BATON ROUGE - Southern University's baseball players took the field Friday, with heavy hearts after losing a piece of their team.

71-year-old Superfan Ben Keller, better known as "Po Ben", passed away Thursday. He has supported Southern's Baseball team for more than three decades.

"Po Ben, we go back to 1985, my first year coaching at Goldsby Field," former Jaguar coach Roger Cador said.

Cador led the team for 33 years and he said he remembers Po Ben always being there.

Po Ben was known for bringing a broomstick to Southern's baseball games. He would hold the stick and call for the Jags to sweep the opponents off their feet.

"That was his way of saying, we got you. We've have swept you," Keller's son said.

Funeral visitation is scheduled for Thursday, March 14th, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church starting at 6 p.m.  Funeral arrangements will be held at the same church church on Friday, March 15th followed by his burial at the Louisiana National Cemetery in Zachary.

Po Ben's family is hoping to place a memorial in his honor at Lee Hines Stadium, where the Jags play their home games.