SERVING SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI SINCE 1927 • WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM • MARCH 24, 2021 | VOLUME 106 | ISSUE 25
BIEBER ALBUM
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BREE’S RETIREMENT PG 6
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS PG 7
OLLI at USM invests in lifelong learning
Photo courtesy of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
KARA LOWE PRINTZ REPORTER ife is full of learning experiences. Humans naturally enjoy learning and diving deeper into their passions. There are few other organizations that understand this better than the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). Founded in 1977 by Bernard Osher, OLLI aims to provide a continuous learning experience for adults 50 years and older. As of writing, there are only 124 OLLI locations throughout the United States. Two of these locations are in Mississippi, and are exclusively affiliated with
The University of Southern Mississippi. OLLI at USM classes are usually held in The Peck House, located on the west edge of the Hattiesburg campus, or in Long Beach classrooms. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, though, classes are currently only being offered virtually. Many OLLI members have and continue to delve into creative activities they may not have considered before. The classes at OLLI help members explore hobbies they otherwise would have ignored, such as painting or Tai Chi. Members are often surprised at what they are capable of, and love learning how to fill their lives with wisdom, joy and creativity.
After retirement, some older adults can feel that their lives are winding down, and that they have nothing else to learn. OLLI members, who overwhelmingly have curious, spirited natures, debunk that myth. “If you stop learning, you become old,” Dallas Gorbett, a retired Inventory Specialist, said in a video detailing testimonials for the OLLI at USM program. “This [OLLI] keeps us younger.” There is a scientific basis for the benefits of learning and keeping the mind busy. Studies have shown that acquiring skills later in life has the potential to decrease or delay cognitive changes that occur with aging. It’s import-
ant for people to continuously keep their minds sharp, and OLLI encourages its members to do just that. In order to provide the best learning experience for its members, OLLI at USM invites faculty from Southern Miss, William Carey and other local community colleges to teach classes based on their own careers and hobbies. Members are also encouraged to teach classes to keep the spirit of learning alive.
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NEWS
MARCH 24, 2021
MEET THE STAFF Executive Editor
Brian Winters brian.s.winters@usm.edu
News & Features Editor Mary Murphy mary.s.murphy@usm.edu
Sports Editor
Charlie Luttrell charles.luttrell@usm.edu
Multimedia Editor
Earl Stoudemire earl.stoudmire@usm.edu
Design Editor
Marissa Haas marissa.haas@usm.edu
The views represented in The Student Printz’s columns and editorials do not represent those of the faculty, staff or administration of The University of Southern Mississippi. We welcome letters to the editor representing similar and contrasting opinions. To be eligible for publication, all submission must include name, class distinction, major, phone number and email address. Submissions should be emailed to printzeditors@ gmail.com by 5 p.m. on the Friday before publication. Please limit them to 500 words or less. The Student Printz reserves the right to refuse publication or edit any material on the basis of clarity, space or journalistic ethics.
Opinions expressed in The Student Printz are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The Student Printz, its publication manager, USM, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the USM Board of Student Publications. Courtesy of Moffitt Health Center
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NEWS
MARCH 24, 2021
CONT. FROM PG 1
member. Lewando said that her life would be very differJerry Adams, a longtime ent without OLLI. OLLI member, started her “It gives me an opportunity membership back in 2006 to continue learning and in Galveston, Texas. Shortly growing in an environment after moving to Hattiesburg, she and her husband invested suited for others my age. Field trips and travel, pria lot of their time in OLLI or to the pandemic, with at USM. They eventually went on to teach classes, and like-minded individuals are experiences I would not remain active in OLLI to have had otherwise,” said this day. Adams said she has Lewando. “OLLI classes really enjoyed her time at are also very affordable[,] OLLI both as an instructor and a student, and encourag- which is important for those that are retired with limited es anyone interested to take income.” some of the bird-watching Paula Mathis, the Director classes offered. More than of OLLI at Southern Miss, that, though, Adams wants described how pre-pananyone interested to join to demic classes used to buzz expand their horizons. with excitement. Members “It’s open to everyone,” said Adams. “Anyone is welcomed thoroughly enjoy being with each other and exchanging and I think they would be ideas, to the point that she very comfortable coming to occasionally had to remind OLLI.” them that classes were still That was certainly the exin session. Yet this was also perience for Dr. Carol Ann Lewando, a Gulf Park OLLI part of the fun -- Mathis
WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM said that her favorite part of being OLLI’s director is getting the chance to learn about the members and their life stories. “The OLLI curriculum also covers wide-ranging topics, and it’s free from the pressures of tests and grades,” said Mathis. “OLLI members learn for the sheer joy of learning.” Spring term classes started on March 22 and will continue until the end of May. All classes will be on Zoom, and there is a step-by-step instructional video on OLLI’s official webpage to help members navigate online learning. Some of the classes offered this semester are ‘Five Conversations on Women in Art’, ‘Let’s Play the Ukulele!’, ‘Everybody Can Social Dance’, ‘The Power of Plant-Based Nutrition’, ‘Take 5! The Benefits of Stress Reduction on Cognitive Perfor-
Margaret MacMillan to Give Dale Center’s McCarthy Lecture March 29 BRIAN WINTERS EXECUTIVE EDITOR he Dale Center for the Study of War & Society at The University of Southern Mississippi will host renowned historian Margaret MacMillan on Monday, March 29, for the Center’s 2021 Richard McCarthy Lecture. MacMillan, a New York Times bestselling author and visiting distinguished historian at the nonpartisan think tank, Council on Foreign Relations, will discuss her latest book, War: How Conflict Shaped Us.The event is free and open to the public via Zoom (Webinar ID: 916 8861 7570; Passcode: 95361926). The Richard McCarthy Lecture Series was founded in 2006 through the generous support of Dr. Richard McCarthy and Dr. Craig Howard, and is designed to bring together students, faculty and community members to access cutting edge research in the field of War and Society. Over the years, the McCarthy Lecture Series has provided the campus and Hattiesburg communities a broad range of programming, ranging from a panel discussion led by veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to lectures by leading historians like
MacMillan. “We are so pleased to have a scholar of Professor MacMillan’s stature as the 2021 McCarthy speaker. Her work has changed the way we understand war and peace, and we look forward to a lively discussion of her latest book,” Allison Abra Ph.D., Dale Center faculty fellow, said. “ We are also very grateful for the continued support of Dr. McCarthy and Dr. Howard, which enables us to offer great events like this, and to an even larger audience this year through the virtual format.” Professor MacMillan specializes in British imperial history and the international history of the 19th and 20th centuries, and is the author of several books, including the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Paris 1919, She is an emeritus professor of international history at Oxford and a professor of history at the University of Toronto. She was provost of Trinity College at the University of Toronto from 2002 to 2007 and warden of St Antony’s College, University of Oxford from 2007 to 2017. You can learn more about Professor MacMillan and her work by visiting margaretmacmillan.com. You can learn more about the Richard McCarthy Lecture Series here: https://www.usm.edu/dale-center-war-society/richard-mccarthy-lecture-series.php.
Photo courtesy of Dale Center
mance’ and ‘Mainframes in the Modern World’. OLLI membership fees vary based on what location people are interested in. Members pay $50 per year to attend classes at the Hattiesburg location, while Long Beach members pay $40 per year. Because of the exclusivity partnership Southern Miss has with OLLI, Southern Miss faculty and staff members are only charged $30 per year. Every person interviewed for this piece cannot wait to attend in-person classes again. It is no wonder, too. OLLI’s lively environment and kind faces are bound to intrigue anyone who walks through its doors. Please visit Southern Miss’s OLLI homepage at https:// www.usm.edu/lifelong-learning for more information on registering, available classes and more.
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MARCH 24, 2021 WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM Justin Bieber serves ‘Justice’ with new album
ENTERTAINMENT JAKORI BEAUCHAMP PRINTZ REPORTER
his past Friday, pop singer Justin Bieber released his sixth studio album, ‘Justice’. This album serves as the direct follow-up to his fifth studio album, ‘Changes’, released in 2020. Despite some of its blunders, ‘Justice’ is a lot better than ‘Changes’, and has the potential to be a classic Justin album. The album opener, “2 Much”, begins with a random quote from Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. The quote -- “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere” -- seems to have been a major inspiration for the album’s title. This would’ve worked better if the song was actually about injustice, or even if it just dealt with injustice at all. But “2 Much” is a love song for Beiber’s wife, Hailey, who he married in 2018. Beiber revisits another MLK speech later in the album in the form of an interlude. The interlude speaks of dying for an important cause or reason. The interlude is supposed to introduce the next song on the album, The Weeknd styled “Die For You”. But again, “Die For You” is a love song. “Die For You” arguably misrepresents King more than “2 Much” did, as Beiber deliberately misuses the quote to reiterate how much he loves his wife. “2 Much” and “Die For You” seem to
Photo courtesy of Justin Beiber’s Twitter
trivialize the message that King was trying to articulate, and I wonder why he had to appear at all. If anything, King’s inclusion in ‘Justice’ speaks more to performative activism than to actual black activism by cheapening his message. However, though I don’t like the way MLK was incorporated into things, I find it interesting that this album is much more sentimental than Beiber’s previous work. His wife is a constant presence throughout the album, and is center stage throughout most of the songs. It also ties in a lot with Beiber’s introspection throughout the songs, as
he believes he has finally matured into a grown man. The song “Holy”, though not my favorite, articulated the religious side of his love for his wife. This was further helped with a feature by none other than Chance The Rapper, who previously released an album in 2019 celebrating his marriage. Another single from the album, “Hold On”, though also not my favorite, served as an interesting insight into Beiber’s life, as he tells the story of a man who had been through trials and tribulations, but who has now found himself. Beiber also isn’t afraid to reflect on his
past mistake. During “Deserve You”, Beiber reveals that he doesn’t want to revert to his old ways again, feeling like his past behavior has caused him to be unworthy of his wife. “As I Am” with Khalid also touches on this, asking his wife to still love him as he is while he’s going through things. As we neared the end of the album, we got the majority of ‘Justice’s’ “pop hits”, and a decent contribution from Burna Boy on the Afrocentric “Loved by You”. The main highlight of the album came during this section with “Peaches”, featuring R&B singers Daniel Caesar and Giveon. Though it also makes me wonder why Beiber didn’t import more than one R&B/ Soul song to ‘Justice’, as he’s currently in a huge uproar over the fact it wasn’t classified as such. It is also a shame that the album didn’t end on “Peaches”. The actual ending songs, “Anyone” and “Lonely”, are good contributions overall, especially with the album’s subject. However, they are also not strong enough to be album enders, which leaves listeners a bit underwhelmed on the way out. Though showing heavy growth within Beiber personally, it has not shown much improvement in his musicality. His vocals have remained stagnant since ‘Journals’, and though his uptempos are a lot more eye-catching, they could be better. Still, ‘Justice’ has a solid foundation, and could show a more introspective Beiber to come.
OPINION MARCH 24, 2021 WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM Drew Brees’s retirement marks end of a historic era CHARLIE LUTTRELL SPORTS EDITOR ven though the NFL community expected Drew Brees to retire within the next few years, the official announcement still led to an outpour of reactions from fans and rivals alike. Brees was one of the greatest signal callers in the NFL, and his 20 year tenure not only affected the game of football, but also affected the city of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. In 2006, the Saints and Brees were not doing well. Brees was a young quarterback coming off of a gruesome shoulder injury that other teams did not think he could recover from. The Saints, meanwhile, were an unstable organization that had endured several disappointing seasons and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. No one knew what was to come once the team signed on Brees. 15 years later, Brees’s tenure with the Saints has become legendary. Brees helped turn the franchise into one of the most successful and feared teams in the league. Brees himself sits atop the record books, too, and is easily the most influential athlete in Louisiana’s sports history. During Brees and Head Coach Sean Payton’s 15 year tenure, the Saints won 150 games. This is a vast improvement to the franchise’s previous record, as it only recorded 237 wins in its first 39 years in
Photo courtesy of ESPN
the NFL. Their initial outing in 2006 went all the way to the NFC Championship. Though they ultimately fell short, fans knew good things were to come. Those “good things” came three years later, as the Saints made a historic title run. Brees led the Saints to a 13-0 start in the 2009-2010 season, giving the team home field advantage during the playoffs. New Orleans made its first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, just four years after Katrina and a dismal 3-13 season in 2005. While Tracy Porter’s pick-six sealed the Saints’s first Super Bowl win, Brees’s efficient performance of 288 yards and two touchdowns earned him Super Bowl MVP.
Part of this success is due to consistency. While many teams tend to change quarterbacks every couple of years, Saints fans knew Brees was their leader, and knew he would remain for a long time. The stability and consistency Brees and the Saints’s offense provided were unmatched. Though the Saints’ defense had some historically bad years after the 2010 Super Bowl, Brees and the Saints’ explosive offense kept the team afloat. Some critics latched onto the idea that Brees was “regressing” after three mediocre 7-9 season, but he again proved them wrong. The Saints changed their offensive formula and bolstered their team with talent to
surround Brees as the defense continuously improved. Brees became incredibly efficient during what many once considered the end of his career. He broke the NFL record for completion percentage in 2018, which he had also set a year before, and finished second in MVP votes. It marked the fourth and last time he finished short of the award. During the last four years of his career, the Saints made serious playoff pushes, including a near Super Bowl appearance in 2018. Brees threw for 106 touchdowns and 23 interceptions with an average 110 passer rating. But time took a toll on Brees. He suffered a lot of injuries and limitations during his last two seasons, which made it clear that his playing time was coming to an end. He still pushed to the very end of his career, even playing after breaking 11 ribs, one of which punctured a lung. Though many Saints fans hoped to send Brees off on another Super Bowl win, Brees cemented his legacy into the franchise long ago. As Saints owner Gayle Benson wrote in an official farewell, “You have lifted and inspired a city, a state and region, and done it over 15 years with class, grace and dignity.” Even though Brees is stepping away from the field, his impact and involvement in New Orleans and football will be felt for years to come. Saints fans across the board are grateful for the historic run they were a part of, and prepare for his bid into Canton in four years.
Remote work might be too much to handle DIPIN SUBEDI PRINTZ REPORTER emote work, once considered a far-fetched idea, has suddenly become a reality for many due to various COVID-19 restrictions. Several companies, especially tech companies like Apple and Microsoft, have adapted to this mode of working for their employees. Even as we get closer to in-person interactions once again, many still find it nice to work from home, and hope to continue to do so even as things get back to normal. However, remote working has an equal number of advantages and disadvantages, so we should not form conclusions based on immature data. Theoretically, remote working could benefit workers in many ways. Different workers have different work habits, so some workers weren’t able to be as productive in a rigid office environment. However, the pandemic inadvertently made it so non-traditional workers thrived. Because their bosses could not as rigidly scrutinize them, workers were allowed to complete tasks at their own pace in far more comfortable environments. Thus, remote working in this scenario would bring the best out in workers and increase productivity. Companies that seem content to let their workers work indefinitely from a remote place will also get rid of renting or buying office spaces in the future. This newly freed part of the budget
Photo courtesy of AP News
could be used for other meaningful tasks, or even could be used to increase worker pay. This could potentially benefit cities as well, as it would be easier to navigate areas with less office workers present. However, remote working is, unfortunately, not made for every worker in every industry. Our economy still consists of manufacturing jobs, and there are some scenarios that require workers to attend an office. In those cases, not
everyone would be able to reap the benefits of remote working. Even with all of this in mind, there are still numerous disadvantages to remote working, which have become slowly more apparent as we have gotten used to working outside an office. Offices were created in order to better detach our private lives from our working lives. It would not be hard to speculate that another crisis awaits us when workers will long for a life where
work and private affairs are separated. Offices also help increase engagement between colleagues, which can make it so they can receive support and criticism at critical steps. Without these interactions, the growth of an individual employee will certainly suffer. Less engaged workers can also make it harder for them to, say, form unions. Because everyone would work in a relatively secluded environment, unions would be less capable of demanding a living wage and other benefits. Company owners may perhaps better sympathize with unions as they have a more concrete link to their employees. It may be far easier, then, to ignore worker calls for collective benefits when said workers largely exist behind screens. There is also an assumption with remote working that all employees have a private connection to the Internet. This is especially the case for tech companies, as day-to-day tasks require sensitive data to be interchanged via email. Addressing these cybersecurity concerns may end up costing a lot more in the long run than merely renting an office space. Jumping to conclusions based on COVID’s makeshift work environments can totally backfire. Only a detailed, protracted and patient study over a certain period of time can indicate whether working remotely can be effective. We should also look more into the benefits of a hybrid work environment, which would do a better job in working out the problems with going fully remote.
OPINION
MARCH 24, 2021
DIPIN SUBEDI PRINTZ REPORTER
reason why the United States adopted DST, as many believed its official ratification in 1918 would help conserve fuels. However, these assumptions have since been denied by empirical studies. Instead of decreasing energy consumption, these studies show how energy consumption increases during Daylight Saving Time. There is an increased demand for air conditioning during DST, which leads to high electricity bills. It was also widely believed that DST was more convenient for farmers. Because of the increased time during the day, farmers, in theory, should be able to spend more time tending to crops and animals. However, farmers have always opposed DST and lobby against it to this day. It is absurd to believe that animals would change their biological clocks according to the needs of human beings.
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Daylight Savings should be put to rest
or years now, many Americans have accepted the fact they have to wind their clocks back and forth twice a year. Though we pretend to get used to Daylight Savings Time (DST), our biological rhythms do not comply with such artificial changes. DST has become a frivolous practice, and it is time we put it to rest for good. Daylight Savings Time has a long history, and has more or less been a staple since the beginning of the nation. Benjamin Franklin, although he did not invent this technique, was a strong proponent of. He compared it to a similar system in France, where French citizens would change their sleep schedules to save money on oil and candles. This was also a major
Brian Winters | Printz
There are also some negative health consequences associated with DST. As young people, we tend to overlook the effects of minor changes to our sleep schedules on our bodies. Yet there is a massive problem with this annual change to our body’s internal clock. Circadian rhythms, a physiological process that regulates our sleep cycle, is obstructed when we switch to DST. The disharmony between our body’s clock and the sun’s clock triggers chronic health problems such as cardiac injuries, atrial fibrillation, depression and suicide. This misalignment also makes it harder to get enough sleep at night. This throws off our hormonal balances and blood pressures, which tends to ruin a person’s entire day. Our productivity dips as it becomes harder to concentrate, which then makes us more easily irritated,
thereby affecting our social lives. We historically and currently miscalculate the costs and benefits of DST. There is simply no good reason to ruin our whole days for an extra hour of sunlight in the evening. Though the extra light may seem appealing in that it gives us more time to, say, stay active in the evening, it in actuality just leads to ludicrous financial and physical costs. There is also no practical purpose for it, either. Even if DST helped conserve fuel, modern technologies do that far more efficiently nowadays. We should follow the rest of the world’s example and ignore the ridiculous practice of DST. Legislators implemented it well over a century ago due to faulty reasoning. Legislators nowadays should get rid of DST altogether, as it only serves to enfeeble us all.
SPORTS WWW.STUDENTPRINTZ.COM MARCH 24, 2021 Southern Miss proves strength with upset win over North Texas CHARLIE LUTTRELL SPORTS EDITOR outhern Miss (5-2, 3-1 Conference USA) stretched its winning streak to three games as it shocked C-USA defending champions North Texas in a 2-1 victory. “It’s massive for our program,” Head Coach Mohammed El-Zare said about the win. “All respect to North Texas, [...] but it’s huge for our program to take that step and have that result that we did today against them.” Southern Miss’s win marked its first victory against North Texas in the series’ history. Prior to the game, North Texas held a 5-0-1 advantage, most recently with an overtime victory in the 2018 C-USA Championship. “We’ve been just waiting for that comeback and to get a win, especially with our senior class,” senior goalkeeper Kendell Mindnich said. “We have so many leaders on this team and we’re trying to guide our younger players and just show them that this conference is so competitive and that we just have to play our game.” Mindnich recorded a season-high of six saves in her first full 90-minute game of the season. “Mindnich made three just outstanding saves in the first half to keep us in the game and then we [went] on to score two.
Charlie Luttrell | Printz
That’s brilliant. She was just unbelievable today,” El-Zare said. Southern Miss gave North Texas its first two-goal deficit of the season, with firsthalf strikes from seniors Caitlin Pierce and Alice Campos. Before the season, Pierce only had one goal in her career, but her shot in the 27th minute gave her two goals this season. As a defender, Pierce says her increased role on the attack is unusual, but that she is stepping up to the occasion. “I’m not normally a part of set pieces[,] so now being a part of a set-piece and actually putting things in the back of the net, it’s big for me because I’m never up there
for the goal like that,” Pierce said. El-Zare said Pierce’s production is the result of weeks of training during practice. “She did her role and executed it to the tee,” El-Zare said. “When you’re doing the right things, things bounce your way and she’s just been outstanding for us.” With Campos’s goal in the 35th minute, Southern Miss enjoyed a 2-0 lead at halftime. Pierce said the early lead helped calm the team’s nerves. “We’ve never been up like that against a team that defends the conference championship, so we went off that field [at halftime] with some relief,” Pierce said.
Even with the lead, El-Zare tried to keep Southern Miss focused on pulling out with the victory in the final 45 minutes. “The game is never over until the last whistle, so I was keeping them focused on that and working the game in blocks of 15 minutes,” El-Zare said. North Texas launched a barrage of nine shots in the second period in an attempt to score. “It was definitely hectic, but not a surprise,” Mindnich said. “This is a game that they came in thinking that they were winning but we weren’t going to let that happen here. We just had to keep calm, stay focused and play our game.” The Mean Green converted one of its shots into a goal during the 61st minute with a strike from junior Olivia Klein. “It was just unlucky on us,” Mindnich said. “I wish I kind of just came out a little bit bigger but I’m glad that our team didn’t put our heads down and we kept going at them and didn’t let them score again.” With this past win, Southern Miss jumped to first place in C-USA West. The Golden Eagles will travel to play Rice on March 28 before returning home April 4 for the final home game of the season against Louisiana Tech. “I think this [game] gives us that momentum that we need,” Pierce said. “We can go into those games headstrong. We beat UNT and we’re strong enough to beat other teams. That’s the biggest team to beat right there[,] and we did it.”
Southern Miss pitchers lead way to second straight series CHARLIE LUTTRELL SPORTS EDITOR outhern Miss swept its second consecutive home series last week, as it relied on strong pitching performances to win three games against Missouri State. Game One Southern Miss escaped with a 2-1 victory in the first game against Missouri State with strong pitching performances from senior Hunter Stanley, sophomore Ryan Och and sophomore Garrett Ramsey. Stanley played through seven innings and threw his highest pitch count of the season with 115 total pitches for seven strikeouts, three hits, two walks and no runs allowed. “Every time he takes the mound, you know you have a chance to win,” Head Coach Scott Berry said. “I was proud of myself for still being able to compete even though I didn’t feel like I really had my best stuff,” Stanley said. “But winning is winning. It doesn’t matter much what it looks like.” Ramsey took the mound to close the game in the ninth. Ramsey allowed one hit, but struck out three of Missouri State’s batters to earn his fifth save on the season. “He’s five for five coming out of the pin in big moments with the game on the line[,] and he showed his worth again as he came out there and completed the save,” Berry said. Sophomore Will McGillis gave the Golden Eagles its first run of the game with a double RBI in the second inning. Southern Miss then jumped to a 2-0 lead in the fourth when another sophomore, Christopher Sargent, hit a single RBI. Missouri State threatened to score with two runners on base in the seventh, but Stanley prevented any runs to close out his performance.
“He [Stanley] was able to get out of that seventh inning. He had first and third with two outs and he was able to get out of it. I felt like it was a very great pitching performance on his part,” Berry said. Sargent got his second hit of the game soon after with a double sent down the left-field line, but Southern Miss did not get any more runs in the inning. “I thought he [Sargent] had some really good at-bats, even though he had a couple of strikeouts, he had the big double down the leftfield line on a hanging breaking ball and then later what proved to be the game-winning RBI. [...] I think Sarge continues to hold that four spot for us very nicely,” Berry said. Och took the mound in the eighth and Missouri State got onto the scoreboard with a double RBI. Southern Miss prevented any further damage by stopping two of the Bears’ runners from scoring. “The play of the game was Sarge picking the ball on a slow roller and short hopping. If he doesn’t do that, we’re behind the run going into the bottom of the eighth,” Berry said on reflection. “That was really crucial to the outcome of the game.” Game Two Southern Miss’ pitching again led the way for Southern Miss, as senior Walker Powell threw eight scoreless innings for a 5-0 victory. “The way that Stanley and Powell have pitched back to back and the way our bullpen’s performed, it’s pretty tough to come back from any kind of run deficit,” Berry said. Powell finished with six strikeouts, three hits and one walk allowed on 107 total pitches. Powell has thrown 23 consecutive scoreless innings, and his performance earned him Conference USA’s Co-Pitcher of the Week award. “I thought that his tempo and his poise reflected the way that we played defensively,” Berry said. “Our coaches did a great job of positioning our guys with the shift to take away any hits they might have but Walker pitched to his strength. [...We] couldn’t be [prouder] of
him and the consistency that he gives us every time.” After being held scoreless for the first four innings, Southern Miss scored in the next three consecutive innings. Sophomores Charlie Fischer and Reece Ewing walked home during the fifth with loaded bases. The Golden Eagles had four walks total during that inning. “Where we didn’t get it by the swing of the bat, we did it with patience at the plate making sure they could command the zone and they didn’t,” Berry said. Fischer then boosted the Golden Eagles’ lead with a two-run double the next inning. Redshirt freshman Andrew Stanley’s sacrifice fly in the seventh solidified the game, as it gave Southern Miss a 5-0 lead. “We’re trying to get our offense going and day by day, I think we’re improving and starting to have better at-bats,” Fischer said. “I was able to find a gap and get these guys going a little bit.” Southern Miss started the first inning with bases loaded, but failed to convert any runs. The Golden Eagles had multiple opportunities to score throughout the game, but left eleven runners on base by its end. However, Southern Miss ultimately controlled the flow of the game, as they got the Bears off the field quickly while forcing more pitches. After two innings, Powell had thrown just half of Missouri State’s total pitch count. “I just wanted to jam the cutter and establish the fastball early,” Powell said. “It definitely did give me confidence. That was the strategy going in. We knew that was going to be something that mattered.” Powell allowed a double in the seventh, which was the only runner he allowed past first base in the game. Game Three Southern Miss finished the series sweep with a strong start at-bat and a near-perfect performance from freshman Ben Ethridge. While Southern Miss started with slower hitting percentages in the first two games of
the series, the Golden Eagles got off to an early start with two hits and two runs in the first inning. Junior Gabe Montenegro hit a single on the second pitch of the game, traveling home once freshman Reed Trimble hit an RBI triple down the right-field line. Fischer then grounded out to send Trimble home for a 2-0 lead. “He [Missouri State’s pitcher] threw me a fastball with a little cut on it[,] but he wasn’t throwing too hard, so I had time to get my hands on it,” Trimble said. Southern Miss scored one run in the third inning, but did not record another hit for the remainder of the game. Still, Ethridge controlled the game by retiring the Bears’ first 16 batters in order. He allowed his first hit in the sixth and a solo homer in the seventh. “It’s my favorite thing whenever I get in a groove and people can’t hit me because I just keep going and everybody gets mad at me or it seems like they get upset whenever they get out and then I just look at them and I’m always smiling,” Ethridge said. Ethridge finished with six strikeouts, two hits and one run allowed throughout seven innings. The defense also made key plays throughout the game by catching multiple fly balls, including a diving effort from McGillis in the fifth inning. “Those guys [Missouri State] were really swinging and they were not easy to strike out,” Ethridge said. “It was just more of focusing on getting weak contact hits that way it was in an easy place for the defense just to go there to catch the fly ball or to field a ground ball.” Ramsey took the mound to close out the game in the ninth and allowed runners on first and third, but managed to maintain his perfect save record. “We just got a great crowd to come out and just put in all out on the field for them and to get all three games, it just feels even better,” Trimble said. Southern Miss will begin conference play in a four-game home series against Louisiana Tech starting March 26.