Thursday, June 14, 2018

NCAA Baseball Tournament 2018 6-2-18 Part 2

NM State Aggies vs Kent State Golden Flash

I don't know what happened.  I knew the time of the game.  I wrote it down.  I was watching the clock.  Yet somehow, I tuned in to the game an hour late.  I was watching another game at the time, but I think I just brain-farted (like whoever named the Kent St team).  It was 0-0 in the third when I tuned in, so I didn't miss any scoring.  In fact, I tuned in as the Aggies loaded the bases with Caleb Henderson up.  Unfortunately, a double play ended the inning.

Judging by the comments and the sound of wind on the microphones, it was windy in Lubbock, but wasnt hot as yesterday.  Kyle Bradish was pitching for the Aggies.  He got some help in the bottom of the third with Logan Ehnes making a sliding catch.  Apparently, he'd made another one earlier.  I also found out that I'd missed Nick Gonzales getting thrown out at the plate, which was the closest to scoring in the game.  The Flash loaded the bases this inning to also threaten, but didn't score.

The tension continued for the next two innings.  Bradish struck out two after a leadoff walk in the fourth.  Mason Fishback was picked off base in the fifth.  In the sixth, Marcus Still got it going with a single and was bunted over.  Henderson doubled him in.  1-0 Aggies.  In the seventh, Coach Green nearly got beaned by a Joey Ortiz foul ball.  Numerous comments had been made about how little room there was behind home plate and how close the dugouts were to the diamond.  The Aggies got two runners on, one on a hit-by-pitch.  The team leads the nation in that stat.  The Aggies didnt score.  Marcus made a diving catch in the bottom to help keep the lead.

By the eighth, Bradish had thrown over 130 pitches.  (Im not sure about that number, but it was definitely over 100.)  After a walk, he came out after going 7 1/3 and 9 strikeouts.  Brock Whittlesey relieved him.  On his first pitch, the batter hit a no-doubt two-run homer.  The fielders didn't even move.  2-1 Flash.  Whitt had some more trouble, but finished the inning by catching a liner by his head.  He came off the mound yelling at himself. 

To start the ninth, Tristen Carranza received his twenty-first ball bruise to lead the team.  He went down hard for a minute and came out for a pinch runner.  With two on and two out, Braden Williams hit a hard liner to first for the final out.  2-1 Kent St moves on.  It was a very close game and well-played by the Aggies.  Whitt might have thrown one-too-many innings at the WAC Tournament and wasnt sharp, but he was still probably the best option to close out the game.  This is hopefully a building block of experience for next years' team. 

The Aggies' season is done.  It's been a tremendous one for Aggie Baseball and the whole athletics program.  I'll be covering it more in a Season Recap later.

No comments:

Post a Comment