— Purdue Fort Wayne Softball (@MastodonSB) April 20, 2024
Detroit took a the lead with a score on a wild pitch in the first inning.
At the bottom of the sixth inning Brooke Wintlend hit a three run home run for a go-ahead run. Bailey Manos and Gwen McMenemy scored making the score 3-1.
End 6 Mastodons 3 Detroit Mercy 2
A three-run homer from Brooke Wintlend puts the ‘Dons on top!#FeelTheRumble#HLSB
— Purdue Fort Wayne Softball (@MastodonSB) April 20, 2024
In the bottom of the seventh, Detroit had the game tying run on second and the winning run on plate, but they struck out.
Game two of the double header final score was 13-5.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Softball (@MastodonSB) April 19, 2024
Grace Hollopeter started the game off with a home run in the first inning. In the fourth inning the Mastodons added three more runs. Two were from wild pitches.
In the fifth Brooke Wintlend gave the Mastodons their second home run of the night bringing the score to six to zero.
For the 2024 Spring Beats, Grammy-nominated artist Flo Rida is coming to PFW. The concert is on Friday, Apr. 26 at the Gates Sports Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m.
The pre show party begins at 4 p.m. in Walb Union, International Ballroom with DJ Key Low. There will be food, nonalcoholic beverages, a photo booth, games, and a dance floor.
Concerts tickets went on sale Wednesday, Apr. 24 at 1:30 p.m. online, in person at the Schatzlein Box Office in the Music Center, and by phone at 260-481-6555. To purchase a ticket you must have a valid Mastodon Card or IUFW student ID number.
Tickets are available to purchase at https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2new/team.asp?SponsorID=17325&_ga=2.220002329.1070668715.1713758703-1630992252.1701996085
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 13, 2024
At the top of the third inning the Mastodons took a seven zero lead over Oakland. Jacob Walker led off with scoring from second base. Grant Thoroman stole home and scored. After a reach on error, Nick Sutherlin scored on Cade Fitzpatrick triple, which Higgins also scored on.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 13, 2024
Oakland scored at the bottom of the fourth, but Jackson Micheels hit a home run in the top of the fifth keeping the Mastodons in a big lead. PFW ends up scoring twice in the seventh and once more in the top of the ninth.
In game two the Mastodons fall short to Oakland. The final score was eight to three.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 13, 2024
The Mastodons took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Walker score off of Thoroman’s single. Oakland scored three times at the bottom of the first.
Oakland had a four point lead, but at the top of seventh Higgins homered cutting the lead to two. Oakland expanded the lead with three more runs in the eighth.
After the doubleheader PFW is now 13-21. Oakland improves to 17-17.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 6, 2024
The game started off slow for both teams. The Mastodons scored once in the second inning. Northern Kentucky started making a comeback scoring three times. PFW ended up scoring twice in the bottom half of the eighth inning. PFW’s Justin Osterhouse knot the game up with a two-out RBI double at the ending of the eighth.
Nick Sutherlin’s walk-off home run gave the Mastodons the victory in the 10th inning.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 6, 2024
The Mastodons scorers for game two were Sutherlin in the fourth giving PFW a 1-0 lead. Jacob Walker and Grant Sawa scored in the fifth. The lead was 3-0 at the end of the fifth. Ben Higgins scored at the bottom of the eighth. PFW held NKU scoreless until the top of ninth.
The Mastodons improve to 12-18 and Northern Kentucky falls to 19-11.
This was a very tight game from the beginning. Saint Louis took a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Mastodons came back quickly. The game was all tied up at halftime.
The second half of the game was close. After Renna Schwieterman made free throws, the Mastodons were down by two with 55 seconds left in the game. Saint Louis ended up scoring the next possession gaining a four point lead. The Mastodons came up short on the next possession sealing the win for Saint Louis.
The Mastodons finish their season 23-13 which is their most wins as a Division I program.
Amellia Bromenschenkel lead the Mastodons in scoring with 27 points and 14 rebounds for the night.
Shayla Sellers career as a Mastodon comes to an end. She finished top 10 in points and sixth in rebounds in the program’s history. She averaged 11.4 points for the 2023-2024 season.
Mastodons Guard Shayla Sellers
Saint Louis improves to 19-18 and will play in the WNIT Great 8.
After reaching a milestone in her officiating career in becoming the first female to officiate in the National Football League and the first to officiate in a Super Bowl, Sarah Thomas takes her professional experiences as a learning tool.
Thomas spent time meeting and interacting with students on the Purdue Fort Wayne campus last Tuesday.
Her message was clear, “prove to yourself that you belong where you are.”
Her message was not centered around her being the first, but rather ways students can be successful when they take that step into their professional careers.
Thomas urged students to find a mentor, someone to lean on when things get tough – because they will at some point. She went on to say “don’t look at these tough times as failures, but rather speed bumps.”
She urged both students on campus and those in attendance at her Omnibus Speaker Series appearance on that evening to reach for their dreams.
“That work ethic, that attitude, how you carry yourself, and your field presence, that recognition will come,” Thomas said. “Don’t do things for the recognition, do them because you love them.”
— Purdue University Fort Wayne (@purduefw) March 26, 2024
Thomas’ 10th season in the NFL has already begun as she is required to go through frequent testing to stay current on rule changes throughout the league. She does this all while raising her three children and working at a marketing agency.
It was brought up during the class lecture with students that officials in the NFL take a lot of criticism, but Thomas has trained herself to block out the negative noise and focus on what she can control in perfecting her craft.
Being in the public eye can have its negatives, but the importance of being self aware of what is being posted on social media and how we carry ourselves when we’re out is vastly important.
Thomas shared with the audience that she was scouted by the NFL while officiating a football game. She got their attention not because she was a woman, but because of her field presence and the way she carried herself.
She went on to say that she didn’t even know that scouts for NFL officiating existed, but because she carried herself with professionalism and dignity, she stood out.
Thomas continues to pave the way by traveling around the country sharing her experiences with students. To motivate and guide them into the mindset that anything is possible.
For more information on the Omnibus Speaker Series visit PFW.edu/omnibus.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 27, 2024
With 11:40 left in game the Spartans took the lead after a made three pointer. They remained in the lead for the rest of the game.
The Mastodons had four players who scored double digits. Anthony Roberts had 18 points, Rasheed Bello finished with 13 points, Quinton Morton-Robertson had 12 points all coming from three pointers, and Eric Mulder 10 points.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 25, 2024
PFW made their comeback in the second half. Rasheed Bello’s three-pointer tied the game at 50 with 10:19 left. The Mastodons were lead by as much as nine points with four minutes left in the game, but the Texans went on a run and retook the lead with 46 seconds left.
After the Texans made free throws, they led by one point 30 seconds left in the game. Eric Mulder ended up hitting a game winner to send the Mastodons to the CIT Championship Game.
Eric Mulder put the 'Dons up a moment ago with this hoop.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 26, 2024
All five PFW starters finished the night with double digits scoring. Bello led the Mastodons in scoring with 21 points with 9-13 shooting from the field. Anthony Roberts hit 2,000 points for his NCAA career.
When curious guests looked into the Language Lab, they were greeted by heartfelt laughter, merrymaking, and bead necklaces as the French club invited them to join in on the Mardi Gras festivities.
“Mardi Gras, from how I see, celebrates it in a secular way, Francophone culture as well as our own American culture,” said the president of the French club Veronica Johnson.
Mardi Gras is a holiday, prominently celebrated in New Orleans which has a large Francophone community, known for its lavish costumes, fatty food, and carnival festivities.
In English, Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday because it takes place the day before Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent where many Christians abstain from consuming certain foods.
In the spirit of Mardi Gras, an assortment of foods heavily associated with the celebration such as pączki and king’s cake were provided for everyone to enjoy.
However, despite the joyous occasion, there was great uncertainty behind the scenes.
At the time of Mardi Gras, the French minor had not been suspended. But, there had been concerns about finding a full-time French professor, after the previous professor retired, before the start of next fall semester.
As of March, the university canceled its search for a French professor after already having started the hiring process. The reasons for this decision are still unclear, but the French minor was suspended soon after.
Although the university is willing to help a select few French minors who are further along in their degree fulfill their remaining credits, many French minors are being told to change their minors.
“This action set by Purdue University Fort Wayne sets a precedent for further reduction of foreign language programs throughout all levels of education,” according to their statement posted on Instagram.
The French club is a relatively new club at the university, having formed in March of 2023, but the French department has a longer and richer history at the university.
A large motivation for the formation of the French club has been to create an organized sense of community by providing opportunities for students to create strong bonds through participation in francophone culture.
This sentiment was also expressed by the French tutor Alisa Schrock about the role the French club and learning French has had in her life.
“It keeps me in on our French learning community,” Shrock said. “It’s important because not only do students share homework, but become friends through the time we spend together studying and learning new things.”
One exciting visitor at the event was the retired French professor Dr. Nancy Virtue. Even whilst retired, she maintains strong connections with the French club and former students who have created a close-knit community.
“The current group of students have been amazing at creating a sense of community,” Virtue said. “They’re really engaged, so that makes me so happy and easier for me to retire knowing that I was leaving the French program at such a vital moment.”
Although Virtue’s retirement has been a catalyst for great change; the French department has seen a renewed sense of dedication towards foreign language learning, which is being ignored by the university.
One theme that kept coming up during the event was that of community. Culture brings people together. Simple acts such as eating together or living alongside each other gives us greater insight into each other’s lives.
The Mardi Gras event gave everyone there an opportunity to participate in a piece of culture and expand their worldview into different people’s learned experiences, which creates empathy for the people around us.
