NM State Aggies vs SD St Jackrabbits Baseball 2-16-24

I hustled over to Presley Askew Field from Aggie Softball, where I was missing a great game.  I could see the baseball stands from softball field and they were empty, but the baseball parking lot was full.  A large tailgate was going on at the far end. 

 

Inside the gates, the Concessions trailer was moved perpendicular to its usual position.  Across from it was a new merch trailer.  I’d take a look, but I have no more room for new t-shirts.  I picked up a corn-in-the-cup for dinner and then checked out the altered landscape across the street from the stadium.  What had been ratty old dorms that collected foul balls was now only trees . . . and moonscape?  The ground was all grey under the trees.  I’m not sure what was on the ground, but it was kind of scary-looking.

 

Inside the stadium, I found Michael, Aggie Baseball’s biggest fan, sitting in his usual spot.  I was glad to see him.  We chatted during the game.  He’s convinced AD Moccia ran off Football coach, Jerry Kill.  He’s not sure what happened, but it was acrimonious.  I’m sure Mario didn’t want Kill to leave, but there was plenty of friction between them.  The rest of the crowd was a full house at 875.  South Dakota State also brought a considerable group of fans with them. 

 

The Aggies were dressed in all white uniforms.  Even the numbers were white and only outlined in crimson.  That made identifying players by numbers a bit difficult.  New Aggie coach Jake Angier apparently played for the Jackrabbits and even under their current coach.  This explains why they’re here (and also their home field is under a couple of feet of snow).    

Play ball!  Trey Meza started for the Aggies.  He had a rough first giving up a two-run homer.  It was nearly called back.  An ump saw the ball hit a tree limb and come back onto the field.  The umps gathered and decided the limb was behind the wall and it counted.  I’d seen a game last year or the year before where that happened and it benefited the Aggies.  2-0 Jacks (as per the name on their jerseys). 

 

The Aggies got three baserunners on in the bottom without a hit (two walks and a hit batter), but also had a double play turned on them.  Oooh, Aggie Volleyball came in to support the team.  I think they had a couple of new members with them.  The team sat down nearby me.  Though I had something to say to a couple of the closest girls, I couldn’t do it.  I didn’t want to possibly irritate anybody with my gushing.  If I were a booster, I’d probably think I was entitled to chat them up.

Trey (it was Treyjen last year) settled down after a walk and a wild pitch to start the second, but allowed no further damage.  In the bottom, catcher Nick Gore reached first after a strikeout that ended in a wild pitch.  I missed Ron being there with me, since he was obsessed with that kind of play.  Meanwhile my obsession, the Hot Pan-Am Girl came out between innings to toss t-shirts to the crowd.  She seemed to really enjoy it.  The Volleyball girls and the frat guys behind me went crazy for the shirts.  The Volleyball girls didn’t get anything until the next inning when some Raising Cane’s merch was tossed out.

 

Meza gave up another two-run homer in the third.  I was starting to have flashbacks of last season.  4-0 Jacks.  The Aggies had two hits to start the bottom, but another DP ended the rally.  On the radio, Adam Young reported the happy totals from Softball’s win over Nebraska.  He was also saying that two hot tubs were being installed at the baseball park.  Huh?  I feel I didn’t catch everything he was saying.  I ran it past Michael.  He said, “Why?”

 

Top of the fourth and Meza was in form striking out the side.  The Aggies also had a quick inning.  Ryleigh Whitekettle from the Volleyball team came and sat nearby.  Even though I’ve chatted with her before, (3-4-23) now I was more afraid to say anything.  She was also in a midriff and distracted me from my baseball scoring.  (Yes, it was too cold for that outfit.)

 

To the top of the fifth, Romeo Ballesteros at short started a nice double play and Keith Jones in left made a sweet sliding catch on a shallow flyball.  My Volleyball sweetheart, Maggie Lightheart, screamed the loudest and got the Hot Pan-Am Girl to toss her a hat.  Oh my, another crush entered.  Mya Hammack from the Soccer team came in.  I still have her poster up on my refrigerator.  Unfortunately, she may have been there with a boyfriend.  I’m crushed.  (This may have implications for next season in terms of me going out to any more soccer games.) 

 

It had been a pretty good game for the Jackrabbits to this point.  In the bottom of the fifth, the wheels came off.  Romeo started with a single and Keith drove him in with a two-run homer.  The crowd erupted.  Romeo hyped up the dugout as he ran to home plate.  To add injury to insult, Jack catcher, Jayden Gibson, took a foul, “below the waist,” as Adam described.  He stayed in and got a round of applause from the crowd.

 

The shots to the Rabbits’ nuts kept coming to the tune of five-straight walks in a row.  Even a pitching change didn’t break up the streak.  Two more runs trotted home along with another run on a wild pitch.  Romeo came back up and delivered the coup de grace with a two-run single.  When the dust cleared, the Aggies were now up 7-2.  What an inning!

 

Another double play helped out Meza in his final inning in the sixth.  In the bottom, local high school star, Steve Solarzano, made his college debut memorable with a solo home run to center.  He was pumped as he stomped on home plate to score.  8-2 Aggies. 

 

As darkness started to fall and it was getting cold, some of the crowd left.  The seventh inning was a pair of 1-2-3 frames.  A towering foul popup came into the stands.  That was a little scary as hit a section over from me. 

 

In the top of the eighth, Fernando Barreda worked his second inning for the Aggies.  He gave up a two-run homer (that was the fourth of the game), but a great DP (the fifth of the game) ended the inning.  8-6 Aggies.  The Aggies got two on to start the bottom, but couldn’t move them.  Jordan Sagedahl at third for the Jacks made a great spear dive for an out.  Even Aggie fans applauded.

 

Reliever Hayden Lewis came in for the ninth for the Aggies.  Mitch Namie helped him out with a spear grab at first.  Lewis kept losing his hat on the mound, but only gave up a single on his way to the save and an 8-6 Aggie victory.

 

That was about two-and-a-half hours of great baseball.  I’ll hand out the Gameballs.  For the Jackrabbits, Reece Anderson went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer.  For the Aggies, I’ll take the local kid, Steve Solorzano, going 2 for 3 with a home run, Keith Jones hitting a two-run homer, and Hayden Lewis for his save.  This was a good start to the season for Aggie Baseball. 

NM State vs NE Softball Game 2

With that, I hustled back over to the Softball Complex for back end of their double header.  AD Moccia saw me three times today in three different places.  Not to mention, I sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame three times today. 

 

I got there in the fifth with the Aggies down 3-1 to Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers had a line drive solo home run in the seventh to make it 4-1, which was the final.  The Aggie fans did manage to call out the NE fans for not doing the Wave in the sixth.  “Come on, Nebraska!” shouted one fan, who might have had a couple adult beverages. 

 

I was briefly concerned as I saw waves of smoke coming from behind the Aggie dugout.  From the smell, it was apparently a barbeque for the players after the game (possibly burned).  A couple of ladies behind me were chatting about the baseball game and wondered who won.  I jumped in with the score.  This was slightly embarrassing, as one of the women identified herself as the Director of Baseball Operations.  The position apparently doesn’t involve staying to watch their games.  They saw me taking notes and working on my baseball scorecards and asked at the end of the game if I was working for somebody.  No, I’m just an idiot paying admission to do this for my blog.