Baseball Journal September 2025 Part 4

9-15-25

Tonight’s MLB.TV Free Game was the Orioles at the White Sox.    Aggie great, Kyle Bradish, was pitching for the O’s.    Glad to see him back playing.    He gave up a run in the first, but went five full innings with 9 strikeouts, 4 hits, 1 run, and 4 walks.    It was good enough to get the win.    The Orioles got the run back in the third.    In the sixth, Colton Cowser hit a three-run homer.    It was probably carried by the wind.    There was a shower of boo’s from the crowd as he rounded the bases.    O’s win, 4-1.

It was Bark at the Park day and that was the main focus of the Chicago broadcast.    They showed lots of dogs dressed up around the park.    The field reporter went around to interview the dogs’ owners.    The bumper going into commercial showed the players’ and crews’ dogs.    The play of the game was a ball guy making a play with his stool on a foul ball.    It’s been that kind of season for the White Sox.

During the game, there was bonus coverage of the Blue Jays and the Rays playing in extra innings.    The Jays were 2-1 winners over Rays in Tampa in 11 innings.    I’m not sure who the crowd was rooting for there.    I’d hear them cheering for both teams.    At the end, the crowd was chanting, “Let’s go Rays!” or, “Let’s go Jays!”    It was hard to tell since they sound alike.

9-16-25

I was still tied up in current events on the Internet and very busy with work.    There wasn’t an MLB.TV Free Game.    I gave the Chihuahuas’ game with Sugar Land kind of minimal attention.    Francisco Acuna homered for the first time as a Chihuahua.    The Space Cowboys kept playing the infield in in the second and third innings when the Chihuahuas got a runner to third.    They seemed to anticipate a close game.   

It was 3-2 Chihuahuas for most of the game.    Sugar Land tied it in sixth with a solo home run.    In the seventh, Yonathan Perlaza was thrown out at home on a sacrifice fly trying to give the pups the lead.    In the eighth, Clay Dungan singled in two runs in to make it, 5-3.    In the ninth, Sugar Land had two on with 1 out.    They executed a double steal to put both in scoring position, but they were left stranded.    Chihuahuas win, 5-3, to start their final series of the year.

9-17-25

I missed tonight’s Chihuahuas game with Sugar Land from being at Aggie Volleyball.    I heard the postgame and the pups won, 13-2.    I also missed the Rangers game.    It was a 5-3 loss and the Astros had swept them, which may have wrecked their chances for the postseason.    The Rockies game was still going on, but I had bad reception.    I didn’t even figure out who they were playing.    I found out later they lost 8-4 to the Marlins.

9-18-25

The Chihuahuas were officially eliminated from the postseason last night after their game.    Tacoma won their game to punch their ticket.    The pups are on a four-game winning streak and Luis Campusano is pursuing the PCL batting crown.    In the third and down by a run, Campusano hit a three-run double on a broken bat.    However, this was instead ruled an error all the way.    He yelled at the pressbox after scoring and was mad.    Between innings, the Sugar Land staff made sure to show broadcaster Tim Hagerty that it was an error.    The Chihuahuas did score a couple more in the ninth and won, 5-1.    Campusano did get a hit tonight, but went 1 for 5.    (I never found out if he won the batting title.    He was called up before the end of the Chihuahuas’ season.)

9-19-25

Pretty busy tonight and not really paying attention to tonight’s game between the Chihuahuas and the Space Cowboys.    Odd incident during the game.    The Pitch Com system didn’t work for the Chihuahuas and they had to go back to catcher signs.    By rule, this meant the other team had to do it, too.    It was a back-and-forth game.    In the top of the seventh and down 5-3, the Chihuahuas loaded the bases.    A walk and a hit batter tied it.    However, they gave up 3 in the eighth and lost, 8-5.

9-21-25

No Baseball for me yesterday.    I either missed the games going to Aggie Soccer or they weren’t being broadcast for Football.    Today, the Rangers were playing . . . I’m an inning in and listened to the pregame and I still don’t know who they’re playing.    (The reception was listenable, but not great.)    I check the schedule.    It’s the Marlins.    I didn’t recognize any of the names of the players.    I barely recognize the names of the Rangers at this point, given the number of the replacements.

The pregame was talking about other playoff races.    The Rangers are basically out of it after that sweep by the Astros.    They might play a spoiler role for the Indians later in the week.    That’s about it.    I chose to listen to the Chihuahuas, but checked back at the end.    The Marlins beat the Rangers, 4-2, and that was a sweep, as well.

I switched over to the Chihuahuas, since it was their final game of the season.    (And a Sportscar race was on at the time.    The Dallas Cowboys would be playing in an hour.    After this afternoon, there’s nothing on, of course.)    The Chihuahuas did win last night.    For today, there was bad weather in the Houston area for the game against the Space Cowboys.    The pups took an early 3-0 lead.    There were blue skies overhead, but the groundskeeper was showing his phone to the ump between innings, which only means one thing: weather incoming.    The teams seemed to be playing quick.   

In the fourth, the Space Cowboys scored a couple, 3-2.    One runner was on via an error.    The pups struck back in the fifth and made it, 4-2.    In the bottom of the fifth, the Cowboys tied it on a two-run homer.    In the sixth, the Chihuahuas loaded the bases.    A two runs were walked in with two outs to make it, 6-4.

In the bottom, the pups had another error and 2 were on.    A Sugar Land run came in on a passed ball.    A double brought in another run to tie it.    The go-ahead run came in on a wild pitch.    7-6 Sugar Land.    In the seventh, a Chihuahua batter struck out, but got on via a wild pitch, though he didn’t score.    In the eighth, Yonathan Perlaza lined out, trying for a 50-double season.   

A very dark cloud had appeared overhead.    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty was alarmed.    In the bottom of the eighth, the Cowboys got a run on a sac fly.    They get another run as the rain and wind started going.    This quickly became a downpour with the crowd running for cover.    A wet bat slipped from a batter’s hands and flew over the infield on a swing.

A run was walked in.    The Chihuahuas’ pitcher walked three in a row and couldn’t get a good grip on the ball.    A wild pitch brought in a run.    The pitcher chatted with the ump.    Surely he said, “Why aren’t you calling the game?”    They lost the field by this point with the infield completely flooded.    Another run was walked in and it was 12-6 Sugar Land, which would be the final score.   

The Chihuahuas were mad and yelling at the ump after the final out.    Sugar Land did not come out on the field for the ninth, though the tarp not out.    It was too late for that anyway.    The game was unofficially called, and the kids were allowed to run the bases.    Tim wasn’t sure what to do, but finally went ahead and did the postgame and said his “Thank you’s” for the season.    The umps actually have to wait at least a half hour before officially calling a game, but there wasn’t any point in waiting for it.    The sun did come out and there was a rainbow overhead.   

Should the umps have stopped play when the rain started?    Yes.    Maybe it looked like it would be quick and they didn’t want to prolong the game with a long delay.    By the time it was obvious they should have, it was too late.    I’d think if this hadn’t been a “meaningless” final game of the season, they would have stopped play.    In any case, the final broadcast is always a bit sad, but we’ll look forward to next year.

NM State Aggies vs Liberty Flames Soccer 9-28-25

This might be my last Aggie Soccer game of the season. There’s only one more home game left and I may be going to an Aggie Baseball exhibition instead. Honestly, this might be my last Aggie Soccer game, period. Unlike other times where I’ve said that, this time it might be serious. I’ll get to that at the end.

There was storm last night and more weather scheduled for today. In the morning, it was alternating between clouds and bright sunlight. I reluctantly put on sunblock, but then decided I didn’t need sunglasses. That was a good decision and a bad decision there. I didn’t get sunburned, but spent the whole game squinting.

It was hot, sunny, and breezy at the Soccer Complex. Inside, I met Rito from AggieVision (and the son of a co-worker) and had a chat. While talking, a former classmate of Rito’s came by and Rito gave him a job lead. It was a friendly sort of day. I was offered a giveaway flag going out to the field. Once again, I turned it down. The guy seemed to have plenty there, as there wasn’t much of a crowd. It was listed at 500, but I wonder if they were counting the dragonflies that were buzzing over the field.

Actually, the Liberty Flames, today’s opponent, brought several fans. They set up in the center of the grandstand, I guess because it was kind empty. At least one of them had a flag. The travelling parents love the opposing swag.

The rain really greened up the field. The field and the football stadium berm looked magnificent. Fresh cut grass clippings were everywhere with a wonderful smell. The Band was here for today’s game. The Liberty fan in front of me was really enjoying the music for the game. The LU team looked small, even the goalie. Their record was 5-3-4, and in conference play, they’d only tied twice, like the Aggies. Size, at least in Women’s Soccer, is a bit overrated. Speed is where it’s at.

First Half

A minute into the game, Meredith Scott headed a ball into the Band. She’s so cute, I’m sure they were okay with it. The Flames pressed in on the attack. 40’ left in the half, defender Kennedy Herrera kicked away a shot. Liberty took another shot a couple of minutes later. Keeper Valerie Guha stopped it. 37’ Meredith was pushed down by the stands. How dare they do that to our adorable forward! (They’re smaller, but still effectively aggressive.) Liberty got a warning, though they got the ball back.

“Kick that ball!” chanted the Band. Val made a goalie kick and nearly put it into the stands. She put her head in her hands in irritation with herself. 32’ Liberty got a throw in from that and that led to a corner. Meredith headed the shot out, but Flamer Gabby Miranda got it and sent it to Avenley Monteith, who rolled a kick by the post. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Regardless, 1-0 Liberty.

26’ Liberty had another corner. Their shot went out. Right after, Marlee Cavitt made a popup shot into the stands. 23’ Liberty had a shot across the Aggie goal. The Aggies then sent in mass subs. Though it was hot and humid, apparently it didn’t hit the threshold for a hydration break.

17’ two Flamers charged on a breakaway. They got past two defenders and had an open shot at the Aggie net. It went high. Liberty did their own mass subs. They made another attack. It was just out. They followed that with a shot that went wide. More Aggie subs came in.

9’ Milana Eyrich and a Liberty defender went down in a heap. Millie came up with the ball. The Aggies had their best chance there, but still didn’t get a shot off. Back the other way, Liberty got off an awkward shot right by the Aggie net. Val managed to corral it. Liberty had another attack right after. One of the girls made a clever header bounce pass across the net. The ball got kicked away.

4’ the Aggies had a free kick in the Liberty end and went all in. Only Val stood at midfield on defense. They did that again with a minute left. With under a minute left, Janae Shaklee finally got off a shot for the Aggies. It went high.

Halftime

It was 1-0 Liberty at the half, but it felt like complete domination. They had 2 corners and 4 shots on goal. The Aggies had nothing. I was glad I’d brought my radio to listen to the Rangers game during this.

The Hot Marketing Girl came out in a little pair of yoga shorts and a tank top to toss t-shirts. She even came back for another round before the second half. This was the best entertainment at the game. A close second was the Aggie Pride Outlaw Band performing. I couldn’t hear my Rangers game for a few minutes, but that was okay.

Across the field, I saw Val laid out getting a rub down. I noticed another little kid in the crowd with the same Wave the Wonder Dog shirt I have. I love the shirt, but maybe that wasn’t a smart adult purchase for me. Another little kid was shagging balls for the Liberty backup goalie.

Second Half

Rachel Haan and Blakley Edgar came in to start. Coach Baarts seemed to be wanting to use the whole bench. The Aggies came out attacking, unfortunately they didn’t get a shot off. 42’ left in the game, another ball went into the Band. Were the players not liking the music? 40’ Liberty had a clear shot on the Aggie goal, but were offsides. 38’ the shot of the game, a ball got kicked out and went over the locker room building. That was truly impressive. I wish I’d seen who did it to properly credit them.

37’ a Liberty player had a clear shot on the Aggie goal, but passed on it. Instead, a Liberty attacker was knocked down at the top of the Aggie box, they got a free kick on the spot. Halle Engle fired an easy rolling shot around the Aggie wall into the net. 2-0 Liberty. Did I see and hear a Liberty fan ringing a cowbell for the shot? They’re beating us and stealing our traditions?

34’ Liberty had a corner, but didn’t get off a shot. A minute later, Rachel leveled a Flamer that was a foot shorter than she was. The ref gave her a lecture, but no card. Maybe it was a legit body check, but it looked bad. 33’ there was a wide shot on the Aggie goal. Val went airborne and horizontal diving for it. Great effort.

Finally, an Aggie attack. 32’ Ariana Leamons seemed to be by herself dribbling in front of the Liberty net with a box full of defenders. She couldn’t find anyone to pass to and had to settle for a weak shot into traffic. 29’ Val came out to stop a shot and had to fall on a follow up. A wave of Aggie subs came in. 27’ off a disrupted Aggie attack, Ariana Ellison took a shot outside of the Liberty box. The goalie had to catch it, but somehow this wasn’t a shot on goal according to the stats.

27’ Liberty sent in their subs. 25’ the Aggies had a free kick near midfield. I think Esme Arenas took the shot. It went wide. A minute later, Yayu Wu took a shot and tried to curl it into the post. It went just wide. She was a spark on offense when she came in.

21’ Aggie Ainsleigh Thomson and Flamer Brooklyn Jenkins both headed a ball at the same time in front of the stands. It was a momentary “ball sandwich” between them. Jenkins got the worst of it and clearly had her bell rung. The ref should have taken her out if he saw it. The Aggies brought in another wave of subs.

12’ a solo Flame breakaway attack. Val caught the shot. 8’ another Liberty solo attack. Kennedy was the only one back, but thankfully the shot went wide. Another group of Aggie subs came in. 6’ Liberty missed a connecting shot in front of the Aggie net for what would have been an easy tap in. The Band started playing Country Roads. It felt like an odd choice, but the Liberty fan in front of me was singing along with it.

That was my last game note. Liberty wins, 2-0. They had 3 corners and 7 shots on goals. Shots were 11-2 for Liberty. Liberty goalie, Peyton Huber, had 0 saves. She barely had to get out of her rocking chair and finished three glasses of lemonade during the game. Gameballs to Avenley Monteith and Halle Engle for scoring for Liberty. Aggie keeper Valerie Guha gets a Gameball for having 5 saves. That final score could have been worse. The Aggies never really mounted any offense today.

After the game, both teams made a prayer circle at midfield. It’s a Liberty tradition. It was a long prayer and was followed by Coach Baarts giving the Aggies a long talk. The girls didn’t have the opportunity to wave to the crowd or salute the Band. They may not have felt like it anyway.

I saw Tom the Fan on the way out and greeted him. I hadn’t heard him cheering during the game. I noticed broadcaster Jack Nixon on field. He went over and talked to the coach. In the parking lot, I found out he was parked next to me. I finally couldn’t resist saying, “Hello,” and asking how he was enjoying retirement.

He was okay and felt it was time to go when he did. I told him we missed him. His voice is amazing in person, even more than over the radio. Graciously, he asked how I was doing. I said, “I’d be doing better with a win.” Jack said the Coach was inconsolable, like a “death in the family.” It wasn’t my imagination Coach Baarts looked depressed. I think Jack was calling it that the coach is about to leave when he compared him to Coach Jans in Men’s Basketball.

I apologize for this recap. It’s terrible. Not that the rest of them are that great, but the effort wasn’t there on this one. Maybe if I hadn’t been listening to a baseball game the whole time, I’d paid better attention taking notes. On the other hand, I can only report what happened and it wasn’t much.

In any case, this is getting a bit too heartbreaking. I feel like the slide for Aggie Sports is underway and the crash will come if their conference affiliation comes apart. It’s hard not to see more major disruption in the shifting landscape of college sports coming. Except for Baseball and maybe Volleyball, I don’t know if I can dedicate myself to this reporting past this season. It was always going to end at some point.

NM State Aggies vs Delaware Blue Hens Soccer 9-25-25

Things are going poorly at work, but I’m taking the day off anyway for Aggie Soccer versus the Delaware Blue Hens. We have encountered the Blue Hens before, but in Baseball (3-1-19 Journal, 3-2-19, 3-3-19). The team was memorable for having the best visiting uniforms ever. (If they wanted to sell some merch on the road, I’d certainly at least take a look. I’d love a Blue Hens hat with that logo.)

Coach Baarts finally made an appearance on the Aggie Coaches Show this week promoting the team. Again, one wonders why he wasn’t brought on to do this when they were playing Texas Tech and Arizona here. Those are big name opponents, though they had good crowds there regardless. Maybe he didn’t like his team’s chances against them. The Coach did mention that Esme Arenas had been injured at the beginning of the season. When she came back, he opened up the offense, so that sort explains their overly defensive play.

I spent my day listening to a Rangers game, where they failed to show up with their bats again and lost without scoring. I also picked up some things from Dollartree, ironed, sewed a rip, and went to the mall to get a birthday present for a friend at work. Lunch was leftovers from a McAlister’s meal from work yesterday. It was a Club Wrap and a couple of cookies. It was very tasty. Lastly, I read some more from a pdf book about Filmation cartoons. Hopefully, I’ll remember to review it at some point.

It had been a beautiful day when I was out in the afternoon, though the forecast was for scattered storms. When I left for the game, indeed, there was a large blue/black cloud to the north. Approaching the university, I noticed the Football stadium lights were on. A rally was about to start outside with logs piled for a bonfire. This is for the big game with UNM on Saturday.

A slight, cool breeze was blowing across the field of fresh cut grass. It was nice. I was early, but the stands were almost empty. (Attendance would be 485.) The Band was next door practicing in the stadium. The Coach was wandering around after practice. He seemed a bit dejected. There was an ill-timed Grand in the Stands student giveaway scheduled for tonight. You had to think the students would be at the rally, but you also had to like the odds if you were a student and showed up here.

The Aggies were wearing their crimson uniforms. Esme would be starting tonight for the Aggies. Goalie Valerie Guha was wearing pink. It was a bit more contrasting than last time. The Blue Hens were in white with a blue letters with yellow trim and blue shorts. Very nice. From the program, they are 7-1-2, but I don’t know who they’ve played.

First Half

Without the students and the little kids, the crowd was pretty quiet to start. I could hear Val and defender Jena Johannes yelling on field. There was a loud guy at the top of stands shouting encouragement. Tom the Fan was here. I could hear him yelling at the south end of the stands. I could hear conversations in the crowd. They agreed about the bad timing of the Grand in the Stands promotion. Not much was going on on field to start, which also kept the crowd muted.

40’ left in the half, Esme took the first shot from outside the Delaware U box. It went wide. After a bad pass a couple of minutes later, DU got a corner. It was cleared out. The Blue Hens keeper, Sophia Hall, was playing at midfield alone while the team was taking the corner. 36’ a Blue Hen player had to come out. She may have gotten a bloody nose.

The Band next door started playing ominous music. There was like a low, disturbing hum over the field. I’m sure it sounded better inside Aggie Memorial. 32’ Meredith Scott downed a BH player, which led to a foul and a free kick at the Aggie 30yd line. This led to a corner, but no shots. 30’ Ariana Leamons made a steal that led to a long Aggie possession, which ended with Ariana Ellison taking a long shot. (At least, I’m keeping the two “Ari’s” straight by this point in the season, which was good, because they were on field together for about the whole game.)

26’ Ari E. stripped an attacker at midfield. Defender Kennedy Herrera came into the DU end and fired a long shot at the goal. It was way off, but the crowd appreciated the effort. 25’ the Blue Hens got their first good chance. Sophia Zeppos took a shot in the Aggie box, but accidently hit one of her teammates’ directly in the rear, which blocked the shot.

DU got three corners in three minutes. Tom started chanting, “We want a goal!” Save it for when the Aggies are on offense, Tom. On the last one, a kick went to a player by the net. Her header went high. On a counter, Ari L. took a running shot that went across the DU goal. Back on the other end, Marlee Cavitt broke up a shot at the Aggie goal.

13’ Meredith was by the stands and questioned an offsides call on the other side of the field. The line judge answered her. It was quiet enough that I could hear the conversation. 10’ Adiat Olaogun-Dickson took a shot that went across the Aggie goal. DU got a corner right after. Val slapped the ball away. They got another corner. Ava Sailee made a header shot over the Aggie goal. The Blue Hens got their eighth corner of the half at the 5’ mark. There wasn’t any noteworthy action after that. It was nil-nil at the half.

Halftime

Your stats are 0-0, 8 BH corners, and that’s it. No shots on goal by either team. Yeah. The Grand in the Stands went to a cute perky intern working at the game wearing a little white mini-skirt. It’s a fix! But she’s cute, so it’s okay.

I checked my phone. The Tigers finally beat Cleveland today to tie up the division again. Thank goodness. Wave the Wonder Dog and Bogey, his brother from another mother, were both at the game. (I didn’t get pet either of them.) Unfortunately, they did not meet each other. When I was coming back from the bathroom, I saw flashes in the sky to the north. The wind also picked up. There wasn’t much of a dip in the crowd after the half. They might have even picked up a few.

Second Half

44’ left in the game, Ari E. took a long shot that was caught. Running by the stands, I noticed one of the Blue Hens had blue braids to match her uniform. 40’ Ari L. made a pass to Meredith in the DU box, but it didn’t quite connect. 38’ the Aggies tried a long downfield pass that was broken up. Right after, Ari L. made a nice dribble around a defender and took a shot at the DU goal that was caught. That was the first shot on goal for the game.

36’ Jena broke up a shot on the Aggie goal. On an immediate counter, Esme outran the defenders and took a running shot that went wide. The crowd loved it. This led to an Aggie corner, but no shot. 33’ back the other way, a BH attack crossed in front of the Aggie goal. 31’ Yayu Wu came in and took an Aggie corner. They got another corner right after, but no shots.

28’ Andrea Alvarenga made a great pass leading Ari L. She outran the defenders and the goalie was left wide open. Ari didn’t miss and put it in. 1-0 Aggies! The crowd was fully engaged now. Don’t celebrate too much. 27’ after a foul by Kennedy trying to stop an attack, DU had a free kick on the Aggie 20yd line. The free kick was deflected and the shot skimmed over the defenders into the net. 1-1 and we’re back to tied. Constanze Viehmann got the goal and Gabby Riley had the assist.

26’ Meredith chipped a long shot that went way over the goal. Ooops. She came away smiling. A minute later, Ava Agresti was given a yellow card after an Aggie player was sent flying into the ground. It was on the other side of the field and I couldn’t see who took the dive. Right after, Ari E. broke up an attack in the Aggie box. Meanwhile, there was an angry dog barking on the hill behind the BH goal. I couldn’t see the dog. I assume it wasn’t Wave or Bogey, since they’re so nice, and there were other dogs there. Goalie Hall was looking over her shoulder nervously.

15’ Jena kicked away an attack in front of the Aggie net. On the other end a couple of minutes later, the Aggies made some great passes around the BH net, but weren’t able to get a shot off. 10’ DU on a counter. There was a pass to the front of the Aggie goal, but it was broken up. Mya Gonzales was on a counter right after and appeared to be thrown to the ground. There was no yellow on that, but a free kick from the DU 40yd line. No shot taken.

8’ Ari E. took a hard foul defending the Aggie box. 7’ off a long pass, Mya outran the defenders and took a long shot that went just over the DU net. The Blue Hens got a corner right after. There was a collision proceeding it. Ari E. seemed to get the worst of it and was taking a beating. Val was screaming to get everyone in position. DU didn’t get a shot off. 5’ the ball bounced in front of the Aggie goal loose. Val corralled it. On the sideline, Ari E. ran into the midfield flag getting the ball for a throw in. She let out a loud explicative in front of the crowd. She may have been a bit disoriented from the hits and she’s not a large girl.

3’ Meredith was blatantly tripped and this brought out a yellow on Ryan Mundy. This gave the Aggies a free kick on the BH 30yd line. Behind the action, Ari E. was squatting at midfield and seemed exhausted. There wasn’t a shot. Suddenly, the wind started gusting. A storm was coming in. The game ended. It was another tie, 1-1. Ari E. was again crouching on field after the game. She may have been cramped or just really beaten up.

The Aggies were up 10-7 in shots and 2-1 in shots on goal. It wasn’t my imagination: there wasn’t a lot of offense in this game. Delaware had a 9-3 advantage in corners. Blue Hen Constanze Viehmann gets a Gameball for her equalizer. Ariana Leamons gets an obvious one for her Aggie goal. I’ll hand one to Ariana Ellison, as well. She seemed to be gritting it out on the field late.

The crowd evacuated with the final horn. The girls reluctantly waved to the fleeing crowd and then beat a hasty retreat. A dusty haze hung over the stadium lights as I left, but no rain or storm manifested. The dust in the air, or me not putting on my jacket when the wind made it colder, gave me a slight cold when I got home. I was doing okay later after some chicken noodle soup.

The best I can say for this game is that it was easy to type up. Of course, that was because not much happened. You could almost see that Blue Hen goal coming right after the Aggie goal. I’d seen that happen in other games. Again, in spite of their record, I’m not sure how good Delaware was. We’re also not sure if the Aggies are as bad as the record says they are, but so far they’re holding their own in conference.

Baseball Journal September 2025 Part 3

9-10-25

There were a pair of day games on tap, at the same time, of course.    The Chihuahuas versus the Isotopes came on first.    The Isotopes took a 3-0 lead in the first.    There was a two-run homer to the Porch with the fielder standing directly underneath it like old Tiger Stadium.    This was followed by another two-run homer and two more runs on a single.  It was 7-0 Isotopes after an 11-batter first inning.   

Admittedly by this point, I switched over to the Rangers and the Brewers, but I’d keep up with the Chihuahuas between innings.    The score kept getting worse.    It was 10-0 after two innings, 11-0 after three innings, 12-0 after four innings, and by the sixth, it was 14-0.      

I was feeling good about my choice.    I took a nap listening to the Rangers.    When I got up, I flipped back to the Chihuahuas.    The pups had scored 7 in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it, 14-7.    Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop the Isotopes from scoring.    They gave up a run on a wild pitch, 15-7.    An error loaded the bases for the Chihuahuas in the bottom of the seventh, but they only got a run off of a sacrifice, 15-8.

The Isotopes’ kept hitting and ran up the score to 19-8 in the eighth.    Cody Roberts, the backup catcher, came in as a reliever to get the final two outs.    From broadcaster Tim Hagerty, Cody’s seriously considering a position change after his previous outing (8-30-25).    He came out again in the ninth.    The first batter switched sides of the plate mid-at bat.    He worked a walk, so it worked.    Cody then gave up a two-run homer to Sam Hilliard.    It was 21-8 Isotopes.    They scored in every inning, which is a rare feat.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Chihuahuas loaded the bases and got a couple of runs.    21-10 Isotopes was the final.    The Isotopes had 27 hits in the game.    This game started a half hour before the Rangers’ game, but finished well after.    Right after this game finished, I had to rush off to work.         

Meanwhile, the Rangers were playing the Brewers.    The Rangers had taken the first two games of the series against the MLB’s best team by record.    The announcers were looking forward to a pitcher’s duel between Merrill Kelly and Freddy Peralta.    The first two Brewer batters homered.    There was nearly a third home run shot by Christian Yelich, but he was robbed by Michael Helman in outfield.

Jake Burger, the only Ranger in the lineup with any success against Peralta, homered in the second and broke Peralta’s scoreless inning streak at 29.    2-1 Brewers.    The Rangers loaded bases the bases in the third.    A Joc Pederson fielder’s choice brought in the tying run.    Peralta balked in another run to give the Rangers a 3-2.

In the fourth, the Brewers loaded the bases.    Aggie great, Joey Ortiz, came up, but grounded out.    I had mixed feelings on that play.    However, Joey made an awesome defensive play in the bottom of the inning and earned the praise of the Ranger announcers.    In the fifth, it was Burger again with a two-run homer to make it, 5-2.

The Brewers had two on in the sixth.    Joey was lifted for pinch hitter, Rhys Hoskins, who drove in a run and chased Kelly from the game, 5-3.    In the bottom of the eighth, the Rangers loaded the bases without a hit.    Rowdy Tellez came up and got a run on an FC, 6-3.    Phil Maton locked it down in the ninth.    Appropriately, Burger made a great play to end it.    6-3 Rangers, and they completed the sweep to stay in the Wild Card race.

While I was listening to the games, I didn’t realize that there was a big news story going on.    When I got to work, I found out about the Charlie Kirk assassination.    Much of the rest of the evening, I was listening to coverage about it.    The MLB.TV Free Game was the Rays at the White Sox.    I was barely watching.    The White Sox coverage was showing awkward moments on Kiss Cam and talking about Spring Training next year.    It wasn’t a bad game, though.    There was drama in the ninth, the Sox had a one-run lead.    Their closer walked the first batter and pulled up lame.    Two more pitchers had to come in to close it out with runners on second and third.    White Sox win, 6-5.

9-11-25

I was very busy at work (seems like a theme this week) and watching Nick Fuentes’ eulogy for Charlie Kirk tonight and didn’t have much time for baseball.    The Chihuahuas beat the Isotopes in what seemed like a quick game, as opposed to the last two days.

The MLB.TV Free Game was the Rockies at the Padres.    I started watching late in the game.    In the eighth, the Rox announcer forgot the number of outs and tried to send it to the break.    The play-by-play guy said, “We play three outs in this league.”    It’s been a long season, especially for the Rockies.    It was a 2-0 Padres win.    Significantly the Rockies have yet to score yet in San Diego in four games this season.

9-12-25

The Rangers were playing the Mets tonight.    Jacob deGrom was making his first start against the Mets as a Ranger.    They gave him a video tribute there.    I think the fans also gave him a good round of applause.    I left in the first to go to Aggie Volleyball.    The Rangers were up 4-0 in the first.    They ended up scoring 6 in the inning.    deGrom worked 7 innings, giving up 3 runs, and the Rangers won, 8-3.   

I also missed a NASCAR Xfinity race at Bristol and only saw the prerace.    It was the first race of the “playoffs.”    Aric Almirola won.    Connor Zilisch finished fifth.    He was going for his fifth win in a row.

Back from Volleyball, it had rained outside while I was at the game.    It was raining in El Paso, too.    The Chihuahuas were playing the Isotopes.    In the sixth, with the Isotopes up 9-0, the rain got bad enough to bring out the tarp.    A player had slipped on the muddy infield to precipitate that (pardon the pun).    The game was official at that point and called.    Oddly, I was also getting the Albuquerque station, which was carrying the game from the Isotope point of view.

9-13-25

While I was at Aggie Volleyball yesterday, the biggest sports story in New Mexico was going on in California.    The UNM Lobos beat UCLA, 35-10.    Yes, they were playing football.    And UNM was paid over a $1M to go play them.    UCLA’s coach was fired for this loss the next day.

After I got back home from Aggie Volleyball, there were three games on the radio and an interesting College Football game on.    From keeping up with score while I was at Volleyball, I knew the Aggie Football team was losing to LA Tech.    I started listening in the fourth quarter.    The defense was holding, but when they gave it over to the offense, quarterback Logan Fife had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.    I started turning over to other games after that.    LA Tech won going away, 49-14.

The Chihuahuas were whupping up on Isotopes in El Paso.    They had a big sixth inning and went up, 11-3.    They’d go on to win, 16-3.    Yonathan Perlaza set the season RBI record for the team during the game.    Ezequiel Duran hit for cycle.    He hit a grand slam to get the home run for the cycle.    I had a co-worker who went to the game. She had a great time, though she mostly raved about the food. Her dinner sounded like a feast actually. Her and her fiancee also bought Chihuahuas Grateful Dead-themed t-shirts.

I missed the Rangers beating the Mets, 3-2, going to Volleyball.    I saw it was 2-2 in the ninth at one point checking scores.    I regret nothing going to see the girls playing volleyball, though.    The other radio game on while I was home was also a blowout.    It was 9-1 in the eighth with the Padres over the Rockies.    The final was 11-3 Padres.

The game of the night was Texas A&M at Notre Dame.    I came in in the fourth quarter and it was 40-34 ND.    However, they’d missed the extra point on a bobbled snap.    The Aggies came back downfield.    On fourth and goal on the ND ten, they made an absolutely clutch TD pass and catch.    The extra point won it, 41-40.    The coverage kept showing ND holder on goat cam.    I felt bad for the kid.    This was just like earlier in the day, when Tennessee lost to Georgia after the field goal kicker missed what would have been the game-winning kick.   

9-14-25

There were two games on the radio this afternoon, of course at the same time.    The Rangers were at the Mets.    The Rangers had taken the first two games of the series and are on enough of a winning streak that they have a chance to get into the playoffs.    The Mets were on an 8-game losing streak and about to play their way out of a playoff spot.    I chose to mostly listen this game.

Ranger starter, Jacob Latz, had traffic issues in the first two innings, but settled down.    In the fifth, after a double and a grounder that moved the runner to third, there was a grounder to Rowdy Tellez at first.    He threw home, but just missed getting the runner, 1-0 Mets.    In the sixth, Brandon Nimmo homered to make it, 2-0.

In the seventh, Joc Pederson drove in two runs to tie it, 2-2.    Adolis Garcia, back from injury, made a sliding catch to end the seventh and keep the Mets from scoring.    The Mets doubled off Ezekiel Duran on a line out for a double play to end the top of the ninth.    In the bottom, Duran made a great play to keep the Mets from scoring.    In the bottom of the tenth, Juan Soto was walked at the beginning of the inning to face Pete Alonso.    He proceeded to hit a three-run homer to win it, 5-2.    That was disappointing.

Meanwhile, the Chihuahuas were playing the Isotopes.    The pups scored 7 in first inning and I missed all of it, even though I was checking in on this game between innings.    I finally switched over to this game in the eighth.    It was 7-3, but the Isotopes scored and brought the tying run to the plate with the bases loaded.    The Chihuahuas got out of it, 7-4.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Isotopes walked the bases loaded for pups.    A hit batter brought in a run.    Clay Dungan then singled in two more runs.    During a pitching change, KROD cut out of the game and went to ESPN Radio.    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty tried to talk over it, but he was cut off.    I was about to leave for lunch, but the game came back on.    The Chihuahuas had batted around while I wasn’t able to listen and it was, 13-4.

The top of the ninth was the debut of pitcher, Maikel Miralles.    He struck out his first batter and the ball was tossed out for a keeper.    He didn’t do well after that and gave up a home run right after and then some.    Another reliever had to come in to get the final out.    Chihuahuas win, 13-8.    This was the pups’ final home game of the season.    After the game, the Chihuahuas held up a banner thanking the fans and tipped their caps to the crowd.