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TheSouthTexan
THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2017
SOUTHTEXANNEWS.COM
2 3 4 5 6
VOLUME 91, ISSUE 25
Financial Aid demands a refund
Students given $200,000 in awards in error Darcy Ramirez Reporter
The university is seeking repayment of financial aid funds it mistakenly distributed to more than 100 students earlier this semester, officials say. Some students were surprised during the last two weeks to find notices in their campus email in-boxes alerting them of new balances due on their school accounts. The unpaid bills stem from the university erroneously awarding more financial aid to students than they required to meet tuition expenses, said Terisa Riley, TAMUK senior vice president for fiscal and student affairs. Some students told The South Texan they owe as little as a few hundred dollars, but others said they received bills for thousands of dollars. Riley said Monday that so far the Office of Student Financial Aid has identified 102 students whose financial aid awards earlier this semester were mistakenly inflated. Riley said the accounting errors so far amount to $207,474. “We understand that this situation inconveniences our students, and we regret that it happened,” Riley said. “We also understand that it may affect students’ decisions to attend Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and we are doing everything we can do to minimize
Graphic by Pablo Villanueva
the impact on students and enrollment.” Students are awarded financial aid based on their enrollment as part-time or full-time students, as well as their classification. Legally, the university is not allowed to award more financial aid than students require to cover their academic costs. This is why students are being asked to pay back the funds despite the university being primarily responsible for the mistake. “By law, we are not allowed to give students a financial aid package that exceeds the cost of attendance,” Riley said. Riley blamed an “internal
process breakdown” for the latest financial aid office snafu. She said some students were awarded external scholarships and waivers that were not accounted for in their financial aid packages. Typically, the financial aid office conducts reviews throughout the semester of student external financial awards and adjusts aid packages accordingly. “This regular review did not occur,” Riley said. Officials caught the accounting errors during a thorough review of all students’ external aid about two weeks ago, she said. The financial aid office experienced a similar issue during the fall
2016 semester when some students reported delays in receiving their financial aid because university officials were worried about awarding too much money to students without properly accounting for any external scholarships and other aid. At the time, one group of disgruntled students even petitioned for a redress of their grievances from the administration. TAMUK’s financial aid office has experienced some turnover at the top. The office has lost two directors in as many years. Jessica Thomas, the last permanent director, left in fall 2015. Her replacement, Dary-
lann Thomas, served as an interim director between October 2015 and July 2016. That’s when the latest director, Lisa Seals, started. She remains in that spot on an interim basis. If students learn they’ve been charged, Riley said they should set up meetings with a financial aid representative to go over their award packages so they can better understand how this happened to prevent it from occurring again. Riley said students affected by the matter are encouraged to set up payment plans with the Business Office so that they can register for future courses in a timely fashion.
University finances face 10-percent cut Staff Reports
The semester will be over by the time state legislators in Austin decide the fate of higher education finances for the next two years. One thing appears certain, though--cuts are coming. The latest development is that HB1 and SB1, the House and Senate versions of the state’s general appropriations bill, are both headed to a conference committee made up of senators and representatives in order to reconcile lingering differences between the two pieces of legislation.
When it was introduced in January, SB1 called for drastic reductions in university funding, President Steven Tallant proposing cuts as deep as 37 percent, or $26 million, for Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The latest incarnation of SB1
proposes only a 10-percent cut in state funding, or about $6.8 million. University President Steven Tallant warned faculty and staff in January of the impending cuts, but he said then that he only anticipated reductions that at most could run as deep as 10 percent. He said at the time that he was prepared to deal with cuts as steep as 4 percent, but that any more would likely mean lean times ahead. A hiring freeze was one step he announced immediately. Tallant and many other university presidents were seemingly caught off guard by the shear size
of SB1’s initial proposed cuts, which zeroed out funding for special items, money earmarked specifically for programs such as the Citrus Center, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute and King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. “I believe eliminating state funding to these programs would damage our reputation and the public trust we have developed over many years,” Tallant told senators during testimony earlier this year. When introduced in February, the House appropriations bill actu-
ally proposed increasing funding, albeit only marginally, at most state universities. Now, legislators appear to favor shifting funds that would have gone to bigger schools—SB1 originally proposed increasing funding at Texas A&M College Station— and instead spreading that money across smaller schools in order to reduce the need for more drastic cuts in places such as Kingsville, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi. The current legislative session ends May 29. TAMUK officials may not know the fate of university finances through 2019 until then.
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THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2017 SOUTHTEXANNEWS.COM
Entertainment
TAMUK students hold first Pride March
Jake Gonzalez Reporter
TAMUK UNITY and Student Government Association teamed up to bring the first ever Pride March at College Hall, April 26. Students of all sexual orientations gathered in front of College Hall carrying rainbow flags and signs and marching for LGBTQ+ acceptance in South Texas. University Boulevard was closed for the handful of students that marched. After the march, students gathered at the pavilion for guest speakers, food and music. David Barrera, President of SGA, spoke to the crowd on how being together as students educating themselves on LGBTQ+ history will benefit the
future and eliminate assumptions. “Think about it, 20 years from now, we can all look back and say it started here with all of us together united,” Barrera commented. Guest speakers included current President of UNITY, Faustino Limon, and TAMUK alumni and Texas State grad student Will Stridde. Stridde spoke to students on the importance of educating the student body, especially at collegiate level. “I didn’t learn about any LGBTQ+ figures of history till I was in grad school. That alone is a problem,” Stridde said. Stridde provided a timeline poster of LGBTQ+ history including Stonewall riots, 8’0s AID’s crisis and historical figures like Harvey Milk.
“Whitewashing in American film is a problem when it comes to telling stories of LGBTQ+ history like the movie Stonewall which casts a white man as the main character but leaders of the Stonewall riots were indeed the drag queens of color, transsexuals and poor LGBTQ+ youth.” Limon spoke on behalf of the UNITY organization of campus. Limon discussed with the crowd self-acceptance within the community and introducing his next in line president of the organization. Limon led a successful year for UNITY bringing informational booths to the university, Laverne Cox as a guest speaker, organizing a Day of Silence, and now the Pride March.
“I’m going to close off my speech with my favorite RuPaul quote…..’If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else’,” Limon said as he exited the podium. After Limon’s speech, the UNITY club members held more informational tri-folds on important issues in the LGBTQ+ community. Students gathered around many tri-folds and asked questions to the club members. Crystal Zamarron, editor-in-chief of the student newspaper and Student Government Association senator, commented on the event, “I think it’s pretty great that we did this event because I feel it’s important to the community coming from a heavily Hispanic and international population. And
people don’t really know that but we appreciate it”. Luis Aguilar, senior communications student, took part in the march sporting a crop top with the logo “I’m Gay” and high heels. “Pride is about living life with no regrets. Not caring what people think of you. It just shows that you are strong and your strength unites others,” he said. The event ended successfully with students understanding and embracing LGBTQ+ as a part of the community, organizers said. This is not the first of Pride events and definitely not the last, they stressed. Students interested in LGBTQ+ issues or concerns are encouraged to join or participate in UNITY events that take place on campus.
‘Archer’ re-imagined in 1940s noir fantasy
Eight-episode season sends characters back in time to Los Angeles Robert Breedlove Entertainment editor Over the past three seasons Archer has been in constant state of re-imagining . What started off as a straight Bond spoof about a spy agency for hire set spoof in an alternate Cold War universe, the organization formerly known as ISIS has seen itself become a drug smuggling operation for the CIA, a private investigation firm in L.A., and saw their top agent (briefly) become the king of a pirate colony. But the new season, dubbed Archer: Dreamland has blown up the premise of the show far more any season has before, setting it in the seedy noir-tinged world of post-World War II Los Angeles that itself is the imagination of the comatose titular character. As convoluted as that set up sounds, this is probably the most beginner-friendly
season in years, giving each character a reboot with new, era-appropriate back stories and roles. In his fantasy Sterling Archer imagines himself as private eye straight out of a Raymond Chandler novel who discovers his partner Woodhouse (whose real life voice actor, George Coe died in 2015) murdered in his office. Archer’s quest to find the murderer and exact his revenge gets immediately sidetracked when femme fatale Charlotte VanderTunt (heir to the immense VanderTunt publishing fortune) walks into his office and demands he murders her. Or at the very least, fake her death to get her out of a quasi-incestuous family situation. (“How ‘quasi’?” “Four”). Along the way they encounter a pair of dirty cops, Figgis and Poovey, the sultry club singer Kane, and
her mysterious and conniving boss, who is simply known as Mother. This is the most serialized season of Archer yet, with the first four episodes beginning taking place over only a couple of days and each episode beginning exactly where the previous one left off. As a result the episode-to-episode pacing seems better fit to weekend binges on Amazon or Netflix rather than something you would tune into every week. But even with the shift in structure and time period, the core of Archer’s humor sensibilities remains the same. After eight seasons with these characters it’s easy to take their snappy, character-driven banter for granted, but the writing (and especially the plotting) is even tighter and funnier. Archer’s best moments (as in previous seasons)
Archer cruises the California highway with beverage in hand are when he’s bouncing off Poovey (voiced by Amber Nash), who constantly reminds Figgis in excruciating detail that Archer had sex with his wife. Adam Reed and his writing staff really took advantage of the setting, playing around with 40s slang and period and genre-specific jokes. Even the throwaway gags produce some gutbusters, specifically Charlotte casually popping codeine pills like candy, and Archer’s film noir “monologues” to whomever is sitting next to him in the car. The past two or three seasons became too reliant on running gags and the writers seemed to have some sort of competition to see who could make the most obscure referential joke. In Dreamland the jokes are not as numerous and the characters have been toned down just a bit. Over the course of seven seasons Cheryl (voiced by Pam Grier) gradually grew more insane and became a broad caricature of herself from season one. Dreamland’s Charlotte offers up a much more grounded and compassionate version of the character while keeping her trademark
naivety and kinky quirks. She shines in the fourth episode titled “Ladyfingers” which flips the premise of a season two classic “El Secuestro” where Mother and Figgis each try to fake Charlotte’s kidnapping to receive a ransom from her quasi-incestuous brother Cecil (who seems all too eager to cut off his sister’s finger). The darker noir setting creates morbidly comedic situations like this, but also gives us more dramatic and weighty moments than we’re used to seeing from these characters. Dreamland Archer is a World War II veteran haunted by post-traumatic flashbacks that trigger violent outbursts. For a character previously known for his near-sociopathic self-centeredness, this Archer actually has a moral conscious that constantly puts him at odds with the crooked world around him. In many ways he’s a perfect reflection of the Raymond Chandler/Dashiell Hammett noir protagonists. Quite a bit of depth from a show that started off as yet another Bond spoof. But if there is one thing that Archer Dreamland excels at beyond anything else is the visual design and
Photo courtesy of FXX
animation. Sharp shadows, smokey chiaroscuro lighting, and the art deco architecture of the city set a mood straight out of a Fritz Lang film. There are even visual nods to classic noir like Double Indemnity and the Big Sleep scattered throughout the first four episodes. The animation took a noticeable bump up in quality in the fourth season and has only steadily improved since, but this is on a whole other level. Movement is subtle but dripping with detail from high speed car chases, to Charlotte seducing Archer, to smaller moments like Poovey scarfing down a hot dog. I’m not sure how the animators pulled this off, or if they used a form of rotoscoping, but it’s some of the finest animation currently on TV this side of Samurai Jack. Halfway through Archer Dreamland and I’m ready to call this the best season of Archer yet. If it can make up for the lack of Lana Kane and Gillette in the final four episodes, this may even rise up to one of the greatest single season of an series.
Campus
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THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2017 SOUTHTEXANNEWS.COM
A starry night at TAMUK
An evening uncovering the secrets of Earth, space
America Quintero Reporter
People depend on scientific research for answers to complex questions. Questions arise when we look at the starry sky at night or at the ground beneath our feet. What can people find in the far reaches of space? Who or what walked the Earth before the age of humans? Scientists have yet to unlock all the secrets of Earth and outer space. So far, research informs us that humans have only been around for a short part of Earth’s 4.5 billion year history. Only until the last century did man first walk on the moon. What new knowledge and scientific achievements can humanity achieve with the study of geology and physics? On May 27, Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s Physics and Geosciences Departments hosted An Earth and Space Evening. The event was open to the entire public to promote the wonders of Earth and outer space. The Geology department start-
ed off the event by playing movies from the Emmy wining series How the Earth Was Made. One of the movies was about the Permian Extinction, an event that occurred 252 million years ago. The event is commonly known as the Great Dying, as it drove 95% of the existing plants and animals on Earth to extinction. Geology Professor Mark T. Ford explains that many people are familiar with the dinosaur extinction, but few are aware of the preceding mass extinction. Ford also stated that the movie was appealing to both TAMUK students and members of the Kingsville community. “People become interested when they learn about these geographic events. It makes them tune in more to the current events around the world. Student enjoys it too, because it is something that they might have recently studied, so this gives them a quick review,” said Ford. After the movie showing, people were greeted by current geology and physics students. These students presented the public with a wide range of information that included meteorite and
gemstone formations, how to use a geophone, and how to convert geothermal magma into a recyclable energy source Senior student double majoring in geology and geophysics, Lenora Perkins, was one of the presenters at the Earth and Space Evening event. As the president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Lenora explains that people tend to have misconceptions about geology, especially when it came to radiation and petroleum. She did, however, enjoy giving a brief lecture on petroleum and oil drilling. “People really had a positive reaction to the information on drilling. They were interested to see how the process actually works,” said Perkins. After learning about new geology and physics concepts, the
Graphic by Alex Guerra
public was escorted to the TAMUK Observatory. Once in the observatory room, people were invited to take a look into the giant microscope to view near stars and planets. Abdullah Alhairi, a junior majoring in chemical engineering, signed up for the event as a volunteer. He enjoyed seeing the public have an amazed reaction after seeing through the telescope. Member of the Society of Physics Students and a junior majoring in physics, Blas Guadiana also
volunteered to help at the event. Guadiana explains the event occurs twice per semester and is open to anyone in the community. “We encourage people to learn about physics and geology. It is all about getting people to see the beauty and brilliance in science.” New discoveries are still being made by scientists world-wide. With the advancement in geology and physics research, the possibilities of discovering new prehistoric creature or a new planet are not far-fetched. As long as there are questions to ask, there will be answers to find.
2017-2018 SGA Election Results
President: Kaley Dodd
Vice-President: Ruben Martinez
Senator Pro Tempore: Chimenum Glory Elenwo
Treasurer:
Glynna Nickle
Sophomore Class Senator:
College of Engineering:
Erik Perez Renovato Fatou Salla Sarah Bennett Carle Straube Junior Class Senator:
Katrina Sanchez Amalu Raphael
College of Agriculture,Human Sciences, & Natural Resources:
Lori Ramos Robert Ray Benavides
Sofia Pena Jared Smith
Senior Class Senator:
College of Business:
Kyra Kurapati
Kumar Kurapati Lelyn Adams
Graduate Studies Senator:
College of Arts & Sciences:
Sarjina Niraula Hanisha Singh Roa Humberto Jay Garcia Edmund Nnana
Graham Castor Jocelyn Gonzales Ricardo Cruz Senator At-Large: Crystal Zamarron Ajinkya R. Pawar Sushmita Kunjappan Tanishka Guduru Arielle Williams
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THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2017 SOUTHTEXANNEWS.COM
Opinion
Financial Aid Wants Money Back
Dakota Roberts Editorial Editor
These past few weeks, students have been waking up to some big bills. More than 100 students have received a note from the financial aid department here at Texas A&M- Kingsville, stating that they owe a certain sum to the university. The payment comes from a mistake in the financial aid office where these students were “over-rewarded.” Now, the way this works is that students get evaluated upon certain factors of their education and the department determines a student’s educational expenses. From there the department creates a package based on the needs of the student and how much their expenses will eventually cost; afterward, the student is awarded his financial aid package. The department claims sometime near the middle of the year a mistake was made. Some students had not disclosed certain information that would have changed their expenses and therefore the amount of money they would have received; leading to the over awarding problems.
Now while this does seem like a difficult situation, a lot can be said about the state of financial aid this semester. About 102 students now have to pay back around $207,000; keep in mind that is around $2,029 per student. However, this isn’t how it was split up. The South Texan has heard reports of some people needing to payback $3,000, $5,000 worth of funds. For a college student, that is a near death sentence in terms of payback; especially right before a break. Now this is the problem, the financial aid office has to fix this and is asking for a refund. The law does state that aid funding cannot surpass a student’s expenses. However, that does leave some questions. Why wasn’t the adjustment sooner? Does this correlate with the fact that people had trouble receiving financial aid this semester? Will there be any way for students to be forgiven for a problem they didn’t realize was happening until just a week ago? The financial aid office does have to see where the students are coming from with their frustration. Near the end of the semester, all
of a sudden, this gargantuan debt plops right in their laps. Some of these students are ready to graduate, others ready to start vacation or a sumer job, and now, with no real fault to them, they have a significant problem. More than likely, these are the students who had a hard-enough problem
paying tuition to begin with. The very function that the financial aid office operates under is to help students pay for their educaiton. If you are one of the students who is having this problem, I sincerely suggest that you contact the financial aid office and try to set a meeting with a representative to
discuss the matter in full. Hopefully, by next semester the problems with the financial aid office will have subsided. I doubt this is simply a problem with having an interim director in the department and more likely a major miscommunication problem between the administration and the students.
mester I changed my major to communications and ever since I have kept it like that. After, I changed my major I ended up getting with this cool girl. We are still together. I’m not sure what our future holds when she graduates and I go back home. I would like to thank her first of all for the support that she has given me throughout the last two years. Josh and I were good friends and I would like to thank him for helping me find out what I love to do now and that is talk professional wrestling to the world. Josh introduced me
to a group of people that showed me more of the wrestling world that I love. If it wasn’t for them I would be missing out on some amazing stuff. The following year was different for me since all my friends at the time graduated and I didn’t have anyone to talk to about anything. That’s when I met Jesse and this guy was pretty cool. He helped me get through some hard times and to this day is one of my best friends of all time. He helped me in my film class when my group bailed on me, we also filmed the infamous Alpha
Primate video which to this day holds a lot of emotion for me, since it was taking an idea and actually bringing it to life. I have been an official member of the South Texan for the last year and what a year it has been. I want to thank Mr. Ward and Dr. Flores for letting me work for this wonderful newspaper. Both have given me good advice for my future outside of college. Huge shout-out to Pablo for letting me live with him since spring break, it has been a fun ride. To the rest of the South Texan just thank
you for letting me in your home and helping me out with a lot. Finally, I want to thank the group of guys I watch wrestling with and also talk about it with them. Mister Raul Altamirano, Dakota Roberts, Frankie Cardenas, and Bobby Puentes have been some greatest guys I’ve ever met. Their passion for pro wrestling just like me is really cool and to get close to these guys was something else, I could call them brothers because I know they will be there when I need them the most. Bobby, thank you
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Thats All Folks
Last week’s poll results! Have you been asked by the Financial aid department to pay back funds to the school?
Cartoon by Siddharth Tuplondhe
No
79%
Yes
21%
The number of students that have been affected by this cannot be confirmed at the time, we only have the roughest of estimations.
Javelina to Islander: Moving to Corpus
Sebastyon Spencer Advertising Manager Whaaaaaaaat is up guys! This is going to be my last semester here at TAMUK before I go to TAMUCC. I am leaving due to some financial reasons I won’t go into but let me tell you my time here at TAMUK. It started back in 2014 Fall and at the time I was a psychology major and I just didn’t like doing that. I met a guy named Joshua Cavazos and he opened my eyes to the communications department and I fell in love instantly, that the next se-
for being a great camera guy and an awesome director for film class. Raul, thank you for sharing the moments at the Royal Rumble with me, same goes for Bobby. Frankie, thank you for letting me be part of something bigger in this grateful life that I live and letting me have a chance at the radio. Breaking the Barricade is being a huge part of my life and for us to bring home a reward from it just shows that three guys can make nothing to something. Let’s just say that this rollercoaster has been a little too sweet.
Achievement Unlocked: Degree Obtained
Sierra Zavala Contributing Writer
Well, here I am in the final stage of my college career. Texas A&M Kingsville was a fun ride. With the real world on the horizon, I hope I have the stats to complete my mission. Coming to college at first seemed like a mandatory part of my life. With a series of, “when you go to college, when you get a degree, after you graduate,” having a college career seemed like a part of my life I would be required to go through. What was to be expected of me. I
The South Texan is a student publication produced by Texas A&M University- Kingsville students. The views, opinions and commentary do not necessarily reflect the views of the Texas A&M University system. The South Texan uses student fees in part to publish. The South Texan is part of the Art, Communications, and Theatre Department (ACT), The Javelina Broadcast Network (JBN), and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA).
wasn’t sure what I wanted to become. I was decent in art. I also had some high school experience in production. So, I became a fine arts major at Texas A&M University of Kingsville. I wasn’t scared or nervous my freshmen year as many incoming student usually are. I had been through the tutorial mode of dual credit courses, so I was already prepared to dive into this level of education. I still didn’t know what I wanted to become in life, but doing what I enjoyed seemed like a good start. I made the grades, made some friends. College didn’t seem
as difficult as I had expected. Half way there, I felt on top of the world. I had great grades, with steady progress, but then I started to realize, perhaps I just picked beginner mode. I had done well in my art courses, but I had begun to wonder ‘could I really make a career out of this.’ Many other students aspired to do and with no doubt could make it, but for me I realized this might be a hobby for me. I realized that this was only meant to be a side quest in my life and it was time for a change. It was time to start a new quest. Coming into my
Staff
Crystal Zamarron- Editor-in-Chief Frankie Cardenas - Managing Editor/Reporter Sebastyon Spencer- Advertising Manager Bobby Puentes- Circulation Manager Travis Demas- Sports Editor Dakota Roberts- Editorial Editor Siddharth Tuplondhe- Cartoonist Alex Guerra- Campus News &
Editor/Chief Reporter Robert Breedlove- Entertainment Editor America Quintero- Reporter Clarissa Madrigal- Reporter Ashley Gonzalez- Online Editor Pablo Villanueva- Online Editor Dr. Manuel Flores- Adviser Matthew Ward- Adviser
First Amendment Right Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.
second year of college, I had begun to mule over what other fields I was interested in. I had dabbled in production and editing in high school, and other students suggested our communications program would be a great career choice. Now I am a Speech Communication major. Yay new character unlocked. Like any new character, I had to build myself with experience, time, dedication and hours staring at a screen. I made new friends, met new mentors to learn from and earned the necessary skills to succeed. I even manage
Advertising For advertising inquiries, e-mail the South Texan at thesouthtexan@yahoo.com, OR call (361) 593-4371 and ask for Sebastyon Spencer.
Distribution If you would like to carry the South Texan at your business, contact Crystal Zamarron or Bobby Puentes at (361) 5934370
to land a part time editing job for Texas A&M College Station. I’d say I had found my niche. I had found, my main quest to follow. As I approach the final level to unlock my Bachelors degree, I look back on the times I spent at the school. The people I met, the hours I spent writing essays, the hours I spent studying for finals, and trying not to throw my laptop against the wall in a rage quit. I realized that college can take you through different turns in life. You may fail a test, or get a bad report, but there is always room for progress. You may
progress in one objective and lack in another. In college, you can make mistakes and try again, and again until you succeed. You can switch careers or pursue multiple if you are ambitious. You just have to remember to take a break, sit back and think “I got this”. All my time invested at this educational institution was definitely one of the highlights of my life. Now as I prepare to job hunt for the next adventure, I step into the world ready to face new bosses and new challenges. It has been a very exciting adventure, thank you.
Have an opinion? Contact the South Texan at thesouthtexan@yahoo.com or message us on our Facebook fan page. Letters to the Editor
Letters must be typed, signed, and include a phone number. Letters will be edited for grammar, punctuation, libel, and profanity. Letters considered for publication must be 300 words or fewer. Letters may be hand delivered or emailed to thesouthtexan@yahoo.com Please send letters or inquiries to The South Texan at Manning Hall 165, Texas A&M University-Kingsville Kingsville, Texas 78363 (361) 593-4370
Sports
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THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2017 SOUTHTEXANNEWS.COM
Javelinas split series at home
Courtesy Photo
Senior Zach Wilson prepares wind up for a pitch.
Baseball team goes 2-2 in four-game series against nationally ranked West Texas A&M Travis Demas Sports Editor @travisdemas Texas A&M Kingsville (31-12,16-4 LSC) would host the West Texas A&M (3113, 12-6 LSC) Buffalos in a four games series this past weekend, in which the Javelinas would end up getting their first wins of the season against the Buffalos as they would split the series 2-2. Game one would begin Friday night in a close match up that. The Buffaloes would get an early 1-0 lead early in the inning until sophomore Pablo Hernandez continued his streak of getting on base in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game 1-1.
The Buffalos would respond by scoring again in the top of the fourth to take the lead over the Hogs briefly as they would respond with a home run by junior Christian Caudle in the bottom of the inning. Like before the Buffalos would respond with two scores this time in the seventh to make the score 4-2, and the Javelinas would be unable to respond. In game 2 of the series the Javelinas would find themselves trailing early again as they fell to 2-0 deposit in the first inning. The Buffalos would find themselves scoring twice in the fifth inning to take a commanding 4-0 lead over
the Hogs, and continue to assert their will in the top of the sixth and seventh inning of the game to make the score 6-0. The Javelinas would attempt to comeback in the seventh but are only able to muster up one run by senior Jimmy Roche on an error by the Buffalos shortstop. Game three of the series would be another close game in which the game wouldn’t be decided until the last inning. Just like in game one the Hogs would find themselves trading blows, as the score would be tied 1-1 of a score by Roche. The third inning would go the same way with
Hernandez scoring for the Javelinas to tie the game up at 2-2. Senior Alec Kana would score on a wild pitch in the fourth, and once again with junior Levi Zents in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 4-2. The Buffalos would answer in the top of the sixth inning to score two runs tying the game at 4-4. The game would continue into extra innings, as the Buffalos would score two in the top of the tenth to take the lead 6-4. The Javelinas however, would respond with not only two scores, but three. Roche would score first, followed by Payton Geising-
er, and then Hernandez in the bottom of the tenth to win the game 7-6. Game four would start with the Buffaloes scoring one, and Kohl Ullman scoring one for the Javelinas to tie the game at on a piece. The Hogs would take the lead on a score by Zents in the fourth making the score 2-1. The Buffalos would retaliate with a score of their own in the seventh to tie the game at 2-2. The Javelinas would score again on a run by sophomore Alex Gonzales to give them a 3-2 lead, and eventually win the game. “We played extremely tough which is what you
have to do against great teams like West Texas,” said Head Coach Jason Gonzales. The Hogs have struggled against the Buffalos losing the overall series 6-2. “It’s always good to beat one of the best teams in the country,” replied Gonzales. With the season coming to an end soon, the Hogs prepare for post season play, and the win against West Texas A&M the Javelinas confidence is rising. “It gives us momentum heading into post season play,” added Gonzales. The Javelinas have their last games of the regular season this weekend starting on May 5, against Cameron, game time at 1 p.m.
Hogs win season finale, end with best record since 2009
Softball concludes season topping Western New Mexico 2-1 Staff Reports The Javelina softball team (27-24, 14-14 LSC) concluded their season with victories over the Western New Mexico Mustangs (2-46, 1-29 LSC), taking the series 2-1. In game one, the Hoggies allowed the Mustangs to pick up their only Lone Star Conference win of the season, taking the contest 5-7. An error in the bottom of the first inning crossed Rachael Longoria to help the Hogs trim the lead 2-1. The Javelinas, after allowing one run in the following half inning, would begin to build their lead. Longoria would head to the plate with two on, and knocked a three-run homer out of the park to put the Javelinas ahead 4-3 through two innings. Randa Hatter would than hit a leadoff homerun to increase the lead to two in the fourth inning, 5-3. WNMU looked to be in trouble trailing by two with two innings to play when the offense exploded. With two outs in the sixth, Mariangela Garcia helped start the scoring spurt as she singled in Linzy Granger to cut the deficit to one, 5-4. Lacy Granger hit to left-center to score Bailey McFarland and tie the game at five. The hot hitting continued as Ariana Maldonado punched one to left field to bring home both Granger and Garcia to push WNMU
to the 7-5 lead. The Hogs had two more innings to come back and earn a victory, however, they fell short, and the lead would allow for the Mustang victory. The next day would mean judgment time for the Javelinas hopes of playing in the postseason, as they would need both victories and a loss from Texas A&M Commerce in order to make the Lone Star conference tournament. The Javelinas were relentless, as many batters were brought their sticks out in an effort to end the long wait away from the tournament. Alexei Gonzalez hit 1.000 for the day and crossed the plate three times. Rachael Longoria followed, batting .833 and collecting three RBIs. Lauren Oatman (.600) and Roxy Chapa (.333) each led with four RBIs each. Longoria, Lauren Oatman, Randa Hatter and Victoria Schoonard-Saborio scored three runs. In the circle, Carlie Clark shined, collecting two victories, only giving up two runs, and adding eleven strikeouts to one walk. A five run first inning to open the double-header for the Javelinas was highlighted by a two run dinger from Roxy Chapa, that gave the Hogs an early 3-0 head start. A couple of mishandled fielding errors would be sure to bring in Acosta-Cantu and Oatman and provide the five run deficit for the Mustangs.
Acosta-Cantu would have her name called once again, bringing Victoria Schoonard-Sabario across the plate in the second. A few batters later, Hatter put the ball in play and the Hogs would cross another to extend the lead to seven after two. The Javelinas would add three more the following inning, thanks to Hatter taking a pitch to walk in a run on bases loaded. Roxy Chapa would then reach on a fielder’s choice, scoring Longoria. Finally, Hatter would cross the plate after tagging from third on a fly out. The Javelinas would take that game 10-0. The Hoggies would then conclude their season with a 13-2 victory, highlighted by a lengthy and incredible 10 run third inning. The Blue and Gold had six consecutive singles, accompanied by an Oatman double, a Haley Boyett triple to follow, and more before a pitching change would finally allow the Mustangs to garner the three outs they needed to end the inning The scoreboard would read 10-2 for just one half inning more before the Javelinas padded the lead with two more runs providing the final score. Unfortunately for the Javelinas, the A&M Commerce Lions were able to beat Texas Woman’s claiming the final spot in the Lone Star Conference tournament, thus ending the Hoggies season.
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