NMSU Aggie Baseball and Softball Season Recap

The teams’ seasons aren’t over, but my blog coverage is.  I don’t want to go back and read through all my Aggie blogs for this season right now.  I’d just like to hit the players and moments that stood out for me.  Let me first put in a thank you to Adam Young’s play-by-play call for enhancing many of these of games.  By a rough count, I think I’ve been to 20 (or 19 ½ technically) baseball and softball games this season.  (And I’ve seen additional Aggie games on TV and on the Internet and listened to on the radio).  There have been some bad games and losses.  There’s been some physically challenging games.  But, the wins have more than made up for it.  It’s a treat to go out to see a home team that has a fairly legitimate chance of winning any day, and that goes for both the baseball and softball teams. 

Monday afternoon at work, Ron was still in mourning, missing Aggie ball games for the weekend.  I told him he’d find something else to do, and it better not be spending Saturdays and Sundays at work all day.  In the meantime, I asked him what is favorite things about this season were.  His favorite play happened in the April 23rd double-header versus Bakersfield.  In Game 2, #7 Brennalyn Nakamura dropped a bunt, which three Roadrunner players surrounded and somehow managed to not field.  Brennalyn improbably ended up with a double on a bunt.  His other favorite moment was the loud little fan girl from Game 2 in the April 2^nd double-header.  I think that and the frat guys from May 7^th, heckling the Seattle players are my favorite fan moments.      

  

My runaway player of the year is #7 Daniel Johnson.  There were times it looked like he was out there with an Xbox controller playing a video game.  I seriously wonder if he’s going to be back next year or if he’s going to the pros.  My favorite player to watch was #14 Kayla Green without even bothering with an explanation, other than I just loved watching her pitch.  So many of the Aggie players had great moments over the season.  I regret I don’t have the stamina to recount them all here, all at once.  Good thing I blog this stuff.  Just look for posts under the “Aggie” tag.  [Edit: Look under the NM State tag.  They are divided up by sport.]  

Favorite games?  I loved #25 Mason Fishback’s grounder, driving in the winning run on February 27th vs Maine Black Bears in Game 2 of a double-header.  After 6 hours of baseball and freezing, what a way to end the night.  Listening that nail-biting 9^th inning against Texas Tech on March 1^st as the Aggies lost their closer to injury during the inning, clinging to a one run lead.  I don’t think I started breathing again until they got that final out.  Lastly, after dropping three straight to Stephen F Austin and me missing ½ the game on March 6^th, #22 Austin Botello’s walk-off, come from behind, 2-run homer to win the game was a monster highlight. 

There were a couple of outstanding performances by opposing players that I was also really impressed with.  February27th, the Maine Black Bears #27 John Arel came in in relief in the 2^nd inning with the game out of hand and proceeded to blank the hot Aggie hitters for the rest of the game.  It wasn’t that the Aggies were resting on a big lead, he was just dominating them.  Offensively, #51 Sami Fagan and #7 Natalie Fleming of the Missouri Tigers hit four home runs total over a Saturday double-header on March 19^th.  That was good enough that Aggie pitching walked them four times the next day, not wanting to test their hitting again.

Oh, favorite girl in the crowd to watch?  Let’s not go there.  I shouldn’t have been writing about that stuff.  It was juvenile.  That said, it was the blonde from Saturday’s game.  Nothing has compared to Sundancer Anna Sawver though.  While she’s graduating this spring, I still want the cheerleaders and the Sundancers at the baseball and softball games next season anyway.