NM State Aggies vs Towson Tigers Baseball 2-22-26

I saw an interview with Aggie Baseball great, Nick Gonzales, for his Aggie Hall of Fame induction.  When asked about his career, he was very grateful for the experience and the travel and said, “It never felt like a job.”    Hopefully, he’ll stick in the league for a while longer.    I just had to get this little story in somewhere.

Aggie Baseball started their 2026 season on the road against Baylor.    Usually, they’re at home, but they may have scheduled this to give themselves more time for the changes to their stadium.    This trip made the MLB website: “College player hits three grand slams in game.”  It wasn’t the Aggies who did the hitting.    Baylor Bear, Tyce Armstrong, went 3 for 4 with 12 RBI’s.    It was also a 7-inning, 15-2, run ruled game.    Colton Sneddon had a good start, but Cooper Reese (who we are rooting for) took the loss with 5 earned runs in 1 inning.    The next two games were, at least, closer losses at 5-2 and 7-3.    Connor Wylde made a good start in the finale.

The Aggies also played a single game against #21 Oklahoma at Globe Life Stadium, home of the Texas Rangers.    (OK’s stadium was also being renovated.)    Attendance for the game was only listed at 250, though.    There was well more than that for the Sooners playing the Aggies in Softball here last week.  The Sooners won, 10-6. Bryce Campbell hit his second home run of the season and the relief pitching did well.    Aidan Taclas led the Aggies with a .345 BA.

The Aggies’ home opening series was against the Towson Tigers.    They’ve been here before in 2016 (2-20-16) and 2018 (2-17-18).  AD Fields said that they had found a temporary solution to the canopy issue.    As near as I can tell the solution is that the team is scheduling most of their games for nighttime.    It was a simple, but elegant solution, unless it’s 50-degrees at game time and falling fast.    This caused me to skip the team’s first two games.   

The stadium has been renamed SportsGamblingAddict.com Stadium.    Just kidding, it’s Johnson Stadium after Mike and Judy Johnson, who have paid for a lot of improvements (though not a new canopy or scoreboard yet).    Technically, it is still Presley Askew Field, though.

I listened to Friday night’s game over the radio.    Colton was starting again, although so far nothing it’s been nothing but staff days for pitching. Jonatan Clough made his first appearance of the season.   

Towson took an early 4-0 lead.    The Aggies got runners on, but couldn’t get them in.    In the bottom of the fifth, Campbell and Easton Rulli drove in 3 runs, but an out on bases ended the inning early.    In the top of the sixth, the ump made a bad call on a dropped third strike, which loaded the bases for the Tigers. (The ump seemed to make an out call since first base was occupied, though there were two outs.    This would be scored as a passed ball that let the batter on.)    The Tigers scored 2 more runs after that.   

The crowd of 763 braving the cold was getting restless on further calls by the ump.    In the bottom of the seventh, Talcas tripled and scored a run and Campbell drove in a run.    Down 3 in the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs, Rulli hit the top of fence and drove in 2, but the Aggies couldn’t get him in for an 8-7 loss.

The Saturday night game was also on the radio.    Adam Young was doing basketball and a sub was in.    I didn’t get his name, but he was very enthusiastic. He made a couple of mis-calls, but immediately corrected them.

Towson started off with a bases loaded walk, which forced an early Aggie pitching change. 2-0 Towson.    Rulli doubled in 2 runs to tie it in bottom first.    Cole Rogers drove in a run in the sixth and Boston Vest sac’d in a run to give the Aggies a 4-2 lead.   

In the seventh, Towson brought in a run to make it 4-3, but in the bottom Steve Solorzano hammered one and Rogers drove 2 more.    7-3 Aggies.    Broadcast issues dropped the game coverage at the beginning of the game and then late. I flipped over to Aggie Basketball, where it was a close game.    I flipped back in time to hear a Tiger outfielder drop a flyball from Rulli and two more runs scored.    Aggies win 9-3.    Connor Wylde gave up 1 run in four innings of work and got the win.    Attendance for the game was only 412.    The Men’s Basketball game and the cold probably lowered the crowd.

Sunday morning was bright and sunny.    I was glad I waited for nice day to go the rubber game between the Aggies and the Towson Tigers.    All of the signage now does say, “Johnson Stadium.”    Maybe they’re hoping the Johnson family will fund a new canopy and a new video scoreboard after this honor.    The old scoreboard and empty scaffolding overhead does look rather poor with the bright, colorful new all-turf field.    Like Softball, an orange safety bag has been installed at first.

The full-color picture of Joey Ortiz has finally been remounted on the batting facility.    This was probably to avoid embarrassment as Ortiz was just inducted into the Aggie Hall of Fame.    I’ve discussed the new Diamond Club before (10-11-25).  I was surprised to hear that berm seating had been added to the facility in right field.    I’m not sure how you get to it, as it’s next to the gated off Diamond Club.    It’s also just a mound of dirt.    Fan Michael said it was for the kids, but he doubts they’ll use it.    Kids usually like running around under the stands and chasing foul balls.   

Regardless of the improvements, it was all for nothing.    There was no corn-in-a-cup available at the Concessions.    They were out of corn.    I suddenly regretted not having breakfast.    Entering the stadium, I ran into the Reese family sitting in the center reserved section of the stands.    They’d upgraded their season tickets.    This was too bad, since I was looking forward to chatting with Trey and Robin.    I was running late already.    I only mentioned to Robin that a club Men’s Volleyball program had just started at the university.

 

It was a light-looking crowd, but officially 711.    Maggie Lightheart and Bella Castro were under a blanket in the crowd representing Aggie Volleyball.    I found Michael in his usual spot.    I think he had a bit of a cold from being out in the cold for the last two nights.    He mentioned there had been a long line at the concessions for hot chocolate Friday and Saturday.    I did see fans with hot chocolate later.       

Aggie Football wide receiving star, TK King, threw out the first pitch. Unlike some other athletes, he made a nice throw.    He was surprisingly short compared to the Baseball players when standing at attention for the Anthem.   

The official scoring changed after the game, so we’ll never know how close I was to getting the scorecards correct.    After sitting down, a cold wind immediately started blowing right to left across the field.    Thankfully, it wasn’t blowing straight in.    I had a thermal shirt on, so I wasn’t freezing, but I wished I had a coat on over my hoodie.

The wind made flyballs and popups an adventure starting in the first inning, with Bradyn Barnes starting for the Aggies.    He worked 1-2-3 first.    In the bottom, the Aggies worked a pair of back-to-back walks.    Bryce Campbell came up and grounded to third.    The third baseman got the force at third, but threw the ball away going to first. Steve Solorzano came around and scored to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead.

   

The PA announced it was 37-degrees in Maryland, where Towson is, and it was snowing.    In Las Cruces, it was 54-degrees with an 8-mph wind, but seemed a lot stiffer and colder.    It’s a consolation that it wasn’t not snowing.    However, I overheard some visitors complaining about 6:00pm start time for Saturday.    It would have been much warmer to play the game during the day, which was my complaint exactly.   

Barnes ran into immediate trouble with two walks to start the bottom of the second.    After a sac bunt, Brady Nathison cashed them with a single, 2-1 Towson.    In the bottom of the first, Chris Daniels found the jetstream blowing out to left for a home run to tie it up.    There was no hot chick doing souvenir tosses to the crowd today after the homer.    It was a guy, who was doing an indifferent, terrible job of it.    This was a definite downgrade.   

   

Cole Rogers hit an infield popup.    The second baseman didn’t see it, as the ball swirled in the wind.    The first baseman went for it and may or may not have touched it, but it dropped and he took a hard luck error.    Rogers ended up on second.    Catcher Dane Woodcook bunted and it turned into an infield hit.   

With runners on the corners, the Aggies tried a safety squeeze, but only Woodcook advanced.    Boston Vest came up and hit a popup behind the plate.    Tiger Catcher, Brian Heckelman, couldn’t catch it in the wind.    Vest would end up popping out on the infield.    A walk loaded the bases, but a flyball ended the inning, tied at 2.     

The top of the third, the Tigers had back-to-back homers to left field via the jetstream. Adam Young on the radio call would later remark that the wind didn’t have anything to do with the score.    Those balls might have gone out anyway, but I’d beg to differ that the wind didn’t make a difference.    This chased Barnes from the game.    JT Price finished the inning with a single and two strikeouts.    There was a stolen base off of Woodcook trying to frame pitch.    4-2 Towson.   

       

Two big, beautiful, fluffy golden retrievers came in.    I thought about trying to bribe their owner into letting me borrow them to sit in mine and Michael’s laps to keep us warm.    Where was Michael?    He disappeared earlier.    Some more Volleyball girls came in, including Mia Fox.    Michael came back to his seat after chatting her up first.    (Actually, she’d stopped him to say, “Hi.”)    Michael had gone out to retrieve Daniels’ home run, his first in college ball.    He gave it to Daniel’s mom in the crowd.

Marketing Director Nicole Sack came by and said, “Hi.”    I questioned the inclusion of the Dancing Cowboy in the Aggie Softball intro video (2-15-26).  She was aware that he was rooting for the other team, but was limited on the clips at the beginning of the season.    It would be fixed.   

And there was also a ball game going on.    In the bottom of the third, the Aggies got two on via singles, but they were in between a double play.    Nathison in center made a diving catch on a liner to end the inning.

Jack Turner came in and worked a quick top of the fourth.    He had two strikeouts and only threw one ball.    In the bottom, Rogers dribbled one on the infield.    A bad throw allowed him to make it to first.    Rogers stole second, but the Tigers put in a new pitcher, Jake Michel, who finished out the inning without letting him score.

I hustled to the bathroom.    Coming back, I encountered a stiff headwind that held me up.    Turner gave up a single and walk to start the fifth, but a double play and a looking strikeout ended the inning.   

Tiger pitcher Michel got two quick outs to start the bottom of the fifth, but then ran into trouble.    He hit Easton Rulli.    (Maybe it was because of his Hollaback Girl walkup music.    Really?)    A single and two more walks forced in a run.    Woodcook then made a swinging bunt and legged it out, which drove in another run.    Who says, “Catchers are slow?”    Vest was hit to drive in a third run before the Tigers brought in Austin Perando to finish the inning.    The Aggies had tied it at 5.    They patiently worked a bunch of full counts in the inning.

In crowd, there was a guy with a little dog.    The dog was wearing a vest with a handle on top and the guy was carrying the dog like a piece of luggage.    I wish I had a picture.    Turner stranded a leadoff walk in the top of the sixth with two more strikeouts.    Likewise in the bottom, the Aggie stranded a double by Campbell.    The wind was still blowing, but the sun was fully out and it was warmer.   

In the top of the seventh, the Tigers started the inning with a pair of singles.    Turner fielded a bunt back to him and threw out the lead runner at third.    He got a looking strikeout for the second out and got within a strike of getting out of the inning.    Keldrin Rodriguez instead doubled to right field and drove in a run.    Nigel Sebastianelli kept running from first when the throw went to second.    The relay beat him at home, but went past the catcher for another run.   

There was then a bobbled grounder to short that brought in another run.    This would have been a second error in the inning on Vest, but it was later changed to a hit.    Woodcook would throw out a runner at second to end the inning.    Damage done.    Towson up 8-5.   

In the bottom of the seventh, Heckelman dropped a second popup behind the plate.    Again, no error was charged because of the conditions.    Adam observed that he should be tossing his mask on foul balls.    The third baseman overthrew first on an infield hit by Rogers, which advanced him to second, but he was left stranded there.         

Turner was back out for the top of the eighth and out for blood.    He emptied the tank with 3 looking strikeouts.    Jacob Whiteman, who’d come in in the seventh, also had a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth.    Asa Briggs worked the ninth for the Aggies.    Brandon Clizbe, who’d pinch hit for Woodcook in the seventh (and I question that decision), made a play on a popup behind the plate to begin the inning.    The batter he got out was Heckelman, who was hopefully taking mental notes on the play.    Briggs only gave up a walk in the frame.

The Aggies would not go down without a fight.    Rulli was hit to begin the bottom of the ninth.    Daniels and Rogers both singled, which drove in a run.    Unfortunately, a foul out and a groundout ended the game with two on.    Towson wins 8-6.

There was no shame getting swept by Baylor and Oklahoma, but dropping a series to Towson is a terrible sign for the rest of the season.    The team seems to lack an actual starting pitcher.    With 13 runners left on base and 9 in scoring position, they weren’t driving in the runs necessary to cover the pitching.   

Gameballs.    For the Tigers, Brady Nathison went 3 for 3 with 4 RBI’s.    Austin Perando pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief.    For the Aggies, Chris Daniels went 4 for 5 with a home run.    Cole Rogers was 2 for 4, but got on base in all 5 plate appearances and drove in 2 runs.    Jack Turner was the undeserved losing pitcher, as he turned in a 5-inning performance with 2 earned runs and 9 strikeouts.   

The game went 3 hours and 12 minutes and I was hungry.    I went back home and finally used the McAlister’s giftcard that my Aunt Judy had sent me for Christmas.    She had also included a coupon for free hot soup.    I’d been saving this for a time when I was cold and hungry.    That was today.   

I’d also talked to dad and he mentioned that the US Men’s Hockey team had won the gold medal at the Olympics this morning over Canada.    I’d seen that they were playing and forgotten all about it when I got to the ballpark.    U-S-A!    U-S-A!    I got to watch a replay of the game later that night.    It was a nice consolation win.    Also, even with the loss and the cold, it was nice to be out watching baseball again.

NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Women's Basketball 2-21-26

Lots of Aggie Basketball to recap since the last game I went to (1-17-26).    Honestly, I probably wouldn’t bother with this except I’ve been scratching out some notes ever since.    Unfortunately, after that great win over Missouri State, the Aggie Women had three road losses, each by double digits.         

Versus Jax State, Lucia Yenes, Imani Warren, and Morane Dossou all scored in double digits, but lost, 57-46.    A 4-point second quarter likely did them in.    Against Kennesaw State, the Aggies lost, 70-55.    Imani and Keira Hudson were the main scorers.    The Aggies shot the ball well against UTEP, but couldn’t stop the Miners from scoring and lost, 79-69. Imani and Lucia scored over 20 points each.    Keira had 12 points.

Back at home, the Aggies had a comeback win against a very good Sam Houston team, 65-57.    They shot 48% and kept Sam Houston to 31%. The rest of the stats were close or in SH’s favor.    Only Lucia was in double digits at 17, but nearly every player chipped in.    While I was at Aggie Softball two weeks ago (2-7-26), LA Tech beat the Aggies, 77-58. Imani led with 17 points. The Aggies shot 45%, but LA Tech shot 50%.   

The Aggies then lost to Delaware, 65-62.    Emma Christiano hit a half court 3 to end the first half and made another 3 at the end to the game to make it close.    The Aggies had 4 players in double digits with Lucia leading with 18 points.    The team scored 23 points in fourth quarter, so they went down fighting.    Finally, they lost to Liberty, 67-42.    Imani was the only Aggie in double digits with 11.

I guess I’ll do a recap of Aggie Men’s Basketball, too.    Groan.    On the Aggie Coach’s Show, Coach Hooten sounds defeated or perplexed or resigned at this point.    He’s down to openly asking why God is testing him like this. After their win at Delaware, they dropped four in a row.    Even worse, three of those games were at home and were well attended at over 5,000 each.

Against Missouri State, they went down by 17, came back, took a brief lead, but lost, 84-75.    The Aggies lost to FIU, 81-78.    Against Delaware, whom they’d beaten badly earlier in the season, the Aggies lost, 73-64.    There was a road loss to Kennesaw State, 76-53.    The Aggies finally got a victory with a 72-63 win versus La Tech.    The game was closer than the final score would indicate.

 

The road loss to UTEP was a crusher.    The Aggies had a 14-point lead in the first half lead.    The Miners kept whittling it down until they hit a 3 in the final seconds to tie it.    UTEP took a 7-point lead in the overtime.    The Aggies got close, but lost it, 91-88.    Back at home, the Aggies played Liberty, who was still undefeated in conference.    This was another heartbreaking loss, this one on a last-second shot, 77-75.    There was still over 5,000 at the Pan-Am Center for the game.    The Aggies are averaging 1,000 more a game than anyone else in conference, in spite of their record.    While I was at Softball last weekend (2-14-26), the Aggies beat Jax State, 79-70, in a must win game.   

In the pregame show, broadcaster Russ Langer was emphasizing that 7 players on the team have a 3.0 GPA.    That’s when you know the team is bad.    In the last interview I heard with Aggie Football Coach Sanchez, he offhandedly mentioned that NMSU was the only school in conference that spent more NIL money on their Men’s Basketball team than on their Football team.     Don’t think he doesn’t know what Basketball’s record is right now and how the Football team was maybe a playmaker away from being bowl eligible last season.

That’s a long way to go to get us up-to-date for this afternoon’s Aggie Women’s Basketball game against UTEP.    Originally, the Men and Women were set to have a double header of sorts, but the girls were moved up a couple of hours.    I kind of have to agree with this from a revenue perspective, though I might have like to have stayed for both games like I did earlier in the season (11-11-25).   

I was committed to going to the afternoon game, but uncertain about going to Aggie Baseball in the evening.    I got up this morning and went out in the bright sunny morning and shivered from the cold.    It warmed later, but that shock was enough to convince me to just plan on going to one game today.    Also, for whatever reason (probably a long week at work), I was really rundown before I even went to Basketball.    I should have taken a nap first.

I left a bit early, anticipating a big crowd for the rivalry game.    When I got to the Pan-Am Center, I wondered if they’d changed times again.    The parking lot was pretty deserted, but people were still going inside, so the game was on.    Attendance was only 712 and that’s with a contingent of UTEP fans.    Maybe they should have done the double header.    Both teams are bad, but you’d think a rivalry game would still draw a crowd.    The Miners brought a lot fewer visiting fans than they had at Volleyball last year, though (10-10-25).    

Inside, I ran into the ever effervescent Sydney McIntosh at the courtesy table.    She was handing out rally towels.    She said she was just about to get her master’s degree in Marketing.    I told her, with that smile of hers, she was going to do well.    The grill was open, but I had lunch plans.

The Roadrunner Revue Band and the Cheerleaders were there.    The Sundancers showed up a little late and had to scramble to get on court to be introduced.    Pistol Pete was nowhere to be seen for this big game.    Did he not get the time change or was he traumatized by last week’s encounter with the Oklahoma fans and seeking counseling? I think I saw Steve Kaplowitz doing the radio call for the Miners across the court. I wouldn’t have been able to get his AM station in the building, anyway. (I tuned in after I got out to my car. If they were doing coverage, I totally missed it.)    

Mia Fox and Jacqueline Corcoran were here, both looking lovely, representing Aggie Volleyball.    There were a couple of other fans of note at the sideline tables.    One guy was wearing a crimson bowler hat.    The sharpest dressed person in the arena was a guy in a classy short, felt cowboy hat and a crimson Aggie sports coat.    These guys know where to get their merchandise.

I was once again tempted by a UTEP player, maybe?    I remember pretty blonde, Katerina Zec, on their team (11-13-19).    This girl was an almost total opposite with an enormous mound of dark beautiful curls.    However, she was dressed in street clothes when she came in with the team.    She greeted some Miner fans before the game, but then tragically disappeared.    I know I’ve seen her before, but can’t remember anything about her.    Was that Gaby Oliver from the Cochise College Apaches (10-26-25)?           

   

First Quarter

I missed a couple of baskets on this scorecard.    I was tired and not sharp and then I got depressed during the game.    “Y’all ready for this!” apparently I wasn’t, even with the exciting musical intro complete with steam jets for the team coming on to the court.    (I think the Men use them all the time.    Since they had them set up, they used them for the girls, too.)   

There was some strangeness before the game started.    There was a delay with the referees talking to both teams.    Imani hit a jumper to start the scoring for the game.    Or did she?    I noticed on the scoreboard that Ivane Tensaie on the Miners had 1 point.    Hmmm.    I remember a game once (I have no chance of finding it on the blog), where the game began with a technical foul before the tipoff.    It was like the visiting team wasn’t ready to start the game on time and got charged with a foul, but I remember they actually had to shoot the basket.    I didn’t notice anyone taking a shot before the game.   

Regardless, Emma made a hustle play on a loose ball.    She flipped it to Morane for a layup.    Imani then hit a 3 and it was looking good.    Portia Adams had two layups for UTEP and it was, 7-5 (with that unexplained extra point), with 5 minutes left in the quarter.    Senoj Jones had a layup and Lucia was fouled and made both free throws.    11-9 Aggies with 3’ left.   

During an extended break, broadcaster Adam Young and his color commentator were frantically trying to get the referees’ attention.    Finally, the head ref came over and talked to them.    I suspect this was about that UTEP point.    From the official scoring, it was a technical foul with no explanation.

This quarter was going pretty fast.    The Aggies were playing way up-tempo and shooting quick on their possessions.    Anna Csenyi made a 3 to make it, 14-11 Aggies with 2’ left. Imani and Miner Mary Amaniyo got involved in a vicious tie up.    Imani got the worst of it and had to come out after hitting her head on the court.    She seemed to attempt to go to the wrong bench and had to be led away.    A ball got tipped out-of-play and went down one of the tunnels.    A ref had to go get it.    Anna and Senoj combined on a block.    14-11 Aggies after 10 minutes.

Second Quarter

Tensaie made a 3 to start the quarter to tie it.    Wave the Wonder Dog came in.    I should have seriously considered changing seats for these basketball games to be close to him.    The Aggies went scoreless for 4 minutes before Lucia made a jumper, but UTEP was now ahead, 18-16 with 6’ left in the half.

During some Miner free throws, the Band would pipe up with helpful advice, such as, “Hey, your shoe’s untied!”    Anna and Imani made jumpers to tie it at 20 with 4’ left.    Heaven Samayoa-Mathis took a moonshot 3 that maybe bounced off the unit and dropped in.    It was that kind of game for UTEP.    After a Miner turnover, Lucia found Emma on a fast break for a layup, 22-23 UTEP with 3’ left.    Emma took a charge afterward.    She’s small, but tough.

Pistol Pete came in, though this was the mustache-less Pete.    This lends credence to the theory that he showed up late because of the game time change.    However, the other Pete might still be in therapy.    In play, Imani broke up a fast break under the basket and then hit a 3, 25-25 with 1’ left in the half.    Aolani Woldai knocked down Emma on a loose ball.    That looked like it hurt, but not enough for a flagrant foul upon review.    Wave was put on camera and got a big cheer from the crowd.    Mrs. Hubbard arrived.    Maybe she wasn’t sure about the new start time, either.    Her and Pete chatted for a moment.    On court, Keira hit a 3 at the buzzer.    28-29 UTEP at the half.

Halftime

The Sundancers put on hip hop pants and performed for the halftime show.    They were really good, but the music was terrible.    Wave was on camera for Dance Cam, while his entourage chatted with Pete.    The Cheerleaders handed out those souvenir cowboy hats.    I may have to try and get one of those   

Third Quarter

6’3” Miner NDack MBengue knocked down 5’3” Emma early in the quarter, but no foul was called.    Portia made a 3, Heaven went coast-to-coast for a layup, and Delma Zita hit another 3, all for UTEP.    In the meantime, Loes Rozing was the only one scoring for the Aggies with 3 jump shots.    It was 34-47 Miners with 4’ left in the quarter.   

A fan played the Matching Game and failed to match any of the 6 cards in the allotted time.    This was a first.    The Aggies kept falling further behind.    MBengue had a steal, a layup, and made a foul shot on top of it.    34-50 Miners with 3’ left.    Keira was fouled on a 3 and made all 3 foul shots.    Loes made her fourth jumper of the quarter.    Heaven made a last second shot tossing the ball up from under the basket and it went in.    It was UTEP’s day.    42-55 Miners.

           

Fourth Quarter               

Zita made a 3 to begin the quarter.    Emma answered it with a 3, but Heaven came right back with a 3.    Morane nearly got into a fight with one of the Miners under the basket.    Loes was restraining Morane.    The Miner player was smiling.    Another loose ball went down the tunnel.    I don’t think I’ve seen this before in a game and yet, I’ve seen it twice today.   

Keira hit another 3, but the crowd was starting to desert.    48-62 and UTEP was already starting to celebrate with 5’ left in the game.    Soon enough, Coach Adams started putting in the bench players.    Loes was still on the floor and made a steal and got a layup and Keira made another 3.    With under a minute left, UTEP Coach Adams took out all of the Miner starters.    The UTEP fans were pretty quiet during the game, but piped up here to cheer the team.  Tatiana Collazo was in for the Miners.    She was kind of gorgeous.    Sorry she wasn’t playing more.    UTEP wins 69-58.       

The Miners ran off the court howling.    The dejected Aggies went around the sidelines shaking hands and getting hugs.    A little bitty girl was there with an autograph poster and each of the players stopped and signed it.       

UTEP shot 46%, 87% on free throws, and had 32 points in the paint.    The Aggies shot 33%, 50% on 3’s, and 78% on free throws.    In my recap (such as it was), I didn’t mention all of the times that the Aggies missed open shots or took a good shot that just somehow didn’t fall in.    When you don’t make the easy ones, you don’t get the lucky ones.    Lucia Yenes not scoring was a big problem for the Aggies.    She was getting some open looks, but not making the shots.   

UTEP had five players in double figures.    Delma Zita led with 14 points, and NDack MBengue (too bad you can’t use proper names in Scrabble, this one would be a winner) had 13 points and 14 rebounds.    Keira Hudson led the Aggies with 15 points from 3 made 3’s and going 6 for 6 on free throws. Imani Warren and Loes Rozing both had 10 points.    Loes really stepped up in the third quarter, but nobody stepped up with her.   

Somewhat disheartened, I went over to Chik-fil-a for a late lunch.    I saw a small group of Aggie Volleyball girls there that I didn’t recognize.    I guess they’re newcomers.    The meal was great, at least.    It was bright and sunny, but I didn’t let that fool me into going to Baseball and instead went home.    I had the TV on for a couple of hours before I discovered I was missing a NASCAR race.    It had started before the game, so I had assumed it was long over.    They’d had some rain, I guess.    Shoot.   

I listened to Aggie Baseball on the radio, which they won.    Annoyingly, the Aggie Men’s Basketball game against UTEP was on at the same time and finished at the same time.    I only listened to bits of it.    The Aggies were up 10 to start the second half, 35-25.    At the end, it was a 4-point Aggie lead with 12 seconds left after Jemel Jones made a pair of free throws.    The Aggies held on and won this time, 67-63.    There was nearly a fight at the end of the game that was started by the coaches.    Security nearly got involved.    Attendance for the game was 7,600. When these two played in El Paso a couple of weeks ago, the crowd was 7,800, but El Paso is a much larger city.  Later, Coach Hooten was sure that the Pan-Am crowd was well under counted.

Tomorrow, I’ll hopefully be at Aggie Baseball finally for a ***day game.***

NM State Aggies vs Montana Grizzlies Softball 2-15-26

I woke up Sunday morning and started listening to the Aggie Softball on the radio with Adam Young. Wait. Didn’t I do this last weekend.  It’s been a long two weeks with all this softball and all I’ve done is watch and write about it. (And for the two weeks before this, with no Aggie sports to go to, I obsessively played Command & Conquer and I finally beat all of the missions at the Medium level.)

Who are we playing today? It’s Minnesota again. Faith Aragon started for the Aggies. In the top of the first, Tara Wolocko hit a 2-run homer. That was her third against the Aggies this weekend. Kendal Lunar drove in a run in the bottom to make it, 2-1. In the third, Devin Elam took a spill fielding. She stayed for the inning, but didn’t return to play after the inning or for the next game. Devin was out last Sunday with an injury, too. Hopefully, she’ll recover quickly.

In the bottom of the third, Faith tripled in the tying run. A successful squeeze play by Destan Burks, who came in for Devin, brought Faith in, and it was 4-2 Aggies. In the top of the fourth, a MN home run closed it to, 4-3 Aggies. Adam mentioned this game was under a curfew, as well as the next game. No pressure.

In the bottom of the fourth, an error brought in an Aggie run to make it, 5-3 Aggies. A second squeeze play in the inning didn’t work this time. In the top of the sixth, Aggie catcher, Madi Bachman, was hurt. Adam thought she pulled a hamstring, but she stayed in. The Aggie defense was a little shaky defense in the seventh, but errorless, and the Aggies won it, 5-3.

That was their first P4 win of the season and the first since 2024. Faith Aragon had 7 strikeouts and 3 hits. This kind of pitching performance is what I meant by wanting to see a pitcher step up. Now, we need the rest of the staff feeding off that. It’s also probably not a coincidence that the Aggies didn’t have an error in the game and they won. They committed 25 errors in 10 preceding games.

Since the next game against Montana was also under a curfew, they attempted to start the game early. Though the team was there, they probably weren’t ready to play yet, so the game was going to start at noon, as scheduled. In the meantime, I was listening to the broadcast going over this. I was about to take a shower. Then I was getting dressed, thinking the game was going to begin early. Then I was getting undressed for a shower, since the game would starting on time. This all took place over about a 5-minute time span.

It was bright and sunny outside with a light cool breeze. There was a wiener dog puppy outside the stands. There was another wiener dog inside that barked at him when he came in. Next door, I saw Coach Rodolph walking her half-doodle dog on the soccer field. Attendance was 600 in the previous game (not including dogs), but it was a bit lighter in the second game at 289. No offense to Montana, but a game versus Minnesota was going to draw better.

The PA was playing lousy music today, unlike the last two days. Fire the DJ. It was 64-degrees with the wind blowing into the stands to start. Thankfully, it wasn’t colder. However, the wind would be changing directions during the game and swirl around over the field. Before the game, they played the team highlight reel on the new videoboard and I noticed it featured the dancing cowboy from last year (4-13-25). He was rooting for the other team! The Coach came in with her dog at the first pitch. Madi was still catching, Kendal was at first, and Devin was not in the lineup.

Zantelle Rodriguez started for the Aggies. Taylor Baca began the game with a diving catch in the left field. Adam on the radio broadcast thought she trapped it and sold it. He might have had a point, but I like Taylor, so we’ll give it to her. A single and a walk put two on. Grizzlies executed on a double steal. Catcher Madi missed Jade Valladares at third, who wasn’t near the bag anyway, and the ball went into left field.

The lead runner scored and Madi was hurt on the throw, or hurt further from earlier. She stayed in. I question Coach Higgs here. Madi probably shouldn’t have started this game hurt and shouldn’t have stayed in after getting hurt again. She might have been the best option, but I’d rather take my chances with the other four players listed on the roster that could play at catcher, including Kendal at first, rather than risking Madi getting hurt worse.

However, what got really got me angry was the scoring. Somehow that run that came in on an error was an earned run. I’ve already had insanity-inducing scoring issues with those 8 unearned runs last week (2-8-26).  I’m not bothering Grok to try and explain this one. A single drove in the other baserunner right after. If the error hadn’t happened, the run would have come in on the single anyway, I guess? My head is going to explode before this season is over. 2-0 MT.

The Coach’s dog went over to meet the Grizzlies’ staff member at the scorer’s table. She’s a friendly creature, even to the enemy. Marketing Director Nicole Sack tossed out some t-shirts between innings and then went over to talk to Coach Rodolph for a while. The Coach made a lot of friends here. I spoke to Fan Michael from Baseball the day before and he remembered her fondly when he was groundskeeping for Softball. She would offer the crew a share of the postgame food spread. She saw Michael had just taken a little once and insisted that he take more.

In the bottom of the first, Faith led off with a single. From the radio call, she’s hitting a crisp .577. Mackenzie Bekofsky in right field battled the wind for a catch at the wall on a flyball by Taylor. Up next, Destan took advantage of the wind blowing to right for a line drive 2-run homer to tie it. Nicole came out with a t-shirt toss for the home run and was well short getting it to a fan behind me. I handed it to the woman then teased Nicole that she was going to get cut from the team with that arm.

Zantelle worked into immediate trouble in the second with a single, a walk, and a 3-run homer, without getting an out. Taryn Bennett came on in relief. She allowed a single, but got the next three batters to end the inning. MT up 5-2. Also troubling in the inning were the two passed balls charged to Madi, in addition to juggling a pitch and not being able make a throw on a stolen base.

The Aggies rallied in the bottom of the second. Tamara Carranza led off with a single, Jade was hit, and Violet Redondo walked to load the bases. Tamara came in on a wild pitch and the other two runners advanced. A bad throw from third on a grounder by Faith scored 2 runs. (One of those was earned, one was unearned. I get that scoring.) Jojo Christiaens made a good play on a liner and doubled off Faith at second to end the inning. We were tied at 5.

There was an Aggie cowboy hat giveaway to the crowd?! I feel like I should have made an effort to get one of those. Taryn walked two batters in the third, but was unscored upon. Grizzly DP Kaiana Kong went into the circle to pitch in the bottom. (MT has players named “K. Kong,” “Cockhill,” and two girls named “Mackenzie,” but each spells it differently.) The Aggies got on one runner via an error in the inning.

Taryn walked the first batter of the fourth. The next batter popped one up on the infield. Taryn authoritatively called everyone off to handle it. This is a rare quality in a pitcher. A stolen base and a single scored the runner to give the Grizzlies a 6-5 lead. Taryn got a strikeout to end the inning. Madi was still hurting in the inning. She was limping when walking and stretching out between batters.

The Aggies loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but weren’t able to get a run across. Violet beat out an infield single in the frame. Wow, is she fast! Kong made a good play on a comebacker that erased a runner at third.

Meanwhile at the scorer’s table, the little, white, fluffy dog from yesterday that belonged to player was brought in by her dad. This dog met the coach’s dog and it was unbearably cute. Another little dog came and also met them. It was like an adorable dog show. A girl and her husband brought over a baby see Coach Rodolph and to meet the dog. I didn’t recognize her, but I’m wondering if she was a former player.

In the top of the fifth, MT had a single that was brought in on a double. An error at short brought in another run (that was unearned), though the batter was thrown out at second after run scored. 8-5 MT. The Aggies got a couple of singles in the bottom, but again, couldn’t cash them in. I think a couple of people from the Concession trailer came in and gave away hot dogs. They will giveaway unsold dogs late in the game here and at baseball.

Faith came in to pitch the final two innings. They were 1-2-3 affairs with 4 strikeouts. The Aggies managed one single over those two innings. Brianna Gutierrez was a sixth inning sub for MT. She made a nice catch with her back to the field right after she came in. In the top of the seventh, there was smoke coming from Aggie clubhouse. I think they were grilling lunch for the girls, as I could smell it. Montana wins it, 8-5.

Just a handful of Gameballs this time. Kaci Kiblen had the big blow in the game with a 3-run homer in the second for the Grizzlies. Kaiana Kong pitched 5 scoreless innings in relief, in addition to being the DP for Montana. For the Aggies, Faith Aragon was 2 for 4 with an RBI as the DP and pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief.

Aggie pitching wasn’t that bad, but gave up too many walks and 3 of the 5 scored. The Aggie defense had 2 errors and 2 runs scored on those errors. Aggie hitting had its chances, especially in the fourth with the bases loaded. (There were 7 Aggies left on base for the game. There were 6 for MT, so they could have scored more, too.) They were missing Devin Elam. We hope she’ll be okay next weekend. Was Lauren Garcia not available to pinch hit?

Leaving the stands, I did get some good news. A lady was talking to someone and mentioned that Oklahoma was playing UTEP and beating them, 27-0. (The final would be 34-0 and that was in 5 innings.) OK run ruled all five teams they played this weekend. The Aggies were the only team to at least give them a fight in their game, though they even beat up our mascot in the process.

Thanks to those crappy OK fans, we had record setting attendance for the Troy Cox Classic this weekend, according to AD Joe Fields on Monday. There were people watching that Aggie/OK game from truck beds in parking lot according to Adam. This was a significant economic boost for the community.

I went over and washed car after the game and then went to Smokey Sensations for barbecue. I unfortunately accidentally ordered the wrong thing, but it was still delicious. Even better, I got to watch the end of the Daytona 500 there. The drivers were fairly well-behaved until last lap. The two leaders took each other out right after getting the white flag. No caution. Chase Elliot was leading after the fourth turn and then dumped into the wall by Tyler Reddick, who won the race. There was even another crash on the way to the checkers. I enjoyed the spectacle. I was happy enough to go over to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard (mostly to help my stomach after that spicy meal).

Glad I had Monday off for President’s Day. I went out to the comic book store and got a couple of fun items, including a trade of 60’s Dr. Strange. (In a word, psychedelic.) I also got a delicious small pizza at the Grounded Café, which had a line out the door for lunch. And I went over to see dad and watched a couple of episodes of Jack Ryan. It was a nice mellow way to wrap up the three-day weekend. Aggie Baseball starts this week.