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April 23, 2015 Volume 88 Issue 13
Inside This Issue - OPINIONS: Police leave students uniformed for hours
- FEATURES: New player in online music fl ops hard; celebrity couple calls it quits after 8 months
- SPORTS: Blazers look to lock up GSC tournament
To be or not to be...born?
On this day in 1564, famous poet
and playwright William Shake-
speare was born. Many claim that this date is actu-
ally debatable, but he was baptized
on April 26, and it was customary to wait three days.
Source: History.com
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Cole Edwards MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Kenzie KesselringASST. OPINIONS EDITOR
[email protected]. is not as
chaotic or as dangerous as they think he is. He is simply angry because he’s read a lot of history. -Lewis Cureton VSU Student
Partly Cloudy
“This is positive. People are asking now. I’m actually trying to educate everybody,” VSU student Eric Sheppard said while explaining his method of protest to a fellow VSU student.
Sheppard is, as of Wednes-day night, the subject of an intense local manhunt after a gun was found on campus and allegedly linked to Sheppard, according to police.
Sheppard fi rst entered into the public spotlight after walking on an American fl ag in a campus protest April 17.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sheppard’s father, Eric Shep-pard Sr., stood on the steps of West Hall beside VSU President William McKinney and asked for his son to come out of hiding.
“Son, you know we love you and have always taught you to do the right thing and make wise decisions,” Shep-pard’s father said. “Please make the right decision and turn yourself in, either to the authorities or to me, and we will handle this together. We love you and are here for you, as you requested.”
Throughout the past week, students and faculty have been in a state of concern. Everyone has been asking: Who is Eric Sheppard? What drove him and his friends to begin their protests?
Sheppard is a junior sociol-ogy major from Atlanta who began his education at VSU in 2011.
During Monday’s protests that were held to show sup-port for the American fl ag and racial equality, students gathered around to ask Shep-pard questions about him and his beliefs.
With all the contradictory information plaguing social media after Friday’s events, it has become diffi cult to sepa-
rate rumors from the truth.Through conversations with
students, Sheppard revealed that he believes white privi-lege still rules America and that the impacts of slavery are still prevalent in America today.
“They are stepping on the fl ag because they feel be-trayed by America,” VSU se-nior Mia Rawls said. “That’s the psychology and symbol-ism behind it. Although I do not agree, I understand.”
Michelle Manhart, a veteran who is not a VSU student, came onto campus after hear-ing about the protest from her daughter. Manhart attempted to take the fl ag from the pro-testors because she felt they were disrespecting it.
Manhart was detained by VSU police after refusing to give the fl ag back to the pro-testors. She was not charged in the incident, but is now banned from campus. The incident between Manhart and VSUPD was captured on camera, and that video has garnered millions of views after Manhart posted it on her Facebook page.
People supporting Manhart and accusing VSU of being unlawful, and people who believe VSU took the proper course of action, took to so-cial media over the weekend to share their opinions.
However, according to the Texas vs. Johnson court case
of 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it’s not illegal to deface an American fl ag. What the protestors were do-ing was against United States fl ag codes, but the fl ag codes have no criminal penalty.
Monday, outside of Odum Library, students and vet-erans with American fl ags and signs came to show their support for the American fl ag and their campus. The group that protested on Friday was back in the same spot with an American fl ag, Bible, Quran and pictures of Jesus and Kendrick Johnson on the ground.
After the protests ended on Monday around 4 p.m., an Instagram picture went viral. The picture showed three men, one of them Sheppard,
posing with semi-automatic weapons and handguns.
Tuesday a campus alert revealed that police found a handgun a backpack on cam-pus around 2:45 pm. Police said they linked the gun to Sheppard, but at that point Sheppard could not be found.
Sheppard now has a war-rant out for his arrest, and police are calling Sheppard a threat to the community.
“E.J is not as chaotic or dangerous as they think he is,” said Lewis Cureton, VSU student and member of the Black Student League. “He is simply angry because he’s read a lot of history.”
Anyone with information on Sheppard’s whereabouts can call University Police at 229-333-7816 or 911.
Protestor being saught by police; parents issue plea
Top: An alert was sent out to VSU students on April 22 at 5:44 p.m. According to the report Sheppard is considered “armed and dangerous.” Bottom: Sheppards father comes to campus and issues plea for son’s safe return.
John Preer/ THE SPECTATOR
Is it just a black and white issue?
A Special Edition April 23, 2015
A hands-on approach to
RACE
Sheppard shares his views with students at a protest on April 20, a few days after he was seen stepping on an American fl ag.
Michelle Manhart, the Air Force veteran who was briefl y detained and then banned from VSU last week after attempting to take a fl ag from protestors who were stepping on it, has called for an amend-ment to the Constitution as well as a demonstration around campus.
During the protest on Fri-day, Manhart initially wanted to get the fl ag off the ground, but the ensuing media fi re-storm has inspired her to push for an amendment that would make harming the fl ag illegal.
“I’m pushing forward that we can go ahead and make an amendment that says it is illegal to harm the fl ag in anyway,” Manhart said.
Manhart was surprised that a video shot by her daughter during the incident became so popular on social media.
“When we posted [the video] originally, we were kind of hesitant of whether we should or should not,” Man-hart said. “And my daughter told me a little while ago that it’s at 5.5 million [views].
“When we posted it, I thought, well, if a thousand people see this then we can make a difference, we can change something.”
Manhart’s video now has 6.6 million views.
Manhart disagrees with crit-ics who say she stole the fl ag from the protestors.
“I don’t personally feel I was stealing anything,” Man-hart said. “If you’re going to throw the American fl ag, our iconic freedom symbol, on the ground, kick it and stomp on it, you don’t want it anymore, so I’ll take it to somebody who does want it.”
Manhart plans to con-tinue her crusade with a rally beginning at 1 p.m. Friday at CrossPointe Church.
A Facebook group an-nouncing the event had 3,700 people planning to attend as of late Wednesday evening.
“I can’t go on campus, obviously, and it’s hard for me to support people who are doing things,” Manhart said. “I feel they’re supporting me, so the way I’m going to give back is we’re just going to meet, and we’re going to do continuous circles around the campus on motorcycles and cars and anybody who can make it out.”
Manhart said the support from the community has been overwhelming.
“My hat is off to everybody in town and all the young students who are participat-ing in this,” she said. “I mean, whether you are for or against it, everybody is coming out and making a stance.”
Follow-up rally expected on Friday
Photo courtesy of VSU
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The sudoku grid consists of eighty-one squares in a nine by nine grid. To solve the sudoku, each square in the grid must contain a number between one and nine, with the following conditions: · Each row of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 once and only once. · Each column of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 once and only once. · Each of the nine 3 by 3 boxes of nine cells must contain each of the numbers from 1 to 9 ANSWER ON PAGE 5
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Q&A
With our new interim president
Dr. Cecil StatonWhat three words best describe you? “Inquisitive, Perseverant, Levelheaded.” What are your hobbies/interests? “Reading, writing, coins, anything written by or about Winston Churchill and the rowing machine.” What is one of your pet peeves? “Unnecessarily lengthy meetings.” What travel destination or place of residence has been your favorite so far and why? “I spent three years at Oxford while working on my doctor of philosophy degree. Oxford and the English countryside will always hold a very special place in my life.” What accomplishment during your time as a senator are you most proud of? “SB 60, which in 2007 created the Georgia Trauma Care Network Commission. The work of this commission has strengthened Georgia’s trauma care system and has already resulted in saving more than 1,000 lives.”
Why did you take this job as VSU’s interim president? “As a Vice Chancellor, I believe that it is important for those of us who work at the university system office in Atlanta to spend time on our campuses. It is a great opportunity to be reminded of what our system of 30 colleges and universities exists for — students and learning.” What is your vision for VSU, and what are you hoping to accomplish? “VSU is a wonderful university. I fell in love with the campus and community the very first time I visited several years ago. It is an institution with a great future. As interim president, I want to help prepare the way for growth and excellence. As a father of two sons in college, I understand how meaningful a great university experience can be — for learning, for maturing and for meeting people from diverse backgrounds. I want to work with a great faculty and staff to make sure VSU students have a rewarding experience and that their time at VSU provides not only personal fulfillment, but preparation for living and working in the global economy we are now part of.”
On April 10, VSU student Vicki Sanders passed away, nine days before her 47th birthday.
In an email sent on April 16, VSU President William McKinney announced Sanders’ death to the VSU community.
Sanders, a junior speech communications major, was a fulltime student, activist and parent during her time at VSU.
Sanders was politically active in issues such as women’s rights and domestic violence. She was a contributing member of Habitat for Humanity, Valdosta Women Voices and Valdosta Federation of Democratic Women.
Sanders was a single mother with a daughter attending VSU and a son living in New Jersey.
Though she had children to support, she still took fifteen credit hours and worked three jobs to provide for her family.
Her appreciation among VSU teachers and students shows as they spoke of their friend.
Franchesca Griffin, senior speech communications major, said Sanders was an encouraging and intelligent person. Sanders had an inner glow, Griffin said.
Liz Dalton, senior speech communications major, saw her as a mother figure for all the students.
Linda Jurczak, assistant professor of speech communications, remembered her through the details that made her special.
She would ask tough questions and mentor the younger students, and her laugh is unforgettable, Jurczak said.
A celebration of Sanders’ life was held April 14 in Delmar, Georgia.
Jyrell WynnStaff Writer
Remembering VSU student Vicki Sanders
APRIL 23, 2015 VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 3
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Police leave students uninformed for hours
Better late than never? Not this time. As of last Friday the campus has seen a lot of protest and demonstrations. On Tuesday, many students received an email from the university stating that one of the lead pro-testers who has been walking on the flag had a firearm on his person while on the campus.
Students received this email almost three hours after campus police found the firearm in a bag. Many students were still on campus and going to class. Why is this a problem? Because our safety was in danger. Faculty, staff and students should have been notified right after the first weapon was found or when the university got whiff of it. Not only were we ill-informed, but we were all able to walk around campus freely.
Many students have voiced their concerns over their safety on this campus. Many think classes should be cancelled until the suspect has been found. These are troubling times for our VSU, and the police department has failed to keep us informed.
President McKinney stated in his very brief press conference that the safety of
everyone on campus is his top priority, but why have such a long wait time to inform us? Many students were scared and con-cerned.
With the information coming late, social media has been abuzz with anger and concern, and we should be angry and con-cerned. If there is a threat on our campus, we need to know immediately in order to keep ourselves safe. The administration has no problem emailing us about every little robbery 10 minutes after it happens, but cannot let us quickly know of a firearm on the premise.
Other students have commended Dr. McKinney for keeping campus open and going about business as usual. It is hard to say whether campus should be closed while law enforcement searches for the suspect, but they do need to figure out a speedier way to get us the most accurate information. If campus police can send out a notice about a robbery and then send us a second one to retract it, then they can get this information out to us faster and keep us updated.
Photo Illustration by Jordan Hill/THE SPECTATOR
James CurtisFreshmanUndecided
“All of the outside sourc-es that don’t go to Val-
dosta State need to be off campus.”
Sam SmithFreshman
English
“If I were the adminis-tration, I would resolve it by limiting the num-ber of people allowed at a certain congregation.”
Cody PeetsFreshman
Biology
“I feel the increased po-lice control is great... so things don’t get too out
of hand.”
People Poll: How would you solve the current
protesting issues on campus?
Zenobia HarrisStaff Writer
Millennials putting personal goals before relationships
Kenzie KesselringaSSt. OpiniOnS editOr
Media manipulation affects reputation of Rolling Stone
3 hours later
Friends and colleagues,This semester has been tumultuous. To say
there have been ups and downs would be a momentous understatement.
Yes- we’re not out of the woods yet.But credit should be given where credit is
due. And today, that credit is deserved by our president William J. McKinney.
Our institution has been lambasted in the media and derided by those with an anti-intel-lectual and reactionary agenda. In other words it has been attacked by the “usual suspects” following a controversial demonstration last Friday on our campus.
Through this trying hour Bill McKinney has stood by us- faculty, students, staff and
the community. He has stood by the most important tenets of academic life; most notably freedom of speech, freedom of opinion and an unimpeded academic environment.
While these emails have normally been committed to criticism, today they offer praise where it is most deserved.
Let us all hope that we can look to President McKinney in the waning months of his tenure at Valdosta State University for this outstand-ing leadership of our academic community.
Thank you,The Successful McKinney No Confidence [email protected]
Letter to the EditorMcKinney leads well during times of controversy on campus
Rolling Stone magazine has long been thought of as a prestigious and credible new source, but the decision to not fire anyone following their journalistic meltdown that took place earlier this month is a huge mistake.
The slipup reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely made while attempting to report on an issue plaguing colleges across the United States hurt many people. It hurt the members of the fraternity accused of the crime, it hurt the University of Virginia, but most impor-tantly, it hurt other victims of sexual assault.
It is already difficult for college-aged sexual assault victims to be taken seriously, but when the spotlight is on women who have lied about being taken advantage of, it only perpetuates the nega-
tive stereotypes surround-ing women who claim to be victims of sexual violence.
When Erdely neglected to investigate all sides of the sto-ry, she was breaking the first rule journalists are taught. Journalism is not about shar-ing one person’s side of the story; it is about exploring all sides of a story and letting the reader make his or her own
decision about the situation. Erdely’s inability to capture all sides of the story showed a lack of dedication to her line of work and a lack of ability to do her job.
Erdely should have in-terviewed the friends of the victim, the victim’s parents and should have tried harder to talk to the fraternity men who were accused of the crime. What Erdely did was not journalism, it was merely telling a story that was never confirmed.
This lack of good report-ing makes Rolling Stone look less than prestigious, but choosing to keep the reporter responsible for this blunder employed makes them look incompetent.
It makes Rolling Stone look as if they do not hold their re-porters to a high standard and this will hinder the reputation, as it should, of Rolling Stone magazine in the future.
Is marriage becoming a dying tradition? CNN reporter Carol Costello seems to think so.
In a video entitled “The Millennials Project,” Costello interviews a couple of jour-nalism students from her alma mater, Kent State Univer-sity. In the interview, she asks them about what their thoughts were on marriage, children, travel and religion, among other things.
The answers she received seemed to surprise her a little. When she asked the students if it would be ok if they never got married, one student Jackie Demate said that she would be just fine.
“I would have a very hard time justifying spending $20,000 on a wedding when I could go to Europe,” Demate said.
A study done by Pew Research Center reveals that more than 50 percent of mil-lennials ages 18 to 28 were declared single or never mar-ried in 2009, and the number of millennials waiting or not wanting to get married contin-ues to grow.
Millennials are waiting lon-ger and longer to get married and have children because
marriage isn’t a main goal or priority for most people any more. Many have plans to settle into a career and do a bit of traveling after college before starting a family, de-spite the fact that their parents and grandparents come from generations where marrying young was considered the norm or at least acceptable.
One factor that we can thank for these changes is the time. We have more access to higher education, better tech-nology and are able to look at the job market on a global scale. The fact is that there are many opportunities available to millennials today, regard-less of race and gender, that our parents and grandparents weren’t given. These factors allow millennials and future
generations to put marriage on the backburner and focus on getting an education, traveling and making the best of their careers.
While there are plenty of people and studies that say that marriage is moving closer to being obsolete and that people are waiting longer to get married, there are still some people who value certain traditions and would like to start a family sooner than later. Ultimately, it just depends on where your priori-ties lie.
Still, it is refreshing to know that the millennial generation has the opportunity to focus on building a better life for themselves first before settling down, if that’s what they choose.
MCT Campus
Rolling Stone failed to inves-tigate all sides of an alleged rape, leaving it to suffer criticism from readers and students involved.
Rolling Stone
Research shows half of millennials were declared single or never married in 2009.
This time around, Earth Day is getting publicity from all kinds of places.
Ads from companies are casting an eco-friendly web of green activism among our community.
Amazon is offer-ing an interactive, ecofriendly book for free to educate kids about the natural environment.
Those who want to celebrate the Earth can go to Drexel Park for the Earth Day Festival on April 25.
This Earth Day, you can also rely on Google Doodle for the answer to something
you may have wondered about: Which animal resem-bles your personality?
On Google’s homepage, there’s an Earth Day quiz that uses scientific
data to accurately answer that question. Take a brief moment
to answer these questions, and your animal will emerge from the depths of cyberspace.
Earth Day is a day where people get stuff for free. Com-panies strategize to maximize their revenue on holidays, and Earth Day is no different.
In the midst of Earth Day, people can also
get tips for going green.
According The Union of Con-cerned Scientists,
buses are ecofriend-ly to the environment.Some buses today are
fully equipped with fea-tures such as wi-fi, power
outlets and the latest fuel-efficient technology. It’s the greenest way to travel when you exclude walking and rid-ing bikes.
Bruce Jenner Photo Hits the Stands
Just days ahead of his sit-down interview with Diane
Sawyer, former Olympian Bruce Jenner was photo-graphed in a dress this week. In a photo so grainy that it’d make yeti hunter proud, the New York Daily News displays a shot of Jenner relaxing outside his Malibu home in a striped, long -sleeved dress. This would
mark the first time Jenner has been seen in his new look. However, TMZ reports that the paparazzi responsible for the pictures are now under investigation. It’s illegal for photographers to use zoom lenses to capture people on private property without their consent.
TIDAL Continues to FlopJay Z’s latest business proj-
ect continues to be an embar-rassment. According to The Independent, the streaming service had originally climbed to the U.S. top 20 app chart for iPhones immediately after the big announcement. How-ever, less than a month later it has since tumbled out of the top 700. Yes, that’s right, the
top 700. And in a hilarious turn of
events, Tidal’s campaign to upsurge major competitor Spotify, has actually had a positive effect on Spotify, pushing Spotify back into the
top 25 download list.
Tim Tebow has ArisenFormer Heisman winner
and the ever-saintly Tim Tebow has found himself a new job. For now, at least. According to ESPN, Tebow signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles early Monday morning. He will be paid the league minimum of $660K with no guaranteed money. Although the likeli-hood of the guy even making it past OTAs are slim, it’s still amusing seeing the circus kick back into high gear at the mere thought of him being the third QB on the depth chart. Ridiculous.
Ariana Grande and Petite Sean Split
According to PEOPLE, our
favorite munchkin duo have decided to call it quits. After eight months of dating, Ariana Grande and Big Sean’s rep re-leased a statement confirming the news. Grande broke her silence by posting on Twitter that she was “good” after the
breakup.
PAGE 4 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM APRIL 23, 2015
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When it comes to se-quels, most normally fall short compared to their predecessors — “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” was no exception. This movie was hard to watch, and for a movie that is not horror, that’s not a good thing. Most of the jokes seemed forced and hardly laughable. The main problem with the movie is the main character himself, Paul Blart. In the original, which was pretty successful
at the box office, Paul Blart was more comedic, whereas in this one he portrays a bitter, rude and all-around cynical person. You never really feel like you’re wanting him to succeed in this one, as he’s not a likable person. One of the oddest things about the
beginning of the movie is that it tells of all these horrible things that have happened to Paul after the original movie, and they are played off as crude humor. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth, especially when Paul never really connects with his daughter at all in
the movie, and everyone just drags on for the sake of the plot. This movie gets a 5/10, as it isn’t a movie I would recommend watching.
Epic Fail: Sequel ceases to amaze fan
Graduate students congre-gated to share their in-depth research last week with interested members of the VSU campus and community.
The seventh an-nual Graduate Student Research and Scholar-ship Symposium was held in the University Center from 4 to 6 p.m. on April 17th to celebrate the work of graduate students on a diverse range of subjects.
The event gave these students a platform to present their findings on vari-ous topics of their choosing and inform listeners of their research.
Dr. Thomas Aiello, a facul-ty mentor of the Department of History, guided graduate Benjamin Vieth on his subject of Kinderlou, which was a
convict farm turned into a residential neighborhood.
Convict leasing was a tool to control labor in the South and caused numerous African-Americans to return to unpaid labor.
False arrests, kidnapping,
torture and other nefarious al-legations were part of a legal system filled with corrupted law officials in Georgia.
Graduate student Sandra Masci, industrial organization and psychology major, exam-ined the legacy of sexual ha-rassment and discrimination
among females in the U.S. military, concluding that females faced more discrimi-nation, sexual harassment and negative effects than men in the military today.
Sarah Chambers, a gradu-ate getting her masters in
social work, re-searched the effect of music on com-municating and relaxing clients with Alzheimers disease.
She found that music improved communication among clients with a greater range of vocabulary and
the relaxation level was easy.
“It was mainly hymns,” Chambers said. “We do the national anthem and patriotic songs. It was mainly hymns because these ladies are in their 70s and 80s, so they know those good old songs.”
Student symposium shows diverse research Going green for annual Earth Day celebrationJyrell Wynn
staff [email protected]
Alex Corbittstaff writer
“False arrests, kidnap-ping, torture and other nefarious allegations were part of a legal sys-tem filled with corrupted law officials in Georgia.”
LaMarcus Wilkersonstaff writer
New player in online music streaming flops hard; celebrity couple calls it quits after 8 months
courtesy of commons wikimedia
Courtesy of flickr
flickrwikimedia
Courtesy of S.A.V.E.
Sudoku Answer
VSUSPECTATOR.COM | PAGE 5APRIL 23, 2015
Kip Moore, former Blazer golfer, “came home” to the PE Complex on April 11. However, it was not as successful as the athletic department had hoped.
The attendance was so low that Kip Moore invited the audience down to the floor, according to sophomore Hannah Peyton.
“I don’t think that it was advertised very well,” Peyton said. “Not very many people knew [the concert] was to raise money for the athletic department.”
Tickets were $35 for reserved seats, $30 for floor seats and $25 for general
admission. Although there were set
prices, to boost attendance, the athletic department said that the first 1,000 people to show up to the complex would receive a voucher for $15 off any ticket.
Moore received a lot of fame after his first album, Up All Night, was released in April 2012 and quickly became the best-selling debut album in both 2012 and 2013.
In 2014 he was recognized as the “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” from the Country Countdown Awards.
Many fans, including senior Angela O’Connor, were excited about hearing his music from his first album.
“I love his older music,” O’Connor said. “I don’t really
know his new music, so it wasn’t as fun as it could have been.”
O’Connor continued to mention that because the campus is a dry campus, many students did not want to attend the tailgate before the concert.
“If it were at a different venue that isn’t on campus, maybe more people would have shown up and made it an all-day thing like the Luke Bryan concerts,” O’Connor said.
Although the concert was not as successful as it could have been, Kip Moore embraced the lack of attendees and continued throwing an entertaining show, as promised.
Lia ArmisteadAsst. sports Editor
Students respond to former Blazer’s concert
Kristin Whitman/THESPECTATOR
Second baseman Mike Reed catches University of West Georgia’s Artemis Kadkhodaian with the backup from number 10 short stop Hayden Jones. The Blazers are 25-16 overall and 16-11 in conference play. The team stands at number six in the Gulf South Conference.
VSU golf rolls into tournament action
VSU tied for fifth place Tuesday at the par 72 Tunica National Golf Course in Robinsonville, Mississippi, as the golf team shot a 24 over par 888 at the Gulf South Conference Gold Championship.
The first two rounds took place Monday, which saw VSU sitting in sixth place after shooting a first round 303 and a second round 293 to finish 20 over par at 596. The Blazers then shot a final round 292 to earn their fifth place tie with rival West Georgia. Lee finished first in the event shooting two over par at 866, but because they are in their second year of transitioning to NCAA Division II, they were not eligible to win. Second place West Florida earned the conference championship win, shooting 12 over par at 876.
As for individual performances, Chris Rogers was the highest finishing Blazer by placing seventh at 220. John Fordham also finished in the top 10, tying for ninth at 222. Michael Nutter tied for twelfth, Jake Harpe tied for seventeenth and Davis Roche tied for thirtieth.
Although it wasn’t a winning effort for the Blazers, head coach Jared Purvis was pleased with what he saw from his team.
“It was probably the best performance we had this year,” Coach Purvis said. “It was nice to be in contention. At one point we were within four shots on the back nine [Tuesday]. I wish the results would’ve been different, but I’m proud of their effort. They hung in there the whole time and kept their heads up.”
Coach Purvis also discussed the steady improvement he’s enjoyed seeing from his team throughout the season.
“Throughout the spring there’s been gradual improvement. Chris Rogers and John Fordham have had pretty consistent years, but it’s been nice to see some of the other guys like Jake Harpe, Davis Roche and even Michael Nutter at least put us in contention. We’re not there yet, but we’ll be there next year in terms of contending in more tournaments.”
VSU will participate in NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional Tournament from May 4 to May 6.
Austin Wellssports WritEr
Blazers look to lock up GSC tournament spot
On the Diamond this weekend, VSU (25-16, 16-11 in GSC play) is looking to secure the sixth and final spot in this year’s Gulf South Conference Baseball Tournament.
Currently sitting with a two-game lead over seventh-place North Alabama, VSU controls its own destiny and can clinch the all-important sixth seed with two wins this weekend when GSC newcomers Mississippi College (12-31, 4-25 in GSC) come into town for a three- game series that kicks off with Saturday’s double header starting at 1 p.m.
For a team that is (6-4) in its last ten games, this matchup could not have come
at a better time. A struggling Choctaws
team enters on a five-game losing streak while being outscored overwhelmingly 55-17 during that stretch.
VSU will look forward to add on to that spread for themselves when their high-powered offense steps in the batters box.
The Blazers have had one of the best offenses in the Gulf South Conference all season and are currently second in batting average (.343), runs (315), hits (463), homeruns (42) and runs batted in (278).
If Mississippi College expects to realistically pull off any type of upset, they will need their pitching staff to step up in a big way.
A dismal staff-earned run average of 6.82 puts the Choctaws in second to last
place in the GSC and looks to have their hands full all weekend dealing with a Blazers lineup featuring seven batters hitting over .300 on the year.
The big question for VSU however is not found at the plate—they have hit all year. It is found in the bullpen and on the field defensively.
Theee two problems have reared their ugly faces all season and directly contribute to why the Blazers are still having to battle for a spot in their conference tournament entering the final weekend in the regular season.
VSU ranks second to last in the GSC in saves with only four and seventh in total ERA at 4.67.
The Blazers have been trying a bullpen-by-committee approach all season, and it should be interesting to see
if Coach Gregg Guilliams keeps that going into the GSC tournament.
With the gloves, the Blazers rank a disappointing seventh in the league owning a 965 fielding percentage.
The 55 errors committed by the Blazers this season have been the deciding factor in multiple losses that they arguably deserved to win.
When you get to this point in the season, especially as a team with post-season aspirations, limiting errors is more important then ever.
VSU has not committed an error in its last three games while going (2-1) and will need that trend to continue as they prepare for their last conference challenge before a hopeful conference tournament birth next weekend.
Chris Webbsports WritEr
Kristin Whitman/THESPECTATOR
Third baseman Michael Gouge prepares to throw the ball to first base in the game against University of West Georgia on April 10. The team won two of the three games in the series.
“It was probably the best performance we had this year.”
-HeadCoach Jared Purvis
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APRIL 23, 2015 PAGE 6 | VSUSPECTATOR.COM
Editor’s note: These picks were made by Kristin Whitman, Austin Wells, Chris Webb and Stuart Price. The logo of the team represents the pick by each writer.
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