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Tuesday, March 7, 2023 | Page 04
A Marathon of a Night: SU vs. Alabama A&M Doubleheader Thomas Walker
THE SOUTHERN DIGEST All eyes were on the F.G. Clark Activity Center for senior night. It was a series of intense and emotional moments as the men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted a doubleheader. Both teams squared off against Alabama A&M for the final game of the regular season. It was bittersweet for the seniors as it was their last time playing as a jaguar at home. As a result, both squads were looking to reign victorious going into the SWAC tournament next week. The girls tipped off at 3:00 PM, and for the most part, the girls controlled the tempo throughout most of the game. Led by senior guard Genovea Johnson and sophomore guard Aleighyah Fontenot, the Lady Jags (15-14, 12-6 in conference) cruised through the first half leading by seven with a score of 34-27. At halftime, Johnson and Fontenot had an impressive 8 and 9 points. Senior guard
Taylor Williams also added 7 points toward the halftime total. The Lady Jags played tremendously well on the defensive end, turning that defense into offense. They scored 10 points off turnovers and held a lead of eleven at one point. In the second half, the Lady Bulldogs (1414, 12-6 in conference) began to make a push towards the end of the third. That’s when things started to heat up as both teams had to be pulled apart after an exchange of words from opposing sides. Sophmore guard Aleighyah Fontenot drives to the basket during the Jaguars coming from the huddle at the start of the 3rd quarter against Alabama A&M on Saturday, March 4. Going into the fourth, Jaguars game against Alabama A&M on Saturday, March 4 inside F.G. Clark Activity center. (Amaya Rosser/ DIGEST) (Amaya Rosser/ DIGEST) the Lady Bulldogs pulled within one, but the Lady Jags kept their composure regular season at home. we can win the tournament. March 9th at 5:30 P.M. in and rallied together. Genovea Since the regular season is I said that from day one, Birmingham, Alabama, at would go on a relentless over, the girls are now focused and I really believe it,” said Bartow Arena. path to the basket scoring 6 on the SWAC tournament. Coach Funchess about the On the men’s end, there points in the fourth, helping “I know without a doubt, upcoming tournament. With was a plethora of events; her team push a 13-3 run. in my mind, if we play good the win, the Lady Jags are that transpired before the The women eventually beat basketball, quality basketball the 4th seed in the SWAC game could even take place. the Bulldogs with a score of on both ends of the court and Tournament, holding the tie- The power in the mini dome 66-53, sending the seniors execute, knock down shots, breaker over Prairie View off with a win in their last and rebound the basketball A&M, who they will face on See MARATHON page 5
A Long Way to the Mountain Top: Men’s Baseball Vincent Pardo
THE SOUTHERN DIGEST Lee Hines Stadium was the place to be as the Southern University Men’s Baseball Team had their home opener against the McNeese State Cowboys. The Jaguars’ record was sitting at around .500 as they looked to add to their win total. Under the bright lights, the Jaguars battled for nine intense innings. Although the crowd lacked the energetic atmosphere they’ve shown in previous games, the Jags maintained close competition throughout the afternoon. In the early innings, the Jaguars did trail the Cowboys in hits and runs batted in (RBIs), resulting in an early lead for McNeese that was maintained throughout the match. Head Coach, Chris Crenshaw, expressed, “at the start of the game, we weren’t executing at all.” The third inning became the breakaway for the Cowboys due to them accumulating five runs off of four hits. McNeese was able to spark up momentum from their runs earned and did not cool down until the sixth inning. Their final point scored was a run that was crushed into left field by Cowboys senior catcher, Kade Hunter. The critical factor that allowed McNeese to hold onto their lead, and slow down Southern’s steam, was phenomenal pitching from the Cowboy’s starter. McNeese’s starting pitcher, senior Burrel Jones, produced seven strikeouts over only five innings pitched. The Cowboys’ relief pitchers’ performances were not as
Antoine Harris deliver the pitch during the Jaguars game against Mcneese State on Wednesday, March 1 at Lee Hines Stadium (Knykolas Ross/ DIGEST)
great as their starters, but they still managed to strike out four batters while propelling themselves even further in the lead over the Jaguars. However, Southern’s bullpen put on a show by earning fifteen strikeouts. Southern’s Sophomore pitcher, Perry Kyles, battled McNeese for three innings obtaining five strikeouts and only allowed four runs to be scored off of him. Also, in the final innings, the Jaguars’ bullpen executed pitches with a precision lower in the batting zone, which resulted in no hits. Unfortunately, the Jaguars did ultimately lose this matchup with the final score being 10-3. Despite
Antoine Harris deliver the pitch during the Jaguars game against Mcneese State on Wednesday, March 1 at Lee Hines Stadium (Knykolas Ross/ DIGEST)
such a heavy loss, there were still positive takeaways from the game. According to Coach Crenshaw, four players were starting for the first time and managed to withstand the immense pressure of the moment and competition at hand. When asked what his opinion was on the players that made their big debut and received in-game experience, Coach Crenshaw optimistically stated that, “hopefully it’ll pay off in the long run”! Next up on the plate for Southern is the South Alabama Invitational! The Jaguars will be traveling to Mobile, Alabama, on March 3rd, where they will be taking on three teams over the
next three days. The Jaguars will begin their crusade with the University of Iowa, where the first pitch will be thrown at noon at Stanky Field. The following games in the tournament will be against Pepperdine University, and the University of South Alabama. Hopefully, the Jaguars will be able to achieve a full sweep in the tournament. In addition, they hope to continue progressing through their season successfully. Coach Crenshaw conveyed that there is nothing that the Jaguar nation needs to fear, and, “things will start clicking for us”!