NM State vs Utah Valley Wolverines Softball 4-6-19

Ron and I came directly over from the Aggie Baseball game next door to the Softball Complex.  We had a quick snack and drink his car before going in.  Aggie player Kayla Bowen was out in the parking lot in uniform.  It was an odd sight, given that the game was going on.  We again met the friendly black dog just outside the stadium.  I wanted to take him in with me, but his human attendant was walking him, stopping briefly for some friendly fan petting. 

The scoreboard was not friendly.  The Utah Valley Wolverines were up 9-4 in the fifth.  To backtrack a little on the season to this date, the Aggies dropped two of three to Seattle U last week.  They won Friday against Utah Valley 1-0.  Samaria Diaz went the distance for the shutout win.

 

Let’s be honest, I really only had one focus in these games: Basia Query, the Utah Valley catcher.  I’m totally cheating on Emerson with this act of virtual infidelity.  I might have taken off on Friday if I’d known Basia was here.  (I’d kind of assumed she’d graduated, but she’s actually only a junior.)  It may have been a year since I’d seen her, but my crush was actually worse than ever.  She’s my favorite opposing player.  Wait, that sounds familiar.  Let me do a quick search on my blogs. 

Sh*t. 

Okay, admittedly there are other opposing players I like, but I will say Basia is my absolute favorite.  (Until I accidentally forget about her out of softball season.)  She is just exotically gorgeous.  Whatever she paid for that incredible blonde and black hair highlighting was worth every penny.  What a killer smile too.     

Game 1

There was a pretty good crowd inside.  Ron and I sat along the third base side with a high school girls team watching the game.  Before we got there, Kayla Green and Analise de la Roca (who was also the DP) both had rough outings and Utah Valley had tee’d off on them.  The Aggie offense had kept scoring though.  Right after we sat down, Chloe Rivas hit a line drive home run just over the left field fence.  That was her first college home run and scored three to make it 9-7.  Basia was indeed catching in the bottom of the inning.  She took her helmet off and was as spectacular as I’d remembered. 

Samaria Diaz was now pitching in the sixth and finished off the inning.  Just to be a bit more treasonous, Utah Valley’s Assistant Coach at first base, Anissa Urtez, was also very pretty.  Their bench was full of spirit too.  I may outright defect.  Where can I get some Wolverine merch?  In the sixth and seventh, Aggie batters did work very hard, but came up short.  Wolverine right fielder Abby Doughty made a great robbery of a Victoria Castro home run.  Abby went right over the wall and pulled it back.  The Aggies lost this game 9-7. 

Game 2

There was an okay crowd for the second game.  It thinned out a bit.  We’d gone out to Ron’s car to sit for a while.  Pretty girls were zipping by on scooters in the parking lot again.  Those things look like fun. 

Samaria Diaz was back out in the circle.  The second batter of the game grounded a ball back to her.  Sam fielded the ball and tossed to first base . . . which was completely uncovered.  Oops.  It didn’t bother her in the slightest, as Sam got a strikeout and a double play.  Casie Roberto at second caught a liner and doubled off the runner at first to end the inning. 

“Fans and birds should watch out for foul balls,” said the PA after Victoria Castro hit a bird resting on the grandstand netting.  It flew off.  I guess it was okay.  The Aggie dugout again sang out, “Big booty Nikki,” to encourage catcher Nikki Butler during her at bat.  It worked (somehow), as she jacked one out to center.  1-0 Aggies.  I was surprised to see her and Basia Query back behind the plate for another game.  The Aggies at least have a couple backups.  I don’t think either team even used a warmup catcher between innings.  The more Basia, the better.

Sam struck out the side in the second.  She was racking them up.  Mya Felder led off the bottom with a no-doubt homer to center into the wind.  Wow!  2-0 Aggies.  I was wondering where Kelsey Horton was.  She was batting sixth.  Further, light-hitting Caity Szczesny was the DP.  Coach Rodolph was doing some experimenting, which I didn’t quite understand.  The bigger hitters on the bench would show up later. 

“Big booty Casie!” came the song from the dugout during Casie’s at bat.  I’m not even sure that’s really accurate.  Couldn’t the girls have come up with a more individualized insult?  Keala Brown was the final batter in the lineup.  She was called out for swinging outside the box.  That was the third call of that I’d seen here today.  Keala has a pretty good athletic build.  I don’t know why she isn’t just swinging away, instead doing a swinging bunt.  

Sam added two more K’s in the third.  The crowd was not into the fanny pack giveaway earlier.  The marketing lady handing them out seemed disappointed.  A few fans immediately asked for them to buck her up.  The crowd was more into the football drawstring backpack giveaway this inning.  A double play killed an Aggie rally in the bottom of the third.  I noticed the ump seemed to be keeping track of mound visits here, just like in baseball now.  That might help tighten up these games, but softball games usually aren’t that long to begin with. 

The Wolverines went three up/three down in the fourth.  The Aggies collected a couple of hits in their half.  Kennedy Johnson came in as our first pinch hitter.  Basia tried to end the inning by walking off on a close pitch (sneaky), but KJ drew a walk.  Kennedi Sorensen pinch hit with the bases loaded, but grounded out to end the inning.  Afterward, Basia chatted with her pitcher by the dugout.  Getting to see her without her mask or a helmet for a couple of minutes was my highlight of the game.

Sam added two more strikeouts in the fifth.  Nikki doubled in the bottom.  (I’m not sure about that choice of words.)  However, Chloe Rivas lined out to left fielder, Brianna Moeller, who then threw out pinch runner, Sarai Mejia.  It was a well-turned double play.  For the top of the sixth, Samaria did not record a strikeout, but still went through the lineup only giving up a walk. 

It felt like the Aggies were way ahead because of all of the baserunners in this game, but they were only up by two.  Wolverine pitcher Devyn Cretz had been living dangerously though.  Mya started the inning with a popup on the infield.  Devyn called for it, but four players ended up making a campfire around the ball as it hit fair, but bounced out.  This required a rules explanation, as that wasn’t a hit.  Not catching that ball was unfortunate for Utah Valley as Mya would then homer on a line drive to center.  3-0 Aggies.

Kelsey walked next.  Kayla Bowen then pinch hit.  Basia made a good play on a foul popup behind the plate for an out.  “Get a walk!  Get a hit!” was the constructive, non-anatomical derisive advice given to Casie next, and she doubled.  Another pinch hitter came up, Shelby Shultes.  She’s already done well this season in this role and she didn’t disappoint here with a two-run triple.  Moeller was running for the gapper, but it just went off her glove.  Brandy Hernandez ran for Shelby and was driven in by a Jeanelle Medina grounder.  Basia made another play on a popup to end the inning.  It was 6-0 Aggies when the dust finally settled.

Basia came up first in the seventh.  I gave her a muted cheer and, with the Aggies safely ahead, said, “I hope she hits a home run.”  And there it went, right out to left field.  Home run, Basia!  “Yay,” I cheered.  For some reason, Ron was mad at me.  Okay, it broke up the shutout.  (Because I hadn’t filled in my scorecard correctly, I’d initially thought it broke up a no-hitter.)  The scoreboard didn’t initially acknowledge the run, but eventually showed it.  Tom, who was there but had left his seat during the at bat, came back and was in an uproar when the scoreboard was suddenly updated. 

The next batter thought she struckout looking and started to walk away.  The ump called her back.  The crowd groaned.  Coach Rodolph even came out of the dugout to tell the ump he was wrong (ballsey).  The batter struck out looking on the next pitch anyway.  “Ball don’t lie.”  Samaria gave up another hit and a foul ball went over the screen and landed nearby me in the grandstand, but the game ended appropriately with one more strikeout.  Aggies win 6-1.        

Nikki Butler went 3 for 3 with a home run.  Mya Felder went 3 for 3 with two home runs.  I was also impressed with another good pinch hitting performance by Shelby Shultes, who tripled and drove in two.  And for the Wolverines, their star of the game was Basia Query, who accounted for their only run and made some good defensive plays catching.  Obviously coming from me, this anointing isn’t much of a surprise, but she does actually deserve here.

Then we have Samaria Diaz’s weekend.  Samaria went three innings in Game 1 and seven in Game 2.  She gave up a total of 1 run, 3 hits, and had 15 strikeouts!  Are you kidding me?  Oh wait, yesterday on Friday, she went seven innings, gave up no hits and had 10 strikeouts.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and say she’s going to be the WAC Pitcher of the Week (which she was).    

Basia’s mom and dad were by the entrance on the way out.  I almost did it.  I almost said something to them.  I was just going to congratulate them on their daughter’s play in Game 2.  I thought about it for a split second, and then realized if they engaged me in any further conversation, I was almost certainly going to shove my foot in my mouth.  I just walked on by.  Sorry.  Given that the WAC Softball Tournament is moving to a neutral site and the Aggies will be playing on Utah Valley’s homefield next season, I’m probably not going to see Basia again in person.  Oh, well.

I went to the bathroom afterward.  I think Eli Chuha from the Men’s Basketball team was there and had been watching the game.  I couldn’t remember his name until way afterward.  (I do have a problem recognizing most of the Aggie male athletes.)  Ron made me wait for a minute after I came out, so he could see an extremely leggy blonde girl exit the Girls’ room.  I’m a bad influence.  Seriously, she was nearly just a pair of nice legs without a body, like a visual gag from an old MGM Tex Avery cartoon. 

Dinner was at Wendy’s.  It was okay, but irritated my stomach until the next morning.  That was even with having a Frosty.  (They are serving the new Orange Vanilla Coke there.  I admit I’m digging it.)  It was probably too late in the evening for a really juicy burger.  Okay, back to the ballpark tomorrow, but without Basia.  Sigh.