I hate to be cryptic in the title, but I just don’t know who
the Aggies were playing. I wasn’t sure
if I was reading their shirts correctly, which seemed to say “Lady Chaps.” That can’t be right. I noticed at least one of their fans wearing
a UTSA shirt (University of
Texas-San Antonio, not to be confused with USTA, those tennis people, who I kept
misidentifying them as last year). The
Aggies have played them before (2-11-17), and I don’t think green and
gray are their colors, nor was this team the Roadrunners. I guess we’ll go with Lady Chaps, regardless of how incorrect that may be, for the rest
of the post.
I arrived at the softball complex directly from the
volleyball match. I wasn’t
entirely sure if there was going to be a game there, because their schedule was
a bit vague and their Twitter feed hadn’t put up any updates. I could see people in the stands and a team
bus outside, so that was a good sign. I
peeked over at the baseball field. Coach Brian Green on the Aggie Coaches Show had said that they
would be playing inter-squad games for the next few weeks and that the public
was more than welcome to come out and watch.
I saw a couple of people in the stands, but no game on the field. I did briefly see some players
exercising. Maybe next time.
The sun was hot, but a few big clouds would obscure it about
half the time. I kept taking my
sunglasses on and off and putting my umbrella up and down. There was a stiff breeze, but it didn’t affect
the fans, only the flight of balls in the air.
There was actually a decent crowd for a game that didn’t count. The regular senior crowd wasn’t there (nor
the old man). It was a lively
bunch. They were shouting out criticism
and encouragement and ragging on the umps, for the whole game. A fellow in front of me was, I think, an Aggie
player dad. He was particularly
vocal. Behind me was a dad from the
other team doing some shouting. These
guys were nowhere near as obnoxious the soccer fans.
I arrived during the break between the games of the double
header. With no program, I’m sort of
guessing about some of the Aggie lineup.
Kayla Green was at first. I’m not sure if she pitched in Game 1. I was pleased to see Kelsey Horton at second.
This would indicate she was over her injury. Diminutive local girl, Brandy Hernandez, was playing at third and a clear fan
favorite. She was also practicing
pitching on the sidelines before the game, multi-talented. Destiny
Blueford was at short. Amy Bergeson was in left. Victoria
“Tori” Castro was in center. I don’t
know who was in right with the long, dark hair, but I think I heard her called Nicole.
I’m not sure who was catching, maybe Shelby Shultes. A new girl
was pitching. I heard her called Louise and “Weezie,” so we’ll go with
that.
Weezie looked pretty good to start with a pair of
strikeouts. The Lady Chaps then sent up
a very large girl, who their fans called “Ya-ya.” Uh oh,
I thought, These kind of girls usually
mean trouble on the softball field with a bat in their hands. Sure enough, she easily doubled. It’s hard to believe her and Brandy
Hernandez, who might be less than half Ya-ya’s size, are playing on the same
field. Softball seems like a very
democratic meritocracy in that respect. Kelsey,
with an entirely different build, looked good fielding a popup to end the inning.
In the bottom, the Lady Chaps pitcher had on a face
mask. I assume everyone wearing one of
those has taken a ball to the face, so congratulations on your courage for
going back out to pitch. Their catcher
worked up lots of chatter, which I like.
Whether it’s useful or not, I don’t know. Amy led off with an infield single. She then stole second and took third when the
pitcher forgot about her. Brandy, with
several fans in the crowd, singled her in, 1-0
Aggies. A new cheer came out of the
Aggie dugout, “Do it again! We like
it!” Brandy then stole second. Kelsey sacrificed her to third, and Brandy
would score on a fielder’s choice, 2-0. Destiny also collected a single before the
inning ended.
To the second, Kelsey made another good catch and seemed to
be moving well. Admittedly, I’m not just
watching Kelsey for her good looks; I wanted to see if she’d recovered from her
injury. Weezie didn’t get a strike call
in one at bat. The crowd reacted very
badly. I’d be critical of them taking
this exhibition game too seriously, but Coach
Kathy Rodolph came out of dugout and said to everyone, “That was a good
pitch! Keep doing that!” You could tell this really was an exhibition
game, because in a real game, she’d get tossed for showing up an umpire like that. The frame ended without further
controversy.
Nicole singled to start the bottom of the second. She advanced to second on a high wild
pitch. The Aggie bench sang out, “Lower,
lower,” then in a lower register, “Lower, lower.” If they didn’t play so well, I’d question the
amount of time they must spend on harmonizing and working out new
material. Kayla came up and popped up on
the first base line. She collided with
the first baseman and flattened her. I
can’t believe just wrote that sentence.
Thin, wiry Kayla shouldn’t be flattening anybody. Moreover, as per the rules (which the fans and
Kayla didn’t seem to know), she was out on interference (but could have legally
left the baseline in such an instance to avoid contact with the fielder).
This is not the kind of play we want to see, especially in
an exhibition. If you want to hit other
girls on a field, play soccer, you can completely get away with it about half
the time. Coach Kathy came out to send
Kayla back to the dugout, as she was still standing at first base, and to check
on the hurt player. The girl had the
wind knocked out of her and had to get a nasty scrape treated by a
trainer. The fans and the Aggie bench
applauded her as she resumed her position.
Back to the action, Amy doubled. Brandy singled and drove Nicole in, 3-0.
(This is the kind of play we want to see.) Brandy stole second. (This all seems familiar.) Kelsey came up and doubled to center. Oh, that’s that sweet swing of hers. That looked good. Amy scored, but Brandy was called out on a
play at the plate, 4-0 Aggies. Between innings, Kathy argued with
umpire. No, actually, in measured tones,
she told him that he was wrong and apparently didn’t know the rules, but she
didn’t argue because it was an exhibition.
Try to do better. Yeah, that was
right in front of the grandstand and we all heard it.
Top of the third, after a walk, Destiny made a great play
deep in the hole to force the runner at second.
A caught stealing ended the frame.
Tori got a drive down the line, but was thrown out trying to stretch it
to a double. The ump at second was
calling everybody out if it was close, but nobody seemed to pick up on that.
Caity Szczesny
came in to play center for the fourth.
Ya-ya had and epic at bat when she came up. The wind robbed her of a home run and she had
to settle for a walk. A new battery came
in with Samaria Diaz pitching. It looked like she was using a new windup. It looked looser and more powerful. The new catcher may have been Kennedy Johnson, from hearing that name
on field. She had really great hair under that catching helmet. Speaking of catchers, is Alexis Maynez not on the team anymore? I liked her, her catching, and she’d figured
out the hitting. Kayla Green was also
replaced by Nikki Butler.
In the bottom, Nicole singled. A new girl without a number came up. Nicole was out on a fielder’s choice on a
grounder. The new girl stole second the
catcher nearly hit the pitcher trying to throw her out. Amy got off the ultimate bunt: the ball
somehow completely stopped on the ground right in front of the plate after
being hit. While the catcher admired the
improbable physics of the situation, Amy took second. The new girl tried to take home in the
fracas, but was thrown out. The crowd
was angry again over the call. Amy took
third during the pitcher’s inattention right after. It’s basically just funny at this point,
because you know she’s wondering if she could steal home standing up. Unfortunately, Amy decided to let her
teammates get an RBI was left stranded.
What happened next is a little clearer in retrospect. Kathy had not been having a stress-less
game. The irritation may have started in
Game 1, when I wasn’t there. I’m not
sure exactly happened in the previous inning to trigger an explosion, but it
happened. Kathy took the team out of the
dugout and dressed them all down in front of everybody. This friendly little exhibition was turning
into an opera where everybody dies in the end.
After that tirade, changes were made in the top of the
fifth. Brandy was called off the field
and replaced at third with the new girl without a number. I thought I heard “Buddy” called out for her. I
must have mis-heard that, certainly it’s not a given name, but we’re going with
it. She had shorter hair than the other
girls and had sunglasses on the whole time.
Jeanelle Medina went in at
short (assuming that’s her with the #9).
(I’m hating writing this. I’m not
even sure who I’m talking about.)
The “pep talk” didn’t work out as the Lady Chaps got a
two-run homer. It was somewhat
wind-aided, but that still counts, 4-2
Aggies. The opposing bench piped up
at this point. Ya-ya also singled in the
inning. In the bottom, Kelsey got a
serenade from the bench during her at bat.
She grounded out and didn’t run hard.
In this case, I wonder if her wheels are still a bit too tender to go
all out all the time. Caity, who also
got sang to, got an infield single that she stretched to a double.
Kelsey’s defense wasn’t suffering. She made a great running play on the infield
in the sixth. She may have worked on
playing second a bunch in the off-season.
In the bottom, Nicole singled and took second on a wild pitch. An FC by Buddy got her to third. (I have this vision of people yelling at me,
“You’re getting every name wrong!”) Amy
drove her in on another fielder’s choice, 5-2
Aggies. Brandy came in to bat. She got via an error, but was thrown out
trying to steal.
The Lady Chaps led off the seventh with a double to
right. I couldn’t really see the play in
the corner, but the coach apparently didn’t like it. Nicole came out and Tori came in. Next was a strikeout, a single, and then a
run-scoring single, 5-3 Aggies. Ya-ya was at bat again with the bench
cheering for her, but the game ended on a double play. Or not.
They played out the bottom for the exhibition. Nikki got sang to during the frame, but that
was all that happened. Now we’re
done. 5-3 Aggies was the final.
After the teams shook hands, the Aggies went to circle and
said “Thank you!” to everyone. The Lady
Chaps then upstaged them. They went
directly up to the grandstand and said together, “Thank you for coming to our
game! Bird is the word!” It was so cute. I wish knew who they were. As for the Aggies, they got rimmed some more
by the coach. Even out in left field,
her voice was carrying loud and clear.
My impression is that the team seems pretty good. Amy
Bergeson is on a mission to take every base. She’s going to be fun to watch. The new girls looked good. I’m not sure how all the pieces are going to
fit together or where they’re going to play, but I’m not worried.
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