As much as I’d like to crow over a couple of Aggie victories
(spoilers), I’m still getting over a mild cold that manifested on Friday, just
like the last softball game I attended.
This is second cold in three weeks.
Sometimes I think my workplace is actually a bio-hazard lab. Still, I’d made commitments to go to
Saturday’s softball double header and to going to lunch with my dad, when I
should have stayed in bed. It felt like
my head was in a vice all day.
Well, at least it was a lovely sunny 90 degree day with a
slight breeze to keep things from getting hot.
I was wearing my new NM State Softball t-shirt courtesy of a Sports Accessories giveaway, which I have to
say, looked pretty good. It was Aggie
Kid’s Club Day, but there was actually a strange lack of children at the
game. During player introductions, Aggie
catcher, Nikki Butler, brought a couple of little girls with her to stand with
the team. Another little girl threw out
the first pitch. This was all very
endearing.
Ron was with me and I hope I didn’t infect him. I’d brought an umbrella for the sun. He was amazed I had an actual El Paso Diablos
umbrella. Unfortunately for Game 1, he
was sitting to my right, and I couldn’t use it.
Luckily, we changed sides for Game 2.
Aggie baseball was finishing up on the road at the same time as this
game was starting. Between fiddling with
my umbrella and a non-user friendly radio, I missed the end. Ron didn’t have any trouble tuning it in and
informed me that the Aggies had won. Of
note during the game while I was listening earlier, Brent Sakurai hit another
triple. He’s closing in on an Aggie record.
The crowd filled in well for Game 1 and thinned out for Game
2, but was still pretty good. I didn’t
notice immediately, but Tamara William and Tyler Ellis from the basketball team
were in the unofficial student/athlete section of the grandstand. Me and Ron were in the unofficial senior
citizen section (which was full) across from them, and I didn’t get a chance to
congratulate the girls on their season.
Surprisingly, they were still there for Game 2 until the end. (Cutie Tamara doesn’t have anything better to
do on a Saturday evening?)
“It was too good to last,” said Ron. His nemesis, the old man, showed up after
being absent from several Aggie events.
He was in fine form, loudly cheering on the girls the whole time. This time there was something of an
answer. There was a loud Roos fan in the
center of grandstand, the unofficial visiting fans’ section, who cheered on his
girls. I didn’t find any of this terribly
annoying, though there were a couple of fans behind us who seemed to be doing
play-by-play commentary on a baseball game they were watching. I never figured out what teams were involved
in the game.
Game 1
The first thing I noticed was that the Aggies’ regular left
fielder, Amy Bergeson, wasn’t in the game.
She showed up as a pinch runner in Game 2, but that was it. I hope she’s okay. Also, Nikki didn’t catch this game, which
didn’t surprise me, since it was a day game after a night game. She ended up DP’ing for both games. Local girl, Alexis Maynez did all the
catching. I’ve been rooting for her to
do well. She really always seems to
trying hard.
Kayla Green started for the Aggies. She looked very poised out there for the
game. For her five innings, Kayla
avoided having a bad inning. She walked
a couple in the fifth, but really helped herself out fielding by snagging a
hard, low liner and then a popup in front of the plate. Maybe her playing first base briefly earlier
in the season wasn’t a stretch. The Roos
had their own “ball” chant during those walks, where they were counting up the
number of balls, but it didn’t seem to get to Kayla. The Aggie defense was solid behind her. Alexis had her head up and made a couple of
snap throws to bases to keep runners close.
The Aggies got the scoring going in the first, as Kelsey
Horton was brought in via a centerfield error.
Roo pitching held the Aggies for the next two innings, but things got
ugly in the fourth for them. Victoria
Castro hit a two-run homer that just cleared the left centerfield wall. The Roo centerfielder seemed to come up with
it to rob her, but it may have bounced off her glove, which she threw down in
disgust afterward. I’ve actually seen a
major league player do that, not just Little Leaguers. Now noticing I’ve mentioned her twice, I feel
bad for Roo centerfielder, Kendra Leach.
Alexis faced a new Roo pitcher right after that and singled
off her. She always looked like she
could hit when was in the batter’s box.
It was good to see her put it together for a hit. I put an “IP” note on her progress on the
scorecard to indicate being moved up by an illegal pitch. Three more runs scored thanks to a walk, a
single, a hit batter, and a run walked in. During Nikki’s at bat in the inning, she did
almost decapitate teammate Caity Szczesny on third base at the time. Caity came up smiling and shaking her
head.
Up 6-0 in the fifth, Victoria
singled her way on. Alexis stepped up to
the plate next and homered. It was her
first of the year, probably her career.
The dugout exploded for her. It
may have been more for her getting the big hit than ending the game 8-0 on a
run rule. For that shot, Alexis joins
Victoria and Kayla for my players of this game.
We spent the intermission in the Ron’s car in the air
conditioning. I was mostly head down
over my scorecard trying to add things up.
(I did a really poor job for the day.
Events were complicated and I wasn’t feeling well.) I missed the girls Ron was ogling who were
walking by. Unfortunately I did see a
scene play out on the practice field next to the stadium. Lia Lombardini, the Roo’s pitcher who gave up
the game-ending home run, was being consoled by another player. They hugged after a lengthy talk, and I suspect
there were some tears involved. Now I
felt bad. I didn’t want these girls
beaten to the point of crying.
Game 2
We got back inside just as the game started. I immediately noticed there was a female
umpire for this game, but heckling was still allowed. I missed the lineups and never really recovered. I was able to score the plays in the first,
but wasn’t sure which Roos were involved.
It’s a good thing I was properly seated for the bottom of the inning,
because it was a complex affair. With
Haley Nakamura on, Kelsey Horton came to bat.
She’d had a quiet Game 1, so her two-run blast to right center was
completely expected. It was her ninth of
the year. Nikki and Fahren Glackin
reached, and Victoria
came up and hit another home run. 5-0
Aggies.
The Roo right fielder made a great diving catch on the next
batter. (Again, I missed the
lineups. I’m not sure who was where to
give credit. [Monday edit: After looking
at the official scoring, I’m more confused than ever. I think Alex Larson was in right field for
the first inning.]) Myself and several
other Aggie fans were applauding her in spite of our rooting interests. It was looking that bad for them. Alexis was up next. The right fielder made another dive at her
liner, but that ended up going for triple.
Destiny Blueford tripled her in and scored herself on a passed
ball. 7-0 Aggies after one inning.
I could hear somebody, maybe the coach, tell the Roo dugout,
“Don’t get down.” Unfortunately for
them, the Aggie second inning just piled on with three more runs. The frame ended with the Roo right fielder
making a great basket catch. [Monday
edit: This may have been Abby Warkentine’s play in right field.] Up 10-0, the Aggies started putting in some
subs in the third. Kelsey went to play
first, where she probably should be to begin with.
Samaria Diaz, pitching for the Aggies, finally allowed a Roo
run in the third. I think this was the
inning that Alexis dropped a foul tip for a strikeout, that instead ended up
turning into a hit. In the fourth, two
more Roo runs scored via Kendra Leach, giving her some redemption for the
day. [Monday edit: Kendra was the
pitcher for the first inning of this game, then moved to center. Alex Larson went to the mound to pitch the
rest of the game. Kendra wasn’t listed
as a pitcher and Alex wasn’t listed as an outfielder on the program.] Alexis would hold on to a third strike foul
tip this inning for a strikeout. She
learns quick. 10-3 Aggies.
In the fifth, Alexis belted a double to leadoff. I’m sure she never wanted this day to end,
going 5 for 6 in total. [Monday edit:
Alexis was named WAC
Hitter of the Week for this performance.]
Amy Bergeson came in as a pinch runner for her. She was advanced to third on an error that
got Brandy Hernandez on base. Brandy
attempted to steal second. The catcher’s
throw went high and into centerfield.
Amy trotted home for the run, bringing the score to 11-3 and another run
rule game. My player of the game picks
are Kendra Leach for the Roos, and Victoria, Alexis, and Kelsey for the Aggies.
It’s hard to make two run ruled games into an epic
struggle. [Monday edit: Epic struggle
would describe filling out these scorecards.
I made some corrections on mine according to the official scoring. On Game 2, even if I had gotten the original UMKC
lineup down, I would have been lost.
Apparently, the Roos catcher didn’t take an at bat.] Friday’s win versus the Roos was at least
closer at 5-2. Ron was somewhat unhappy
and felt like he’d been cheated out of four innings. Both games played in under an hour and
half. He did get an Easter egg from one
of the fan giveaways. Stay lively at
these softball games. They’re always
throwing stuff into the stands. Where
was the Easter Bunny anyway? He showed
up at a baseball game last year. No wonder there weren’t any kids
here for the game.
The Aggies’ next game is a Tuesday double header versus the
Arizona Wildcats, which they announced as number one in the nation. Good luck and sorry I can’t come for
that. I’ve already scheduled a day off
to see the El Paso Chihuahuas on Wednesday.
I at least hope that I’ll show up in good health for the girl’s next
weekend series.
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