NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Softball 4-12-26

Since their last home series against WKU, Aggie Softball dropped two of three to Jax State on the road. They lost the first game, 6-3. Faith Aragon took the loss pitching all 6 innings. Kendal Lunar and Lauren Johnson both homered in the game. The Aggies took the next game, 5-3. Faith got the win in that one and went 3 for 4. Kendal had a home run and her and Skye Johnson both had a pair of RBI’s. The rubber game was a 6-2 loss. Taryn Bennett took the loss. Faith pitched in relief. Lauren homered in the game.

I’d meant to take Friday off to see the rivalry game between the Aggies and the UTEP Miners and go to the Aggie Football equipment sale and Fan Fest. (I missed the Football guys taking penalty kicks against the Soccer girls. NCAA rules won’t let the football team actually scrimmage for the fans anymore.) Things were really busy at work and the forecast for that night was never good. The predicted rain did not materialize in Las Cruces, though it did in nearby El Paso, which delayed a Chihuahuas’ game.

There was, however, a haboob here to start the Softball game, indicating that a storm was on the way somewhere in the area. The girls played through it. It was an 8-3 win for the Aggies. Destan Burks had the big blow with a 3-run homer. Faith went the distance for the win.

I’d had a long week. On Saturday, I just wasn’t in the mood to go to an evening game. Helping a neighbor move in likely exhausted me a bit, as well. There was some threatening weather in the area, though it never actually rained. If it had been an earlier game, I might have gone. The Aggie Football equipment sale was still going on Saturday morning, but I just couldn’t get myself to go.

The game was another Aggie win, 3-0. Faith had another 7-inning effort and she doubled in a run. Destan and Kendal each had solo home runs. It was a very quick game at just over an hour and a half. Maybe they were worried about the weather, too. The sun had barely gone down when they’d finished. There was a great crowd of 795. They didn’t need me there.

Sunday morning, I was in a better mood, or at least complaining less. I left early for lunch at Whataburger. I wanted to use that free fry coupon. It was great, though I ordered a large drink and was shocked by the size of it. I thought I’d been ordering large drinks all this time. This thing was like 50% bigger than that.

When I got inside the stadium, Faith Aragon’s dad was there with some other fans holding court. He was saying, “We gotta win today.” I was listening to the Chihuahuas versus the Isotopes game on the radio I brought with me. Disappointingly, I could just barely hear it while I was inside the stadium. I was 45-minutes early and there was already a crowd inside. Attendance was listed at 563, but seemed bigger. The fans were more enthusiastic than usual. There was a sizable UTEP contingent.

It was cool and breezy and partly cloudy. It was fairly nice out. On field, the Miners were wearing Old-Timey looking loose, dark blue tops with high socks for their warm up. They switched to orange tops to play in. Mackenzie Jones was having fun and grooving in the Aggie horseshoe pregame ritual.

I think the scoreboard was on when I came in, but it was off for the entire game. I kind of hoped nothing weird would happen in the game for my scorecards. (That didn’t happen.) The ump should have been showing the count on every pitch and the PA should have been giving the score every inning. (Those things only happened occasionally.) A couple of fans asked me what inning we were in, since I was there with the scorecards.

Nobody should have been asking me about the game. I really screwed these up. I can’t even blame the scoreboard being off for my problems. I lost track of the lineup twice. I don’t know what happened. It’s so embarrassing.

It was a good sign in the top of the first, as Taryn Bennett had her good stuff working for a 1-2-3 inning. We had some delays between innings waiting on the TV coverage. Mondo with AggieVision, son of one of my co-workers, was on field and would signal to start play.

Ryann Presswood, with a full mane of lush long, shiny, blonde hair started for the Miners. Faith led off the bottom of the first with a sneaky bunt single. After two outs, Madi Bachman came up and hit her first pitch out of the park to center. This 2-run shot was done against the wind. 2-0 Aggies. That was all we saw of Presswood, as part of a steady stream of new Miner pitchers every inning.

In the top of the second, Taryn issued a walk to the second batter of the inning. Madi went out for a talk. Taryn seems to have a good attitude in the circle, but can be rattled. The next batter hit a blooper. The wind held the ball up and Sky Johnson in left field dove for it for the catch. The final out was a fielder’s choice. Destan Burks fed Tamara Carranza covering second. The ball was bobbled, but she held on. Tamara’s reward was getting her foot stepped on. She was hopping around after the play. In the bottom of the inning, the bottom of the Aggie order only managed a walk.

Behind me, there was a guy and a girl, I think a former player, talking about nothing but baseball and softball for the whole game. It was super refreshing. In the top of the third, Taryn deflected a high bouncer back at her trying to grab it. Behind her, Destan stayed with the ball and got the out. For better or worse, Taryn is always thinking with her glove on field, but she’s handy pitching, too. A pair of strikeouts ended the inning.

Some guys that I presume were Football players came in to watch. Destan had been moved up in lineup to second thanks to performance over the weekend. On the first pitch of the bottom of the third, Destan hit a sky high home run to left with the wind swirling. After a walk to Kendal, Madi had a sky-high hit to center. The wind knocked it straight down. The centerfielder had started back and then had to run back in. Two other fielders converged, but the ball fell in between all of them. Kendal was shot by a sniper rounding third on the play and had to go back, otherwise she might have scored.

Arianna Flores got a looking strikeout for the Miners the first out of the inning, but was relieved right after. In the break, a huge yellow butterfly floated around watching the game. Security attempted to apprehend the butterfly for not paying admission, but she flew off. Tamara came up and drove in the two baserunners with a double. Johnna Aragon then hit a liner that hit third base and deflected away from the defender. I had it as a tough error, but it was scored a hit.

Mackenzie came in to pinch run for Johanna and promptly stole second. Flores accidentally deflected the throw from the catcher trying to get her and Tamara scored on the error. The Aggies were now up, 6-0.

To the top of the fourth, Taryn got the first two batters, but a grounder took a bad hop on Tamara at short for an error. A worse error happened on my scorecard, as I noticed that I was out-of-order on the lineup. Taryn then gave up a single, but knuckled down and got the final out. In the bottom, Destan doubled and Madi drove her in on a fielder’s choice. 7-0 Aggies.

Madi was delayed getting out on field in the top of the fifth, since she was on the basepads. The Aggies didn’t run out a backup catcher to warm up Taryn. (Maybe they don’t have another player available.) Instead, Taryn got some additional instruction by the dugout from Madi’s sister, pitching coach, Paige Bachman. The Miners got a leadoff single, as Tamara nearly great catch on the soft liner, but couldn’t hold on to it. Tamara did get two other popups in the inning. And my scorecard lineup is screwed up again! I can’t believe it!

A food vendor came in and handed out a couple of leftover hot dogs to Football guys. (They’re obliviously underfed.) A couple of little girls were running around up front in different Spider-Man t-shirts. Is he their favorite superhero? And it was real Spider-Man, not that fake one, they keep pushing in the animated movies. The girls are being raised right.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Aggies loaded the bases on a couple of walks and a single with one out. Faith, with Coach Rodolph looking on and shouting encouragement, came up and tried another bunt, but it dribbled in front of plate. The catcher got it and lunged out to tag the runner from third. However, it was only a temporary reprieve for UTEP. Destan came up and singled up the middle past two defenders reaching for the ball. Johnna scored to make it 8-0 Aggies for a run rule win.

It’s a sweep! (And for my scorekeeping ego, thank goodness it’s over.) The game only went for 1 hour and 24 minutes. I was still listening to the Chihuahuas and decided to go home to finish the ***rest of it.*** Outside, there wasn’t a bus. I wondered how the Miners got here, but then I noticed two little shuttle busses in the parking lot.

Today’s Gameballs are all for the Aggies. (Sorry, UTEP. You ladies did not have a good game.) The first one goes to Taryn Bennett for the 5-inning shutout. That was great to see from her. It was the kind of performance I knew she was capable of. Tamara Carranza had 2 RBI’s on a double and Johnna Aragon went 2 for 3. Madi Bachman had a great game going 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s and a 2-run homer. Destan Burks was also great going 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and a home run.

This would have been a good series to see all of for an Aggie fan. It’s unfortunate, I wasn’t able to. I’ll consider finally going to night game ***next Saturday*** with Aggie Baseball, as I’m running out of excuses.

Well deserved honors for Destan Burks.

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.***