Tuesday, March 22, 2022

NM State Aggies vs GCU Lopes Softball 3-19-22 Game 1



I’d had an exhausting week at work.  Frankly, I didn’t want to go to a Softball double header today, much less write about it; I’d rather have slept in.  I’d seen enough of the softball team last month (2-13-22) and they’d only gotten worse since then.  The game time had also been changed from 4:00pm to 2:00pm, but for a good reason.  The Aggie Men’s Basketball team, after winning the WAC Championship, had gone on and won their first round NCAA Tournament game over UConn.  It was a #12 seed upset of a #5 seed.  This time change was done to accommodate the 6:40pm game time for the Aggies’ second round game.

 

It was a good change weather-wise, too.  Ron had been at the Friday evening Softball game and reported it got good and cold when the sun went down.  At least it was really nice out to start the games.  The Aggies did beat GCU that night, which seems incredulous given what happened on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Aggie Baseball was having a brutal road trip.  They’d dropped two to Nebraska mid-week—one close loss, one not.  They next went to Dixie State and were pummeled in consecutive run-rule losses.  The team did come back with a close win on Sunday. 

 

I was greeted with a $7 ticket price at the gate.  This was an increase.  I’d thought about getting some popcorn between games, but that $2 went to the extra ticket price.  It was a light crowd, perhaps due to the time change, or maybe they were waiting for the basketball game.  Even the GCU fan representation seemed light.  A security guard asked me before the game where I thought he could see the basketball game.  I suggested the pub across from the university, but I knew that a co-worker had watched the UConn game at Peter Piper Pizza, so it was going to playing at any local restaurant with a TV.  It was announced during softball that Rudy’s Barbeque was the official (sponsored) viewing place.  I’ve got to try that place sometime. 

 

I took a look over the GCU team.  Ron had reported a very large pitcher on the Lopes and I did see her.  Ron said she was good, but I didn’t get to see her play.  I was more disappointed that the cute, freckled redhead, Lexy Coons, had moved on.  There was another very pretty girl I noticed, but I only saw her poke out of the dugout a few times.  I never got her player number.  The Lopes played some hacky before the game.  The Aggies worked on their dance moves.  For the Anthem, a couple of the Aggies practiced their kneeling.  I didn’t get their numbers to properly recognize them.  Ron said one of the girls on GCU had her head bowed, which he is interpreting from watching Women’s Basketball, is also a protest.    

 

This was obviously a rough game for the Aggies.  It was a rough one for the scorekeepers, too.  My scoring differed from the announced scoring at the end of the innings.  (The scoreboard is a bit primitive.  It doesn’t list hits and errors.)  The official scoring differed from both.  For both games, I was tempted to erase my scorecards and start over.  There’s no reconciling them, so these aren’t officially accurate.  (And given the result, I don’t really care.)  Also, there was a really attractive young woman sitting in front of us that was a constant distraction. 

 

GCU’s dugout began the game in full chorus singing.  We were seated around some GCU fans, who were mostly pretty chatty in shouting encouragement to their players.  The game immediately wrong-footed for the Aggies, as GCU led off with a single and the runner took second when the throw into the infield got away.  An error at third put a second runner on.  After a ground out, a walk loaded the bases.  Another walk scored the first run.  Kristen Fifield then got plunked on the helmet, which drove in another run and ran the Aggie starter from the game.  I hadn’t even written her name down on my scorecard.


 

Felicia de la Torre came in and grazed the next batter to force in another run.  Aggie catcher, Melika Ofoia, was popping her hand into her glove so hard, it sounded like a pitch.  It was confusing me, as I was looking down at my scorecard and thought there’d been a quick pitch.  Two more walks and a single brought in three more runs before a couple of fly outs finally ended the inning.  The carnage ended with GCU up 7-0.

 

The talk in the stands nearby was even more disturbing than the team’s performance.  Women’s Basketball Coach Atkinson had already been let go at the end of the season.  While her record at NMSU looks really good, most of her wins came with the previous coach’s recruits.  The last couple of years have been a disaster.  A fan talking to another fan said that Coach Rodolph’s contract had not been renewed.  Now in this case, the coach has been responsible for probably all of the Softball program’s successes and there have been a lot.  I didn’t hear the rationale, but certainly Kathy could have left for a better job whenever she wanted, so I don’t think this is a dispute over money.  Maybe I should have joined the conversation, because I have no explanation.  After what happened during Game 2, I feel like this rumor has been confirmed.

 

The Aggies were not going to roll over, at least to this point (along with some help from GCU).  The Aggies were still singing in their dugout.  (There was also an attractive trainer in there.  I was trying to find entertainment where I could at the game.)   A walk and a single put two on before a bad throw from first base led to a two-base error and two unearned runs scoring.  Another single brought in another run, and a hit batter and another error loaded the bases again.  Jayleen Burton came up and hit one by the third baseline.  It looked out, but the ump, who was right in front of it, ruled it fair, and another run scored.  The Aggies had come back to make it a game for the moment.  7-4 GCU.

 

Catastrophe struck.  The eraser on my pencil popped off.  In trying to find it, I lost the pencil.  Lucky, I came prepared with a second pencil.  (I found the first pencil eventually.  It’s just a stub that I’m going to have to take out of service anyway.)  Denae Chatman (I like that first name) led off the second with a line drive home run to center.  Thankfully, things then settled down.  Felicia only gave up a hit afterward.  Jillian Taylor made a great play in center on a ball that would have gone out to end the inning.  8-4 GCU.

 

Jillian worked a walk to start the bottom of the second, but was gunned down on a steal attempt by Kinsey Koeltzow from behind the plate.  GCU tried to a help with a dropped foul ball for another error, but the at bat ended in a popup anyway.  There was a single following, but a strikeout ended the inning.

 

The Lopes loaded the bases in the third with a walk, a hit, and a hit batter.  That’s the first time I’ve seen a batter given first on a pitch that bounced to plate.  Maybe I mis-saw that.  Two more singles drove in two more runs.  A wild pitch nearly brought in another run, but was thrown out at home.  10-4 GCU.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom.  There was a Pocket Contest between innings.  Two people with requested umbrellas ran down to the intern and the Aggie fan beat out the GCU fan there.  I noticed there was a group of fans sitting by the Aggie dugout behind the fence.  It was sort of like Baseball’s Diamond Club, but a lot less appealing.  The group had a barking dog with them.

 

A GCU batter was hit in the lower back in the fourth.  This was followed by a single, but Maya Martinez made an unassisted double play by catching a liner and stepping on second.  There was an impressive Jersey toss into the stands between halves.  It was a retro Men’s Basketball shirt.  One of girls working at the scoring table ran into the stands and was begging the Marketing intern for one.  I got a look at one later on a kid, who was wearing his.  It was very cool. 

 

The sun started ducking behind clouds and a cold breeze blew through.  It wasn’t unpleasant yet.  In the bottom of the fourth, an error on a bobbled ball by the shortstop let on a runner.  There was confusion on a popup between the second baseman and the right fielder, which allowed the ball to drop.  This was called GCU’s fifth official error of the game, but usually untouched fly balls are called hits.  On the play though, Jillian was thrown out trying to take home.  (GCU’s second baseman, Macee Barnes, is pretty glamorous with a long, flowing, curly blonde mane.) 

 

A double down the line by Katelyn Dunckel led off the GCU fifth.  The pretty girl in front of us stood up to reveal that she was wearing tight yoga pants.  I was momentarily stunned.  Where was I?  Dunckel stole third and came in on a wild pitch.  It looked like the throw home got her, but apparently not.  Felicia gave up a walk before giving a line drive home run to Fifield that hit the sponsor board in right.  When Fifield got to the dugout, they awarded her with a gold chain around her neck. 

 

The pretty girl came back from the Concessions.  She gave her mom (?) a Coke.  The lady said she asked for a beer.  The girl said, “Sorry, I left my ID at home.”  “You mean your fake one?” the lady answered.  Okay, maybe that’s not her mom.  The girl then started working on eating a big pickle.  That might have been kinda hot, but was mostly really smelly, even a couple of rows away.  Xophia Venegas came in to get the final out.  She tripped on herself during one of her pitches, but Jayleen at short made a great play on a hard liner to end the inning.  13-4 GCU.

 

The damage had been done.  The Lopes were now in run rule territory.  The Aggies, though, went down in order, which finished the game early.  13-4 GCU was the final.  I’m tempted to not hand out any Gameballs for this one.  The Aggies gave up 13 runs and rolled over.  GCU took batting practice, but need more infield practice after giving up five errors.  However, GCU’s Ariel Thompson did go five innings and didn’t give up an earned run, so she gets one.

 

As Ron and I were leaving the stands, we were hailed from the field.  It was our friend from baseball, Michael, who apparently works with the grounds crew.  He wanted to say, “Hi.”  We wouldn’t have recognized him in uniform.  Outside the stadium, there were two groups of tailgaters.  One was literally drinking off a tailgate.  The other had a pavilion set up which said Virgin Galactic on it.  The group had been announced during the game.  They bugged out after Game 1, as did some more fans, who might have wanted to get ready for the basketball game.  Ron and I retired to his car for snacks.  “Hey, did you see that hot girl in front of us?” he asked.

 

On to Game 2.          

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