I'm
going to start off stepping backwards out of the box for a minute. I listened and watched a few games this week
before today. The Aggies played the Arizona Wildcats on Tuesday (3-20-18)
in Tucson. I took some notes, but it's
not worth recapping a 14-0 Aggie loss. The only good news was that Matt Munden did well in relief, and Brett Worthen, who struck out three in
an inning. Brett hadn't pitched in two years since
being injured in an epic Aggie win in Lubbock against Texas Tech. (I didn’t
actually write about that game, but I listened to it and mentioned it in the
season review.)
On
Wednesday (3-21-18), I got to see some of Aggie
Softball playing in Albuquerque against the Lobos. I just happened to
check in on the team and found out they were playing, and UNM had a video feed
of the game. I was enjoying it until the
video suddenly froze up and wouldn't come back.
At the time, the bases were loaded and Kelsey Horton was coming to bat, so you might imagine my
frustration. It wasn't as big as Kelsey's,
who I think popped out and went like 0 for 6.
It's okay though, the Aggies won
12-7. The Aggies used all four of
their pitchers in the game.
Friday
(3-23-18), Aggie Baseball was on TV. I
joined the game in the third with the Aggies down 3-1 to Seattle U. The Old Man was
there, right next to a crowd microphone, cheering up a storm. Joey
Ortiz got his second triple of the game and was driven in by Tristen Carranza to make it 3-2. As I was at work and working, I missed the
Aggies taking the lead in the fourth, 5-3.
Ironically, I was taking a quiz from MLB.com at the time waiting
for a process to finish. (Actually, it
was a preseason opinion poll, but I'm pretty sure I failed anyway.)
There
was some sort of contention at one point as the umpire warned the Redhawks'
bench to “Cheer for your own team.” (I
think that's what happened. I'd just
walked in the break room when the warning occurred.) More controversy in the seventh. Alex
Pinedo had seemingly picked off a runner on first, but was called for a
balk instead, which brought in a runner from third and tied the score at
6. Caleb
Henderson hit a three-run bomb in the bottom to make it 9-6. In the eighth, Carranza hit a two-run
homer. The happy, gritty final was 12-6 Aggies.
That
brings us to today, Saturday (3-24-18).
My day started badly as Ron woke me up with a phone call in the morning
to say he wasn't going to be able to go.
Well, I woke him up last weekend, so he took the initiative this
time. He'd been up all night watching
some sick relatives both times. My
upstairs neighbor had kept me most of the night with loud music, so I wasn't
happy either.
It
was such a beautiful day out though. I
had on a mesh crimson t-shirt with my Aggie button (covering up the Star Fleet
insignia on my Star Trek shirt), sun block, and sunglasses. I knew it was Bark at the Park day, so I was expecting some dog action. Even better, Caliche's frozen custard cones (hereafter referred to as “ice
cream”) were being handed out for free to fans and their dogs. What nice people! A great crowd showed up. It was mostly adults with just a few
children. It was a pretty good-looking
crowd too. I saw a scout for the Mariners. Both starting pitchers were being scouted.
Umm. You might glance at these scorecards and say,
“J, it looks like you missed some stuff at the end there and didn't even bother
totaling anything.” We'll get to that
and don't be so judgmental. I sat down
with my cone, a soda, and Corn in the Cup.
I wasn't that hungry, but I felt generous after the free ice cream. I'd gotten the soda because I'd assumed the
heat was going to parch me out. Yeah, it
was now suddenly overcast and heat wasn't a problem. I no longer needed the sunglasses or sun
block. The wind had also picked up and
made balls hit in the air a bit of an adventure. 
The
Old Man was sitting nearby me. He was
quiet at first, but that didn't last long.
I got an earful of Aggie cheering for the entire game. Also down the row was a big, pretty dog. He was just out of reach, but I kept flirting
with him for a couple of innings. As far
as the game went, Aggie starter, Justin
Dehn, gave up a couple of hits, but shortstop Joey Ortiz made a great throw to third for a force to end the
inning.
In
the bottom, two Australian Shepherd dog pups came by and they were
super-friendly (and again, out of reach).
That's my favorite breed, and they were so cute! After a pair of strikeouts, the Aggies loaded
the bases in the bottom on a hit batter and two walks. Redhawks pitcher, Tarik Skubal, helped his own cause with a great play on a chopper
by Logan Ehnes. The ball got behind the mound and he made a
jump throw to first to get Logan.
A
cool wind picked up in the second. The
sun did peek through the clouds and it momentarily got hot. It was 78 degrees to that point, but soon
falling. The first batter of the inning,
Justin Mazzone, got a liner into the
jetstream. The ball hit the top of the
wall and fell over to give Seattle the lead.
A double and a single added to it to give the Redhawks a 2-0 lead. Their dugout got pretty loud. Dog-themed tunes started playing between
innings. I only recognized Elvis' Hounddog. The Aggie second ended with Nick Gonzales getting picked off
first.
Mini
footballs got tossed into the crowd. An
Aggie marketing girl made two trips down the stairs to hand deliver a couple to
some fans who missed out. Dehn had some
more problems in the third. The Aggie
bullpen was already in use, warming up a pitcher. Runners were in scoring position via two
hits, an error, and a stolen base with no outs.
With the infield drawn in, the next batter hit to second. Nick fielded the ball and looked back the
runner at third and threw to first for an out.
The runner at second took off for third, which drew a throw. The runner at third then went for home and
was thrown out for an unconventional double play. If the Redhawks had done a worse job of base
running, I might have been able to finally record a triple play.
Aggie
catcher Mason Fishback attempted to
leave the field after that play. The
dugout sent him back out. It had been a
long inning to that point. Who could
blame him? Unfortunately, a hit batter,
a single, and another run drove Dehn from the game. Alex Pinedo came in and
finished off the frame. 3-0
Redhawks.
Victoria Castro and Nikki Butler from the Softball team
came in. The girls have the weekend
off. Unfortunately, they didn't walk
past me so I couldn't congratulate them on their win against the Lobos. Noah
Haupt led off the inning with a hit, which should have been scored an error
(IMHO). Another Australian Shepard dog
entered the stadium! I can't believe it! Doggie-doggie heaven! Noah advanced to third on a wild pitch and a
flyball. He made it home on a balk. I'd noticed that Skubal was barely stopping
before pitching right before that was called.
3-1 Redhawks.
To
start the fourth, a cute little girl didn't do well at the window toss contest
on field. Her and her dogs got the
prizes anyway. I wouldn't have denied
her either. One of the players gave her
a pat on the shoulder as she left the field.
Splat! That was a raindrop hitting my scorecard. Oh, oh!
I didn't come prepared for this.
Curse you, Accuweather! Thankfully, it was just a little sprinkling
to this point. In the top, Nick made a
jump to stop a liner, knocked it down, and still threw out the runner.
A
Seattle U fan walked by with a large Mastiff service dog. He was frightening and sweet-looking at the
same time. Aggie marketing guy, DJ Downs, was going around the crowd,
taking pictures of people with their dogs for Aggie Twitter. A Caliche's server sat down for a moment with
a cone and a hot dog and took a picture for their Twitter stream. I could see it raining over at the Organ
Mountains. At least, those heavier
clouds passed us by. The Aggies got a
couple of walks to start the bottom of the fourth, but nothing came of it.
Last
call was announced for free ice cream to start the fifth. The Aggies turned a double play in the
top. They loaded the bases without a hit
in the bottom and no outs. Logan Ehnes popped out to short on an
infield fly. I didn't have to explain
that rule anyone nearby, which was a bit disappointing. A double play ended the inning. Groan.
The
rain, the drop in temperature, and finishing my soda required a trip to the
bathroom in the sixth. I couldn't resist
and got the next to last cone of ice cream.
The guy there gave me a napkin and said, “You look like you're going to
make a mess.” That was correct. I got ice cream on my scorecard on four
different occasions within five minutes.
I
didn't miss any action in the meantime, but this was because the Aggies were
called for a “delay of game?” A penalty
“ball” was issued because the Aggies weren't ready to play. Coach
Brian Green took too long complaining to the umps about something. Pinedo also said something to the ump. This all got the crowd into it. They were even more into it as Nick made a
diving stop and putout, and then Joey ended the inning with a diving catch with
his back turned to the stands. Even the
dogs were barking in appreciation of that one.
The
ice cream and humidity were giving me a headache. This might not have been a good sign. I sometimes get a headache right before it
rains. In the bottom, Nick led off with
a single. Marcus Still was able to finally get down a successful bunt on his
third attempt of the day. Nick advanced
to third on a bad pickoff throw into center field by the catcher. Once again though, the runner was left
stranded. The Aggie offense was also
giving me a headache.
A
little boy and his grandfather slowly made their way down the stairs beside me
for the second time in the game. I'm not
sure who was leading who as they took it one step at a time. Hey, Striking
the Wonder Dog didn't show for the game!
That's disappointing. The sky was
now dark with clouds. The stadium lights
were going to need to come on. It was
sprinkling again and the wind was really picking up. And it was now officially cold. Wyatt
Kelly had come in for the seventh.
After hitting a batter, he gave up a home run to Dalton Hurd. 5-1
Redhawks. In the seventh, Ehnes got on
when the pitcher and third baseman collided going after an infield hit. Nice comedy, but the Aggies still didn't
score.
By
the start of the bottom of the seventh, I had moved higher up in the stands,
trying to get under the canopy to avoid the rain. It didn't help, since it was raining
sideways. By the start of the eighth,
there was a mass exodus of fans, including myself. If I'd had a jacket on, I would have tried to
tough it out, but in a t-shirt, I didn't even think twice. Were it not for wearing double socks to keep
my slightly too big boots on, I might not have made it this long. Even the Old Man was leaving and he was in
long sleeves. Nikki and Tori were directly
ahead of me in the parking lot, but forget making friends in a cold rain.
As
I pulled out, I saw that they'd turned on the stadium lights finally. I kept listening to the game over the
radio. For the eighth, the only
memorable play was that another balk was called. Was it the same umpire doing this? I'd already decided I'd be having dinner at Schlotzsky's, since their back of the
ticket coupons were about to expire.
After I'd finished my sandwich, I hung around to keep listening to the
bottom of the ninth.
The
Redhawks brought in their ace closer, Zach
Wolf, for a non-save situation.
That's usually a mistake. Outside
the shop window, I could see the weather was getting worse. The wrought iron chairs outside were rocking
in the wind, as rain pelted the window.
Surely, this wouldn't take long.
After a quick out, Fishback and Carranza both singled on. Then, Trey
Stine doubled Fishy in. Suddenly,
this was interesting. I got out my
scorecard and made some quick notes. I
could hear the Old Man still there. He
must have just gone out to get a jacket.
Ehnes and Henderson came up and both drove in runs. The Aggies were within one run with two
runners on and one out. But it was not
to be and that was as close as they got.
5-4 Redhawks was the final.
I'm
not sure what would have been worse: listening to them dramatically win with me
not there or being there and watching them lose dramatically. Didn't matter. I couldn't have stayed without catching
pneumonia. This hasn't been my
week. This was just par for the
course. Since I didn't get complete
stats, I didn't bother adding anything up.
I don't really want to remember this game in more detail anyway.
My
gameballs go to Redhawks pitchers Tarik
Skubal and Jarrod Billig for
keeping a potent Aggie offense down (14 runners left on, though Seattle's
offense wasn't much better there), and to Dalton
Hurd for going 3 for 5 (?) with a home run.
Alex Pinedo may have pitched
his way into another start in the near future for the Aggies. Also give it up for the Aggie bats for not
giving up in the ninth. At least, Zach Wolf was burned and won't be
available tomorrow. I'm more concerned
about tomorrow's weather though. Let's
hope for the best.
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