Columbia stuns top-seeded Southern Miss 11-4 in nightcap of Hattiesburg Regional
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Hunter Snyder had four hits and scored three runs, and Anton Lazits hit a three-run homer to power Columbia to an 11-4 victory over top-seeded tournament host Southern Mississippi in the Hattiesburg Regional on Friday night.
Fourth-seeded Columbia (30-17) will play the No. 3 seed Miami Hurricanes on Saturday. Southern Miss (44-15) will play Alabama in an elimination game earlier in the day.
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Snyder had an RBI single, and Sam Miller doubled in two before scoring on a double by Griffen Palfrey in a four-run fourth inning as the Lions took a 6-1 lead.
Owen Estabrook hit a two-run homer in the eighth and added an RBI single in the ninth for Columbia. Lazits homered leading off the three-run ninth for the Lions.
Alex Sotiropoulos (5-3) pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings in relief of starter Jagger Edwards. Edwards allowed three runs — one earned — on two hits in 3 1/3. Tomas Lopez pitched the final two innings and allowed an unearned run on two hits.
Jake Cook had two hits and an RBI for the Golden Eagles. Starter Matthew Adams (6-3) allowed four runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings.
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Southern Miss is playing in its ninth straight NCAA Tournament and 21st overall. The Golden Eagles made their only College World Series appearance in 2009.
Columbia has made six of its eight national tourney appearances since 2013 but never advanced to the CWS.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
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CNN
29 minutes ago
- CNN
Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans
For nearly a decade, the community in Orlando has been working to find a way to memorialize the 49 people who were killed when a gunman opened fire on Latin night at a popular gay nightclub, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history at the time. Now, as the city marks the nine-year anniversary of the tragedy at Pulse on June 12, city leaders and local activists say they have renewed hope that construction of a permanent memorial site will begin next June. City engineers are currently reviewing proposals from design firms with plans to award a contract this summer. The conceptual site design – created by an 18-member advisory board of survivors, loved ones of victims and community leaders – includes a memorial and reflection space, a survivors' tribute wall, a private gathering space for personal reflection, a walkway with columns honoring the 49 victims on rainbow glass panels, a healing garden and a visitor's center. The Pulse Memorial is set to be completed by the end of 2027, according to the city. Admission to the memorial will be free, city officials say. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who has been mayor since 2003, said he believes it's important to honor the victims and survivors. 'I think from the time it happened we knew that we wanted to memorialize the victims of the tragedy and have a place to reflect on what happened and to honor them,' Dyer told CNN. 'Hopefully that is what we will be able to achieve with the memorial, and I think it's important that it's on the site where it took place.' The building that housed the club will be demolished, Dyer said. Family members of the victims and survivors were able to walk through the building for the first time on Wednesday. 'For whatever closure and peace of mind that may provide somebody, we wanted to make that available,' Dyer said. The city acquired the land where Pulse sits from the club's owners in December 2023 for $2 million, a city spokeswoman said. The club owners had formed a non-profit called the onePulse Foundation following the shooting with the intention of raising funds to build a memorial and museum in honor of the victims, Dyer said. The foundation raised more than $20 million in the seven years it operated, according to CNN affiliate WFTV. Dyer said the money raised was largely spent on salaries of foundation workers. The foundation's plans for both a memorial site and a museum that would cost at least $50 million to build proved to be 'very hard to achieve,' Dyer said. The onePulse Foundation dissolved in December 2023, according to WFTV. 'The magnitude that needed to be raised to create a museum overwhelmed the memorial process,' Dyer said. Nancy Rosado, an advisory committee member and community activist, said the lack of progress on building the museum for nine years became a 'sticking point to healing' for survivors and the family and friends of victims. Rosado, who offered grief counseling to many of the families impacted by the massacre, said people wanted to see their loved ones memorialized and have the trauma they endured from the shooting recognized in a meaningful way. The city, she said, surveyed families and victims on what they wanted the memorial site to include. One shared goal of the advisory committee was to ensure that the memorial honored both the gay and Latino communities who felt at home at the club before the shooting. 'I believe this will move them forward,' Rosado said. 'Let's get this component settled so you have a place to go to express your grief or to express joy at seeing your son or daughter's name or your friend's name on a wall. These elements are so healing and I'm really happy that we are at this particular point.' Brandon Wolf, who survived the Pulse shooting after hiding in a bathroom, said it's past time for the community to have a 'respectful, permanent place to pay their respects.' Wolf lost his two best friends, Christopher Andrew Leinonen and Juan Ramon Guerrero, in the attack. 'I am looking forward to a space that is worthy of the memory of my best friends – one where I can feel close to them and reflect on why we have to continue doing the work to honor them with action,' said Wolf, who is also national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. But some families and community advocates say they oppose the advisory committee's design plan for a memorial site. Zachary Blair, co-founder of the grassroots group Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice and a former Pulse patron, said he is disappointed that it's been nine years since the shooting and the city still has no permanent memorial for the victims of the tragedy at Pulse. Blair said he created his group and started speaking out in 2019 when he learned the onePulse Foundation wanted to build a multi-million dollar museum. He said many families and survivors were against the museum because they believed it was 'turning a massacre into a tourist attraction.' When onePulse dissolved in 2023, Blair said there was even more frustration that the foundation had raised millions of dollars, yet it still didn't build anything to memorialize those impacted by the attack. 'It's awful and it shows how much of a failure these people are,' Blair said. In a statement published by CNN affiliate WESH in 2023, the onePulse board said it was 'challenged by unexpected and definitive events, among them the inability to secure a full donation of the Pulse nightclub site from the property owners and a global pandemic that brought with it critical limits and many unanticipated consequences, that ultimately impacted our fundraising efforts.' 'These unanticipated challenges have led the Trustees to vote late yesterday to initiate the transfer of our assets and the dissolution of the Foundation,' the statement read. Blair said his group still believes the city's current memorial design is 'too garish, it's too touristy.' 'It's not a somber, reflective, dignified space where families and the public can come to pay their respects,' he said. Christine Leinonen, Christopher Andrew Leinonen's mother, said she believes the existing plan is more of a tourist attraction that the city is using to bring in revenue from visitors spending money in Orlando. Leinonen, also a co-founder of Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice, said she would prefer an outdoor memorial park with trees and a walking path. She said she applied to join the city's advisory committee but was not selected. 'We want a simplified, dignified, free, easy space,' Leinonen. 'A place where people can stop by while they are out walking. Let's not take a mass shooting … and make it into your form of collecting tourist dollars.' Dyer acknowledged that there has been some division among families and survivors on how the Pulse memorial site should look. He called claims that the site will be a tourist attraction 'misinformation.' Rosado said she feels confident the current plans for the memorial will be successful. 'Right now, people have such little faith and are braced for a shoe to drop somewhere along the line,' Rosado said. 'But I have a lot of faith that at this stage of the game with all the fanfare and all the commitment and time invested in this that we are going to see this memorial be a fitting tribute to those we lost that day.'
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
Browns minicamp: QBs slowly making strides, Denzel Ward still in top form
Save for a couple of passes thrown in the direction of tight end David Njoku and a few offensive snaps destroyed by all-world defensive end Myles Garrett, what we've seen through two days of mandatory minicamp for the Cleveland Browns is mostly what we saw in brief glimpses of rookie minicamp and voluntary organized team activities. Advertisement We've been largely tracking the quarterback competition. It's the most intriguing and important part of this early phase of the Browns' road back from 3-14, and it's what is easiest to watch in any non-contact spring setting. This year just happens to have the Browns trying to find something from a group headlined by the 40-year-old Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett on his third team in three years and two rookies drafted in April, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Flacco gets the fewest reps because he's the most experienced. He's been in the NFL since Sanders was in kindergarten. Pickett is usually first in the warmup lines and first up for a lot of drills. Gabriel goes first with the backups because he was drafted before Sanders. On each of the first two days of minicamp, Gabriel has taken snaps with the No. 1 offense in full-team situations against at least most of the No. 1 defense. Dillon dart 🎯 — Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 11, 2025 What we've continued to hear from Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is that the quarterback order doesn't matter and, in many cases, the results don't, either. Stefanski has repeatedly said the Browns are installing plays, stressing fundamentals and just getting the quarterbacks ready for training camp this summer. Those are boring answers, but they match what we've seen on the field and what a normal May and June process would be for almost any team, even in this abnormal situation. From my view on the sidelines, these two minicamp practices have been Gabriel's best throwing days. He's finished both strongly after erratic starts. Sanders comes in and generally gets the ball out of his hand quickly and confidently. Flacco can still fling it when he's asked to, and Pickett has been unremarkable. But this is about process more than results — even if that line makes longtime Browns fans cringe — and that shows up in the work that's done on the practice field before reporters scramble to record certain throws for social media or chart each passer's daily performance. On Wednesday, for example, the quarterbacks went through extended work on shotgun handoffs and play-fakes. We've heard both rookies discuss leaning on Flacco in the meeting room for his experience on how to diagnose defensive concepts, and we've twice heard Flacco say the rookies even want to mimic his cadence as part of them trying to digest everything that's being taught at this early stage. Stefanski has said the team has now gone through seven different installation packages for the offense. Just by the natural order of things, the quarterbacks should be completing more passes than they were in mid-May. But sometimes the defense knows what's coming, too, and almost all of the true highlight throws and catches that end up on social media have been made in 7-on-7 settings. Advertisement To go full Allen Iverson, this is just practice. This is about the small stuff — details, brief introductions, little tips and tricks — that later can help with the big stuff. The quarterback competition that got bigger on the final day of the draft was never going to be super interesting until August. It's fair to say, too, that the addition of Sanders is actually what makes it intriguing. Not just his presence, but the accuracy and decisiveness he's shown this spring. The Browns having four quarterbacks has re-shaped everything about how they handled the offseason program, and it will be the headline story of the summer. From here, the belief is that Flacco is the clear favorite to win the first phase of that competition and the starting job. How the rest of it shakes out is anyone's guess, but Sanders has been good enough this spring to make coaches believe he's worthy of more chances this summer. I think he's earned that, and based on what we've seen to this point, Sanders has positioned himself to make the roster and eventually make the folks in charge think about where he might belong on the depth chart. That's all getting way ahead of things right now, so we'll defer to what Stefanski has repeatedly said and pump the brakes. Here at the end of what can fairly be called a three-week quarterback camp, Flacco is the best passer, and Sanders made enough impressive throws to make me think Cleveland might be on to something with him. A camp that features real football and ends with real decisions that could shape the future of the franchise starts in about six weeks. Let's save most of our overreactions for then. Last summer, the Browns rewarded Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward with a practice off on the last day of minicamp for his perfect attendance through every phase of the offseason program. Ward has had perfect attendance again this year. Advertisement Being present means something to Ward, who's now in his eighth season. Frankly, Ward's presence has prevented almost all of Cleveland's quarterbacks from having more completions in the open practices, and that's part of making everyone better. Ward said Wednesday what I thought was obvious: that 2024 was his best season. He appears to be in top form again, and the best version of Ward gives the Browns a chance to be good enough defensively to help the team collect some wins early in the season. The defense is going to greatly miss the presence of injured linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, but just getting a little more help from the offense and being better up front with first-round defensive tackle Mason Graham can help the Browns' defense create the kind of havoc it might need. Ward dropped several potential interceptions last season, and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has cited those as 'the difference between (Ward being) Pro Bowl and All-Pro, the game-changing plays.' Ward has taken that challenge, and he's the best player in an experienced secondary that has the team's No. 2 and 3 cornerbacks, Martin Emerson Jr. and Greg Newsome II, both signed only through 2025. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think Garrett and Njoku choosing not to participate in the voluntary OTA practices means much. But I do think the Browns are going to purposefully have a more competitive training camp than they had last year, and I think the search for stronger leadership and a hungrier overall outlook are going to be consistent themes. I think Schwartz heads to each week of the season believing he can count on Ward and Garrett to be among the best in the game, and that's a pretty good place to start. The wide receiver group has been short-handed with Cedric Tillman and Michael Woods II watching from the sideline with what are believed to be minor injuries. Tillman is a locked-in starter for this team if healthy, and Woods has a shot to make the roster and the wide receiver rotation, too. Thus far, it's been Jerry Jeudy and then everybody else in these spring practices. Given what the Browns pay Jeudy and the way he performed in the back half of last season, that's no surprise. .@jerryjeudy with room to run 🏃♂️💨 — Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 11, 2025 But the Browns didn't draft a receiver. Two days after the draft, they signed Diontae Johnson to a one-year deal that includes no guaranteed money. Johnson is a proven producer, but he's been on five teams in the last 15 months and told reporters Wednesday that Cleveland was really the only team calling him earlier this spring. Johnson was clear he's focused on what's ahead, not the past, and not what he repeatedly said was just one bad year. Stefanski said much of the same, and something close to the best version of Johnson should be able to help the Browns. Second-year wideout Jamari Thrash seems to be making the most of the extra opportunities he's received this spring. The Browns loaded up on undrafted rookie receivers to make sure there were enough available players for the extra passing periods. Advertisement But unless either Thrash or Woods makes a big leap, the Browns still might be in the wide receiver market in August. And if Johnson doesn't work out or Tillman doesn't build on the momentum he created last year before missing the end of the season with a concussion, the team runs the risk of the receiver group reverting to what it mostly currently looks like: Jeudy and everyone else. Maybe Njoku is in for a big season. He's in a contract year, so he should be engaged and looking to re-find his form. I believe the Browns got a nice player for the future in third-round tight end Harold Fannin Jr., but Fannin's early role might depend on how quickly he can be trusted to block — and how much the coaches trust the other players in the pass-catching group.
New York Times
43 minutes ago
- New York Times
Patriots stock report: Efton Chism and other risers and fallers after spring practices
Before the New England Patriots adjourned for the quietest six-week stretch on the NFL calendar, with no practices or meetings until training camp begins on July 23, new coach Mike Vrabel stressed the importance of the time away. 'I don't think it's a downtime,' Vrabel said. 'It's time away from the facility. I think it's important. It's probably the five most important weeks of the offseason as far as I'm concerned. … It's critical that they come back in shape, that they're ready to go for training camp, that we're prepared as coaches with the schedule, the installation and what we're doing. The players have to hold up their end of the bargain to prepare for training camp.' Advertisement Still, the end of spring practices comes with some surprises. Roster cutdown day isn't going to be shaped much by organized team activities and minicamp, but those sessions do have an impact on where players stand heading into training camp. Today, let's look at the players who climbed the depth chart and fell the most this spring. We have to start here. No player's stock rose more than Chism's. He didn't just stand out to reporters at the sessions we watched. He drew praise from arguably the two most important people: Vrabel and Drake Maye. Maye said it felt like Chism 'had about 50 catches' during OTAs. Vrabel's remarks stood out, too. Perhaps it's just that people in these parts aren't used to the head coach praising any player, let alone an undrafted rookie who hasn't played a game, but Vrabel's comments turned a few heads. 'I think he's a talented player,' Vrabel said. 'I think he has a certain skill set. He's dedicated. He's studied extremely hard. He has a good feel for what we're asking him to do. I think the biggest thing for receivers is that there's trust from the guy that throws the football. … It doesn't take you long to figure out who the quarterback trusts. It's the ones they target (with passes). That's a good indicator.' Mike Vrabel on undrafted WR Efton Chism, a spring standout so far: 'I think he's a talented player. … He has a good feel for what we're asking.' — Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) June 10, 2025 Yes, they were only spring practices, and there is a long, long way to go. But at this point, it seems more likely than not that Chism makes the team. It may seem strange to include one of the league's best cornerbacks as a 'riser' based on spring practices, but Gonzalez looked like a true shutdown corner this spring, taking a step forward from his high level of play a year ago. Advertisement One day after Maye said he was going to challenge Gonzalez in practice, Maye had a receiver one-on-one downfield against Gonzalez, so he threw it up. But Gonzalez adjusted his body and came down with a great interception despite no safety help. In five practices open to reporters, Gonzalez had three picks. He looks primed for an incredible year that could solidify him as a top-five corner in the NFL. Part of practice is taking advantage of your opportunities. And while Rhamondre Stevenson was away from the team for a bit, dealing with a personal matter following the loss of his father, Henderson brought a juice to the team's backfield that it hasn't had in a few years. There were certainly fair reasons to be skeptical about a rebuilding team using its second-round pick on a running back. But Henderson's speed is obvious, and he'll be one of the most fun players for fans to watch in camp. The guess here is he ends up as the team's No. 1 back by the end of the season. It wasn't always clear whether Elliss would return to the Pats after he signed an offer sheet from the Las Vegas Raiders, but now he's got a chance to be a starting middle linebacker in New England. Jahlani Tavai suffered a leg injury in OTAs, and Elliss took advantage of the increased snaps. With a good camp, he'll be starting next to Robert Spillane. Amid the Patriots' overhaul on defense, the addition of Chaisson has gone slightly under the radar. But the 2020 first-round pick had some impressive moments this spring and could be looking at a meaningful role if he plays well in training camp. Chaisson is still just 25 despite already playing five NFL seasons and looks ready to build on the five sacks he had a year ago for the Raiders. Perhaps it's not fair to put injured players in this category. But as coaches often say, the best ability is availability, and Polk needs to stand out to this new coaching staff to earn a spot in a crowded wide receiver room. After a shoulder procedure in the offseason, Polk was limited to side-field activities this spring and couldn't do much with the team. The wide receiver competition will be fascinating to follow in training camp. Advertisement A year after recovering from an ACL tear, the Patriots would have liked to see more from Bourne than they did this spring. He was … fine. But they're likely only going to keep six receivers, and with Chism playing like he deserves a spot, the numbers get complicated quickly for Bourne. He needs a strong camp, or he could be a cut candidate. It hasn't been the start to his NFL career that Mapu hoped for after being a third-round pick in 2023. To simplify things for him, Vrabel has Mapu working at linebacker instead of both there and safety, where Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo used him. There's less depth at linebacker, which helps Mapu's chances of making the team. But I've got some concerns about a guy with durability issues suddenly playing a more physical position. Vrabel thinks Mapu can be a good blitzer, so he'll need to shine there in camp.
