Alexandria Senior High and Tioga made it 3-for-3 on Tuesday, claiming the team titles at the Cenla High School Golf League tournament held at Marksville’s Tamahka Trails Golf Club.
ASH’s top four scorers combined to shoot 16-over-par 160 to finish 18 shots ahead of second-place Menard (178). Pineville (179), St. Mary’s (181) and Avoyelles Charter (193) rounded out the top-five team finishes.
ASH’s Aiden Crowell shot 1-over 37 to take home the individual medalist award, finishing one shot ahead of Menard’s Jake Vaughn. It was Crowell’s first victory of the season after finishing second and tied for second in the first two tournaments.
The Trojans placed three of their four top golfers in the top 10 as Jake Hansen finished third with a 39 and Pierce Perry tied for fourth with a 40.
Peter Kautz of St. Mary’s, Brayden Timmer of Tioga and Tristen Cole of Leesville also shot 40 to finish in a tie for fourth. The top 10 was rounded out by Pineville’s Aaron Peoples (41), Menard’s Hunter Vaughn (42) and Pierce Regard of Avoyelles Charter (43).
Tioga’s duo of Maci Sanders and Morgan Goudeau finished 1-2 for the third straight tournament, but Sanders picked up medalist honors for the first time with a 48, two shots ahead of Goudeau, who won the first two tournaments.
Lilly Boyd and Lacy Boyd of St. Mary’s both shot 55 to pace the Lady Tigers to a second-place team finish, while Avoyelles Charter’s Marlee Mayeaux also shot a 55 to tie for third place.
There are two final tournaments on the schedule next week, a nine-hole competition at Northwestern Hills in Natchitoches on Monday followed by an 18-hole contest at Links on the Bayou in Alexandria to finish the regular season.
Coke Dr. Pepper Open first-round leader Johnathon Yoshihiro posted an opening 8 under score Wednesday at Links on the Bayou. (Photo by PAITON HAGA)
By PAITON HAGA
The 2024 All Pro Tour golf season kicked off Wednesday in Alexandria at Links on the Bayou with an electrifying first round at the Coke Dr. Pepper Open.
The day unfolded with a remarkable solo lead for Jonathon Yoshihiro (Yorba Linda, CA). who showcased exceptional skill and composure, and maneuvered through the challenging course with precision. Yoshihiro ended the opening round shooting 8 under par.
In the morning wave, a chill lingered in the air, adding an extra layer of complexity to the game. Players navigated the crisp conditions, adapting their strategies to the changing winds and temperatures. Despite the cold, the morning competitors showcased resilience, setting the stage for a thrilling day of golf.
As the afternoon wave commenced, the sun emerged, casting a warm glow over the course. With the weather becoming more favorable, the intensity of the competition heightened. Players seized the opportunity to capitalize on the improved conditions, delivering exceptional performances and thrilling spectators with their skillful play.
Amidst the shifting dynamics of the day, a two-way tie for second place emerged, adding further excitement to the leaderboard. Tyson Reeder (Edmond, OK) and Chad Sewell (Conroe, TX) both shot 7 under par.
Shreveport pro Phillip Barbaree Jr., a former LSU star, carded an opening 5-under and stands in a tie for eighth. He tees off at 7:45 today.
Alexandria’s Joey Wancewicz shot 3 over and is tied for 101st. He goes off at 9:45 today along with Alexandria amateur Sam Keeton, who finished 6 over Wednesday.
The APT also hosted a pre-qualifying event in conjunction with the Southern Texas PGA for the PGA TOUR’S Texas Houston Open during the afternoon wave of round one. Taking the top four and ties, 79 golfers fought for a chance to play in the qualifier. Yoshihiro, Reeder, Sewell, former Louisiana Tech golfer Sam Murphy and Kyle Hogan (Fort Worth, TX) secured the chance to do just that.
With the leaderboard tightly packed and the competition heating up, the second round will begin at 7:45 a.m. today with players looking to get inside the cut line. The cut will be made to the top 46 and ties.
Spectator access to the Coke Dr. Pepper Open is free to the public. If you cannot make it, follow along on the tour’s socials: Instagram @allprotourgolf Twitter @AllProTourGolf
(Note – the original version of this story incorrectly cited the location of the tournament as Oakwing Golf Club. It is being played at nearby Links on the Bayou.)
Last Sunday I saw it for the first time. At first, I didn’t know where that dust was coming from that I found on the windshield when I crawled behind the wheel preparing to head to church. Then I noticed the light golden color of the tiny flecks of dust. It hit me.
Pollen. Pine pollen.
Glancing at the ends of the branches of the hundreds of loblolly pines in my yard, I saw the swollen buds, locked and loaded to dump their load of aggravating yellow dust with no concern as to where their loads would land.
Pine pollen is produced by male pine cones, just trying out their masculinity I suppose. Some people are allergic to pine pollen, the same people are also likely to have allergic reactions to grass pollen. The culprit for most who experience bouts of hay fever in spring comes from pollen produced and released by oaks, hickories, rag weed and other such plants.
My wife enjoys opening the windows during spring to take advantage of nice comforting breezes. However, once the first bit of pollen is seen, she is not happy because this means she has to wait until pollen season ends in a few weeks to be able to open windows. By then, it’s starting to warm up too much to enjoy the pleasant springtime breezes.
Keeping windows open during pollen season is to invite yellow dust to make itself at home on the couch, chairs, tabletops, carpet, floors et al.
The stuff is indiscriminate; it cares not a bit that when it comes into your home uninvited; it’s like the obnoxious cousin, Randy Quaid in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation who comes to visit with wife and kids disrupting family plans and is in no hurry to leave.
As much as we despise the hated yellow powder, the Internet has discovered and shares a number of reasons why we should give it some love.
Believe it or not, pine pollen has health benefits with research suggesting pine pollen has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It contains a natural anti-depressant that stimulates dopamine levels in the brain.
Wait, here’s more. Pine pollen can help reduce cholesterol levels and improve cardiovascular health. Here’s a good one; pine pollen is especially beneficial for men because it contains high levels of testosterone. It can bolster your immunity to anti-aging as well as reducing fatigue, regulating metabolism, lowering blood pressure and protects the liver.
It can be used for the topical treatment of eczema, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and other dry, itchy, flaky or inflamed skin conditions.
These research sources are suggesting that maybe we should give pine pollen more love because of all its benefits instead of treating it like a bad case of the flu.
As for me, it’s just too hard to create pleasant pictures in my mind of all the nice things this stuff can do while it’s coating my car, my driveway, my porch with that obnoxious yellow dust.
Even with all these good things pine pollen can do, I still don’t like it.
Mushroom Pork Chops are a perfect week night or Sunday dinner choice. I am always looking for a new pork chop recipe as we love them so much. This one is one of our favorites! I love the twist of using chicken broth and beef bouillon in this one. The flavor is absolutely spot on. I hope you love it!
Mushrooms:
3 tablespoons butter
Splash of olive oil
1 flat mushrooms
Pork Chops:
4 pork chops
¼ cup flour
Salt & pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
Gravy:
2 cups chicken broth
1 beef bouillon cube
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/3 cup half & half
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground mustard
½ cup white wine
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
Directions
Pound pork chops with meat tenderizer. Sprinkle with salt.
Assemble gravy: In a bowl with a spout combine broth, bouillon, Worcestershire, half & half, and seasonings for the gravy. Set aside.
In cast iron skillet heat butter and oil for the mushrooms. Cook mushrooms 3-4 minutes. Remove to plate.
Dredge pork chops in flour. Het oil and butter in cast iron skillet. Sear chops 3 minutes each side. Remove pork chops to a plate. Add wine and garlic to same skillet over medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to scrape stuck bits. Add butter and flour. Stir 2 minutes. Add gravy mixture in small splashes whisking continuously. Bring to gentle bubble then reduce to low simmer. Stir in mushrooms and add pork chops back. Cover and let cook until gravy thickens.
Ashley Madden Rowton is a wife, mom and published cookbook author who lives in Minden, La.
Irvin Pearson Fisher September 29, 1942 – March 17, 2024 Service: Thursday, March 21, 2024, 1pm at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Deville.
Russell E. Long March 12, 1946 – March 16, 2024 Service: Friday, March 22, 2024, 1pm at Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Alexandria.
Patsy “Pat” Jo Henigan Rowzee August 7, 1935 – March 15, 2024 Service: Saturday, March 23, 2024, 1pm at Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Pineville.
The Rapides Parish Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or RPJNewsla@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to RPJNewsla@gmail.com)
Jett Miller, 33, is in Rapides lockup under $3,501,500 bail, charged with two murders and two attempted killings.
As of mid-evening Tuesday no details had been released regarding the case.
Miller, whose mailing address is listed as Boyce but who actually lives in the Gardner area, is accused of two counts of murder 2 and two of attempted murder 2. There is also a contempt of court charge.
The alleged murders apparently occurred in the early afternoon, according to booking records.
What the circumstances were, where they occurred, by what means, and who the victims were was not available information through mid-evening Tuesday.
Records indicate Miller was arrested in Rapides on March 28, 2010 and charged with domestic abuse battery strangulation.
A standout among a deep field of accomplished local lifters competing at the LHSAA meet beginning today, Pineville senior McKinzley Thomason is seeded first in the 123-pound weight class for Friday’s Division I Girls Powerlifting State Championships and is projected to break the state composite record for that class. (Submitted photo)
By BRET H. MCCORMICK
The LHSAA Powerlifting State Championships get underway today at the Cajundome in Lafayette, and as usual, Rapides Parish expects to have plenty of lifters competing for championships.
The four-day championships begin with Division IV and V boys competing on Wednesday followed by the Division IV and V girls on Thursday. Division I, II and III girls will battle on Friday, and the state meet concludes on Saturday with the Division I, II and III boys.
Eight Rapides Parish schools will send lifters to the Powerlifting State Championships.
Alexandria Senior High and Pineville will compete in Division I boys and girls. Peabody and Tioga are entered in the Division II boys and girls competition. Buckeye’s boys and girls will compete for the Division III title, while Bolton has a single entry in Division III girls. Glenmora’s boys and girls will lift in the Division IV competition, while Northwood-Lena has two lifters competing in the Division V boys meet.
Teams may qualify up to 11 lifters who compete in 11 different weight classes at the state meet, with no more than two lifters per weight class. Lifters compete at six regional meets across the state, and the top 10 lifters in each division advance to state.
Lifters compete in back squat, bench press and deadlift events with their total weights from each event being combined for a composite total. Team points are awarded to the top six finishers in each weight class on a 7-5-4-3-2-1 format.
Pineville senior McKinzley Thomason will look to leave her name in the state’s record book on Friday following a disappointing 2023 season.
Thomason won the state title in the 105-pound weight class as a freshman in 2021 before moving up a weight class and finishing as the runner-up in the 114-pound class as a sophomore.
However, she injured her shoulder in practice last year and was unable to complete a lift on the bench press at regionals, so she did not qualify for the state meet. She’s looking for some redemption on Friday as she looks to close her career with a second state title.
Thomason enters Friday’s meet as the top seed in the 123-pound class after winning the Central Louisiana regional with a total of 870 pounds. Her regional marks would give her the state composite record for the squat and total combined weight for the 123 class.
Her goals heading into Friday, she said, are to break the state squat (335) and composite (850) records and to break all four state division records – 325 in squat, 190 in bench, 340 in deadlift and 810 composite. The ultimate goal, she added, is to lift a total of 900 pounds.
“I’ve been watching all these records all throughout high school and looking like I can do this and just striving to where I’m at the point in my life where I’m like, you can do it if you just put your mind to it,” Thomason said.
Thomason won’t be the only parish lifter seeking an individual title on Friday as five others enter as No. 1 seeds in their weight classes.
ASH senior Isabella Rachal, the regional champion in the 148-pound class, enters as the top
seed in Division I. Tioga juniors Tamiyah Howard, the regional champion in the 181 class, and Cassidy Vickers (97 class) are top seeds in Division II.
Buckeye, meanwhile, has two regional champions and defending state champions looking to repeat in Division III. Junior Madelyn Marcotte is the top seed in the 97 class, while senior Kylie Dyer is the top seed in the 132 class.
Pineville senior Aniyah Dorn is seeking her first individual state title and is the No. 3 seed in the Division I 165-pound class after finishing as runner-up in the 148 class the past two years.
Buckeye enters as the favorite to claim the team title in Division III, though the Lady Panthers should get stiff competition from Port Allen and Church Point. Buckeye, the runner-up last year, is looking for its sixth state title and first since 2006.
Pineville and ASH are in the hunt to finish on the podium in Division I, though they both are chasing heavy favorite West Monroe, which has all 11 lifters seeded in position to score.
Tioga has a chance at a top-three finish in Division II, though defending champion Lutcher is the overwhelming pick to repeat as all 11 of its lifters are seeded in the top three.
On the boys’ side, Buckeye has the best chance at bringing a team championship back to Rapides Parish. The Panthers, who haven’t had a top-three team finish since 2019, are projected to finish second behind Church Point in Saturday’s Division III meet.
Junior Matthew Ryland, the regional champion in the 198-pound class, and senior Canaan Hoosier (165 class) both enter as top seeds in their weight class.
Tioga junior Ryan Reynolds, the 220-pound regional champion, is the only parish lifter seeded No. 1 in Division II as he looks to lead the Indians to a top-three for the first time since they won the state title in 2021.
Peabody senior Latavion Bullitts, who won a state individual and team title two years ago at Bolton, won the Central Louisiana regional and is the No. 2 seed in the 132-pound class.
Pineville senior Spencer Nichols, the regional champion in the 181-pound class, enters as the second seed and the highest-seeded parish lifter in Division I. Nichols is the best chance for a state title in that division as ASH and Pineville will send five lifters between them.
Buckeye boys and girls powerlifting coach Lacey Hoosier said her teams are excited for the opportunity to compete against the state’s best lifters.
“Both the boys and girls Panther powerlifting teams have trained hard over the past few months to work towards one common goal – reaching the team podium at state,” Hoosier said. “Each of them is unique and contributes in their own way. I believe in my teams and their ability to see this through to the end and know that no matter what, they have learned through this sport.”
More than a decade after Pineville’s Huffman Creek pump station failed in the face of Hurricane Gustav’s onslaught, it’s back to the drawing board for its replacement.
The City Council at its monthly meeting heard consulting engineer Tom David’s update.
Only one bid was received through the November submission date and it was higher than had been anticipated.
Estimated cost for the station and outfall improvements was $7.2 million, most of which is from a Louisiana Water Initiatives grant.
David told the council the station needs more pumping capacity. He recommended reviewing the parameters and again seeking bids.
Unsaid, but apparent, is that the grant life (the time funds must be used or committed before being lost) is not an issue.
The rejected-bid plans call for demolishing two obsolete pump stations and constructing a station with enlarged pump sump to accommodate two new 50,000 gpm pumps.
Auxiliary power source for the control systems is part of the project specifications.
Water pumped through the station will be routed through two 48-inch channels over the levee, eventually reaching Red River.
The project also includes construction of a 1.2-acre storm water retention pond upstream of Cottingham Expressway near Jones Street.
Three Rapides Parish educators are among 67 moving a step closer to being named the state’s best.
The Louisiana Department of Education announced that; Becky Warren, Principal of Nachman Elementary, is a State Principal of the Year Semifinalist; Bill Foley, Brame Middle School, is a New Middle School Teacher of the Year Finalist; Michelle Queen, leader at Bright Beginnings, is an Early Childhood Leader of the Year Finalist.
The DOE program recognizes that great teachers and school leaders are critical to student success.
All semifinalists will be honored at the annual Cecil Picard Education Excellence Awards gala in July at the World War II Museum in New Orleans.
Picard, state superintendent of education for 11 years at the time, died at age 69 of ALS in 2007.
He was a state legislator (terms in both chambers) prior to becoming superintendent.
West Ouachita 16, Alexandria Senior High 0 Ouachita Parish 9, Pineville 8 Grant 15, Tioga 8 Neville 18, Peabody 2 Glenmora 9, Pickering 3 Menard 6, Oakdale 5 Northwood-Lena 16, Dodson 3 Pitkin 12, Oak Hill 2 Grace Christian 22, Rapides 0
Wednesday, March 20
Glenmora at Peabody
Thursday, March 21
Ruston at ASH West Monroe at Pineville Tioga at Neville Buckeye at Livonia Glenmora at Menard Bunkie at Northwood-Lena Oak Hill at Pitkin Rapides at Monterey Plainview at Peabody
BASEBALL
Tuesday, March 19
Vermilion Catholic 11, ASH 3 Peabody 20, Block 8 Tioga 11, Franklin Parish 4 Buckeye 5, Jena 0 Menard 14-12, Avoyelles 0-3 Glenmora 7, Oakdale 6 St. Mary’s 8-25, Northwood-Lena 1-0 Pitkin 4, Oak Hill 2 Avoyelles Charter 5, Rapides 4 Harrisonburg 10, Alexandria Country Day 0 Florien 4, Plainview 1
Wednesday, March 20
Bolton at Caldwell Parish
Thursday, March 21
Ouachita at ASH Pineville at Ruston Franklin Parish at Tioga Peabody at Wossman Jena at Buckeye Glenmora at Oakdale Reeves at Plainview Oak Hill at Pitkin Avoyelles Charter at Rapides Harrisonburg at Alexandria Country Day
WRIGHT STUFF: Jordan Wright, playing in his hometown in what turned out to be his last college game, scored 25 points for LSU in Tuesday night’s loss to visiting North Texas, the defending NIT champion. (Photo courtesy LSU Athletics)
BY RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – North Texas coach Ross Hodge entered Tuesday’s National Invitation Tournament first-round game at LSU with a mental checklist.
It contained the finer detail that kept his team from beating the Tigers in a 66-62 November loss in the Charleston Classic.
“They really dominated points in the paint (in the earlier game),” Hodge said of LSU. “We really wanted to control the paint.”
Mission accomplished.
The Mean Green outscored the Tigers 36-30 in the paint and 17-9 on second-chance points in an 84-77 win in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the defending NIT champs in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
Second-year head coach Matt McMahon’s LSU team, which ended the season 17-16 after going 13-18 a year ago, followed the tried-and-true pattern of most of its losses this season.
The Tigers got outworked for three-fourths of the game, fell behind by 18 points with 8:28 left, staged a furious rally to cut the lead to five points in the final minutes but didn’t have enough finishing kick to steal the win.
“It goes back to toughness,” said LSU senior guard Trae Hannibal, who had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in his final college game. “They were just tougher than us in certain situations. You just have to want it in games like these. You can’t get these back. I think they wanted it a lot more than we did.”
McMahon noted North Texas’ dominant first-half offensive rebounding and ability to come up with 50/50 balls was a separator.
“But I was proud of our players’ fight to get back into this game,” he said. “We had a couple of opportunities to get it within a one-possession game within the last minute and a half. We were not able to do so.”
It took North Texas (19-14) almost the first 13 minutes of the first half to grab the lead. But once the Mean Green did with a 21-7 run that staked a 38-27 lead with 2:20 left in the first half, the Tigers never got untracked until it was too late.
The fact North Texas had four players score in double figures, led by reserve CJ Noland’s 21 points, was a testament to the unselfish play that led to the win.
“We just moved the ball around and we made simple plays,” said Mean Green guard Rubin Jones, who scored 17 points and had a team-high 4 assists.
LSU’s Jordan Wright, a hometown high school product who transferred home this season as a grad student after playing four years for Vanderbilt, scored a game-high 25 points in his final college game.
“You can see from this team we might not have finished the way we wanted to, but every game we fought,” Wright said. “We never laid down. We never quit.
“For the guys coming back, they know what it takes now. They know what it looks like to win and to be in big games and how to be impactful at this level. I hope that’s what we left with the young guys, how to win, how to perform and prepare for big games and ultimately how to be successful.”
Jerry Wayne Riggs November 11, 1943 – March 8, 2024
Service: Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 10am at Hixson Brothers Alexandria.
Irvin Pearson Fisher September 29, 1942 – March 17, 2024 Service: Thursday, March 21, 2024, 1pm at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Deville.
Russell E. Long March 12, 1946 – March 16, 2024 Service: Friday, March 22, 2024, 1pm at Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Alexandria.
Patsy “Pat” Jo Henigan Rowzee August 7, 1935 – March 15, 2024 Service: Saturday, March 23, 2024, 1pm at Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Pineville.
The Rapides Parish Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or RPJNewsla@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to RPJNewsla@gmail.com)
The popular film “Cabrini” was released earlier this month by Angel Studios, but now you can read “the rest of the story” about the profound connection between Mother St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and the most famous bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Alexandria.
Father Chad Partain, the pastor of Cabrini Church in Alexandria, and a noted historian, tells the story that Mother Cabrini founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1880, and she sent the sisters to New Orleans to minister to a large Italian community that had immigrated to New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century.
The sisters established a school and orphanage in the French Quarter, and one of the youngsters at the school was Charles Greco.
“Word came that Mother Cabrini was going to visit the sisters and inspect the school and the orphanage,” said Father Chad, as he is affectionately called. “She attended a school Mass, and the altar boy was Greco. When the Mass was over, Mother and some of the sisters came in the sacristy and thanked the priest for offering Mass. The priest introduced the altar server to Cabrini.”
Mother Cabrini asked Greco what he wanted to be when he grew up, and young Charles said, “Mother, I want to become a priest.”
“She placed her hand on the boy’s head and didn’t speak for a few moments, gazing in the distance above his head,” Partain said. “Then she said to the sisters in Italian, ‘This boy will become a priest, and he will go far in the priesthood.’ The sisters never told him what she said, and he did go on and become a priest in 1918.
“Years later,” Father continued, “when Greco was named the 6th bishop of Alexandria in 1946, some of the sisters who were there in the sacristy that day told him what Mother Cabrini had said. One of his first trips abroad as bishop was to attend the canonization of Mother Cabrini to sainthood (in July of ’46).”
When Greco returned to Alexandria, plans were already in the works from his predecessor, Bishop Daniel Desmond, for a new parish to be built in Alexandria.
“He said, ‘We won’t build one, we’ll build two,’” Father said, “and one he dedicated under the patronage of St. Frances Cabrini.” (The other was Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church.) Cabrini Parish was to have a church and school.
Bishop Daniel Desmond, meanwhile, had done the groundwork for a new hospital and bought the land from the Prescott family, Partain said, and the hospital was to be named St. Mary’s. Bishop Greco was instrumental in getting the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who were administering and staffing the school, to serve the new hospital. But when it was built, Greco dedicated it as St. Frances Cabrini Hospital.
Greco, who served as Bishop of Alexandria from 1946 to 1973, never forgot that encounter he’d had with a saint, however brief it might have been at the time, Partain said. Thus came the overflowing evidence in Alexandria of places named for the Mother Superior of her order. And like the feisty Cabrini, Greco would not be stopped in any pursuit of a goal for the diocese.
And now, Father Chad says he has had a lifelong devotion to Mother Cabrini, who, he says, had an ardent spiritual life that wasn’t clearly demonstrated in the movie.
“Being baptized in this parish and attending this (elementary) school, my first writing assignment was a short biography of Mother Cabrini for the school newspaper,” Partain said, noting even as a boy he loved the portrait of Mother Cabrini that still hangs in a school hallway. Cabrini Church also has a relic of the saint that Bishop Greco brought back to Alexandria from her canonization ceremony. There is also a near life-size statue of her in the small chapel behind the main Cabrini Church altar. There’s a whole other story as to how that statue made its way to the church from its original digs at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches.
“Getting older and being able to read more about her life,” Father Chad continued, “I am amazed at her courage, perseverance and fortitude” despite her small size, sickly nature and disrespect she often received as an Italian immigrant. “She is a real role model
(Correction: A Friday story incorrectly reported the city does not post its budget on the municipal website or it is not detectable by a technologically-challenged seeker. The first assertion is incorrect; the second applies in this instance…. City budgets are found in records posted through the mayor’s office. Mea culpa. – JB)
There is some irony in two items on this afternoon’s Alexandria City Council agenda.
One matter for consideration on this first official day of Spring is advertising for bids for “selective demolition and demolition of historic Bringhurst Field.”
More vestiges of the facility that hosted the boys of summer from spring training through playoffs in late summer for the larger part of the 20th century and the first decade of this one are coming down.
Downtown, the metamorphosis of a building that drew women looking for new bonnets and men for new boaters as Easter approached every Spring for decades continues.
The council is being asked to advertise for bids for former Weiss & Golding building selective demolition and exterior envelop protection measures.
W&G closed downtown about 30 years ago. The building was purchased at the turn of the century with the hope of refurbishing it and attracting office tenants. In 2017 it was donated to the city, which retains aspirations of turning it into a contributing asset.
The council will also consider a resolution to amend city ordinances to reapportion Districts 2, 3 and 4 on the basis of population data.
The council has five single-member districts and two at-large.
Hayden Travinski greets Tommy White after one of the slugger’s three home runs for LSU in the weekend series at Mississippi State. (Photo by SIERRA BEAULIEU, LSU Athletics)
By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE — There are no easy weekends in SEC baseball.
Not in a league that has had six different teams win the national titles in the last 14 College World Series, including five different national championship winners in the last six CWS.
There can be the bliss of winning a series with total team effort, followed by losing a series with a complete squad abomination the next week.
Defending national champion LSU, ranked No. 2 nationally last week and winners of its first 16 of 18 non-conference games, fell in the latter category after barely avoiding getting swept at Mississippi State on the opening weekend of SEC play.
The Tigers, now 17-4 overall and 1-2 in the SEC, dropped to No. 4 nationally by USA Today and No. 5 by Baseball America and D1 Baseball, after losing Games 1 (10-4) and 3 (15-5) to the Bulldogs and barely holding in Game 2 (9-8) after almost blowing a 9-1 lead.
LSU third-year Jay Johnson’s post-series autopsy revealed the obvious.
“I do not think we pitched well,” said Johnson on Monday heading into tonight’s 6:30 p.m. home game vs. Louisiana Tech (16-5) in Alex Box Stadium. “I don’t think we played great on defense. Offensively, there were a few bright spots.
“Averaging 6 runs a game is not enough to sweep, but it’s enough to win two of the three if the other elements are in order.”
But they weren’t, especially the Tigers’ pitching which had been pristine in the first month of the season.
Before being hammered by Mississippi State for 33 runs and 41 hits, LSU had a team earned run average of 2.81. The Tigers’ starting pitching rotation of Luke Holman, Gage Jump and Thatcher Hurd had a combined 7-1 record with a 1.99 ERA and an 87 to 13 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
That trio and nine LSU relievers got obliterated by State’s hitters, who batted .362. The Bulldogs scored almost 70 percent of their runs (23 of 33) with two outs. LSU’s pitching staff ERA in the MSU series was 10.58 including a combined 8.78 from Holman, Jump and Hurd.
“We need to go back to the drawing board a little bit and make sure we’re pulling the best out of each guy in terms of how we train them, how we prepare them, how we pitch call for them, all of those things to maximize their talent,” Johnson said. “We’re deep diving in a lot of that right now.
“I have good faith that it will be better, that these guys will be able to respond. There’s a few guys we need to push up the chart a little bit because they have more talent than where they’re at right now. It’s our job to help them get that out of them.
“The pitching roster for the weekends is very fluid right now and that’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing.”
The Tigers batted just .250 in the MSU series. They were deficient in every key area of hitting, batting .125 (3 of 24) with runners in scoring position, .206 (6 of 29) with two outs and 0.77 (2 of 26) vs. left-handed pitching.
The bright spot was junior third baseman Tommy White, who finally looked like the nation’s RBI leader from a year ago.
Not only was he fabulous at the plate vs. the Bulldogs hitting 385 (5-for-13) with three homers, seven RBI, four runs and a .500 on-base percentage, he also put on a fielding clinic with eight assists, two putouts and a 1.000 fielding percentage.
“He came to LSU because I said `You’re playing third base, and we’re gonna make it better’,” Johnson said of White. “He took a lot of pride in it (fielding).
“When you have talent, determination and a specific plan to do something, you can get better at it. All those things combined made him a better defensive third baseman and he played exceptionally this (past) weekend.”
Because the Tigers have had so many games lately – nine in 12 days through Sunday – they haven’t had much time to practice.
It’s why Johnson said his team will practice at 1:30 this afternoon five hours before the first pitch vs. Louisiana Tech.
“One message for me right now to them (Johnson’s team) is it’s never really as good as it seems,” Johnson said, “and it’s not as bad as it seems.
“We need to look at improvement in every phase of how we play. That’s all we can do and it’s certainly not getting any easier. That’s not a surprise to anybody.”
LSU hosts No. 8 Florida for a three-game series Friday. The Tigers beat the Gators 3 games to 2 in last season’s CWS finals, revenging Florida’s 2-0 sweep of LSU in the 2017 CWS finals.
After that, the Tigers’ next three series are at No. 1 Arkansas, home vs. No. 3 Vanderbilt and at No. 7 Tennessee, whom LSU eliminated in last season’s CWS with two victories over the Vols.
