Baseball Journal: Opening Weeks

 

I have not committed to journaling Baseball this year, but we’ll see how it goes.    I do feel compelled to say something about Opening Day.    Technically, that was the day before with the Yankees blanking the Giants.    (My pick to make it into the NLCS is looking great.)    That game was on Netflix, so that hardly counts as a real Opening Day.    Meanwhile, here on Saturday morning (when I’m writing this), I’ve been watching professional Women’s Volleyball and Women’s Soccer.    Also on were women’s professional hockey and the Women’s NCAA Basketball tournament.    I’m getting a clear view of the future.    Women’s sports on over-the-air TV and all of the men’s sports will require a subscription.

3-26-26

For Opening day, I was in the shower getting ready to listen to the Texas Rangers and the Phillies on the radio.    My dad, who has an uncanny knack for calling while I’m in the shower, called to tell me there was a baseball game on TV.    This was a surprise.    NBC, I guess, has taken over for ESPN on national TV broadcasts.   

The Mets and the Pirates were on and I caught up with the game in about the third inning with the Mets up.    I’d missed the main drama of the game with Pirates’ ace, Paul Skenes, knocked out in first inning after giving up 5 runs.    Oneil Cruz, converted from shortstop, had misplayed two balls in centerfield, by way of some explanation.    Cruz did homer in an at bat and, new arrival to the team, Brandon Lowe, homered twice in his first two at bats.   

There was an odd section in the outfield in Citi Field with everyone wearing red tops.    I missed whatever explanation there was for that.    In the fifth, Nick Gonzales, former Aggie star, singled and Henry Davis doubled him in to make it, 6-4 Mets.    In the sixth, Carson Benge, making his MLB debut for the Mets, homered.    He got a curtain call.    In the ninth, Nick doubled in 2 runs, but the Mets prevailed, 11-7.    So much for the expected pitcher’s duel with Skenes and Freddy Peralta.

NBC did a great job on the broadcast with Matt Vasgersian heading the crew.    It warmed my heart to get a good baseball broadcast during the day.    It was like the good old days with NBC’s Game of the Week on Saturday mornings.   

I got to listen to maybe half of the Rangers and Phillies on the radio, before I went to work, though it wasn’t a great signal.    A fife and drum corps came out to play for the player introductions.    Harry Kalas’ son sang the Anthem.    That was a nice continuation from the long-time Philadelphia announcer.    In that mold, Rangers’ starter, Nathan Evoldi, faced Justin Crawford.    Years ago, Evoldi had pitched to Justin’s father, Carl Crawford.    Kyle Schwarber hit a 2-run homer in first. The Rangers were nearly blanked, as they were much of last season, but scored 3 in the ninth to make it respectable in a 5-3 loss.      

I called my Aunt Judy to wish her a happy Opening Day.    She called me back and wasn’t having a happy Opening Day.    She’d paid for a subscription to get her beloved Cardinals and it didn’t work, so she missed it.    Hopefully, this will get sorted out for her quickly.

NBC/Peacock has taken over for ESPN for national, weekly baseball broadcasts.    They’re committed.    In addition to the afternoon game, they did a night game between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks.    Dad watched that one.    ESPN Radio is still doing baseball broadcasts, so I was able to listen to it while at work.    I’ll say this much for Los Angles fans, you could hear all the 56k there at the game.    It was an 8-2 win for the Dodgers.    The broadcast featured constant glazing of the team, which got kind of tiresome.

In other Opening Day news, Jacob Misiorowski had 11 strikeouts in a Brewers’ win and there were 20 k’s total, but it was against the White Sox, so don’t get too excited.    Rookie Kevin McGonigle had 4 hits in the Tigers’ win over the Padres.    Maybe the Tigers did upgrade their offense for this season.

3-27-26

The El Paso Chihuahuas had their Opening Day late tonight against the Rivercats in Sacramento.    There was a Trumpet Anthem and a flyover.    It sounded like a big enthusiastic crowd there.    The Pups got their offense going in fifth and took a 6-1 lead, as they batted around.    Sacramento loaded the bases in the eighth thanks to a successful pitch challenge.    The crowd went wild and they scored twice, but ultimately lost, 9-3, to the Chihuahuas.    Those people seem pretty happy with their baseball.    I wonder if there’s a “Live at the Ballpark” ticket package with season tickets for the Rivercats and the A’s.

3-28-26

The Rangers game did not come on the radio this afternoon.    I’m not happy with their El Paso radio affiliate.    After I got back from Aggie Softball, I listened to the late night Chihuahuas game.    I’m mentioning it for this, there was a near immaculate inning in the ninth for the Rivercats.    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty got pretty excited.    The Sacramento pitcher got 8-straight strikes, but just missed on the ninth pitch.    It was tied at 3 and went to the tenth.    The pups scored there, but the Rivercats scored 2 in the bottom of frame to win it, 5-4.

I missed all of the baseball on Sunday being back at Aggie Softball and watching the NCAA Tournament with my dad.    The day felt incomplete.

4-3-26

Still no MLB.TV Free Games this season.    However, we did have today’s the Rangers’ home opener on the radio.    They had an hour-long pregame.    Iconic stadium PA, Chuck Morgan, earned his pay before the game with 10 minutes of team intros.    Former El Paso Diablo and El Paso Chihuahua manager, Rod Barajas, and Travis Jankowski from the Rangers’ 2023 World Series team, were both on the coaching staff.    The Rangers were playing the Reds and Mackenzie Gore was starting for the Rangers.

Dad had called me on Monday to tell me that the Diamondbacks were playing the Tigers that night for Arizona’s home opener.    I figured somebody might be showing the Rockies’ Opening Day today, as well.    It was and they were playing the Phillies.    Unfortunately, this was on at the same time as the Rangers’ game, so I put this game on mute with closed captions.   

It was a bright sunny day in Denver, not quite a full house, but a great crowd.    An impressive “CR” was mowed into the outfield grass.    Rockies’ catcher, Hunter Goodman, received his Silver Slugger award before the game.

The announcers were talking about ABS challenges.    Catchers were having the best success.    Pitchers were having the worst and even not allowed to challenge by some teams.    In a Chihuahuas game last night, pup knuckle ball pitcher Matt Waldron did make a successful challenge.  The other pitchers on the team were not allowed to challenge, but as a Major Leaguer, they let him.    An even more unlikely challenge was that Gabe Mosser, the opposing pitcher, was also a knuckler baller.    This made MLB news.

The Rockies’ starter, Michael Lorenzen, had a rough first giving up 6 runs, including a 3-run homer by Brandon Marsh.    In Arlington, in Gore’s second inning, he gave up a 2-run homer to Spencer Steer, though the Rangers tied it in the bottom via a Danny Jansen 2-RBI double.    Back in Denver, Bryce Harper, who’d been slumping, hit a 2-run homer to make it, 8-0 Phillies.

By the fourth inning in both games, I had to leave for work.    Before going, I got to see the Rockies get a run on a fielder’s choice.    Bryson Stott at second made a brilliant leap and glove toss of the ball to get the out on the play.    It was 10-1 Phillies, which would be the final.    In Texas, Elly de la Cruz hit a line drive home run in the sixth to give the Reds a 3-2 lead.    Wyatt Langford doubled in a run to tie it in seventh, however another 2-run homer late by the Reds ended it, 5-3 Reds.

The big news in the MLB today was the debut of Konnor Griffin with the Pirates.    He doubled in a run in his first at bat, which contributed to a 5-4 win.    The bad news was that Griffin bumped Aggie great Nick Gonzales out of the lineup.    Just to make it worse, they were playing the Orioles and Kyle Bradish was losing pitcher, another Aggie star.

Another bit of big news was a couple of minor leaguers getting huge contracts.    This figured into the night game between the Chihuahuas versus the Rainiers.    Colt Emerson was playing for Tacoma and had received the largest contract ever for a player, who hadn’t yet made it to the MLB.    Broadcaster Tim Hagerty kept mentioning this for every Emerson at bat.    No pressure.

It was freezing weather there in Tacoma.    Jose Miranda gave the little dogs a lead in the first inning with a grand slam.    Patrick Wisdom, the Chihuahuas’ old nemesis from a previous postseason, tied it with a 3-run homer.    In the seventh, a Chihuahuas’ runner was thrown out at the plate, but the team still took a 7-4 lead.  Jase Bowen hit a 2-run triple in the eighth for a 10-4 lead.    With that hit, Bowen hit for the cycle tonight.    It would be a 10-5 win for the Chihuahuas.

4-4-26

After a morning game with Aggie Baseball, there was more baseball that night.    The Rangers lost 2-0 to the Reds.    The radio signal cut out on the final batter.    I was surprised it held out that long in the evening.   

The Chihuahuas were playing two 7-inning games tonight to make up for a rainout earlier in the week.    Game 1 of the double header was a 5-2 Chihuahuas win in 8 innings.    They scored 4 times in the extra inning, helped out by a couple of errors on the same player on the same play.    The Rainiers did bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom.

During the break between games, I flipped over to the end of the Rockies and Phillies’ game.    There were 39k at Coors Field.    There was a different announcer working with Jack Corrigan, Jesse Thomas.    He sounded young.    It was 2-1 Phillies in the ninth.    The Rockies had given up the DH for the inning, but that didn’t figure into the final decision.    Jhoan Duran, with the most alliterative name in the MLB, got the save for the Phillies.   

On TV, there was soccer.    I happened upon the El Paso Locomotive getting a 3-2 win over Las Vegas.    LV protested the ending saying that they were owed a corner.    Elsewhere, the NWSL was on and Denver played another nil-nil tie with Seattle.    These ladies need to score.

In the Chihuahuas’ Game 2, the pups nursed a 2-run homer in the first until the sixth, where Tacoma scored on a solo home run.    In the bottom of the seventh, there were two outs, a runner on first, and Connor Joe up to bat.    A strikeout ended it.    It was a 2-1 win and a double header sweep for the Chihuahuas.    The next day, Tim Hagerty mentioned getting a foul ball in the broadcast booth in one of these games, but I didn’t hear it happen.

4-5-26

One of the Mexican stations was advertising that they’d be showing MLB games this season.    This afternoon’s game featured the Mets at the Giants.    It was an Old School Baseball flashback today.    Both managers argued with the umps for an extended period of time.    The Mets’ manager came out to argue a check swing strike on Marcus Semien.    (He was wrong. It was a strike.)    The Giants’ manager, who came directly from the college ranks, argued about a runner being out of the baseline going to first and I think he was ejected.    Maybe the college safety bag idea isn’t so nutty after all.   

NM State Aggies vs Delaware U Blue Hens Baseball 4-4-26

Since Aggie Baseball’s last home series against LA Tech (3-22-26), they’ve suffered a loss to #22 Arizona State, 10-4.    They used 8 pitchers in that effort.    Steve Solorzano went 2 for 5 with a home run.    The team was then swept by Middle Tennessee, though all of the games were fairly close.    The team then had a postponed game in Albuquerque with UNM, like Aggie Softball did earlier in the season.

This week would be a Thursday to Saturday series with Sunday off for Easter.    The Aggies were home to play Delaware University.    We’ve met the Blue Hens previously in baseball before they joined the conference (3-2-19).  They were notable for their great uniforms (truly).    It was an 11-6 win for the Aggies on Thursday with 811 in attendance.    Solo went for 4 for 5 with 3 RBI’s and a 2-run homer.    Jonatan Clough had 5 RBI’s from 2 2-run doubles.    Julio Ramos and Dylan Weekly closed it out with 2 scoreless innings.

On Friday, it was another big win, 15-9.    The Aggie came back from going down 3-0 in the first.    Chris Daniels was 2 for 3 with a home run and 2 RBI’s, Camden Kaufman was 2 for 4 with 4 RBI’s, Clough was 3 for 5, and Boston Vest had a 3-run double.    Defensively, Vest also had 5 putouts and 7 assists.    Ramos and Carson Timmons each had a scoreless inning of relief. There was another good crowd of 745.

That brings us to today, Saturday.    Boy, the last thing I want to do on a Saturday morning is wake up early, especially after a poor night’s sleep.    It was overcast and little cold, but otherwise nice.    I couldn’t quite figure out the wardrobe, but I was mostly comfortable for the game.    I passed on the sunblock, though I’d end up a little sunburned.    The main issue was that it was too bright for regular glasses, but too dark if you were wearing sunglasses.    I went without and felt like I was squinting for the whole game.

Fan Michael was upbeat inside the stadium after watching two Aggie victories.    He mentioned it was Frat Night last night and the guys were given free hot dogs for some sort of eating contest.    Their section consumed 81.    Once again, DU looked sharp in bright blue tops with yellow letters.    Their cap featured an Olde English “D,” like the Detroit Tigers.    The crowd was small to start, but turned out good with 712 in attendance.    The teams looked a little lethargic warming up.    Maybe it was early for them, too.    Catcher Brandon Clizbe was into it.    He came in from the bullpen pumping his fist to the Fight Song.

These added up.    I attribute this mostly to having fairly straight-forward scoring, though there was the rare Balk call.    Jack Turner started for the Aggies.    Also starting the game was some very loud rock music next door.    We couldn’t figure out if it was coming from either the Football practice field, the weight room, or the soccer field.    There was nothing to be done about it, except to enjoy it.   

Actor Sal Mineo led off for the Blue Hens with James Dean on deck.    I’m sure Sal has gotten plenty comments involving Rebel Without a Cause.    I certainly had too much fun with Matt Houston for that last series.    I wonder what obscure celebrity will show up with our next opponent.    Sal hit a hard grounder that bounced up and hit Aiden Lombardi at second.    No panic.    Aiden picked it up and threw out the runner.    To finish the inning, Solorzano fell on a grounder to first.    He smothered it, got up, and beat the runner to the base. The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the first.   

The Blue Hens started the top of the second with a pair of singles.    Sam Winsett had a tough at bat next.    He fouled off a couple of pitches before striking out looking.    He walked away yelling, but made sure to not look back at the ump.    The next batter went down on 3 pitches.    However, Connor Doherty would single in a run to give DU a 1-0 lead.    The Aggies went down in the bottom in order again with two strikeouts.

   

Turner started off the top of the third with another looking strikeout and got the second batter, but hit the next batter.    LT Cockrill came up with a bloop double behind first. It fell into no man’s land and scored the runner for a 2-0 DU lead.    Between innings, there was an impromptu Aggie team meeting in the dugout.    Coach Angier was hot.    Michael said he was probably angry because they threw to the wrong base on that hit.    I’d say he likely said something about the offense, too.    And then he added, “No chocolate Easter Bunnies for any of you, unless you idiots win!”

On the first Aggie batter of the bottom of the third, Cockrill, the catcher, took a hard foul ball.    The trainer had to come out and look at him, as his bell had clearly been rung.    He stayed in and the ump gave him a friendly pat.    The next pitch was a high popup behind the plate.    Cockrill stayed with it and squeezed it for the out.    His dugout cheered for him.   

Clizbe was up next and tripled on a shot to the wall, though he had trouble getting there.    He nearly tripped after rounding second.    I thought he’d blown his hammy.    The new turf monster almost got him.    Kaufman sacrificed him in.    Solo then hit a grounder that went right under the shortstop’s glove for an error.    After him, Aiden Taclas had an infield hit somehow eluded two fielders, but a fly out ended the inning.    2-1 DU.

In the top of the fourth, Vest made a nice effort on a Winsett grounder to short.    The throw went wide and Solo laid completely out for the throw, not quite able to hold the bag.    The next batter hit another high foul popup.    Kaufman, at third, battled the white overcast sky while closing in on the dugout for the catch.    Clizbe then picked off Winsett at first, as Solo applied the sweep tag on him.    Doherty walked and stole second, as Clizbe’s throw went into centerfield and advanced Doherty to third.    The highs and lows of being a catcher.    A groundout ended the frame without further damage.

A pretty blonde woman with a bobbed haircut wearing a sweater and shorts walked by and said, “Hi,” to Michael.    He said that was the Coach’s wife.    Yikes!    The boys on the team should listen to the Coach about how to snare hot chicks.   

Blue Hens starter, Chase Deibler, had done pretty well, but in the bottom of the fourth he walked two batters around a flyout and was relieved.    Jackson Hulcher began his stint on the mound throwing 6 balls in a row and issuing 2 walks, which forced in a run.    A timely double play ended the inning, but the Aggies had tied it up at 2.

I was shocked. Turner was back out for the fifth.    This was unprecedented for an Aggie pitcher this season.    (Actually, I don’t know if it is or not.    I’m not going to check.)    Relievers were warming up in the bullpen. Turner finished strong with a 1-2-3 inning and a looking strikeout. The next door music finally ended and it got very quiet.    The dugouts picked up the chatter to keep some noise going.   

I noticed a guy in the crowd wearing a bright red Cardinals jersey with Arenado on the back.    I don’t think the team has a color top.    They should.    It looks good.    The Dodgers have adopted a blue top this season.    The last time they tried that, the team went on a losing streak and they burned them behind the bullpen.

Decreased time between innings has generally ended on field activities other than the game, but I saw my first one today.    They had a golf challenge between two little boys.    It looked like they were swinging hockey sticks at tennis balls.    One had problems with his swing.    The other kid won, but first one immediately took another shot that was good just for his pride.    I think the prize was a free round of golf.    Maybe they should have used two adults.

In the bottom of the fifth, Tacalas beat out a hustle double.    After a walk to Clough, they executed a successful double steal.    During the next at bat, the third base ump suddenly called out, “Balk!” That unexpectedly brought in a run.    Hulcher rallied and struck out the next two batters to end the inning.    Cockrill did try to run off prematurely on the final out, though the pitch was called a ball.    The next pitch ended the at bat.

Jake Carvajal came in to pitch the top of the sixth.    He got two outs and went to a 3-2 count on the final batter. Carvajal grunted and fell off the mound on the last pitch.    The ump might have liked the effort enough to call it a looking strikeout.    In the bottom of the sixth, Daniels came up to bat to Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA. I asked Michael if Daniels had lost a bet.    The Aggies went down in order with two strikeouts.

There were some girls behind us.    At least one of them was a player girlfriend.    They were gossiping a bit loudly.    The one girl made sure everyone knew who she was going out with.    The wind was picking up and was cold.    I was surprised Carvajal was still out there for the seventh, as he seemed to give everything in the last inning.    He only gave up a single.    Lombardi battled the wind to get a foul out, but the most exciting play of the inning was a foul ball that went straight back into the stands nearby.    It clanged off the walkway in front of the stands.    The player girlfriend talked about having near miss/near death experience with a foul ball once.

The Blue Hens brought out a new pitcher for the bottom of the seventh.    Kaufman made a hustle double to begin the frame after a lazy throw in from the outfield.    Solorzano came up and hit a big fly to left field.    It stayed fair just inside foul pole for a 2-run homer.    The relievers in the bullpen immediately mounted the low wall by the field and started rowing as Solo rounded the bases.    It wasn’t over.    Taclas singled and Easton Rulli doubled.    A sac fly by Vest brought in Tacalas and a wild pitch then brought in Rulli.    Suddenly, the Aggies were up, 7-2.

Against the cloudy sky, there was a big hawk orbiting overhead.    They haven’t figured out how to charge birds admission yet.    Dylan Weekly came out for the top of the eighth.    He worked a quick inning thanks to Kaufman snagging a low liner at third and starting a double play.    Very slick.   

In the bottom of the eighth, during Clizbe’s at bat, the ump and the catcher both got hit on a foul tip.    The ump’s mask flew off.    They were okay.    Anthony Charles didn’t get off as lucky in right field chasing a Solo foul ball.    He apparently ran into the wall in the corner, which was out of our view, so I don’t know how bad the impact was.    He was shaken up, but okay.    The Aggies only got a single in the inning.    Weekly finished it off in the ninth.    He was floating in strikes and fooling the batters.    A “Let’s go Aggies!” chant on the final batter ended the game.    Aggies win, 7-2!   

It’s a sweep.    The Blue Hens are not a great team (1-11 in conference), but the Aggies took care of business.    The Aggies had some great pitching today.    The pitchers were backed up with some great defense. Though there was an error and the Coach was not happy with some defensive play, I had 6 stars on the scorecard to highlight the good plays.    The guys were focused.

The teams lined up to shake hands.    Michael went over beside the net and got fist bumps from the Aggies, as well.    I’m a bit jealous, but I’d rather get hugs and kisses from the Volleyball team. It was a tidy game at 2 hours and 38 minutes.    I went over to see Trey Reese in the reserved section.    He seemed a bit unhappy.    I told him about the snapped BBCOR bat I saw at Softball last weekend (3-29-26).  He’d seen it happen before, but only in very cold weather.    He also said those bats are $400!    Yow!    A few kids lined up to run the bases and potentially blow out their hammies on the turf, but there was no Easter Egg hunt.    Sorry.   

Gameballs for the Blue Hens. The nine-hole batter, Connor Doherty, was 2 for 2 with an RBI.    Pitcher Jackson Hulcher took the loss, but pitched 2 2/3 innings allowing 1 run and 1 inherited run and getting 4 strikeouts.    3 walks did him in.           

Several Gameballs for the Aggies.    Steve Solorzano was 1 for 5, but that 1 was a 2-run homer.    Aiden Taclas went 3 for 4.    I’m giving the whole pitching staff today a Gameball.    I got to see an actual Aggie start this season with Jack Turner pitching 5 innings for the win, giving up 2 runs with 4 strikeouts.    Jake Carvajal and Dylan Weekly both pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief.    Well done.

I went off to Burger King for lunch.    I had a good coupon for a Whopper, which they are advertising that they’ve slightly improved.    Well, I agree.    The bun was a bit better.    I then went over to see dad and we finished off watching Jack Ryan Season 2.    That was a bit uncomfortably close to what happened in Venezuela recently.    I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter and we’ll be back out for Aggie Softball against UTEP ***next weekend.***    

NM State Aggies vs WKU Hilltoppers Softball 3-29-26

Mission accomplished! I saw Wave the Wonder Dog and petted same. Today Wave’s birthday was celebrated at the Softball game between the Aggies and Western Kentucky. I was wearing my Wave hat and Wave t-shirt like a true fanboy. There was a Wave statue giveaway up front, but I already had one.  Wave and his agent showed up right after I got there. Petting and praise followed.

Inside the stadium, I ran into Marketing Director Nicole Sack. She was also wearing a Wave shirt. Coach Rodolph came in a bit later. She got a souvenir statue, but didn’t bring her adorable dog. I was looking forward to seeing them meet and become best friends (if not more). The Coach said, Kayleigh doesn’t like the heat. With that dog’s luxurious coat, no doubt. Oddly, this interlude with Wave wasn’t even the most interesting event that happened at the ballpark today.

It was warm with a little wind. It was very nice. A good crowd of 454 showed up and brought a few kids this time, unlike the aborted Autograph day earlier in the month.  During the Anthem, a dad sitting below me grabbed his boy, stood him at attention, and took off the kid’s Spider-Man hat and had him hold it at his heart. There’s a good dad.

These added up fairly well, even with a change of scoring on an error after the first inning. I had some confusion with the lineup with the use of the flex player position for centerfielder Taylor Baca. I wasn’t entirely surprised by this, since Taylor’s glove is more valuable than her bat, as shown by yesterday’s performance.  Essentially, this more gave the Aggies two DH’s (in theory).

I could can hear the WKU dugout singing starting in the top of the first. The Hilltoppers’ batting helmets have cute little googliy eyes on them like their mascot, Big Red. Faith Aragon started for Aggies. Trouble started with a double and an errant throw that advanced the runner to third. (Initially ruled a single and two errors.) A sac fly brought the runner in. Faith finished off the inning with a looking strikeout. 1-0 WKU.

In the bottom of the first, Devin Elam cranked the first pitch out to left field for a home run. A very happy Faith greeted her at home plate, after equalizing that unearned run. Troublingly, the next three batters went down in order. Tied at 1.

According to the PA (a new girl has been doing it the last couple of games), it was 73-degrees and sunny here and 63-degrees and breezy in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Faith got a fly out and a looking strikeout in the top of the second, but then gave up a solo home run to left center by Kennedy Stinson. The balls were flying out today. Stinson’s teammates met her at home plate spraying soap bubbles that filled the air briefly. Faith finished the inning with another looking strikeout was to Maci Masters. Masters battled. Faith and her catcher, Kendal Lunar, thought they’d gotten her with a strikeout earlier in the at bat, but the ump disagreed, so Faith had to do it again. 2-1 WKU.

The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the second. Hilltopper pitcher, Rylan Smith had two strikeouts. The ump was trying to move the game along. I had to look twice, but Men’s Basketball Coach Hooten came in with his lovely wife and Internet sensation, Clavicular. I thought he got arrested this weekend. Oh, that’s actually Coach Hooten’s son. I’m thinking that this tall, handsome lad does well with the ladies, anyway.

The Coach sat down next to me, as his wife chatted with another fan. I had to make something of this opportunity. I mentioned he was a customer where I work at. He praised one of the ladies working up front for helping him. (She is a sweetheart.) I praised Faith and did some other babbling about the Softball team.

In the top of the third, Wave came up front and the crowd sang Happy Birthday to him. Wave barked along with the singing. On the field, an error let on the first batter and a triple by Jenna Blanton scored another unearned run for the Hilltoppers. Faith came back with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning. On one K, the crowd was unhappy with a swing that may have hit the bat and gone fair that was instead ruled a foul ball. Coach Hooten said it was fair. It ended up being another looking K anyway. “She should have swung at that one. It was too close to take,” he said. 3-1 WKU.

In the bottom of the third, the Aggies went down in order again with a couple of strikeouts. I asked the Coach about Liberty’s collapse during the season. He said they didn’t use their bench enough and rode their starters into the ground. Liberty’s coach was mad at him. “But you beat us twice,” Hooten told him. “Yeah, but you showed the other teams in the conference how we could be beaten.” I congratulated him on putting together a talented team and getting into the tournament. He thought they were talented, but not gritty and defense-minded enough.

Faith finally had a quick inning with two strikeouts in the fourth. In the bottom, after a walk, Skye Johnson smashed a 2-run homer to left center. The Aggie dugout was now singing. Smith may have gotten hurt on a pitch in the inning. She stayed in, but this was her last inning. Stinson made a nice running catch in right field to end the inning. We were tied at 3.

Coach Hooten, Wave, and a bunch of the crowd left at this point. Was it lunch time? That might have been a good thing, because the top of the fifth was brutal. Faith gave up a single, but a passed ball and a groundout advanced the runner to third. An error at short brought in the runner and then another error from third brought in another run. Two walks then loaded the bases. The crowd was getting angry with the ump again. A fan shouted out to the girls, “Don’t beat yourselves!” A bunt back to Faith got an out at the plate. The Hilltoppers had already had two successful bunts in the inning. That was one too many. A looking strikeout finally ended it, but WKU was up, 5-3.

Erica Houge came on in relief in the bottom of the fifth. The Hilltoppers had an error, but no other damage. Faith had her best inning in the top of the sixth, though you wouldn’t have known it the reactions. The crowd heckled the ump with, “Want glasses?” Faith even stared in as she was getting squeezed in the strikezone. That said, she struck out the side. She was grunting and really working out there.

During Masters’ at bat this inning there was a rather unique occurrence. The bats they’re using in college are not aluminum bats. They are BBCOR bats. What are BBCOR bats? They’re made of alloy and composite materials. (No, I don’t have a better explanation than that.) They are supposed to simulate a wooden bat without being breakable. This inning, Masters’ bat broke clean in half on a foul ball. Faith’s fastball is very hard and Masters is a big girl with a big swing. I also thought I heard her bat crack in the previous inning, but couldn’t believe it. In any case, the crowd was laughing. PA added, “She’s okay; the bat isn’t.”

Couple of young women got up in the stands. They seemed to be sunbathing given how scantily clad they were. No complaints from me. Kendal led off the bottom of the sixth with a fly ball. It kept carrying and went into the scoreboard, just like yesterday. Thankfully, there’s netting in front of the new scoreboard. Skye singled right after, but that was all for the offense. 5-4 WKU.

Faith probably gave it her all in the previous inning. The top of the seventh would have been a good place for a reliever. No relief was coming. Faith was back in. A double, a walk, and a hit batter loaded the bases with one out before Morgan hooked a shot into right field for a 2-run double. A follow up single brought in another run. This was even with the WKU fans getting mad over the count to one of their batters. There was a double steal with runners on the corners. Kendal got the runner at second, but the runner from third scored. Faith finished it off with a strikeout, but after 4 runs had scored to put WKU up, 9-4.

A fan led a herd of three bulldogs out. This place is going to the dogs and I’m totally okay with that. The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of seventh with 3 groundouts. They seemed to be conceding. The Hilltoppers win, 9-4.

This one hurt a bit. Like yesterday, this one was winnable. Aggie hitting unfortunately failed on the same day that their fielding did. The Aggie girls looked so dejected when they lined up for handshakes. Poor things. WKU did their cheer for their fans, but the stands were mostly empty. I don’t know where their fans went. Did they have something better to do? The game clocked in at 2 hours, 13 minutes, so it did run a bit long.

Gameballs. WKU again spread around the offense. I’ll tag Morgan Sharpe for her 2-RBI double in the seventh that broke it open. Erica Houge gets another nod for getting the 3-inning, 1-run save. For the Aggies, Skye Johnson went 2 for 3 with a game-tying 2-run homer. Faith Aragon was 0 for 3 (1 for 7 for the last two games) and gave up 9 runs. However, she was working with 4 errors behind her, which led to 4 unearned runs. Faith had 12 strikeouts and gave up 7 hits in 7 innings. Ask WKU if she pitched well.

Faith’s dad was in the bathroom while I was there. He was talking to someone else and he was hot. He was blaming the Coach for not putting a good-hitting line up out there. He was still going when I left. His daughter is being ridden like a borrowed horse, starting two of the three games in this series and hitting in all of them.

The team is flawed. The rest of the pitching staff isn’t there. There are holes in the lineup and on defense. There isn’t a way to plug all of these gaps. Even 2 DH’s and 2 pinch hitters in the 8 spot didn’t help today’s offense. WKU seemed to be hitting the ball away from Taylor in center and at the weak spots in the Aggie defense. When the Aggies win, it feels like they’re overachieving. When they lose, all these problems come up.

After the game, I called dad and asked if he wanted me to bring over lunch. He agreed to the $10 large Dominos pizza I’d seen advertised. It turned out the deal required that you order it through their app. The person at the counter gave me a bit of a discount, but it was the same overpriced, not-that-great pizza that they usually serve. Another restaurant gets on my crap list, like Jimmie John’s did. I hope I don’t run out of places to eat out at.

Two NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games on. The first one was a blowout. The second one was looking like a blowout, so we continued watching a Jack Ryan series from a few years ago. It was some outlandish scenario about overthrowing the dictator of Venezuela. How preposterous. (The episode we watched was good. It took six episodes for this to get good, though.)

We still had the game on (muted) and somehow, UConn got back into the game with Duke from the being 19 points down. CBS did Duke no favors by putting up a graphic stating that a #1 seed with a 15-point lead had never lost in the tournament. In the closing seconds, UConn, down by 2, was trying to foul and Duke instead turned it over. In the last second, UConn made a long range 3 that swished in for the win. It was a classic. That made me feel a little bit better about how I spent my day.