PJ Meyers and Alanie Moore all had 12. 

The Royals, who had only won one game in their previous 19, stood toe-to-toe with the SMAVS in the early going tying the game 26-26 on a Ruston Hayward bucket with a little less than a minute and a half left in the first quarter.

Shreveport’s depth then took its toll on the outmanned Royals as it pulled away in the second quarter and led 70-53 at the half. Cheeseman had 17 of his 24 in the first two quarters and Jordan and Cummings had 11. 

Waco’s Hayward led all scorers with 34 points, 22 in the first half and finished with a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds. CJ Carter Jr. added 26 for the Royals.

Photo by LEE HILLER

Blue Goose loses heartbreaker against Texas United

/ Megan Lowe
STINGY BLUE GOOSE:  Defender Daniel Burton and his teammates allowed only one goal Saturday night by visiting Texas United.

By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports

 On Saturday, Blue Goose FC gave up a second half goal to lose 1-0 against Texas United. The game was played at Centenary College and evened the home team’s record to 1-1 in US League 2 play.

It was obvious that United had been playing together for a long time. Most of the team had been  together for over three years. Blue Goose, with its 12 days being together, was at a continuity disadvantage in the match.

The first half found Blue Goose on the defensive as United controlled the ball for the majority of the half. Texas United had a game plan of keeping possession, with shorter crisp passes on the ground, with crisscross movement down the field, hoping to create opportunities. It was very effective in creating 6 shots on goal in the half, with Blue Goose keeper Brett Ekperouh, making 6 saves, with 4 being “game changing” type saves. These had the fans exploding with cheers.

Blue Goose managed to get 3 shots on goal, mainly off counters, with one being a high quality chance at goal.

The second half was a different story, Blue Goose came out with a new sense of attack. They pushed the ball towards the United defensive third, unlike anything we had seen in the first 45 minutes. But this aggression only resulted in one shot on goal, while having five that were off target.

In the 60th minute United mounted a counterattack that saw Aoluan Renteria send a cross to an oncoming Emil Jaaskeia, who took a touch, looked up at the keeper and calmly passed the ball into the net.

Blue Goose had a perfect chance to even the score a few minutes later, when Alexios centered a ball at the feet of Juhan Arevalo, whose shot went over the crossbar. There was a huge gasp as the hometown crowd thought the score was about to be tied.

Two local players were subbed into the game in the second half.

Jayson Frink, a 2021 Byrd graduate who now plays at Division II Converse College in South Carolina, came into the game in the 54th minute. He was able to calm down the midfielders, as they were struggling against Paul Roger Henschke, a German who clearly was United’s best player.

“Coach told me to go in and settle everyone down in the midfield,” Frink said. “I felt good about how we started to take control at that point. I only arrived home Sunday morning. Five days is a short time to get used to everyone around me. We will only get better from here.”

Bruno Palmieri, a 2021 graduate of Loyola College Prep, now playing at ETBU, entered the game late in the second half. He provided some much-needed energy to the group, as the humidity was taking its toll on everyone. He also arrived back from college late in the process and will only gain more time as he gets more practice in with the team.

Blue Goose will have an Intersquad game next Saturday at 7 at Mayo Field on Centenary College Campus. Admission is reduced for this event.

Their next league game is in Little Rock, June 1 at 7 p.m.

Notice of Death – May 22, 2022

/ JSLLC

Jim Guy Gibson
August 24, 1926 – May 19, 2022
Visitation: Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport
Services: Friday, May 27, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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

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