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Jesuit New Orleans Takes Louisiana Title

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Jesuit New Orleans Takes Louisiana Title


Jesuit New Orleans defeated Brother Martin 33-17 Saturday to win the 2022 Louisiana state highschool rugby championship.

Whereas Brother Martin was the defending state champion, the Jesuit Blue Jays got here into the sport unbeaten in Louisiana motion.

The sport remained doubtful till the match’s closing minutes. Jesuit scored early when a collection of penalties in opposition to Brother Martin allowed the Jays to kick repeatedly for contact and at last grind it over by way of No. 8 Conlon Pausina.

The subsequent quarter-hour of play noticed a back-and-forth. Brother Martin put all the things of their defensive position, which led to Jesuit kicking over. Flyhalf Andrew Newell noticed the house and despatched a deep wiper kick that Brother Martin recovered simply earlier than their goalline. The Jesuit chase was on they usually earned a holding-on penalty. Middle Nick Farina tapped shortly and was over.

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Brother Martin obtained the ball again after the restart and labored their manner down to attain. However the restart after that noticed Newell pin Brother Martin again. The Jesuit protection compelled a knock-on, the Blue Jays recovered, and after a collection of pick-and-goes, flanker  Quinn Amedee was over to make it 19-5.

Brother Martin rebounded with two well-taken tries to attract inside two. However Jesuit prop Joe Barnett powered by way of the protection to make it 26-17. Lastly scrumhalf Matt Cashio spun it to Newell, bought a transfer left and cat again proper to attain and seal it 33-17.

Newell was named participant of the sport, and Jesuit is now champions of Louisiana.



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Louisiana

Initial jobless claims rise in Louisiana 

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Initial unemployment claims in Louisiana rose during the third week of May, increasing nearly 12% from the week prior, according to the figures released Friday morning by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

There were 2,184 unemployment claims filed for the week ending May 25, up from the previous week’s 1,955. Claims are still down 10% from the same week a year prior. 

Continued claims also increased, rising roughly 1.4% from the previous week. 

Read the full release.

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Ethan Bates, Razorback-turned-Louisiana Tech baseball star, is ‘Country Ohtaini

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Ethan Bates, Razorback-turned-Louisiana Tech baseball star, is ‘Country Ohtaini


FAYETTEVILLE — The player nicknamed “Country Ohtani” — also known as Ethan Bates — will lead Louisiana Tech’s baseball team against Kansas State on Friday night at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.

Bates, a senior from Hot Springs Lakeside High School, has developed into a hitting and pitching star after starting his college career at the University of Arkansas.

With a Division I-leading 17 saves to go with 15 home runs, 21 doubles and 74 RBI as a designated hitter, Bates’ nickname is a reference to Shohei Ohtani, a two-way star with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Considering the population for Los Angeles was listed as 3.82 million last year compared to 38,109 for Hot Springs and 22,295 for Ruston, La. — where Louisiana Tech is located — the “Country” part of Bates’ nickname seems appropriate.

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“Four-wheelers, that’s his thing,” Louisiana Tech Coach Lane Burroughs said after the Bulldogs’ Thursday practice. “I promise you he would have rather been in Hot Springs working on a four-wheeler right now than in here talking to you guys.

“He’s just a great young man. He loves to hunt and fish. And he’s obviously a really, really good ballplayer.”

Bates, who throws right-handed and bats left-handed, was named Conference USA Player of the Year.

“He’s the top two-way player in the country,” Kansas State Coach Pete Hughes said as he rattled off Bates’ stats. “They’ve gotten their money’s worth out of that guy, right?”

Bates said he enjoyed being at Baum-Walker Stadium on Thursday for regional practices and is looking forward to playing on Arkansas’ home field Friday night.

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“Just kind of taking it all in,” Bates said. “Just really excited to be back up here and see a bunch of friends and family that I haven’t gotten to see in a while.

“I’ve loved being at Tech. It’s been the best fit for me.”

Bates played in 17 games as a freshman for the Razorbacks in 2021 as an outfielder and third baseman, including eight starts. He batted .250 (9 of 36) with 6 RBI.

“Ethan, what a great kid,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said this week. “I mean, he’s not a kid anymore. He’s a full-grown man.

“He came in here and struggled a little bit, but we could see [the talent] in him. He really wanted to play.”

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To get more playing time, Bates transferred to Navarro (Texas) Junior College for his sophomore season. He said that before going to Navarro, he already was hoping to land at Louisiana Tech.

“We played down at Tech my freshman year and I really liked it,” Bates said of Arkansas’ three-game series in Ruston. “Loved the field, loved the atmosphere.

“Whenever I did decide to leave [Arkansas] and go to Navarro, that’s kind of where I set my sights on.”

Burroughs was glad to add Bates, who batted .324 (56 for 173) with 3 home runs, 4 triples and 15 doubles with 34 RBI in 52 games. Bates also pitched in 5 games at Navarro and had a 3.24 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings.

“We were not aware of the pitching,” Burroughs said. “We knew he could hit.

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“A coach at Navarro called and told us, ‘Hey, you might want to look at him on the mound. I think the dude can pitch a little bit.’

“We did put him out there in the fall [of 2022], and he just started carving us up. We thought, ‘Hey, we might be onto something.’ It was kind of by accident.

“It was good stuff. It’s velocity and plus-plus command. Plus slider, plus changeup.”

Bates batted .281 with 15 home runs and 35 RBI and 6 saves with a 3.16 ERA as a junior, then took his hitting to another level this season.

“When he’s in the [batter’s] box, we always expect something really good to happen,” Louisiana Tech right fielder Dalton Davis said. “He’s come through in the clutch a bunch of times. He always finds a way.”

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Bates has pitched 43 2/3 innings in 35 games this season.

“I’ve been doing this for 28 years at this level and I don’t think I’ve ever coached a kid that wants the baseball [more] in the most stressful situations,” Burroughs said. “High leverage, he wants it. He wants to be the man at the plate when the game’s on the line.

“We’ve rode him extremely hard this year. I mean 17 saves, that’s kind of unheard of in college baseball. But he takes the baseball, man. He’s never turned us down. He’s a team-first guy.”

Louisiana Tech (45-17) won its last six Conference USA games with sweeps of Western Kentucky and Liberty to win the regular-season title with an 18-6 record — one game ahead of Dallas Baptist (17-7).

The Bulldogs started their closing run when Bates hit a 3-2 pitch for a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against Western Kentucky senior Mason Burns — second nationally with 15 saves — to lift Louisiana Tech to a 9-7 victory.

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Burroughs smiled Thursday as he recalled Bates’ heroics.

“I don’t think you could have drawn it up any better,” Burroughs said. “He’s facing the guy that he’s tied in the country with in saves. They’ve kind of been in a race the entire year on who’s going to be the national leader in saves. Ethan hits a three-run homer off him, walks it off.

“He’s just that guy. He has that ‘it’ factor. I know that’s coach speak and cliche, but he does.

“The thing about Ethan is he’s ultra, ultra competitive.”

Van Horn said Arkansas’ coaches spoke to Bates about the possibility of pitching.

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“That wasn’t his first love, honestly,” Van Horn said. “That’s the way it is with a lot of kids.

“It’s just that we knew Ethan had a great arm and power from the left side as a hitter. But when he got to Tech, it’s all come out.

“As an older player and confident, he’s been lights out.”



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Plans for the Northwest Louisiana State Office Building budget have changed

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Plans for the Northwest Louisiana State Office Building budget have changed


SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – For the past week, officials with the Northwest Louisiana State Office Building project have been meeting about the budget for the new site construction in downtown Shreveport.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

  • Building in downtown Shreveport to be repurposed, made into Northwest La. State Office Building
  • Contractor seeks subcontractors, trade partners for work on new state office building

Roger Husser, director of facility planning and control, told KSLA about the overall budget for the project.

“The overall budget for the project has not fluctuated since design efforts began. However, the current projections of cost exceed the original target budget that the project was intended to be designed within,” he explained.

The budget has been an ongoing discussion, and the plans for the building design also have changed, with a new architectural drawing being made.

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“The architect, construction manager, and the state have undergone an extensive value management exercise to understand which reductions in scope and design would be required to bring the project back within the original target budget,” Husser said.



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