April 29th, 2021 by Georgia Southern University

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021

GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

VOLUME 95 , ISSUE 23

SEEN AT SOUTHERN: STATESBORO EDITION

THE REWIND PAGE 3

HONORING

THOSE LOST Community memorial on the anniversary of Bulloch’s first COVID-19 death PAGE 5

CURTAIN CALL

The challenges of virtual theatre and Georgia Southern’s final spring play PAGE 7

BLUE-WHITE

RECAP

Offense explodes for impressive performance in second spring scrimmage

PAGE 10

Campus Life

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

88°/61°

86°/66°

81°/55°

86°/66°

SEEN AT SOUTHERN

4-29-21

KYLE JENKINS/staff

On April 23, Darnell Moran and Jaylinn Coleman are spending their Friday morning playing some basketball at the RAC.

Zoey Zoey’s owner: Diane Shertz, GS staff and alumnus of the class of 1979

TAMARA TANKSLEY/staff

On April 27, David Thompson is working on his digital narrative for his Audio Production class at the Sanford Hall’s audio booths.

The latest numbers from the Georgia DPH’s COVID-19 Daily Status Report for counties with a Georgia Southern University Campus:

Bulloch County: 5,243 cases, 64 deaths

LIZ LAVENDER/staff

D’Antay Williams, Timothy Edwards, Brandon Mckie, Devontae Lewis, Frederick Jones Jr. , and Shahad Smith were grilling out by Russell Union for the Wild Out Wednesday event hosted by the NPHC on Wednesday April 28.

Page designed by Aminatta Mbow

Front page designed by Kayla Hill

Liberty County: 3,405 cases, 60 deaths

Chatham County: Statewide: 20,074 cases, 418 877,9816 deaths cases, 61,370 hospitalizations, 17,486 deaths

1-17-19

Spring

2021

#SeenAtSouthern Our photographers went out on campus and snapped some photos depicting life at Georgia Southern. Come back every week or follow our Twitter, @GA_Visuals, to see if you have been spotted! Page designed by Adrienne Prophet

PHOTOGRAPHERS: TAMARA TANKSLEY KYLE JENKINS ALLISON SCHMID EVELYN SPEAR LIZ LAVENDER

4-29-21

Senior Columns Press boxes, fried chicken, deadlines and cosmopolitans: A five-year-long journey as told by a journalist who lived it

MCCLAIN BAXLEY McClain is a senior multimedia journalism major from Cummin, Ga.

Throughout the first five years of my journalism career, I’ve been offered words of advice, but one piece of advice stood out to me. “Keep writing until the story is finished,” said Gwinnett Daily Post sports editor Will Hammock. Hammock told me this when I asked him what the word count was for a sidebar in Parkview baseball’s game 2 victory in the GHSA semifinals. I took that advice and applied it to all of my work — whether that was a feature story on Anita Howard’s rise to a Division 1 women’s basketball coach, recapping Georgia Southern’s second-ever bowl victory in Montgomery or putting stories from Edwin Jackson’s family into words. As sports editor at The GeorgeAnne, I never had a word count which drove our design editor,

Becca Hooper, and Editor-InChief, Matthew Enfinger, crazy. On Monday’s when Hooper would ask for how long stories would be, I’d respond with a nonsensical answer that provided no real guidance and yet they still delivered in fantastic ways. In the fall of 2017, I served as assistant sports editor under sports editor Thomas Jilk. Awardwinning journalist Jilk let me tweet from the sidelines during a tumultuous football season until my phone died, and we had to camp out at Chipotle for three hours charging our phones. Over the span of the three years of working at The GeorgeAnne, I had the privilege to work with incredible writers, editors, photographers, gamers, music critics, foodies, artists, Gleeks, heavy metal fans, Georgia fans, broadcasters, bartenders, politicians and bloggers, all there to produce a product each week that was for anyone else that was desperate enough for a free coffee on Thursday mornings. Luckily there were people outside of Statesboro that wanted me to succeed. Between bugging Brian Paglia to allow me to write for my hometown paper, talking with Mike Foster and Patrick O’Shea about Northwest Georgia prep sports and Brett Fowler, Ethan Joyce and Gabriel

Stovall providing me guidance and opportunities, I was blessed. Through different conferences and the power of Twitter, I’ve had the fortune of meeting journalists and sportswriters from Washington D.C. to Seattle. The network is strong and thanks to COVID for giving us an excuse to drink at 4 p.m. Eastern on a Monday. Journalism and writing was a huge part of my time in Statesboro, but I had so many wonderful relationships that went beyond the press box. Dr. Todd Deal and Jodi Kennedy were like parents who were always there to listen and just point me in the right direction. I owe so much to BUILD, Miracle and freshman dorming for giving me some of my best friends who continue to amaze me. This chapter has been long, tiring, rewarding, thrilling, scary, wonderful, but it’s time for this to end. I’m not too sure what comes after my summer internship with the AJC, but I’m ready for it because of all of you and I promise to keep writing until the story is finished.

A ‘Rocky’ four years

MORGAN CARR Morgan is a senior graphic design major from Newnan, Ga.

Out of all the experiences I’ve had, all the people I’ve had the pleasure (or displeasure) of meeting, all the stress and deadlines and grades, I have to say the biggest thing I’ve learned in the past four years is that it’s okay to change. I came into Southern determined to be involved in the college equivalent of my high school interests. That lasted an entirety of two months. I found out quickly that to make the most of college I needed to branch out and learn what I really wanted to do with my time. This made me realize that I didn’t know who I was or what I enjoyed. This is normal, and college is the best place to figure that out. So I set out to find experiences to expand my sense of self. I landed in the annual Gay-Straight Alliance production of Rocky Horror Picture Show and loved every single second of it all three years. I was shown I can be unapologetically myself, love my body, and be proud of everything that I am no matter what anyone else says. It also helped me find my leadership skills and I ended up directing the show in 2019. I would’ve done it again for my senior year, but a certain virus took that away

from me. I also began working at Student Media as a section designer for the sports pages and worked my way up to my current position. Sometimes it just felt like a job, but most of the time it was very clearly where I was meant to put my energy. Now I can walk out of graduation confident that I have real experience in my field to put on my resume. (I wasn’t paid extra to say that, it’s just true.) I tried my hand at other things as well. I took a bee-keeping class at the Botanic Gardens. I worked on the crew of a Theatre South production. I even had a job at the Statesboro Herald for a time. These were all great experiences, but some left a more lasting impression than others. The best ones always involved my closest friends. Out of all of this, I found a leader in myself that I never knew existed, a sense of curiosity that I want to nurture, and a determination to keep looking forward to bigger and better things. I’ve grown and changed and I could never imagine going back to the person I once was. I guess that’s the point of college: to become an entirely different person by the time you leave. You’ll meet new people, some you’ll love and others you’ll hate but all of them will have some effect on how your college experience goes. Same goes for clubs and classes and majors and everything else. Just know that you have control over all of it. You get to decide what changes you and if you don’t like the direction you’re going, you can change that too.

When life gives you newspapers

DAVIS COBB Davis is a senior writing and linguistics major with a psychology minor from

I can’t say that I ever thought I would join the school newspaper at any point in my education, especially upon entering my first semester of college. At that point, I wasn’t even a Writing and Linguistics

Page designed by Lauryn Terry

major, still drifting through uncertainty as I cleared out my core classes. I didn’t even consider jumping onboard with the George-Anne until the start of my fourth semester, halfway through my second year. I had a friend working there at the time and decided I’d follow in their footsteps a bit and take the newspaper as an opportunity to gain a little experience in a field I hadn’t really considered doing anything in. My friend ended up leaving by the start of the next school year, but I stuck with it until now, staying with the newspaper until the end of my final year here at Georgia Southern. If I can be totally honest, I couldn’t really tell you why. The newspaper basically felt like an extra class, one that, in the past year, required more time and reaped bigger headaches. A lot of my reason for staying was probably because of knowing it would look good on a resume. Doing

journalism work for almost three years with your university newspaper definitely looks better than half of one. More of it was probably stubbornness; we’ve got a bit of an obstinate streak in my family, and I guess a part of me felt like leaving the newspaper before I was really finished with it would be “giving up.” Of course, there were better reasons I stuck around. I’ve definitely picked up the writing style pretty well, and I can say that it’s certainly improved my writing in other fields as well; practice is all you need, and I got plenty at the George-Anne. Doing research on stories and digging up leads was actually somewhat fun, and while actually interviewing people ended up being a bit exhausting, there was a certain satisfaction to seeing a story come together. And nothing beats that pride you feel from seeing your first article online or in the paper. Plus, I’ve got a bit of a better idea of what I don’t want to be

doing in my actual career—Man on the Streets are yesterday’s news! I’m sure despite those positives, the people reading this probably think that I regret sticking with it for so long, but the thing is, I really don’t. Was it hard at times, maybe even impossible to deal with certain things? Absolutely, but when is anything worthwhile easy? Believe it or not, reporting and journalism is still a career path I’m looking into; change the area of coverage into something more my speed, and it’s actually a job I dream of having! So yeah, while working with the newspaper might not have been something I expected to do—and maybe at sometimes, nothing I wanted to do—it’s a part of my college life I wouldn’t erase.

To contact the editor, email gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu

4-29-21

GS student creates ‘V for Vaccinated’ pins to sell nationwide One GS student’s small business went nationwide selling vaccination pins BY CAITLIN-GRACE DANIELS

Correspondent Caitlin-GraceDaniels@thegeorgeanne.com

Without a way to distinguish between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, one Georgia Southern student set out to make a change, designing enamel pins and selling them across the state raising money for vaccine education. GS psychology student and art entrepreneur Edie Grice came up with a way for people to display to others if they have been vaccinated with her ‘V for Vaccinated’ enamel pins. “The idea for my ‘V for Vaccinated’ pins came from a conversation I had with my dad where we discussed how will people know if someone has been vaccinated for COVID or not,” said Grice. “That inspired me to make something for people to wear after being vaccinated for COVID.” “I wanted to make something that started a conversation and I also wanted to put my design on something that lasted, so I decided on enamel pins,” said Grice. “I want my pins to be a way to encourage others to share their vaccination story with their peers in hopes to cultivate authentic conversation about why they feel getting vaccinated is important.”

Working with Fred David, owner of The Marketing Department, Grice was able to bring her idea to life. “I’ve been wearing mine daily since I was vaccinated and I’ve had several people see my personal pin and ask about it,” said Fred David. “It’s an easy conversation opener about such an important topic, and isn’t that our overall goal? Educate, vaccinate and eradicate!” Grice originally began selling her pins in Statesboro on GS’ campus. Now, they have made their way to the Georgia Capitol where state senators and representatives, including Gov. Brian Kemp, have met with Grice, where she was invited to talk about her “V for Vaccinated” pins. Currently, The “V for Vaccinated” pins are now being sold nationwide in nearly 10 different states, including: California, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Oklahoma. “The V for Vaccinated pins benefit the clinics that the pins are sold in as well as help encourage vaccine education directly and through media like Grice Connect,” says Grice. “They also provide direct support to clinics and mass vaccine sites that have vaccinated over 3000 people in Georgia so far.”

Community gathers at memorial on the anniversary of Bulloch’s first COVID-19 death

PHOTO: FERNANDA CAMACHO HAUSER

111 crosses with red and yellow COVID-19 ribbon fill the courthouse lawn in honor of the 111 people lost to the virus over the past year

Page designed by Madison Terry

“I want my pins to be a way to encourage others to share their vaccination story with their peers in hopes to cultivate authentic conversation about why they feel getting vaccinated is important.” Edie Grice

GS psychology student and art entrepreneur

BY FERNANDA CAMACHO HAUSER

Correspondent Fernanda.CamachoHauser@thegeorgeanne.com

County officials and community gathered to honor those lost to COVID-19 on the lawn of the Bulloch County Courthouse on Sunday, the one year anniversary of Bulloch County’s very first COVID-19 death. “I thought it was a beautiful ceremony,” shared Jonathan McCollar, Mayor of Statesboro, after the service, “I thought it was timely, and significant of the fact that this is one year to the day that we lost our first life within this community.” The now 111 lives lost to COVID-19 in the last year were represented in the six rows of crosses with yellow and red COVID-19 awareness ribbons in front of the courthouse which stood in clear view of the Sunday memorial. “This has been a tough 365 days, and in these 365 days we’ve lost 111 souls that called Bulloch county home,” said McCollar, “These are our friends. These are our family members. These are the individuals that we worked and lived and played with.” The speakers included religious

and local government officials of the community who spoke on the hardships of the last year and stressed the importance of working together to keep case numbers low until the pandemic fully passes. The chairman of the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners, Ray Thompson, shared an anecdote about his family’s experience with the pandemic after his wife contracted COVID-19, “I was with my wife today, after services, […] but I was looking at her and I said, ‘what would I do without her?” Members from religious institutions all about Statesboro came together at the service to share sermons, readings of poems and songs, all to honor those lost to the virus. “It was a beautiful service, and I’m so proud of our community for coming together to honor the people who have passed and for being particular and kind and wearing masks and getting vaccinated,” said Laney Jacobs, an attendee at the memorial service. “I think it was appropriate in that it really served the purpose for this community to move us towards healing,” said Captain Carl Ramey of Statesboro Police Department, “While we can’t restore the lives that are lost, we can honor them.”

To contact the editor, email gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu

4-29-21

We asked, you answered: How do you feel about the emerging term ‘womxn’? Some say the term ‘womxn’ is a more inclusive way to refer to people who do not identify as men. The Georgia Southern community responds. Have you heard of or seen the term ‘womxn’?

No 62.1%

Unsure 2%

Have you heard of or seen the term ‘womxn’ used in offline spaces?

No 90.2%

Unsure 1.3% Yes 8.5%

Yes 35.9%

Do you personally use the term ‘womxn’?

No 97.4%

Sometimes 1.3% Yes 1.3%

How do you personally define this term?

I believe this term could be used to describe anyone who feels like they identify in a feminine way but not necessarily a biological women. Also if people find the term woman to be unfeminist then I guess they should be able to choose a term they feel is more welcoming.

It makes it like Xmas. secular, bland, less meaningful, unoffensive to the point of meaninglessness.

An alternative to the word ‘women’ which has patriarchal roots. This term is more inclusive to trans womxn and nonbinary people

Do you think ‘womxn’ is a more inclusive term than ‘women’?

No 83%

Somewhat 10.5% Yes 6.5%

Do you think ‘womxn’ should become a widely accepted and used term?

I see it most often as a term to exclude trans women and I think making the distinction only further invalidates the identities of trans women by implying that they aren’t really women

Yes 4.6%

I just don’t see who they could be inclusive. Trans woman are woman, so just use woman. If non-binary people are non-binary, why try to claim a binary word?

I think it is more inclusive for the range of gender identities emerging in todays society.

Language lives and grows so if it happens naturally great but it is a false dichotomy to force it.

Maybe 17% No 78.4%

I personally define the term “womxn” as a woman that was not born with XX chromosomes (mainly trans women). The letter X solely exists to separate trans women from cisgendered women and is disguised as inclusiveness when in reality it divides us.

I wouldn’t ever use something like this personally, but if others want to use it there’s nothing wrong with it.

“Womxn” is a word used by TERFS (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) to exclude transwomen from woman spaces by saying that they’re actually men which is transphobic

MORGAN CARR/staff

4-29-21

Campus food drives gather supplies for Eagle Essentials Food Pantry BY CAITLIN-GRACE DANIELS

Correspondent Caitlin-Grace.Daniels@thegeorgeanne.com

The Eagle Essentials Food Pantry gathered over 2,000 donated items after efforts from a group of Georgia Southern students working alongside the Dean of Students Office to put on food drive events this semester. “We worked closely all semester with the Dean of Students Office to make the Food Drive event possible,” said GS student and group coordinator, Roxanne Cortner. “We bounced ideas off of each other and shared them with the Dean of Students to make sure it

was an event they could be on board with to launch their food pantry.” “Working with this group helped us get more students involved and collected about 2,000 items for the pantry,” said assistant dean of student care & well-being, Casey Weaver. In the spring of 2020 a group of GS faculty and staff began a regularly run food drive on campus to help food-insecure students. The food drives yielded a lot of food and supplies, so in the fall of 2020, the Eagle Essentials Food Pantry opened in the Williams Center for students. “The food pantry is important because there are students on

campus who need access to food because they have very little or none at all,” said Weaver. The pantry also features a hygiene room for supplies beyond just food. Some items in the hygiene room include toilet paper, shampoo, body wash, feminine products, deodorant and some cleaning supplies. Students and staff can donate to the pantry and volunteer to work it. The Eagle Essentials Food Pantry welcomes any student who is in need, and students can get supplies for two weeks at a time. Its hours of operation are as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The challenges of virtual theatre

Theatre program brings classics to the world of streaming BY FERNANDA CAMACHO HAUSER

Correspondent Fernanda.CamachoHauser@thegeorgeanne.com

Georgia Southern’s theatre program changed and adapted over the pandemic, taking the stage to the screen, but going virtual had its own set of challenges and legal issues. Director of their most recent production Spoon River Anthology, Nicholas Newell explained streaming plays is a battle with copyrights. That’s why the program stuck to classic productions already in the public domain. “Doing something that is either in the public domain, like ‘Much Ado’ and ‘Spoon River’, is one way around that, or getting permission from the playwright, or writing your own. It’s been a very interesting experience that I think we’ll all look back on probably fondly even though it’s been rather frantic.” When asked if the live stream format was one that the theater department would utilize even after the lifting of the guidelines, the answer was a sound no, as Newell explained that, “Number one, that’s just not how theater is supposed to work. What makes theater different than film is the audience and performer interactions, their relationships.” This was a sentiment which was shared by cast members Camille Cornish, Armistead Thackston, and Kabera Higgs when it came to performing their performances and over all theater experience this year. Newell discussed that part of the choice to bring Spoon River to GS’s live stream theatre was the anthology nature of it. The separate monologues featured in the play allow for an easier time when

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it comes to working with the COVID-19 guidelines while still allowing the stories to be told without any plot issues. The live stream performance of Spoon River Anthology will present 26 of the more than 200 monologues that are contained in the original “Spoon River Anthology”, by Edgar Lee Master’s 1915 original work. These are monologues from the afterlife of the citizens of a small town called Spoon River, Illinois where the residents are dying to turn upside down the perspective of how they lived their lives in their heartland town. Due to the interconnected nature of the small town as well as the rich inner lives of citizens Newell carefully selected 26 of the most interesting and interconnected characters, monologues and stories to present to the audience. Of the cast of 26, with 25 undergraduate and 1 graduate student, we were able to speak to three cast members about the creative process and their characters that we can look forward to getting to know. Some of the characters who will be making an appearance include Dora Williams, who’d been a far flung traveler in her life with the possible hints of having met a tragic end. She will be portrayed by Camille Cornish who’s also been in “Much Ado about Nothing” and “Every 28 Hours” throughout the last two semesters. “Riders to the Sea” director, Armistead Thackston, will be making an appearance as Willie Metcalf who Thackston described as someone who was deeply understanding of nature and the beauty of life. Mrs. Williams, the town milliner who is determined to set the record straight about the rumours that haunted her in

life, is being played by Kabera Higgs. Higgs also discussed how in “Every 28 Hours” there was more use of Zoom and green screens than the use of costumes that we’ll be seeing in this upcoming performance. “I hope they have a good time. I hope they find it interesting. It’s an interesting ride, it’s very short. These are very compelling stories, I think, and I hope they find them as funny and as heartbreaking as we do,” said Newell.

STAFF LIST THE GEORGE-ANNE DIVISION

Number one, that’s just not how theater is supposed to work. What makes theater different than film is the audience and performer interactions, their relationships.” Nicholas Newell Director

Editor-in-Chief Andy Cole Daily Managing Editor Abby Fuller Print Managing Editor Mitch Smith Enterprise Managing Editor Olivia Craft THE CREATIVE DIVISION Creative Editor-in-Chief Aminatta Mbow Creative Managing Editor Morgan Carr Project Design Editor Kayla Hill Photo Editor Tamara Tanksley G-A Designers Madison Terry, Lauryn Terry, Adrienne Prophet, Jaelynn Gillis Project Designers Dalis Worrell, Cierra Horton, Niaya Smith PR/Marketing Manager Jasmine Coye The George-Anne Studio Editor-in-Chief Ben Barks The George-Anne Reflector Editor-in-Chief Jenna Wiley

The George-Anne welcomes letters to the editor and appropriate guest columns. All copy submitted should be 350 words or fewer, typed, and sent via email in Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) format to letters@georgiasouthern.edu. All submissions must be signed and include phone number for verification. GSU students should include their academic major, year and hometown. The editors reserve the right to reject any submission and edit submissions for length. Opinions expressed herein are those of the Board of Opinions, or columnists themselves and DO NOT necessarily reflect those of the faculty, staff, or administration of GSU, the Student Media Advisory, Student Media or the University System of Georgia.

To contact the editor, email gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu

4-29-21

DEREK CHAUVIN FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS GS COMMUNITY REACTS BY EDEN HODGES

Managing Editor Eden.Hodges@thegeorgeanne.com

The murder trial for the death of George Floyd concluded last Tuesday as the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts, and for many members of the Georgia Southern community, this came as an overdue relief. “I am glad to see Chauvin get convicted of all counts,” said GS student Jennifer Hull. “For the first time in a long time, I felt a small sense of pride to be an American. They finally made the right decision and have decided enough is enough, and people need to be held accountable.” “I was actually pretty happy with the outcome,” said Chesney Beadle, a GS student, “I felt like it shouldn’t have taken as long as it did, because, in my opinion, he was guilty from the start.” The world watched Floyd’s final moments from a viral video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes. This video

alone was convicting enough for many students that watched. “You can’t kneel on a man’s neck for like eight minutes while he pleads for his life and not be a murderer,” GS student Quinn Harris said. “That man is seriously sick in the head. I am glad he is away from society.” “It should have taken less time,” said Ariana White, a GS student. “The man murdered someone on camera.” Floyd’s death sparked Black Lives Matter protests across the nation, and discussions on police brutality and discrimination of people of color expanded over the course of the year. For many, the verdict is a step in the right direction. “This has set an example for the black community: we are capable of anything and tired of getting mistreated. It’s been a long time coming,” said Zacaria Belton, a GS student. “I think this really made an example out of the bad cops that think they can get away with anything.” “I believe this proves as a win for the BLM movement as this

movement was responsible for the global torch that was lit worldwide and inspired millions of people to protest and petition the government for change,” said Kym’Bria Green, a GS student. The movements and discussions were echoed on GS’ campus, as the university put a focus on improving diversity, equity and inclusion on campus during 2020. In early spring of last year, the university hired its first associate vice president for Inclusive Excellence. “As I think about the events leading to the verdict, I’m reminded that this was yet another preventable act of violence that undermines the experiences and cohesiveness of our communities,” said TaJuan Wilson, associate vice president of Inclusive Excellence at GS. “Here at Southern, we have taken and will continue to take intentional steps to make our community more equitable, antiracist, and inclusive.” University President Kyle Marrero and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Carl Reiber released this joint statement yesterday: “As an

institution dedicated to Inclusive Excellence, we will continue to take measures to stand up for our shared values, and for one another. We will remain united in our resolve to address injustices and hatred in our community. While many shared that they felt justice had finally been served, some made sure to note that no justice or court ruling can undo Floyd’s death. “Because of Derek Chauvin’s actions, we lost a father, a brother, a son,” said Madison Wasdin, a GS student. “Derek Chauvin deserved to be jailed for life; It is not up to a police officer to decide if someone’s life is worth ending.” “While this verdict does not bring George Floyd back it is a big step in the right direction for holding law enforcement officers accountable for their actions,” said Rachel Moody, “I think this win will encourage the movement to continue to fight for justice for the many others such as Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Daunte Wright.”

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To contact the editor, email gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu

4-29-21

Baseball midseason report: Eagles picking up steam

After early struggles, GS has found their footing BY DJ CADDEN

Correspondent DJ.Cadden@thegeorgeanne.com

After coming into the 2020 season with sky-high expectations, the Georgia Southern baseball team had seemingly fallen short; however, after taking down the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens last Tuesday, things seemed to have turned around for the Eagles. Through 32 games in 2021, the Eagles are currently 19-13 (7-5 SBC), which is good enough for second in the Sun Belt’s East division. After falling to .500 during a series against Georgia State, GS has won six straight games.

Offensively, fifth-year senior Mason McWhorter has been the star. McWhorter leads the Eagles in hits, home runs, walks and on-base percentage, while also ranking second on the team in RBIs. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise for the Eagles has come from senior outfielder Christian Avant. A four-year starter, Avant has shown immense growth throughout the 2021 campaign and is on pace for career high numbers in virtually every statistical category. Just like the offense, the Eagle pitching staff has been through its fair share of ups and downs throughout the 2021 season. Two names, however, have

PHOTO: @GSATHLETICS_BSB ON TWITTER

Austin Thompson (#22) celebrates a walk-off win against Mercer on April 14. outshined the rest: Tyler Owens and Chase Dollander. After starting the season as the Eagles’ top reliever, Owens worked his way up to a starting spot and his dominance has continued. In six starts and a total of 41 innings pitched, Owens has amassed a record of 4-0 and struck out 44 batters. Dollander, a highly touted freshman, shocked many Eagle fans by claiming a starting spot from the very beginning of the season. In eight starts, Dollander has gone 4-1 and struck out a team-leading 52 batters. In addition, senior Nick Jones has carved out a role as the Eagles’ top closer. In 17 appearances and a total of just

25 innings pitched, Jones has accumulated nine saves and struck out 46 batters. While the Eagles still have a lot to prove this season, the apparent turnaround has the Eagles in a great position to finish the season. The highlight of the remaining schedule is the team’s road trip to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in a three-game weekend series. The series against the Sooners will mark the end of the Eagles’ seven-game road trip. The Eagles will complete the regular season on May 22 and the conference tournament will begin on May 25.

Softball midseason report: Lady Eagles continue to fall short GS softball cannot find footing in 2021 BY DJ CADDEN

Correspondent DJ.Cadden@thegeorgeanne.com

PHOTO: @GSATHLETICS_SB ON TWITTER

Head coach Kim Dean (left) and #33 Aniston Johnson celebrate a good run.

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Despite entering the 2021 season with high hopes, the Georgia Southern softball team has not found their way this season. Through 29 games, the Lady Eagles sit at 9-20 (2-9 SBC), which is currently good enough for eighth in the Sun Belt standings. However, GS is currently the only Sun Belt team yet to eclipse double digit wins. On the offensive side, sophomore Baillee Wilson and junior Faith Shirley have emerged as a lethal two-headed attack. In addition, junior Ashlynn

Gunter has emerged a force to be reckoned with at the plate. Wilson and Shirley have both accumulated 33 hits, in addition to 11 and 21 RBIs, respectively. Gunter has recorded 29 hits and nine RBIs. Shirley has emerged as the Eagles’ power hitter, recording seven of the Eagles’ 23 home runs. The Lady Eagles’ pitching staff, made up of a combination of five pitchers, has faced its share of difficulties throughout the season as well. One bright spot for the pitching staff has been sophomore Kyleigh Richardson, who currently holds a record of 3-5 on the season. Richardson, who went 3-0 during a shortened 2020 season, has an

ERA of 3.75. Sophomore Aaliyah Garcia has also shown flashes of greatness on the mound this season, but currently has a record of 2-4. Garcia leads the Lady Eagles in strikeouts, with a total of 31 this season. The Lady Eagles will conclude the 2021 season with four more weekend series, two of which will take place at Eagle Stadium. In addition, GS will host Jacksonville University for a single midweek matchup. The Sun Belt conference tournament will begin play on May 11, just four days after the Lady Eagles will complete the regular season.

4-29-21

Lady Eagles pick up third conference win

GS pick up a conference win, but lose series PHOTO: GSATHLETICS_SB ON TWITTER

#20, Janai Conklin for the Lady Eagles. BY DJ CADDEN

Correspondent DJ.Cadden@thegeorgeanne.com

After losing both games of a midweek doubleheader at home to Charleston Southern, the Lady Eagles were back in action over the weekend as they hosted Appalachian State. GS got out to a dominant start on Friday and took down the Mountaineers. Home runs from Bailee Wilson and Janai Conklin catapulted the Eagles to an 11-3 victory. Wilson also recorded a triple, just the fourth of her college career. Aaliyah Garcia improved her record to 3-4 on the mound and Kyleigh Richardson recorded her first save of the season. The high of Friday’s win would not last long as the Mountaineers cruised to a 6-3 victory to even the series. The Mountaineers recorded 16 hits, their second highest total of

the season. For the Eagles, a Shayla Smith home run was one of the few bright spots of the game. Rylee Waldrep only pitched one-third of an inning, but watched her record fall to 3-5. The Lady Eagles got out to a great start during Sunday’s rubber match, but ultimately fell to the Mountaineers. After opening up a 2-0 lead, the Mountaineers scored five unanswered runs to claim the series with a 5-2 victory. Mekhia Freeman, Olivia Creamer and Wilson all recorded two hits for the Eagles. Anna Feil remained winless on the mound (0-6). The Lady Eagles now sit at 1022 (3-11 SBC), which puts them in ninth place in the Sun Belt standings. GS will be back in action as they host Jacksonville on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Eagles stay hot, but lose win streak GS won the series but came up short of a sweep

victories, GS finally stumbled again. On Friday, the Eagles dominated from start to finish during an 8-2 victory. Nine different players recorded a hit during a 17-hit performance by GS. M a s o n McWhorter, Jason Swan and Jarrett Brown all recorded a home run in an offensive explosion, while Tyler Owens PHOTO: GSATHLETICS_BSB ON INSTAGRAM #4, Mason McWhorter for the men’s improved to 5-0 on the mound. baseball team. GS dominated once again on BY DJ CADDEN Correspondent Saturday en route to an 8-3 DJ.Cadden@thegeorgeanne.com win, which extended the Eagle win streak to eight After winning six consecutive victories. consecutive games, the McWhorter recorded a Georgia Southern baseball home run, while six other team entered their Eagles logged at least weekend series at Coastal one hit. On the mound, ona momentum high. Braden Hays recorded his The Eagles ultimately second win and Nick Jones stayed hot, but lost their accumulated his 10th save win streak in the process. of the season. After eight consecutive

The Eagle bats stayed hot on Sunday, but the Chanticleer bats proved to be hotter during their 8-6 victory over GS. McWhorter and Steven Curry both launched a home run and recorded a double. For McWhorter, it was the third straight game with a home run. However, the Chanticleers hit five home runs of their own during an offensive showcase. Jordan Jackson recorded nine strikeouts for the Eagles, but watched as his record fell to 2-5 on the season. The Eagles now sit at 2114 (9-6 SBC) on the season, which is good enough for third place in the Sun Belt’s East division. GS will travel to take on Kennesaw State on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the Kennesaw State YouTube page.

Offense explodes for impressive performance in second spring scrimmage PHOTO: GS ATHLETICS

Justin Tomlin (#17) scores a touchdown at GS’ final scrimmage game of the spring. BY DJ CADDEN

Correspondent DJ.Cadden@thegeorgeanne.com

Just one week after holding the first scrimmage, the Eagles were back in action for the second and final scrimmage of the spring. The offensive performance was very balanced for GS, as they racked up 245 rushing yards and 214 passing yards. Quarterback Justin Tomlin went 7 for 10 with three touchdowns and one interception and ended the game with six consecutive completions. Tomlin also rushed for a fourth touchdown.

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Eagles now have less than a week until the spring game

“I feel like we created a lot of explosive plays today,” said Tomlin. “ A lot of good things from young guys today, so I feel like today was a good jump for the offense.” Perhaps the most impressive performance on Saturday came from junior wide receiver Khaleb Hood, who accumulated 71 rushing yards, 60 receiving yards and two touchdowns. “We just got better as an offense today,” said Hood. “I feel like we clicked a lot more and really everybody was doing their job and doing it for the next man.”

Redshirt freshman quarterback Connor Cigelske went fivefor-nine for 37 yards and two touchdowns, but impressed coaches once again. The rushing game was led by Hood and Logan Wright, but the entire running back group looked strong. Defense continues to look extremely impressive Despite allowing 459 total yards, the Eagle defense once again put together a strong performance on Saturday. Dillon Springer, Jon Ferguson,

C.J. Wright and AJ Watkins all recorded a sack. In addition, freshman safety Myzel Williams grabbed an interception. The icing on the cake for the defense was a fumble recovery by redshirt senior linebacker Tre Allen. The fumble would have been returned for a 73-yard touchdown, but was blown dead before Allen reached the endzone. “Defensively, I think we’re really solid across the board,” said head coach Chad Lunsford about the team’s defensive performance. “Obviously, we want to continue to see the linebacker grow.”

4-29-21

S U N S S L A I D L S W U N G K R D

Puzzles O W N S T O O L R K E P T A O N E S

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To contact the creatitve editor-in-chief, email prodmgr@georgiasouthern.edu

4-29-21

Sudoku Solution S U N S S L A I D L S W U N G K R D

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L E T E O E O E O A E A M W A O E P

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