Ah, Opening Day. I
had this day marked on my calendar. I
had also been nervously monitoring a progressively deteriorating weather
forecast during the week for the weekend.
Thankfully, somebody up there wanted to watch the games too and a
bright, sunny day instead materialized.
It was so warm out, I even decided to forgo wearing a jacket. I was still halfway convinced the weather
would turn immediately after I purchased a ticket though.
As I drove past the Pan-Am Center, I saw a couple of
trailers for the WWE show that night.
That show had bumped the women’s basketball game to Sunday, thus also
eliminating the conflict with the softball.
I don’t generally watch pre-scripted athletic entertainment, except for
the NFL, but I admit to a huge crush on female wrestler, Sasha Banks. Since there was little chance I was going to
the show, I didn’t really see if she was going to be there or not. (Okay, since I brought it up, no, I don’t
think the Superbowl and the Patriots’ dramatic comeback was staged . . .
entirely. The NFL wanted the game to be
more competitive after halftime, but they certainly didn’t want them to
win. The commissioner must have been
puking on himself before handing that MVP award to Brady.)
I drove into the softball parking lot with Justin Bieber’s
“Sorry” playing over the PA. I’ve heard
it so often at these events, it’s like the unofficial Aggie theme song. There was an RV flying a UTSA flag there, and
I saw some other Roadrunner fans outside.
Inside, I picked up a poster with the friendly, smiling faces of Haley
Nakamura and Misty Hoohuli, two island girls from Hawaii and the team’s only
seniors. Designated bomber, Kelsey
Horton, was on the schedule card. I
think I met her handing out programs at a football game. It was hot enough that I swallowed my pride
and bought a $3 water bottle at the concession stand, which hasn’t changed, but
has changed its orientation for some reason.
The PA gave an extremely quick read through both teams’
rosters. The starters were introduced
and lined up along the foul lines. From
where I was sitting, the Roadrunners were right in front of me with their backs
turned. During the anthem, they all had
their thumbs up and pinky fingers out behind their backs. Everybody seems to have a different
ritual. I can’t help myself and have to
mention this. Taylor Oberg on that team
was really got my attention and every time she came up to the plate as well.
The honor of the Opening Day start went to Kayla Green, one
my favorite Aggies. I just love watching
her pitch. Kayla seemed to be working
from a new pitching motion. I seem to
remember her using two different windups last season. This one seems a bit more simplified. Sometimes, she seemed to get out of whack
with a more complicated wind up and this may be trying to correct that. Kayla’s got a lot of power in that slim frame
of hers, but it’s a matter of getting it under control. I never noticed her using that jaw-dropping
offspeed from last year today either. It
seemed more like a slow slider this time.
We’ll see if that offspeed makes a comeback in later in the season. Local girl, Alexis Maynez completed the
battery behind the plate. I like her
positive chatter back there.
Okay, I had some problems figuring out how to score plays in
this game. The short newspaper account
of the game and I agreed on the number of Aggie hits, but there seems to be
some issues over how some of the other batters got on, whether as a fielder’s
choice and an error advancing the runners, or just an error all the way. I’d defer to the paper, but I’m pretty sure
they got Kelsey’s line wrong for Game One, so I’m questioning their
scoring. Where’s Adam Young’s radio call
when I need him?
Things started in an unpromising fashion. In the top of the 1st, a triple
and a double promptly scored a run for the Roadrunners. 0-1 Roadrunners. In the bottom of the frame, a double play pop
up, essentially ended a bases loaded threat by the Aggies. In the 2nd, the Aggies again had
the bases loaded, but a pair of weak grounders led to a couple of easy plays at
the plate to end that.
In the 3rd, I spotted Miranda Cosgrove in the
crowd. Yes, ICarly herself was there
watching the game. I could have been
wrong and maybe it was just a girl who may have been copying her look, but I really
should have tried to get her autograph anyway.
Also in the crowd, I more definitely spot Megan Hart and Tatyana Battle
from the Aggie Volleyball team. There
were even other good-looking girls in the stands. These girls usually just come out for the
baseball. I saw a girl in a UTEP
softball shirt. I wonder if she was a
scout. Some members of the baseball team
also came by. I’ve seen the softball
team at the baseball park, but this is the first time I’ve seen the guys at the
softball field. I’m sure the girls would
be pleased to know they came.
In the bottom of the 3rd, the Aggies once again
loaded the bases, but came away with nothing.
Pinch hitting in the inning was my new favorite player name: Caity
Szczesny. That’s Kate-e Sez-nee, just
like its spelled. In the top of the 4th,
the senior citizen fans around me, not having much to complain about with the
umpires, started heckling each other.
Kayla dropped in a good offspeed for a strikeout, and Victoria Castro in
centerfield made a great catch to end the inning. Meanwhile, a kid in front of me has left his
nachos untouched and out in the sun for an hour. It’s now a disgusting, cheesy mess. I may never eat nachos again. More fans enter the stands, but a bunch of
pretty girls sitting next to me leave, so I consider it a net loss in
attendance.
The UTSA fans behind me were still feeling pretty good by
this point, but they shouldn’t have been.
After allowing a couple of hits, Kayla was steadily mowing down
Roadrunner batters, and regardless of how it’s written on the scorecard, they
weren’t helping themselves in the field, giving the Aggies extra runners and
bases. The bottom of the 4th was
where their luck ran out. Misty singled
and stole second. Rachel Rodriguez drove
her in to tie the score at 1-1 and stole second. The USTA fans got upset either about ump’s
call on the steal and/or about the count to the batter. Amy Bergeson got on (error/fielder’s
choice?). The Roadrunners wanted nothing
to do with Kelsey Horton in this situation and intentionally walked her. At this point, I have trouble reconstructing
the inning. Sorry. No doubt the Roadrunners had trouble figuring
out what happened as well, but when the dust settled the Aggies were up
7-1. The standout plays were Haley
Nakamura’s two RBI double, and Amy sliding into the catcher and knocking the
ball loose to score. Awesome.
The 5th started with Kayla issuing a walk. Coach Rodolph came out to make a change. What happened next though completely
surprised me. Kayla and Fahren Glackin
at first base changed places. I’ve seen
Fahren pitch, but Kayla going to first was a complete shock. Kayla does field her position well in the
circle, but it was still so strange to see.
If there’s an autograph session, I’m going to have to ask her about this
and if she can hit. (All pitchers think
they can hit.) Fahren had no trouble
finishing off the inning, especially as Kelsey, who was also playing at an odd
position for her at second instead of first, made a great catch on a liner to
end it. Kelsey wasn’t done. In the bottom of the inning, an unnatural
quiet fell over the crowd as she came to bat.
Everyone could almost sense what was about to happen. And then the boom, a towering homer flew over
the wall to left center. We may be expecting
big things from Kelsey for the rest of the season.
The PA started playing the Macrena between innings. The baseball and volleyball players made some
attempt at it. The 6th started
with a bunt hit for the Roadrunners. Fahren
and Kayla exchanged places again. I’m
sure this was done just to deprive me of seeing Kayla taking an at bat. This was a good call though. Next batter, Fahren made a great grab on a
high bouncer on the line and stepped on the bag for the out. Kayla managed to fool the last batter of the
inning on an offspeed that actually sent the batter spinning around on the
swing.
A nice lady gave me her popcorn before she left the game in
the 6th. No need to visit the
concessions now. Before the top of the
inning ended, another lady in front of me asked if the mercy rule was in
effect. I shrugged. Fahren took a walk to start the bottom of the
frame and was replaced by freshman Jeanelle Medina on the bases. (I think.
I tend to forget to mark all the substitutions down, because I don’t
understand softball substitution rules.)
Jeanelle stole second and third and then scored on a wild pitch. Now at 9-1 Aggies, the game suddenly ended. “Now we know,” I said to the lady in front of
me.
Because of the ambiguities of the scorecard, I’m just going
to go with what I’m sure of for players of the game. Kelsey Horton’s home run was awesome. She’s my offense player. Kayla looked good pitching and is apparently
more versatile than I thought out in the field.
She’s my defensive player. I went
to find some shade between games and helplessly attempted to figure out my
scorecard.
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