NM State Aggies vs GCU Lopes Baseball 5-14-22

 

I admit that a couple of weeks ago, I was trying to come up with excuses to not show up for this final home series for Aggie Baseball.  The outcome of this series seemed like a foregone conclusion, and I’ve had a low tolerance for the non-competitive baseball I’ve seen here since after the second week of the season.  (Softball I was done with almost right out of the gate.)  However after Ron lost his dad, I felt compelled to make sure I went with him this weekend. 

 

I was rewarded immediately when he came by to pick me up.  He turned in some more foul balls Friday night and got me another Mini-Football helmet display and a t-shirt.  I gave away the extra helmet at work to the officer that let us borrow his Diamond Club passes last month, but kept the shirt for myself.  It’s pretty cool.  The officer actually came into the stands later in the game and said, “Hi.”  He’d been in the club area, but left because there’s no shade out there.  That’s another item on the list of stadium improvements that need to be made. 

 

We had lunch at Jason’s Deli before the game.  The last time (7-18-21), Ron had ordered a sandwich so large, they had to create an ad hoc project team and take a planning meeting in order assemble to it.  I talked him out of ordering another.  Instead, he trustingly asked the cashier to order for him.  His meal turned out well and filling.  Mine, not so much.  I’m probably done with Jason’s.  (Everything seems to be on a short leash me this year.)

 

There was a lady in front of me at the ticket office that asked where she should sit to avoid the sun.  It was her first time there.  I suggested sitting on third base side, but warned her that people usually have to move around to keep in the shade.  This indeed did happen to her, but she did end up back on the third base side by the end.  I’m not sure if I gave good advice or not.  The price of the ticket was $7.  That’s the rivalry game price.  I had planned on buying a tea inside for the cloudless, hot, 90+ degree day, but after the price increase, I had no ethical problems with having a water bottle that Ron had snuck in.

 

Inside, we chatted with fellow fan, Michael, a bit.  Friday night’s game was a 9-6 loss.  The Aggies had a 6-3 lead about halfway through the game, but lost the lead on a grand slam home run.  I listened to some of the radio call while at work.  I was surprised to hear El Paso radio personality, Duke Keith, calling the game.  Adam Young was out calling the Softball team at the WAC Tournament. 

 

Duke was having an awkward time of it.  It sounded like he’d had been called in for the game an hour before it started, as he was having trouble identifying players, getting their names right, and even just calling the plays.  Ron had given up on listening to him and could see him fumbling with his notes during the game.  I assured him that Duke was a professional and had called baseball before, in addition to calling other sports, such as El Paso Locomotive Soccer with Heidi Moccia, Aggie AD Mario Moccia’s wife.  I think Duke did a more confident job today with some more prep time.   

 

Our first pitch was thrown out by . . . Emerson!  Yes, she’d graduated and was working her final series with the team.  Unfortunately, in her time with the program (and going out with a player), she hadn’t really learned how to throw.  The ball kid was her personal catcher.  I thought that was a nice touch.  When she was announced, the PA did mention that Emerson had been the Easter Bunny and other costumed characters.  Duke said Emerson was a member of GLAM: The Glamorous Ladies of Aggie Marketing.  The Anthem ceremony was fine, though they apparently lost their regular flag.  There was a little bitty flag flying in centerfield.  I guess they used what they had. 

 

I may quit keeping score.  I finally did it.  All the numbers added up on the first try.  I’ve come close before, but usually needed a correction (or two, or a whole bunch of erasing).  This wasn’t a super challenging game from a scorekeeping standpoint.  I’ll take it.  There was an error in the official scoring.  The runs weren’t credited correctly for Brendon Rodriguez and Josh Laukkanen.  If I’m correcting your scoring, you have problems.   

 

GCU was looking sharp in their purple striped uniforms.  They’re also ranked #25 in the country, so they don’t have to get by on their looks.  They also brought a bunch of loud fans as part of a good crowd in general.  I could hear them on the radio last night.  Ron said they were all wearing Dodger gear, though.  Michael said, they were mostly from El Paso to root on a local kid, Adrian Torres, on the team.  They weren’t in Dodger gear today, but were still there in force and loud for the whole game. 

 

Pablo Cortes started for the Aggies.  He gave up a single in the first that Tommy Tabak in center ran in and dove at.  It seemed like the wind was blowing in a bit, but it was hard to tell with that small flag in center.  Daniel Avitia started for the Lopes.  The first pitch was fouled backward on to the canopy and then rolled down into the stands in front of us.  Later in the inning, another foul went there and landed behind us.  That was as much action as we got in the stands. 

 

On field, the first four Aggies reached base with three hits and a hit batter.  Edwin Martinez-Pagani drove in two with a single.  Ryan Grabosch unexpectedly bunted and drove in another run with a sacrifice to make it 3-0 Aggies.  It took a meeting with the catcher and another with Coach Andy Stankiewicz to get Avitia through the first inning. 

 

Cortes worked around a leadoff single with a double play to get out of the second.  Preston Godfrey led off the bottom with a double, but he was left stranded.  That turned out to be all of the Aggie offense for quite a while.  I noticed Coach “Stank” constantly positioning the defense from the dugout during the innings.  I’m not sure it was hugely necessary, but you can’t knock the results.

 

In the crowd, I noticed a kid in a purple-trimmed baseball uniform.  His team was the Bats.  I don’t think that’s from around here, maybe Carlsbad.  There were a couple of attractive young women sitting below us.  I noticed one was using her smartphone to look up the guys on both rosters.  The girls were both giggling as they were ogling. 

 

Cortes cruised through the first two Lopes batters of the third, but started losing the strikezone.  He gave up a walk, a single, and then a line drive home run to center.  The GCU fans cheered.  3-3.  I’m going to condense the next three innings for the Aggie offense.  They all went down in order until the sixth.  

 

In the top of the fourth, there was a hat toss to the crowd.  A couple of screaming little girls got one each and happily put them on.  Meanwhile, I kept smelling a silent, but deadly fart coming from nearby.  I was suspecting Ron.  It got more suspicious when he left to walk around and the smell went away.  Maybe it was that salad that he ate.  Some Fathead-like player portraits were handed out to some members of the crowd.  I never figured out what their purpose was.  Michael got one of Logan Galina, but somebody stole it from him before the end of the game.  I’m suspecting a female admirer. 

 

Meanwhile on field, Cortes gave up a single and a double and was pulled for Brendon Rodriguez, who walked the bases full.  Brendon gave a run-scoring sac fly, but got out of the inning with a double play.  4-3 GCU.  Brendon also worked a 1-2-3 fifth.  A foul liner during the inning almost took out the Lopes’ on deck hitter.         

 

The top of the sixth began with a trivia question about who was leading the conference in home runs.  I knew that.  It was Logan Galina.  Strangely, I was looking over the stats right before the question and noticed he was ahead of the GCU player, Tayler Aguilar, who was chasing him.  Unfortunately, this question also came right after Logan had struck out to end the fifth inning.

 

More unfortunately was how the sixth inning went.  It started with a hit batter and then a two-run homer to center.  What looked like an easy fly ball to right was dropped by Godfrey.  He went to his knees as he had it for a moment.  I think he may have be fighting the sun a bit.  Brendon came out for Josh Laukkanen.  Catcher Cal Kilgore made a great diving play on a foul for the first out.  However, two more runs scored before the inning finally ended.  7-3 GCU.

 

The Aggies did punch back in the bottom.  Kevin Jimenez singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, went to third on a grounder, and finally scored on another.  It was a lot of work for one run.  Elijah Buries at second did make a good glove flip play for an out.  8-4 GCU.  The Lopes tacked on another run in the seventh with a single and a double to make it 9-4.  In the bottom, Avitia was still in a rocking chair in his final inning.  After a leadoff single, he got a strikeout and a double play. 

 

The Aggie pitch tracker in the stands, who I couldn’t quite identify positively, seemed to be doing well with the pretty girl sitting behind him.  Cade Swenson came in to work the eighth.  Duke was confused on the call, because his uniform number didn’t match the roster.  The PA had it right.  Logan made a great running, falling catch on a foul in the inning. 

 

Blake Reilly came in for the Lopes in the bottom.  After a foul ball went straight back out of the stadium, I suddenly started laughing.  Ron figured I’d heard something on the radio call and asked.  I said, “Duke said, ‘You couldn’t pay me to park behind the stadium.’”  That’s funny also because that’s where Ron parks.  He’s sure it’s safer than the main parking lot. 

 

I guessing Pablo Cortes’ relatives came by to sit below us.  They were wearing matching shirts with his name on them.  They were trying to avoid the sun.  It had gotten a bit toasty for a couple of innings, but we were in the shade to finish the game.  Swenson worked a quick top of the ninth.  Reilly hit EMP to start the bottom, but was erased on a double play.  Freshman Jacob Wiltshire pinch hit as the final batter.  He battled a bit before striking out.  GCU wins 9-4.         

        

Let’s toss the Gameballs.  For GCU, Daniel Avitia got the win for going 7 innings, giving up 4 runs with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts.  Apart from the first inning, he was completely baffling the hitters.  Jacob Wilson had the big blow in the third with a 3-run homer and Tyler Wilson (relation?) went 4 for 5 with 2 RBI’s.  For the Aggies, Edwin Martinez-Pagani went 1 for 3, but drove in 2 runs.  Cade Swenson worked 2 clean innings.  That’s monument-building compared to the rest of the staff.

 

Okay, a full 9-inning game, 13 total runs scored, both teams scored, there were pitching changes during innings, and this game took two-and-a-half hours.  What the F is so hard about a nice, crisply played baseball game coming in at under three hours!  I may have to give the sun an assist on this one.  The field temperature might have been close to 100 degrees on the turf.  I don’t blame the guys for playing quick.  (Several 1-2-3 innings also sped up the game.)

 

Afterward, I made another dinning mistake and suggested Caliches for some ice cream, in spite of the fact I’d already had an ice cream cone at Jason’s.  The seasonal Strawberry Shortcake-flavored frozen custard at Caliches irritated my stomach with too much sugar.  I know that seems impossible for me and my sweet tooth.  It serves me right.  I also said, I should have gotten my croissant sandwich here, instead of Jason’s, but that was before I saw the price increase on the Caliches’ one.  $13 bucks!  That’s about double the price from last month.  The hot dogs there only had about a $1 increase.  I’m going to have to stop eating.