NM State Aggies vs UIC Flames Baseball 2-18-22

 

Ah, Opening Day.  How could I not take off a Friday afternoon for a ball game?  Actually, I was pretty concerned about the weather.  We’d had a bad windstorm a couple of days ago and a cold front had moved in.  Today, it was warm in the sun under a clear blue sky, but there was a biting breeze and some ambient chill in the air.  I went ahead and went for it. 

 

I’d heard an interview with Coach Mike Kirby last week on El Paso Sportstalk.  Steve Kaplowitz did a great job asking him questions, which Kirby appreciated.  It sounded like the Aggies were bringing back a lot of their good hitters from last season, so I got excited listening.  Unfortunately, early on in today’s coverage, I found that big bopper, Ethan Mann, was injured and wasn’t going to be available for the season.  Pitching was still a bit of a question.  The team was picked to finish fourth in conference. 

 

Ron came by to pick me up and we had a late lunch at McAlister’s before heading to the stadium.  New Mexico’s mask mandate had ended yesterday, so while the staff at the restaurant wore masks, we were able to have our meal in peace at least.  I’m sure AD Mario Moccia wished the mandate had ended a couple of weeks ago before the Pack the Pan Am Incident and the closure of the concessions there.  The Men’s Basketball game there on Thursday was, once again, a low attendance event.

 

The Presley Askew Field grandstand was done up in bunting to make it officially Opening Day.  The next door Softball field was active with some visiting teams playing in the Troy Cox Invitational.  We went in and I picked up a couple of sharp-looking posters.  Ron grabbed some little souvenir buttons and put them on his hat to look like a proper fanboy. 

 

I bought a much missed Corn-in-the-Cup from a very pretty concessions vendor.  Sports Accessories also had a trailer and stand set up.  I took a look, but I really don’t need any more shirts period.  They were still doing some brisk business anyway.  A good crowd showed up for this 3:00pm game.  A bunch of scouts were in attendance.  The new batting facility was still an open building and not an enclosed one.  Is it finished?  There was also another open building next to the visitor’s dugout, which I’m not sure if that’s another batting cage or not.

 

Inside, broadcaster, Adam Young, walked by and said, “Hi.”  I finally got to congratulate him on getting married last year.  UIC Flames (University of Illinois-Chicago) also brought a good contingent of fans.  Adam talked about them in the pregame.  I hadn’t heard of them or their conference.  I’d almost think they were arch rivals with WAC school, Chicago State, fighting in Chicago over who’s the state university.  It turns out they were a really good team last year.  Curtis Granderson was their most famous alumni.  He came back made a $5M endowment to build them a new stadium, Grandyman Field.  Or, that’s what I would have called it.       

 

A frequent fanguy came over and greeted us.  I forgot his name.  He was wearing a really cool Clash London Calling t-shirt.  If Sports Accessories was selling one of those I would have bought one.  We had a live Anthem singer today.  He’d come in through the gate right after we did.  He didn’t perform on field and kind of caught the teams by surprise, but did a tremendous job.  Hopefully, they use him at the Pan Am Center, too.  There was a new PA announcer.  It was a new girl, but had same the high-level of enthusiasm.    

I can’t believe these scorecards added up in the end.  I’d screwed up twice writing down the stats in the wrong place.  Lucky, I caught it during the game, before everything after got messed up.  Rorik Maltrud was the Aggies’ Opening Day starter.  He got three flyball outs to start the game.  Nate Peterson started for the Flames.  He worked a quick bottom of the first with a pair of strikeouts.  It was all sedate enough in the beginning.  A bunch of guys from a fraternity came in and sat behind us.     

 OMG!  The Aggie Sports Marketing goddess herself made an appearance.  Yes, it was Emerson, and she was making it rain on the crowd with souvenir hats.  One of the frat guys got one.  I’ve never seen Emerson look so happy and glamourous at the park.  Life must be going good for her. 

 

The top of the second was a bit ugly for the Aggies.  Two hits started the inning.  Brandon Dieter at short fell on a grounder on next batter, but wasn’t able to get the out at first and a run scored.  Oops, distraction.  A group of hot sorority girls came in.  In spite of the temperature, they were in tank tops, because they had to look good.  Back on field, an apparent stolen base at second and a run scoring from third were waved off by the umps.  Adam, on the radio call, wasn’t sure what happened.  My best guess is that there was a foul tip on the play.  The runner at second had to come out with an injured hand. 

 

Maltrud induced a Fielder’s Choice and got a strikeout.  Unfortunately, a walk loaded the bases.  Over the centerfield wall, you could hear the Seventh-inning Stretch playing at the Softball field.  Bryan Rosario came up with a two-run single.  Rayth Peterson, the sub player for the injured one, fell down rounding third but still scored.  Tommy Tabak in center juggled a flyball, but managed to squeeze it for the final out.  0-3 Flames.  I think this half inning took a half hour.  I was seriously worried about the possible length of this game.

Ooh.  A very attractive young woman came in and sat below us.  She was a brunette with a cute bob cut, sexy eyes, and a great nose.  I think I might be looking more to draw her than date her.  I tried doing her from memory the next day, but didn’t come close.  I should have tried it today between innings.  

 

Kevin Jimenez led off the bottom of the second with a single.  Logan Galina came up and I was impressed with him as an athletic physical specimen.  (See, I can be equal opportunity in noticing looks.)  Unfortunately, him and Gunner Antillon both struck out next.  (Gunner is my new favorite player name.)  After, Preston Godfrey got hit by a pitch as one got away from Peterson.  Catcher Ryan Grabosch cashed in KJ with a single.  Tabak made the final out.  Adam mentioned he’d hit well in the Alaskan League in the summer.  I wonder if he was playing in those Midnight Baseball games where they have all-night daylight.  1-3 Flames.

 

Maltrud had a good comeback in the third with a pair of strikeouts looking.  Inexplicably, one of the visiting players got walk up music.  Tabak made a great running catch in center to end the inning.  The Gisele Bundchen remake of Blondie’s Heart of Glass played between innings.  I like it.  A little toddler girl in a doo rag with shiny new pom pom’s trotted down the main walkway.  It was too cute.  She was really happy to be here.  There actually weren’t too many kids here.  It was probably the start time that kept most of the families away.  Dieter singled to start the bottom of the third, but was left stranded.

 

Once again in the fourth, a visitor got walk up music.  Maltrud racked up two more K’s in a 1-2-3 inning.  Peterson matched him in the bottom with the same.  The game time was now moving along.  Ooh, a shapely girl with long dark hair in painted-on yoga pants walked by.  Yikes!  Maltrud was cruising now with two more strikeouts in a minimum fifth inning.  The second strikeout was on an appeal and the crowd roared in approval.  More visitor walk up music played.  Ron’s explanation was that the PA wasn’t paying attention and kept thinking the inning was ending. 

 

Grabosch led off with a sneaky bunt hit in the bottom of the fifth.  A dad, daughter, and son moved in below us.  Dad was giving the girl a highly technical discussion about the pitching in the game.  She was listening.  Unfortunately, they left after a couple of innings.  The boy was eating Corn-in-a-cup.  Everybody wanted it.  There was pent-up demand as Concessions had been closed last year.  The Aggies got another on with a walk, but a strikeout ended the inning.  The UIC fans and dugout let out a cheer.  A drunk Aggie fan yelled out, “You got lucky!”

 

Cam Blazek entered the game to pitch for the Aggies in sixth.  He came in to the tune of Marty Robbin’s Big Iron on His Hip.  Cam gave up a single, but struck out the side.  He worked really fast and had an excellent offspeed pitch.  The drunk Aggie fan was heckling some more.  He serenaded the final strikeout with, “Ha, ha!  You’re out!”  Emerson graced us with her presence for the trivia contest.  “Which team drafted Nick Gonzales?”  A bunch of hands shot up.  (Of course, it’s the Pirates.)  In the bottom, Peterson started off with two strikeouts before giving up a base hit.  Rosario made a great running catch by the foul line to end the inning.

 

There was a ball kid in an Aggie uniform taking care of the foul ball and ball delivery duties today.  That’s usually handled by a freshman player.  For a moment, I was wondering why the Aggies were carrying a five-foot tall player.  Cam breezed through the top of the seventh.  On the final ground out, the heckler struck again, “You’re slow as hell!” 

 

For the stretch, me and a woman behind me sang out by ourselves.  She remarked, “I guess us old folks are the only ones who know the words.”  Adam mentioned that Nick and Joey Ortiz, our star players from a couple of years ago, said they’d be listening to the broadcast, so he said, “Hello,” to them.  Peterson racked up two more strikeouts before giving up a walk.  The coach came out, but didn’t take him out.  Peterson finished his day with his thirteenth K and 110 pitches.  He struck out everyone in the lineup at least once, except for Dieter.  

 

For the eighth, Cam issued a walk and notched two more strikeouts.  Christian Lopez came in for the Flames and worked a 1-2-3 inning.  In the top of the ninth, Noah Estrella worked around loading the bases without damage.  In the bottom of the ninth, Lopez got the first out on a grounder.  Things looked bleak.

 

Then, Godfrey belted a double.  A wild pitch and then an errant throw by the catcher scored him.  Grobosch walked and Kyle Westfall came in to run for him.  That was a good move.  Cal Villareal pinch hit and smacked another double.  Westfall booked it and scored from first.  We were tied at 3.  Dieter was given an intentional walk to put two on, however Zerek Saenz grounded into a double play to end the inning.  Still, that was a thrilling comeback.

 

The top of the tenth did not go well for the Aggies.  The Flames batted around for five runs.  New catcher, Cal Killgore, dropped the third strike on the first batter and overthrew first to let him on.  Then there was a couple of hit batters and a couple of walks.  There were only two hits, but one was a bases clearing double, which also cleared out the crowd.  Bobby Grimes even caught the Aggies sleeping on a flyout and took second.  Alex Bustamonte had started the inning and left without getting an out.  Brendon Rodriguez came in finished the inning.  The inning finally ended with good catch on a low liner by Gunner at third.

 

The Aggies could not mount a second comeback and lost 8-3.  Nolan Funke (Funky) my second favorite new player name did pinch hit for Galina, who struck out four times.  Funke also struck out.  It must have been something about that spot in the order today.  Ron was in the dumps, but I’d seen a good game and it beat going to work.  Even with the extra inning, the game only went a bit over three hours.  There were a lot of quick innings.

 

Maybe not the greatest start to the season, but the Aggies showed some good pitching.  I think their hitting just ran into really good pitching today.  My gameballs go to Flames Nate Peterson (7 innings, 1 run, 13 strikeouts) and Rayth Peterson (2 for 4, 3 RBI’s, not bad for a player who wasn’t a starter), and Aggie Cam Blazek (3 innings, 1 hit, 6 strikeouts).  It’s kind of a pity none of the good pitchers in the game figured into the decision.      

 

Going to the bathroom afterward, Ron pointed out a couple of cute puppies in the Kiss and Cry area.  Even better, there was a large, friendly dog at the front gate accepting pets from passersby, including us.  The owner chastised the dog for being too needy.  There was a magnificent orange sunset outside in the valley.  It was a little nippy, but I was dressed for it.  Aggie Softball was playing at the time.  Ron wanted to go, but forgot that I didn’t have a pass like he did.  I wasn’t going to pay (and pay tournament prices) for half a game.  I’d had enough for the day anyway.  He surprised me on the way home when he asked if I’d noticed the girl with the bob haircut.  He was just as enamored as I was.