NM State Aggies vs MS Valley St Delta Devils Baseball Game 1, 2-24-18

Game 1

Here we are playing Mississippi Valley State again.  Couldn’t we get Mississippi Valley?  At least we’re not playing Southwest Mississippi Valley Tech or Mississippi Valley State-Biloxi.  After yesterday’s rout (2-23-18), I admire them for showing up.  Weather-wise, seldom has there been a more miserable beautiful day here in the Mesilla Valley.  It was a sunny, cloudless blue sky with a slight breeze blowing.  Unfortunately, the cold ambient temperature combined with that wind made for freezing conditions, regardless of what the thermometer said (50-something degrees).  Worse, the sun was burningly intense, not that that was a big deal, since I was bundled up, but I still had to wear sun block.

Ron acknowledged the cold, but was more enthusiastic about going to today’s double header than I was.  Worse, he likes to show up really early to watch the team take infield.  There was only one RV in the parking lot.  Ron noted that their new parking area was in the line of fire for foul balls.  It was not a great crowd, though people filled in a bit later along with an invited Little League team.  There was no radio today, but I got a program this time, so no excuses for getting names wrong.  MSVS brought a good, lively contingent of fans with them.  The PA played the warm up music really loud to start off, but turned it down a bit later.  At least it was pretty good music and very eclectic mix from Country to Rap.  A Genesis tune led us into the first pitch.          

Speaking of the program, it was hard not to notice that the Delta Devils had about 2/3 of the roster that the Aggies have.  Several of their players were listed as Pitcher/fielder.  The wind was blowing in, which made it rough in the stands, but should keep the ball from flying out.  A couple of the MSVS fans brought portable heaters.  They came prepared.  Every so often, we could smell them working.  Unfortunately, the sun was glaring off the scoreboard, which made it almost impossible to read for much of the game.  I ran to the bathroom right after the Anthem (it’s hard to hold it in cold weather).  I came back and found Ron still standing.  “Remember, keep standing until the opposing team scores,” I told him, as they say at the basketball games.  He thought it was funny. 

It was the first inning and I couldn’t feel my fingers.  That seemed like a bad sign.  Morgan Lomax for the Devils hustled his way into a run with a single, stolen base, moved over on a grounder, and then scored on a passed ball.  1-0 Delta Devils.  More interestingly, Megan Hart and Tatyana Battle from the Aggie Volleyball team came in and sat behind us.  Under normal circumstances this might be awesome, but I was bundled up and wearing sunglasses (mostly for the wind actually) and did not feel brave or look sociable. 

Sasha-Lee Thomas and Hannah Combs joined them in the bottom.  They left after about ten minutes in the cold, but they did come back shortly after.  (Hannah did seem to have some trouble negotiating the stairs, which may mean she’s not over her injury.)  Striking the Wonder Dog and his human staff made an entrance.  The girls immediately recognized the BDOC (Big Dog on Campus) and swooned over him.  They didn’t go over and

introduce themselves to him though.  Wow, even the girls could get intimidated by celebrity, just like I get around them.  Striking was sitting behind us too, on the other side.  I made eye contact with him a couple of times (well, except for the sunglasses), but I still haven’t met him in person.

Back to the action, Noah Haupt continued his hot hitting with a double and Mason Fishback drove him in with another.  Lomax made a good play on sinking liner in center, but it scored a run on the sacrifice.  Trey Stine also drove in a run to make it 3-1 Aggies.  Much of the rest of the Volleyball team came in in the second.  Gossip ensued, but I forced myself not to listen.  I don’t want to know about their love lives (unless they were going to get really naughty and graphic in talking about it).  Speaking of that, they were a rather “colorful” in their conversation.  You couldn’t be sitting near them and not notice that.  If I didn’t know they were there, I might have thought they were a group of sailors on shore leave.  They did also talk about recruits for their team and maybe the current NCAA scandal.  Justin Dehn struck out the side for the Aggies in the top of the second.  Tristen Carranza knocked in a run in the bottom, 4-1.  Lomax made another good play in the outfield, robbing Marcus Still of a sure gapper to start the inning.

For the third, mini footballs were tossed to the crowd from the pressbox.  Once again, kids were around, I wasn’t going to try for the giveaways.  A pick off and rundown at first ended the top of the inning.  I made an attempt to remember who all touched the ball, but by the fifth or sixth player, I gave up.  Stine tripled in a run in the bottom that went all the way to wall.  A new pitcher came in a couple batters later, but three errors, including a throwing error by Lomax and two by the third baseman, made for a five-run inning.  9-1 Aggies. 

For the fourth, the Devils switched around their infield.  Third base was out, first went to third, and a new first baseman came in (I think).  The wind was noticeably playing with some fly balls this inning.  Nothing was going to go out, certainly not in this cold.  Fishback threw out a runner at second in the top.  The Aggies didn’t score in their half, breaking their 11-inning scoring streak. 

In the fifth, a foul went into the stands and bounced in front of a late-arriving Lia Mosher, also from the Volleyball team.  She came with another pretty blonde, who was wearing teardrop mirror shades and had her long hair pulled back.  It might have been her teammate, Natalie Mikels.  With the sunglasses and different hairstyle, it was hard to tell.  Sorry.  They sat nearby me.  Certainly I wanted to ask Lia about her time on the Softball team, but I was not feeling confident enough to bother her.  She is a natural ballplayer; every other word from her was an explicative.  Lia was into the game while she was there and explaining it to her teammate.  Is there still game going on?  I’ve really been distracted. 

For the sixth, the girls knew the Aggie trivia question: “What record did the Aggies break yesterday?”  (School record for runs scored.)  They must have been here for that.  Were they hanging out with the Softball girls?  The Volleyball girls also discussed what their walkup songs would be if they were playing and they even sang it.  (Didn’t recognize it.  I’m going to be collecting these blog posts into a book someday.  I already have a title, Your Walkup Song Sucks: Tales From the Grandstand at NMSU.)  Back to the game, I guess.  Joey Ortiz got some style points for doing a 360 on his throw to get an out at first.  Unfortunately, he made an error on the previous batter, who came around to score on a wild pitch.  9-2 Aggies.  In the bottom, another Aggie was hit by a pitch, but the Devil’s pitcher was hit on a slow comeback, which still resulted in an out.

For the seventh, there was an Aggie Baseball t-shirt toss into the crowd.  Yes, I wanted one, but I didn’t try.  The girls next to me were going crazy for them.  This was also the inning where they abandoned ship finally and the game just became cold and dreary.  I didn’t see Megan McGuire with them.  She’s always out for baseball (might be dating a player).  AD Mario Moccia came in as they went out (not a great trade, no offense).  He was on the phone with business stuff for most of the inning he was around.  The Devils picked up another run, but Aggie reliever, Andrew Edwards, made a great defensive catch on a liner right at him.  Fishback drove in a run in the bottom, 10-3 Aggies.

In the top of the eighth, Lomax worked a walk to start the inning.  He was moved over on a rare balk, when reliever Mathew Munden accidently spiked the ball into the ground on a throw over.  Lomax stole third and scored on a single.  10-4 Aggies.  The wheels came off for MSVS in the bottom.  Three hit batters, a wild pitch, and an error contributed to a five-run inning for the Aggies.  The coach went out to talk to the pitcher.  The PA started playing goodbye music, probably trying to protect the Aggie batters from further bruising, but the coach kept him in.  The ninth went quick.  15-4 Aggies was the final. 

Okay, yes, the Volleyball team was the most interesting thing about the game.  They at least warmed me up a little.  Forgive a little teasing at their expense.  They’re fine, upstanding young women.  For gameballs, Justin Dehn did pretty well with six innings and two runs, neither earned.  Mason Fishback went 4 for 5 with 3 RBI’s for a good game at the plate.  Noah Haupt went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s as well.  Morgan Lomax on the Delta Devils showed some real effort out there too.  It’s getting colder and there’s another game to come.    

                           

Continued in Game 2

NM State Aggies Baseball February 20-23, 2018

NM State Aggies vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Baseball 2-20-18

I knew this game was going to be on this afternoon, but they moved the time up and started without me.  I wonder if they forgot to account to the time zone difference on the schedule.  It was even listed on a different station I think, but I found the game anyway.  The score was 1-0 Red Raiders in the mid-fourth.  The sole run was off a homer.  I’m sorry I didn’t get to listen to the early half of the game, because it went downhill shortly after I did.    

Brock Whittlestein (not sure if that’s spelled right, still protesting not getting a program last weekend), at least, pitched well for the Aggies in his mid-week start.  He’d pitched on Sunday, so he had to come out early in the fourth.   Andrew Edwards came in and got a strikeout after hitting a batter and giving up a walk.  Joey Oritz also made a good play at shortstop.

The wheels came off in the fifth.  After the fourth hit batter of game for Aggie pitching, a two-run homer followed, 3-0 Red Raiders.  And then another two-run home run, 5-0.  After a pitch behind a batter’s back, Edwards was replaced.  Another two-run homer followed, 7-0, before the inning finally ended.  Meanwhile, Texas Tech pitcher Ryan Shetter, finished knocking the Aggies down for a sixth and final inning.  He gave up no walks and had nine strikeouts on 68 pitches.  (Cough, cough.)  I just gagged on that pitch total. 

One more defensive highlight, in the seventh, Marcus Still made a great catch at the fence to end the inning.  In the eighth, the Red Raiders kept pouring it on.  A double brought in two runs to make it 9-0. A sac fly made it 12-0.  That was the first out of the inning.  12-0 Texas Tech was the final.  The Aggies got 4 hits for the game.  Two of those were in the ninth.  The Red Raiders definitely played like their #3 in the nation ranking.  The Aggies’ relief pitching is now an official concern.

NM State Aggies vs MS Valley St Delta Devils Baseball 2-23-18

In the interests of beating the cold that comes when the sun goes down, this series opener against Mississippi Valley State started at 4:00 in the afternoon.  It’s an interesting decision.  Part of this is motivated by how long some of these games are drawing out.  I got to listen to some of the game over the radio before I went to work.  Adam Young reported a “quiet” crowd.  Apparently, much of the crowd consisted of scouts looking at Aggie starter, Kyle Bradish.  In the top of the first, he hit 94 mph and made a 1 Unassisted out.  Well, that was quick enough.

Then came the bottom of the first.  Let’s look at my notes here: bases on loaded on walks, run walked in, another run walked in, run on an error, double play, another run, Marcus Still RBI single, Aggie lineup batted around, and Joey Ortiz singled for 2 RBI’s.  And that’s all I got before I had to leave for work.  I brought up the game there to find out the Devils’ starting pitcher, unsurprisingly, didn’t make it out of the first inning.  It was an 11-run first for the Aggies.  They nearly batted around twice. 

The Aggie Softball team was reported to be in attendance.  They had played two games in El Paso for a tournament and won 18-0 and 7-3.  That’s some pretty hearty school loyalty there, because they had to have been bushed.  (They also beat UTEP in El Paso earlier in the week.)  The scoring continued at the baseball game.  Tristen Carranza hit a two-run homer in the second to make it 14-0.  The team batted around again to make it 22-0 in the third.

Let’s not forget the pitching.  Bradish racked up 10 strikeouts through the fourth, including seven in a row.  In the bottom, Noah Haupt hit a two-run homer.  Mason Fishback homered “into the softball parking lot.”  I found that description a bit far-fetched, but I’m sure it went far.  I did believe Adam when he said, “My scorecard is a mess.”  25-0 Aggies. 

In the fifth, Haupt hit a three-run homer to help make it 28-0.  Coach Brian Green started putting in the reserves during this inning.  In the sixth, one of those subs, Nick Gonzales, turned a double play.  Bradish was done after six, finishing with 93 pitches, 2 hits, 2 walks, and 12 strikeouts.  The offense kept scoring, 31- 0.  In the seventh, the strikezone finally started enlarging to move the game along.  The Aggies still scored again, 32-0.

For the eighth, the Devils used their second position player to pitch.  (Actually, they have several dual-use players on their roster, because they’re short-handed.)  Gonzales and Haupt drove in runs, thus the Aggies managed to score in every inning.  The inning ended with the bases loaded.  The final was 39-0 Aggies.  That broke one school record.  Noah Haupt, who went 6 for 7, broke another record with 10 RBI’s.  The team batted around in three innings.  If you were going to sit through three-hour, 42 minute game, at least this one was memorable.       

NM State Aggies vs Chicago State Cougars Men and Women’s Basketball 2-22-18

(And a little UTEP Women’s coverage at the bottom.)

Chicago State has a nice-looking small arena.  The Aggie Women’s team tweeted this picture out before their game versus the Cougars.  Actually, the only game coverage available was via Twitter.  It’s a bit nerve-wracking trying to follow a game from text messages.  Much like these teams’ earlier meeting (1-7-18), Chicago State played very well in the first half and led 33-27.  Then in similar fashion, the Aggies wore them down in the second half and were able to break it open with an 18-4 run in the third.  63-55 Aggies was the final with Brooke Salas leading the way with 17 points and Jasmine Cooper following with 16.

Back here in Las Cruces, the Aggie Men played the Chicago State Men’s team.  It was a fairly small 4,400+ crowd at the Pan-Am for a mid-week matchup against a team that’s winless in the conference.  The crowd was also pretty quiet.  The team seemed to come out with some low energy after their two road losses.  It was 11 all five minutes in at the first timeout.  Joe Garza entered the game and hit a three as part of a 7-point run.  The rest of the team wasn’t hitting three’s at all to that point.  The Cougars took a slim lead on good shooting late in the first half.  Keyon Jones made a three to give the Aggies back the lead.  It was 39-36 Aggies at the half.

The crowd finally started getting into it for the second half as the Aggies increased their lead.  Johnny McCants scored 8 in the half, but three of the baskets were on crowd-pleasing dunks.  He also had three blocks.  Garza had 7 with another three.  Keyon hit a three and a foul shot for a four-point play.  The Aggies had a 20-point lead at one point.  The Cougars cut that in half as the Aggies emptied their bench.  78-67 Aggies was the final.

Fred Sims on the Cougars led all scorers with 30 points.  Unfortunately for Chicago State, regardless of the quality of their players, they aren’t competing at the D1 level with their current resources.  Coach Jans talked about how good the opposing coach was afterward.  Jans didn’t think he’d be able to get as much out of their players under the same circumstances.  Sidy N’Dir led the Aggies with 15 points.  11 Aggies scored in the game.  Gabe Hadley was out with pink eye.  Zach Lofton played and scored 6, but was also sick.  There was encouraging news in the pregame.  NMSU has already sold out their ticket allotment for the WAC Tourney in Las Vegas.  

Meanwhile, I’ve been exhausted going to events and writing about them for the last two weeks.  Something had to give and it’s been UTEP Women’s Basketball.  My apologies to Katharine Zech.  If I was able to watch her and the team, I’d be making this a priority, but it’s not the same over the radio.  I listened to half a game last week, where, once again, they had a lead going into the fourth and lost.  I was too busy to even pretend that I was really paying attention.  Sunday afternoon, I totally forgot about their game, again due to exhaustion from Saturday night baseball (I was still trying to warm up).  Watching the news later, it was the same story, another fourth quarter breakdown and loss.  Coach Kevin Baker seems like a really nice guy, but his days may be numbered.  

NM State Aggies vs Seattle U Redhawks Women’s Basketball 2-18-18

Photo from the Las Cruces Sun-News

 This is a great action picture by Gary Mook of Jeneva Toilolo from the game.

I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but after writing recaps for three softball games and a baseball game this week, this basketball game may get be getting a bit of a short shrift.  This was an important matchup in a tight race for the number one seed at the conference tournament.  The Aggies lost to the Redhawks in Seattle last month (1-18-18) and both teams have about the same record.  Still, after getting up too early for softball this morning, I found myself groaning at the prospect of attending another sporting event this weekend.  (Admittedly, I did watch the end of the Daytona 500 after I got home.  Congrats to Austin Dillon.)      

One quick digression.  The Aggie Men’s Basketball team lost in overtime Saturday night in Seattle.  I totally forgot about the game between the softball and baseball last night.  It was on the radio, but I was listening to the baseball game.  If I’d started flipping stations, my radio would have run out of power pretty quick.  They’ve lost two in a row on the road where they could have wrapped up the conference.  I really don’t know anything about the game to comment on it.  On the Aggie Coaches Show, Coach Chris Jans said he’d told the team afterward, “We’re not having anymore ‘Come to Jesus’ meetings after a loss this season.  The next time we have a meeting like this it’s going to be about the offseason.” 

I’d worn my NMSU baseball jersey to the softball game without thinking through how ridiculous I’d look at the basketball game.  If me and Ron hadn’t had lunch in between, I would have been completely disoriented going from an outside sport to an inside sport.  As it was, it was like switching channels between different programs, without a TV.  Inside the Pan-Am Center, I said “Hi” to Aggie fan Danny at his usual seat.  I hadn’t seen him at the softball games.  He’d just arrived from Silver City.  I overheard some chatter from some other hardcore fans who had been out there.  See, we aren’t the only ones going from sport to sport here at the university.

There was a decent crowd for the game.  Two different kids groups came, which will boost the attendance figures, even if they didn’t buy a ticket.  The floor where we were sitting was really sticky.  I’d told Ron about the Roadrunner Review Band wearing Aggie hockey sweaters at some point previously.  When he saw them, Ron wanted one.  They’d even fit him on his large frame.  During the warmup, I noticed the Mills sisters both had the same hair color and style again.  (I’m not sure if I mentioned that they’d changed in a previous game.)  Monique was still going with the hiked up shorts.  With legs like hers, why not show them off?        

The Aggies were introduced with a new video.  It doesn’t mention the “Back to Back to Back” WAC championships, but does feature footage from this season.  The previous one, with last years’ highlights, basically only featured Brooke Salas and Gia Pack.  The Aggie logo with the diamond star field background at the end looked good.  

First Quarter

The opening quarter was absolutely furious with the action.  Much like the softball game, I almost thought these teams had somewhere else to be later this afternoon.  The game ended up finishing in under two hours.  Without many stoppages, it was really hard to make notes on the action.  I got off on the scorecard a couple of times as I admired a few plays and forgot to mark the baskets.  There was also some scoring confusion as I had Kelsey Horton driving in Brooke Salas and Tristen Carranza with a three-point homer in the bottom of the second quarter.  Focus! 

I found myself marking a bunch of Brooke highlights in the first quarter.  She dished the ball to Jasmine Cooper underneath the basket for two.  It has been great to see Coop’s inside game develop this season.  Brooke poked the ball away from Seattle in transition which led to a Gia basket.  Both teams subbed a lot, as they kept up a fast pace.  The game got physical in the lane with Jeneva Toilolo coming in to guard the Redhawks’ big Kallin Spiller.  Jen is almost where Coop is in getting baskets close to the net.  She just needs to learn how to finish.  Hopefully, it happens before the end of the season.

The Aggies were hustling.  Both Brooke and Monique Mills dove to save balls from going out of bounds.  Brooke got another poke that led to a steal.  (I’m not sure if that counts as a steal for her, since she didn’t actually take possession of the ball either time.)  Coop converted the turnover with a reverse layup.  The Aggies led 17-12 after ten minutes.

  

Second Quarter

A cute little girl’s dance academy troop performed between quarters.  Their teacher was directing them while hiding next to the scorer’s table.  They actually performed second number later in the quarter.  One thing that was keeping the game flowing was that the refs weren’t calling a lot of fouls to this point.  Brooke knocked down a defender as she went for a basket.  No block or charge was called on the play.  Coop poked away a ball in transition.  Seattle must not have been protecting the ball well when dribbling. 

The scoring definitely fell off as the defenses tightened.  SU had one basket for three minutes of play.  The Aggies took six trips down court and came away with 0 points.  Brooke finally broke up the scoreless streak with a couple of shots in the lane.  She also dished one to Jen underneath for a bucket.  But, Seattle managed to tie it at 23 with three minutes left.

Brooke missed a three (actually she didn’t make one for the whole game), but grabbed the rebound, made the shot, and got the foul.  Later, Gia found Coop in the lane.  She ducked under two defenders jumping to stop her, then Coop came up and made the basket.  The Aggies retook had the lead, 32-28, going into the half.

     

Third Quarter

The little Pistoleros basketball troop came out at halftime to do their routine.  It’s a bunch of little kids dribbling basketballs and taking shots.  Again, it’s cute.  The Aggies came out in third building on their lead.  Tonishia Childress came in a hit a three to get the lead to 11.  She was pretty happy with the shot afterward.  Monique got an assist, finding Brooke in the lane for a bunny . . . no, no, no . . . I can’t use that phrase.  It just doesn’t work for me.  Brooke’s basket made it a 15-point lead.  Timeout Seattle, 47-32 Aggies, five minutes left in the quarter.  (The Aggies were scoring so quick, I couldn’t even record a couple of good plays.  Sorry for overlooking the players involved.  It’s not intentional.)

The Band played what I’m calling the Dixieland version of the Aggie fight song.  I noticed Athletic Director Mario Moccia seated behind the scorer’s table.  I hadn’t seen him all weekend, even with all the events yesterday.  Stress balls and Aggie hats got thrown into the crowd (on different breaks).  Pam Wilmore came in.  Brooke sat on the bench for a breather, though she expended about the same amount of effort cheering on her teammates as she does playing.  She came back in after a couple of minutes. 

The Redhawks had a chance.  Ashlyn Lewey hit a three that got the Seattle bench cheering.  They then got a fastbreak, but Gia managed to breakup an easy layup by Alexis Montgomery.  The Redhawks got another similar chance right after, but a bad pass ruined another easy layup.  If they’d made those two shots, this might have turned out differently.  49-38 Aggies after 30 minutes.

           

Fourth Quarter

Zaire Williams found Coop under the basket right off the bat.  That shot had to be crushing.  On another possession, Coop out-rebounded three defenders around her and took a shot in the lane.  It missed, but Gia got the next rebound, the shot, and the foul.    The band did a good job of harassing the Redhawks at the nail (the foul line, okay, that phrase, I’ll keep using).  “Hey 24, remember that layup you missed!”  Alexis did miss both foul shots.  The band also started chanting, “Agriculture,” during one of their possessions.  That was more funny than disruptive. 

 

However, the Aggies got into quick foul trouble in this quarter and it got worse as the quarter went on.  The team gave up the bonus with half the quarter left.  Coop and Brooke picked up their fourth fouls.  Brooke had to take a seat again with five minutes left.  The Aggies started running down the clock on their possessions.  Seattle took another timeout with the score at 57-45 Aggies.  Jacinta Beckley on the Redhawks fouled out with a minute and a half left.  Surprisingly though, they didn’t do more fouling to stop the clock near the end.  They kind of conceded.  Maybe the game felt closer than it was on the scoreboard.  My last listed highlight was 5’5” Redhawk McKenzi Williams blocking a shot by 5’10” Gia Pack.  Our final: Aggies 64, Redhawks 53.

Alexis Montgomery for Seattle had an almost unstoppable first half with 14 points.  She only had 4 in the second, so the Aggies must have clamped down on her.  In the postgame interview after their win against the Aggies last month, their coach said they focused on stopping Brooke Salas.  She didn’t have any threes in this game, so they might have focused on that here.  Brooke got 18 anyway, but I was just as impressed with her defense and assists.  That’s the kind of leadership I’ve been looking for. 

Gia Pack had great game with 21 points, but her best work were those six free throws in a row she had in the third.  That run put the Aggies in the lead for good.  Jasmine Cooper had 10 points.  She’s turning into a ninja under the basket.  The other girls just need to keep feeding her the ball when she’s open there.  The Aggies won this one against a good team going away.  I just wish they could play this well on the road or close to it.

  

“We had a successful day!” Ron proclaimed outside the arena.  It’s true.  The Aggie Women’s Basketball, Softball, and Baseball teams all won today.  Ron thought he heard that Oklahoma would be playing another softball game this afternoon, so we drove back by the softball field.  It was closed.  We might have been a little greedy there.  I was bushed anyway and needed to start writing up this long weekend of Aggie sports.  Thankfully, I had Monday off to recover.   

NM State Aggies vs Boston University Terriers 2-18-18

When I saw the schedule for the tournament, this 9:00 am Sunday game, I considered really optional for attendance.  I work at night, so getting up early isn’t something I do very willingly.  I also had had a long day at the ballpark and softball field yesterday.  I didn’t entirely sleep well either, though it wasn’t from an upset stomach from eating late like last weekend.  (I had a large slice of pizza and some frozen yogurt for dinner.)  However, Ron was committed to go.  I still needed to go to come close to getting my money’s worth from the full session pass, so he picked me up after 8:00 and off we went.    

It was beautiful, bright sunny day.  I brought my sunglasses, but quickly realized I should have brought my sunblock too.  There was a clank of bats going next door at the baseball field for their game in an hour.  (Sorry, you guys shouldn’t have overlapped with your schedules.  I could only pick one.)  Boston U and Aggie fans were about equal at the softball stadium, but some more Aggie fans, including a couple of girl’s softball teams, came in late to tip the balance.  It was a decent crowd for an early morning, nothing like the SRO last night.  The BU coach was kind of cute.  I think she was actually older than she looked from a distance.  Coach Kathy Rodolph for the Aggies had made some interesting lineup choices with a couple of freshman starting.  Stefani Duran at DP was a local girl from Onate High.

The Aggies were again the visiting team.  This caused me terrible problems when I started writing this and forgot about that.  Kelsey Horton again led off the game.  She started off with a home run to right center.  After being stifled for the last three games, I was wondering how long it would be before Kelsey took it out on somebody.  The girls actually made a tunnel for her after she crossed home plate.  Rachel Rodriguez came up and hustled a single into a triple after a couple of errors by the Terrier left fielder (only one officially).  Fahren Glackin drove her in for a 2-0 Aggie lead.  A guy behind us was working up a lot of the crowd chatter.  He was calling Fahren “Hammer,” so I’ll try to use that here sometime.  The BU coach had seen enough and pulled her pitcher, Ali Dubois.  Reliever Cali Dolfi finished the inning.

Kayla Green was back out to start this game after her complete game yesterday.  She gave up a couple of hits, but the Terriers mostly ran themselves out of the inning.  Brittany Younan advanced to third with one out, but got caught in a pickle when she tried to take home on a loose ball at the plate.  Madi Killbrew made a heady play by taking third all the way from first in the process.  However, no one scored.

Freshman Sarai Mejia singled in the second.  Jeanelle Medina was up next, but was called out for contact with the ball or stepping out of the box to hit.  The team really needs to work on that.  The order turned over and Kelsey came up with a single.  Rachel then beat out a great bunt to load the bases.  Unfortunately, Victoria Castro hit a grounder which led to a force out. 

There was a final t-shirt toss.  While I wanted one, no matter how much didn’t need it, there were too many kids present for me to think about depriving any of them.  The Aggie fan doing most of the yelling accidently cheered for BU in the bottom of second.  “Who are you rooting for?” asked another fan.  Jeanelle made a good play to get the lead runner on a fielder’s choice.  Rachel had an error at short, but no harm done. 

Fahren led off with a hit in the top of the third.  Zariyah Caldwell, another local girl from Mayfield High, pinch ran for her.  Caity Szcznesny came to bat.  She was choking up on the bat so far, she might have been holding the wrong end, but Caity managed a single anyway.  Stefani hit into a hard luck 1-6-4-3 DP to end the inning.  Good concentration by the BU infield there.

This game was moving along quickly, like BU needed to catch a plane in a couple of hours and the Aggies were planning on brunch.  A remix of The Outfield’s Use Your Love played over the PA.  Kayla allowed a leadoff hit in the bottom without further damage.  I took a look at the Aggie scorer’s table behind home plate.  I think that was last years’ seniors, Haley Nakamura and Misty Hoohuli, manning it.    

The fourth inning began with a remix of Justin Bieber’s Sorry.  The PA was having a good time.  The kids went nuts for the Pistol Pete mustache bandana giveaway.  We could hear the baseball team in the outfield doing their pregame cheer.  The Aggies went down in order in the top.  Kelsey caught a hard liner to start the bottom.  Jeanelle did the same with the next batter.  Neither team scored for the inning.

In the fifth, a new pitcher, Lizzie Annerino, came in for the Terriers.  Rachel collected another hit and stole a base.  Catcher Nikki Butler also singled, but no one scored.  I’ve mentioned that Victoria has a cool walkup song.  The PA turned up the volume on it and even played it twice this inning when there was a delay after her introduction.  [Edit: It’s Fade by Kayne West.  It may be the end of the world here: I sort of like a Kayne West song.  Sort of.  Other than the sample, the rest of the track is crap.]   

We could hear the Anthem playing next door.  Rachel started off the bottom of the fifth inning with an error.  Unfortunately, Marina Sylvestri came around to score on a hit by Madi Killbrew after that.  After, Jeanelle also had an error.  Both errors were on bad hops.  It could have been worse.  Amy Bergeson, who came in for defense in left field this inning, threw out Killbrew at home on a bad send by the coach.  Madi danced around in front of the plate, trying to dodge the tag.  Nikki touched her and then flipped the ball into the circle with disdain.

Centerfielder Jilee Schanda ran down a sure gapper by Stefani to start the sixth.  There was a big roar over at the baseball field.  The Aggies must have scored early.  Destiny Blueford and Kennedy Johnson came in as pinch hitters next, but went down in order.  Kayla made one pitch in the bottom and was then pulled for Samaria Diaz, who also pitched a complete game yesterday.  Perhaps Kayla hit a pitch limit.  Kennedi Sorensen, yet another freshman, entered the game as her catcher.  Sam had a trouble-free frame. 

The top of the order went down in order for the Aggies to start the seventh.  Here’s where I finally remembered that the Aggies were not the home team for this game.  Oh well, better late than never (and a bunch of cut and pasting).  Sam gave up a walk in the bottom, who was sacrificed over as the tying run at second, but she finished the game with a strikeout and a groundout.  Aggies won 2-1 in a squeaker.  Thank goodness.  I’d have hated to pay $40 for two tickets and not seen an Aggie win. 

Should I have said upfront that after the first two Aggie batters scored, that would be it for the game?  Kelsey Horton, Rachel Rodriguez, and Fahren Glackin all had a good game offensively.  Coach Kathy’s strategy of emptying the bench didn’t really pay off today, but maybe in the future.  The defense was back to being shaky with three errors. 

The saving grace today was Aggie pitching.  Kayla Green and Samaria Diaz locked it down.  Pitching pretty much ruled today and for the tournament.  I heard later at the basketball game that the highest scoring game was Ball State versus Boston U at 6-5 (Ball State won).  Your stats of the day: Aggies 6-left on base, Boston U-7 left on base.  Both teams had ample opportunities to open this game up.  Boston U winning yesterday against Oklahoma was a big upset in college softball (as I read about later).  They had a successful tournament no matter what.  The Aggies went 1-2 in games, but the pitching really shined.  These games were worth it for the rest of the season, just for the confidence-building.  They proved they can play with anybody.          

     

We left at around 11:00.  There was no radio coverage for the baseball game, due to the Women’s Basketball this afternoon, so we weren’t getting updates, other than hearing some loud cheering during the seventh inning of the softball game.  I had no intention of paying to get into a game that had already going for an hour and also I was hungry for lunch.  Ron checked the physical scoreboard at the stadium before we left the parking lot, before I told him he could get an update on his phone.  It was 8-0 Aggies in the third.  Somehow they did it on 3 hits.  The game ended, 13-3 Aggies, during the second quarter of the Aggie Women’s Basketball game we went to next.  For the third game in a row, it once again ran over three and half hours.  Getting lunch at Schlotzsky’s was probably the better decision.       

  

                                    

NM State vs Oklahoma Sooners Softball 2-17-18

I never thought I’d see it.  We were standing room only at the softball complex.  I thought we were full for the last game. I was mistaken.  More people could fit in as long as they weren’t picky about sitting.  The Oklahoma fans who left after their earlier game and returned may have been angry about the arrangement, not to mention Aggie fans who just came for this game.  I’d heard that people with tickets were turned away or told to wait for an open seat at some point.  Athletic Director Mario Moccia said later that he wished he’d put some bleachers in the outfield beforehand.  He knew there was going to be a big crowd. 

This is why they shouldn’t have been selling tickets on Friday right before the rain out.  Official attendance was over 1,200, which was great, but capacity was 1000.  I think some of these people had tickets for that event that were being honored tonight, along with everyone who had full session passes (like me and Ron), and everyone who just showed tonight to buy tickets.  This overflow wouldn’t have happened if they were just selling tickets for today.

This wasn’t even the only sellout on campus tonight.  Blake Shelton was at entertaining a full house at the Pan-Am across the street.  (Thankfully, his show didn’t let out at the same time.)  Not to mention, baseball’s opening night was continuing next door.  Out on the field, the Aggie girls were still loose and smiling as they did their pregame routine.  The OK girls wore these shiny, glittering red batting helmets.  Who needs that matte finish crap?  I don’t think fans of the two teams were equal in number, but it seemed like it at times.

Let’s get right to it.  The Aggies were back to being the home team for this game.  Kayla Green was in the circle starting for the Crimson.  Kayla seemed to be getting squeezed early on in the strike zone and walked the first batter.  This set the crowd off on the ump.  The next hitter singled.  The next batter, Nicole Mendes, took one on the knee.  She limped to first and came out for a pinch runner.  Nicole returned to the game in the bottom of the frame.  But now the bases were loaded with no outs right off the bat.

Destiny Blueford in right field made a good catch on a fly and kept the runners from advancing.  (I couldn’t actually see it as it was by the first base foul line.)  Sydney Romero next grounded out to first, but a run scored.  Kayla finished off the inning with a strikeout looking.  This inning might have been one of her finest moments.  She kept her composure under stress.  A couple of hits and the Sooners might have functionally ended the game right there.  Instead, OK was only able to move their batters station to station and scratch out a single run.  1-0 Oklahoma. 

Lefty Paige Parker started for the Sooners.  It seemed like a bad sign that Ron and I had heard of her.  I think we’d both seen her pitch on TV.  For this game, Coach Kathy Rodolph put Kelsey Horton at the top of the order, instead of a power position.  The coach did this last year in the WAC Tournament to a pretty good effect.  Kelsey ended up getting walked and the batters behind her were able to drive her in.  The team sang to her for her at bat.  Kelsey struck out looking.  The call was questionable, but as the night wore on, that at bat set the tone.  The Aggies went down to end the inning.

About 10 people got up and left after the first.  Their seats were immediately taken and people were still standing in the aisles.  I hadn’t seen a double play all day until this second inning when I got two.  One was via the radio, since I was still listening to Aggie baseball.  The other happened at about the same time as Jeanelle Medina at third caught a liner and then doubled off a runner at first. 

That great play was followed with a scary moment as Kayla got tattooed on her leg on a really hard shot.  Everybody in the stadium heard the contact clearly.   The ball was lying next to her, but Kayla had no reaction to it, other than to turn around and not face the crowd.  Knowing what a good fielder she is, she must have been absolutely stunned in pain for that to happen.  She immediately took a couple of practice pitches with the infielders and the coach nervously looking on.  Kayla finished off the inning without a problem. Either that hit wasn’t as bad as it sounded (unlikely), or Kayla is really tough.

There was another t-shirt toss into the crowd.  A cute OK fan standing in the aisle was nearly hit by a bundle that she wasn’t trying to catch.  Watching her reaction, I’m not sure if she was more shocked by the flying shirt or just the concept of the giveaway.  (The shirt was actually non-biased towards the teams.  It just commemorated the tournament.  They should have been selling them up front.)  Catcher Nikki Butler led off the second for the Aggies.  The girls sang to her from the dugout too.  It’s good to hear their spirit back.  But Parker was simply mowing them down to end the inning.

Kayla got in trouble again in the third.  She let on Nicole Mendez with a base hit to start the inning.  Once again, it took three batters to move Nicole from base to base for Sydney Romero to single her in.  Kayla was probably making Oklahoma work a lot harder than usual for their runs.  The last batter hit a weak comebacker to her.  Kayla threw the ball with some heat to first for the out.  She was angry about letting in another run, knowing exactly what a challenge her offense was facing.  2-0 Sooners.  Meanwhile, stadium staff were now positioned in front of the stands watching the crowd, like at the big time sports event.  I don’t think anyone was getting unruly, perhaps it was a precaution.

People were now filling in the space behind the home plate wall next to the Aggie dugout, standing there watching the game.  The Sooners started off the fourth with a runner at first for the fourth inning in a row.  Jeanelle made another good defensive play on a bunt.  With the ball right in front of the plate, she threw out the runner at first to Kelsey covering.  In the circle, Kayla’s offspeed was starting to get ooh’s and ahh’s from the crowd. 

And it had to happen.  The university fire department showed up.  They started controlling entry into the stadium.  People in the stands were then moved around a bit to clear the aisles.  At least they didn’t shut everything down.  Now that the sun had gone down, I noticed in the lighted pressbox that there was a broadcaster in there for Oklahoma.  I wonder what he was saying about Las Cruces and the Aggies.  I’ll bet the broadcast was on the Internet.  Ron didn’t want to bother trying to find it.  (We were still listening to Aggie baseball.)  In the bottom of the fourth, the Aggies finally got their first hit in the form of a double by Rachel Rodriguez.  She made it to third, but was stranded.  The dugout was still singing for their batters.

There were OK fans around me.  One Sooner lady liked Kayla and thought she was doing a great job.  Rachel made the season highlight reel in the fifth.  Kayla deflected a soft liner into the air.  Rachel made a diving catch of it behind second base.  The whole crowd applauded her, even the Sooner fans.  It was her inning as she also made a great play deep in the hole at short to throw a runner to end the frame.  The girls sang for Fahren Glackin for her at bat in the bottom.  She hit a deep foul that momentarily jazzed the crowd, but ended up striking out.  The crowd also disputed a call on Amy Bergeson by the ump.  I recorded her getting thrown out at first, but I think the home plate ump ruled her out for hitting out of the box.

Kelsey had an error that let on the first OK batter in the sixth.  No problem.  Jeanelle threw her out at second after catching a liner at her by the next batter.  It was her second double play of the game.  During one at bat, a bouncer hit Nikki behind the plate hard.  The ump walked a ball out to Kayla to give Nikki time to shake it off.  He said something to Kayla that made her laugh. 

Kennedy Johnson came in to pinch hit to start the bottom of the sixth.  She gave it a ride, but fouled out deep.  Shelby Shultes came up as a pinch hitter next.  Kelsey put her arm around her in the on deck and gave her some last minute advice, but Shelby struck out looking.  Kelsey’s own at bat featured a great diving catch by Nicole Pendley in centerfield. 

It’s the Jeanelle Show out in the field.  After a double and a walk with one out, Jeanelle caught a grounder, stepped on third, and threw to first for her third double play, which ended the inning.  Rachel collected the second Aggie hit of the game with a single.  Victoria Castro hit a long out to right field.  The girls were still singing in the dugout, but Nikki grounded into a double play to end the game.  I guess that was coming after all those Aggie DP’s.  Our final: Sooners 2, Aggies 0.  The Sooner team came over the stands and led their fans in a quick cheer, which their fans returned.  The PA again thanked the Oklahoma fans for coming out.  Aggie fans were reportedly getting autographs from the Sooners as they were getting on their bus at the main entrance.

Paige Parker was pretty awesome here for Oklahoma.  Like Aeshia Miles in the last game, the Aggie offense ran into some great pitching.  Rachel Rodriguez, 2 for 3 against her, must have gone back to the clubhouse and said, “What was wrong with you guys?  She was hittable.”  (Just kidding.  She’s too sweet for that.)  Rachel also got two stars on the scorecard for her great defensive play in the fifth. 

Kayla Green took a hard loss with a great effort.  I presume OK hasn’t been winning championships just on great pitching.  She really showed some grit out there and never buckled under the pressure (even getting hit on a liner).  The Sooners had really had to earn both of their runs.  The Aggie defense shined in this game, particularly Jeanelle Medina.  Her three double plays just kept killing the Sooner’s rallies.          

Except for last year’s tournament win, I don’t think I’ve been prouder of the team.  I hope Coach Kathy felt the same way and told her players.  They played so much better tonight than in their two wins over Kentucky.  This sport isn’t fair at all, but has a way of evening out.  In truth, I felt better about these two losses than I did about the Aggie Basesball win earlier (and certainly better than their loss later in the evening).  I don’t think they’ll face better pitching this season, so the bats should come back around.  If they can keep up this kind of pitching and defensive intensity, the Aggies will be tough to beat the rest of the season.

NM State Aggies vs Ball State Cardinals Softball 2-17-18

 

After a brief rest in Ron’s car after the baseball game, we entered the softball stadium next door for the scheduled Aggie game.  We actually came in in the bottom of the seventh of the game between Boston University and Oklahoma, two of the other invitees to the tournament.  While I was in the bathroom, Boston completed a 4-3 win over Oklahoma.  So this was what the cheering was about that we heard while at the ballpark.  Let’s add some context to that score.  That was a win over the two-time defending national champion who was 5-0 this season before this tournament.  I’m not sure how good the Boston program is, but they were real good this afternoon. 

So I missed this game (which I’d already paid for via a full session pass) to essentially watch batting practice at the baseball game.  Of course, there was no way of know that beforehand.  Ron was fairly jocular about yesterday’s softball rainout.  Easy for him.  We both got soaked, but I was out $40 for nothing to this point.  Well, we were here now for this matchup between the Aggies and the Ball State Cardinals.  

Boston and Oklahoma fans left the stands, but Aggie and Ball State fans filled the stadium back up.  It was a really good crowd.  (There was a full house for the preceding game too.)  I noticed Lia Mosher of the volleyball team, and perhaps the softball team, going in.  As a tall and beautiful blonde, she’s hard to miss, even when she’s trying to be incognito wearing a pair of thick frame glasses.  If I’d had any opportunity, I would have loved to have asked her about her flirtation with the softball team.  Out on the field, some of the Aggie girls were dancing while the infield was being dragged.  They also looked super loose doing their pregame ritual. 

During this game and the next game, Ron and I kept listening to Aggie Baseball on the radio.  I did warn Adam Young that we’d be deserting him at the ballpark at some point.  This was Game 2 of their double header with the Towson Tigers.  I scribbled little notes about it, but I was mostly paying attention to the game in front of me.  It was another three-hour 40 minute game like the first one.  It ran until the fifth inning of the next softball game.  My radio actually died before the ending, though Ron was able to finish listening. 

Rather than interrupt the narrative of two other games, I’ll do a quick recap altogether here.  This will not be comprehensive (and may not be entirely correct).  The first two innings were quick and scoreless.  The Tigers struck first with a three-run homer by Richie Palacios.  A balk and a sacrifice brought in a couple of runs for the Aggies to make it 3-2.  In the sixth, Towson added a two-run homer to make it 5-2.  Then the wheels came off.  Suddenly it was 10-2 Tigers with some errors contributing to the rout.  The Aggie bullpen was mentioned as the team’s only obvious question mark for quality.  The Aggies put up a few runs late from a David Bellamy RBI and Mason Fishback driving in three runs with a double.  The final ended up being 11-6 Tigers. 

Without actually watching, it’s difficult to say what happened between this game and preceding one where the Aggies won 24-4.  It’s hard to believe that there’s that much of a drop off in starting pitching after Kyle Bradish and that the Towson pitchers for this game were that much better than the five that were used in the previous game.  This was a bit of a troubling result for the program, but I’ve spent enough space on this.  Let’s get on with the softball.       

Odd things happen in baseball and softball.  In an interview earlier in the week, Coach Kathy Rodolph said that, after Aggies’ two wins against Kentucky, their coach told her that that was the first time in three years anyone had put double digit runs on them.  And the Aggies did it to them twice on the same night.  I thought that the Wildcats might not have prepared well for the Aggies, but they might have been in some genuine shock as the girls started putting up runs on them.   

And I did it again.  I wrote the starting lineups on the wrong scorecards.  I keep getting off on the wrong foot doing this.  The Aggies were the visiting team for this game.  I guess they have to do this to be fair for the tournament.  I wonder if they flip for it beforehand.  We could hear the enthusiasm of the PA while we were at the baseball field earlier.  I’m not sure who it is.  During the first inning, his voice cracked.  I was momentarily concerned about him, but he had no trouble calling this game and the next. 

The girls sang for Rachel Rodriguez, who led off the game.  I think that was all the singing I heard for this game.  After a walk to Fahren Glackin, Kelsey Horton came up third.  The Cardinals had a little team meeting before pitching to her.  That’s some respect.  She grounded into a fielder’s choice.  Victoria Castro came up next and sent a fly ball to deep centerfield, but that was as close as the team came to scoring.  One recurring theme for the weekend for softball was fly balls dying in the outfield.  After the rain on Friday, the air was still heavy and the grass was damp.  Ron noticed that any ball touching the outfield was thrown out and wiped off before being returned to play.  

The crowd was really into it for both teams.  Aggie starter, Samaria Diaz, worked a scoreless first.  In one at bat, she wasn’t able to get to a popup on the infield.  But, she saw the backspin on it and let it roll foul.  Sam was smiling afterward.  Caity Szczesny got the start for the Aggies as the DP.  She singled and stole second to start the second inning.  Next up, Amy Bergeson was called out during her at bat.  It was perhaps for hitting out of the box or running into a bunted ball.  These are two rules that nearly never come up in baseball, but occur regularly in softball.  It’s always weird when it happens.  Caity was left stranded.  Sam got through the second without incident.

People were still coming in to the stands.  They brought lots of kids with them.  We seemed to be nearing capacity.  There was a t-shirt toss in the crowd.  I got a look at them.  They were tournament shirts and looked cool, but I didn’t feel right going for one with all the kids around and so many Aggie shirts in my closet already.  I noticed a kid below me eating a hamburger in an Aggie wrapper.  I don’t think were selling them at the concessions, since there isn’t a grill there.  I wonder where it came from.  I still want to try one of the concession hamburgers at the Pan-Am.

Jeanelle Medina led off the third with a single, but paid the price.  She was hit on the elbow on the throw to first.  She was clearly smarting from it.  Fahren then tripled her in.  There was a play at the plate where the catcher seemed to have her caught.  The catcher might have been obstructing the plate before she got the ball.  It’s hard to say, but it wasn’t blown call on the tag.  Kelsey then got Fahern in with a sac fly.  Again, there was a play at the plate.  I think the ump ruled that Fahern got her foot in under the catcher to touch the plate before the tag.  I think.  2-0 Aggies.

I had on my new red coat for the game.  I hadn’t worn it on Friday, because it matched Oklahoma’s colors, but I wasn’t going choose partisanship over practically today.  Annoyingly, I noticed I also matched the Cardinals here and would match Boston U the next day.  Mini basketballs were tossed into the crowd.  I admit I wanted one, but I didn’t want to take one from the multitude of kids present.  I noticed Brielle Sterns from the volleyball team came in.  It’s good to see her walking around after her injury.  The Cisco Softball team also came in.  I don’t know where they’re from, but we’re officially stuffed here.  What’s going to happen when the large number of OK fans come back for the nightcap?   

Sam was throwing very hard.  You could tell by the pop in the catcher’s mitt.  After getting two outs, the top of the Cardinals’ order came up with three hits.  Unfortunately, two of those hits were home runs.  Maddy Labrador had a two-run shot.  This was followed by a Janae Hogg hitting a solo shot to center.  She’d been hit by a pitch in the first.  It’s now 3-2 Ball State. 

Catcher Shelby Shultes singled in the fourth.  Brandi Wilke came in as a pinch runner, but was eliminated on a force.  I hope I get to see her do more than pinch running this season.  Jeanelle got an infield hit, but somehow on the play, Destiny Blueford, who’d been on first, was out at second after she’d cleanly occupied the base.  I don’t know what happened.  Suddenly, I looked up from my scorecard and somebody was out and the inning was over.  I don’t think she was tagged out.  Maybe she left first early?  This wasn’t a badly called game, just a very confusing one.

Some little girls wearing lady El Paso Chihuahua gear entered the stands.  I say “Lady Chihuahua” because Chico’s logo was wearing a hair bow.  Could we be seeing a “Chica” friend for Chico at the ballpark sometime?  Interesting thought.  Sam was mixing in a good offspeed for the fourth and only gave up a single.  For the fifth, Pistol Pete mustache bandanas were tossed to the crowd.  That’s who we’re missing here, Pete!  The fans kept coming.  I saw Kaeli Atkinson and maybe Baylee Robinson from the Women’s basketball team come in.  Next inning, the PA would give a shout out to the team, but those were the only two I saw.  Kelsey singled, but that was the only hit in the top.  Rachel and Fahren combined to make a great throw and catch for an out at first in the bottom.

Ron nudged me and nodded at the western horizon.  The setting sun, along with some clouds, created a spectacular neon violet and orange sunset.  A lady nearby stood up and took a picture of it.  She may have been from out-of-town, since residents get these kind of displays all the time.  (Really.)  Ron also said, “We’re full, dude.”  I told him that the listed capacity of stadium was 1000, so that must be where we were at.  Some young people were now sitting on the walkway in front of the stands.       

Caity doubled to start the sixth, but was caught stealing to end that threat.  The Cardinals went down in order in the bottom.  Sarai Mejia came in to pinch hit to start the seven inning.  She flied out on the first pitch and wasn’t even introduced.  The next two batters went down to end the game, 3-2 Cardinals final.

It was a disappointing loss, but also somewhat uplifting.  I give Aeshia Miles, the Cardinals’ starting pitcher, a lot of credit for keeping the Aggie offense down.  The girls didn’t forget how to hit; they just ran into a very good pitcher.  On that note, Samaria Diaz is my easy Aggie player of the game with a complete game, getting six strikeouts and only giving up four hits and three runs.  She might have only made two bad pitches (or maybe the hitters hit her best on those pitches).  This was a much better appearance than her last two.  On that note, the Aggies didn’t beat themselves and really picked up their defense.    

A few fans left at the end of the game, but most stayed and more people came in.  The PA thanked the Ball State fans for coming to the tournament.  Ron and I decided we’d better keep our seats.  We took turns going to the bathroom.  There was little time to dwell on this game as the main event, the Aggies versus the Sooners, was going to commence shortly.  

NM State Aggies vs Towson Tigers Baseball 02-17-18

Clank!  Ah, the sound of a baseball hitting a BBCorr bat greeted me and Ron as we exited his car in the stadium parking lot.  Suddenly, everything was okay.  I still wasn’t quite over yesterday’s rained out debacle at the softball complex and had had a poor night trying to sleep.  The weather also rained out the Friday baseball opener, resulting in today’s double header, which was going to now conflict with the afternoon softball.  But I couldn’t keep up my poor mood on this lovely Opening Day for Aggie Baseball.  The temperature was in the mid-50’s with the sun peeking through the overcast without any wind.  The afternoon never became unpleasant. 

We saw broadcaster, Adam Young, out with the RV tailgaters (now parked at the south side of the stadium) having a good time.  I ran into him inside.  Being a baseball fan, Adam was extremely upbeat to be starting another baseball season.  I finally got to thank him for his interview with former Women’s Basketball Coach, Mark Trakh (12-17-17) while he was at Pepperdine watching the team play.  He did confirm that former player and total sweetheart, Brandee Walton, was there with him.  I also reported to Adam that the baseball team was there for the Softball team’s big wins over Kentucky.  I’m sure they’re now properly motivated and inspired to get their own “signature” win against a big name opponent this season.

Once inside, there weren’t any programs or posters laying out.  While I did get a poster later, I never got a program.  I did what I could guessing the spelling of player names without one, but the visitors are likely very wrong.  The concessions opened up late and I didn’t get anything.  I’m still craving some Corn in a Cup.  Out on the field, the boys were in their bright home whites, filling my heart with joy.  Finally, some baseball was on the way.  They took the tarp off the mound and sprayed on an NM State logo on the back.  Out in left field, they held an elaborate ritual, gathering in a circle, clapping, and then meeting in the center to shout, “Aggie up!”

A good crowd showed up for the game.  (Another crowd was at the next door softball complex for a game between a couple of the out-of-town invitees.  The Aggies would be playing later.)  Towson brought a good number of their fans all the way from Maryland.  Several scouts were in attendance to see today’s Aggie starter, Kyle Bradish.  Five Aggies are on the Baseball America Prospects List.  Richie Palacios on Towson was also being looked at.  The female PA was back.  I still haven’t seen her.  Adam was joined on the radio with new co-host, Brandon Mangum.  Major League ump and Las Cruces native, Tony Randazzo, threw out the first pitch.  Instead of the entire team standing at the foul line together, the starters went out on the field for the Anthem, with the bench standing back at the dugout.  This is the more traditional way of doing it.  

“Trust the process.”  I heard this phrase in an Aggie preseason baseball player interview and in a softball player interview.  I’m really not sure what it means.  I listened to a coaching podcast last week with an interview with Aggie baseball Coach Brian Green.  First he mentioned the civic pride here in town over the football team winning a bowl game last year.  He wants his team to engender that kind of pride too from the city.  For the rest of the hour-long interview, Coach Green talked about developing his players and coaches as responsible people.  Only one specific baseball drill was offhandedly mentioned.  The rest was all about the process of development.  Here’s where we find if that works on the field.  

You might notice that the Aggie scorecard looks a bit “busy.”  We’ll get to that.  Obviously, I was a bit challenged for space due to on-field events.  I even managed to write the lineups on the wrong scorecard during the introductions, which only made the “no program” situation worse.  Good thing I had some scorekeeping practice last week. 

Kyle Bradish is a slow worker, but he made up for it by being efficient getting outs.  He got Rickey Palacios on a Major League popup that nearly burned up on reentry.  It was the highest popup I’ve ever seen.  Seriously, the infield had time to play a round of Gin before it came down.  The top of the first went smoothly enough for recording purposes.  The Aggies started the bottom well by getting their first three batters on.  Tristen Carranza wasted no time in cashing that check with a grand slam home run to left center.  (Is this what I’m doing now?  Padding these things out with a steady stream of corny sports euphemisms?)  Boo Yah!  Shock it to ya!  (Apparently.)  The Aggies batted around and David Bellamy drove in another run, but the scorecard was still readable to that point.  5-0 Aggies.  Eight innings to go.

I noticed the new Aggie second baseman, Bruno Teramoto, jumping up and down at his position between pitches in the second.  One of the players did a flip at the pregame circle, so I guessing it was him.  Bruno is from Brazil and has the best walkup song on the team.  Not that the music was good, so much as it was the lyrics consisting of his name, Teramoto, just being repeated over a Latin rap beat.  How awesome is that to come to the plate to?  (I need to find out what “Teramoto” means in Portuguese.)  [Edit: Earthquake.  Awesome.] 

 Bradish, meanwhile, struck out the side, though he hit the Tiger’s huge first baseman, Charlie Waters, on the helmet.  Not hard at least.  Waters didn’t have any reaction when it hit him and it was clearly a mistake pitch.   

The Aggies went down pretty quickly in their half.  Hours later, Ron asked about catcher Mason Fishback getting to first base after striking out.  Not quite complex as the Infield Fly rule, but every out has to have a corresponding put out.  Thus, if a catcher does not actually cleanly field a third strike pitch, the batter may attempt to take first anyway, though he has recorded a strikeout for the at bat.  This usually results in the catcher having to throw to first to get the out, but occasionally leads to the anomaly of having a box score showing three strikeouts and a line out for an inning.  It’s not even an error, it’s a passed ball.

The most dramatic example I ever saw of this rule was years ago.  I think it was the Braves and the Diamondbacks playing, so we’ll go with that.  The Diamondbacks backup catcher, not a quick individual, was at bat and made the final out of the game with a strikeout.  The final strike was dropped and the batter ran to first after dodging a tag.  The Braves catcher casually threw the ball to first.  Unfortunately, the first baseman was already on his way to the dugout.  The ball rolled out into right field and the Diamondbacks catcher made it all the way to second base.  This sparked like a three-run comeback and the Diamondbacks ended up winning.  Always run out it out until you’re called out.

During the inning, Adam also mentioned that the team would like any foul balls back, because they’re expensive.  The MLB can afford to toss out every ball that gets hit.  Now I felt bad, because I have a foul ball from a game.  If they really want them, they should make an announcement during a game, like they do at softball games.  (They really want those balls back.  They’re even more expensive and they only have a limited supply on hand during a game.)  Perhaps they’re a bit embarrassed officially asking and don’t want to deprive a kid of a ball.  Ron, on the other hand, is intent on starting a foul ball collection and pretended like he didn’t hear what Adam said. 

Towson fans finally had a reason to cheer.  Their team got a lead off hit to start the third.  It came to nothing and Bradish finished off the inning with a pair of strikeouts.  Palacios had a talk with Fishback and the umpire after his strikeout.  Over the wall at the softball complex, we could hear their PA announce a shirt toss into the crowd.  The Aggies managed to tack on a couple more runs in the bottom to make it 7-0.  (Detailing every run in this game would get way too tedious.) 

There was a radio discussion about the Aggies’ presumed main conference rival, Grand Canyon University.  They just opened a new park.  It seats 4,000 (Presley Askew Field seats 1,000) and was full for opening night.  The Lopes hosted #4 in the nation, TCU.  They had the lead in the ninth, but lost it, but this is all very intimidating news.  Oh my goodness, my attention has completely shifted at the ballpark.  A lady has come in carrying an unbearably adorable cocker spaniel.  His huge eyes looked my direction and into my soul.  At that moment, he knew that I desperately pet him and hug him.  Sigh, it was not to be.  The occasion never materialized to allow me to cross his furry path.  And he left early, un-petted.

Suddenly this baseball thing isn’t as meaningful, but let’s carry on.  While we could hear The Outfield’s Use Your Love from the softball field, Bradish added two strikeouts to his total in the fourth.  At least the Towson fans were here instead of at home, where the weather update contest pegged conditions there at 37 degrees and snowing.  But it was about to start raining here in Las Cruces to the tune of five runs.  Fishback doubling in a run chased Tiger starter Michael Adams from the game as the PA serenaded him with Let It Go.  Carranza greeted his replacement, Mason Anderson, with a two-run homer to same spot he hit the last one.  Teramoto tripled in a run with an opposite field shot down the first base line.  Another pitcher came in, Alex Parker.  He slipped on the mound on his first warmup toss, which wasn’t a good sign.  Bellamy drove in his second run off him before the inning ended.  12-0 Aggies.

The Towson fans around us started discussing current events.  They were very opinionated.  I take the weekends off from the news and didn’t join in.  Bradish notched two more strikeouts in the fifth.  I’m thinking the scouts must have liked what they saw today.  The fourth inning didn’t prepare me for the fifth.  After getting the first out, two walks, two hit batters, and two singles drove in six more runs before another pitching change. 

The inning kept going.  For a moment, I shuddered that Aggies might bat around twice.  As it was, five more superfluous runs crossed the plate before a fly out to center ended the inning.  It was an 11-run inning.  I’d like to say it was fun, but this was ridiculous.  (And scary.  I lost a foul popup in the overcast that hit the canopy above us.)  Once again, Adam reminded us that non-conference game don’t have a run rule to give mercy, mostly to the fans.  Not to mention, it’s two 9-inning games for the double header.  Double headers in professional Triple-A baseball are 7 innings.  There was loud cheering coming from the softball field.  I thought I saw the red of Oklahoma fans there.  I’m reminded that the ticket I bought yesterday would have let me into that game.  I was so happy just a couple of hours ago.  Well, that’s part of it.  This game was taking forever to reach an inevitable conclusion. 

Meanwhile, the Towson visitors thought the Pecan Grill restaurant here was excellent.  One lady’s daughter was really good at softball, but hated the sport.  It’s 23-0.  Welcome to the sixth inning.  (Remember, this is a baseball game, not football.)  The out-of-towers did get to cheer a leadoff double and did so in a non-ironic way.  Mangum mocked them on the broadcast, but this turned out to be the only blemish on Bradish’s line.  After adding one more strikeout (looking), he was lifted for Chance Hroch, who allowed the runner to score.  Bradish came out to a standing ovation.  Okay, it’s 23-1 Aggie.  Now, we have a game.                   

The bottom of the sixth began a series of Aggie substitutions, the most interesting of which were the Williams brothers, Brendon and Braden.  Not quite as interesting as the lovely identical Mills sisters on the basketball team, but still interesting.  Braden was involved in a rare 1 Unassisted out with the pitcher beating him to first.  Brendon gets a mention for getting errors in consecutive innings playing at short (and with the same player batting).  They’ll work on it. 

For the bottom of the seventh, I missed a couple of outs finally succumbing to the call of nature.  I think they were ground outs.  Earlier, Adam had requested Tweets from people listening to the game over the Internet.  By the eighth, he had gotten replies from several former players and their families from as far away as Macedonia and Australia.  Wow.  That’s some reach and some alma mater loyalty.  In the top of the inning, Towson sent eight men to the plate and scored three runs.  It was hard to work up any panic, but their fans enjoyed the rally.

In the bottom, one of the Aggie subs, Logan Ennis, blasted a 400’ shot to straight center.  That’s a homer and then some anywhere else in the park, but it unfortunately hit the batter’s eye which is located there.  It ended up being a triple.  Fellow sub, Nick Gonzalez knocked him in so as not to waste that prodigious display.  That was the only run given up by Joe Anea (that’s not spelled right) for the Tigers, who restored some order for the last three innings for them.  Kyle Wullinwebber (also likely not spelled right because I didn’t get a printed program, and I’m not looking it up in protest), worked an easy ninth and Adam and Brandon fell in love with his name.  And there was more cheering at the softball field.  It sounded exciting.   

Is it over?  Is it?  After three hours and 40 minutes, we have a final: Aggies 24, Tigers 4.  Of course this game was actually decided definitively in the fourth and should have ended earlier.  Gee, I wonder who should get the gameballs today?  How about Kyle Bradish, who went 5 1/3 and only gave up 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, and had 11 strikeouts.  Then there’s Tristen Carranza, who went 4 for 5 with 4 hits and 8 RBI’s, and he did all that in 5 innings too.  The player development process worked out in this game.

If only there was a fan development process.  Oh, I’m sorry for being cranky on Opening Day.  Rainouts suck.  Overlapping event scheduling sucks.  NCAA baseball rules suck.  Looking back at last year, I didn’t enjoy the blowouts then either.  (It was also a lot colder then.)  Should the baseball team schedule Kentucky and Oklahoma like the softball team did to get a more competitive matchup?  In this case, no.  I don’t want to sit through being on the wrong end of a 20-run game.  Don’t worry.  I’m still looking forward to the rest of the season. 

While we’d planned on watching as much of the double header as possible, the length of this game ran it directly into the Aggies’ first softball game of the day.  We’d sort planned on missing it, but with the 40-minute break between baseball games, there was no reason to do so.  Besides, we could listen to the baseball game on the radio.  Time to go next door and see what all the shouting was about.