Aggie Softball WAC Tournament and Season Recap

Let’s start off with a quick recap of the WAC Tournament.  I couldn’t watch or listen to any of these games, other than having Statcast up.  It’s a bit disappointing that the university didn’t do a radiocast for a championship.  They’ve done it before, but I guess since they were already committed to doing Aggie Baseball on the road this weekend, they didn’t have the resources or didn’t have an open outlet to broadcast on.

5-9-19 vs GCU

GCU was the home team, since the tournament was being played in Phoenix, but only the #3 seed.  NMSU should have been hosting the tournament as the previous years’ winner, but the WAC decided to centralize the site, like they have with their other sports.  (We’ll see what happens with Volleyball next school year.)  I hate to admit it, but GCU does have a tremendous-looking facility.

This game is pretty easy to summarize.  Samaria Diaz pitched eight scoreless innings.  GCU pitched seven.  Kelsey Horton, the first batter of the bottom of the eighth, ended the game with a home run off the left field pole to win it, 1-0 Aggies. 

5-10-19 vs Seattle U

The Aggies were facing the #1 seed here.  Sam started again.  The Aggies opened up in the second with Victoria Castro doubling in a run, and Casie Roberto and Kayla Bowen homered to make it 4-0 Aggies.  SU mounted a comeback and it was 4-3 by the fourth. 

In the fifth, Kelsey hit a two-run homer with Jeanelle Medina on to make it 6-3, and chased the SU starter.  Analise de la Roca came in for the bottom.  In the sixth, Mya Felder made an error, the team’s third error of the game, and one scored to make it 6-4.  Kelsey homered again in the bottom to make it 7-4.  Analise let on two in the bottom of the seventh with one out.  Sam came back in.  She loaded the bases and gave up a grand slam.  8-7 SU final.  (In spite of my matter-of-fact recap, this game was soul-crushing.  I’d kind of glad I didn’t actually see it or hear it.)

5-10-19 vs GCU

The Aggies dropped into the Losers’ Bracket and faced GCU again, who were facing elimination.  It was later in the night and somehow I missed tracking the whole game.  It was a back-and-forth struggle for both teams that went to extra innings again.  Analise pitched half the game.  She gave up four runs, but only two earned because of a couple of errors.  Sam worked the final four, scoreless.  Shelby Shultes, in at catcher, hit a two-run homer.  But once again, it was Kelsey’s day.  She hit two home runs, including another game-winning walkoff, 6-5 Aggies.  

5-11-19 vs Seattle U

This was the championship game.  The Aggies had an uphill road to start.  SU was still undefeated, so the Aggies would have to beat them twice to win the championship.  Analise was the surprise starter (at least to me) and gave up three runs in five innings.  She even batted once.  Sam came in for the last two innings and gave up nothing. 

But the Aggie offense was held down by SU pitcher, Carley Nance.  She only gave up two unearned runs in the sixth, driven in by Tori and Nikki Butler.  3-2 SU was the final and they were the championship winner.  Nance was the Tourney MVP.  Samaria Diaz, Kelsey Horton, and Casie Roberto made the All-Tournament Team.

Season Commentary

Going over my posts, I forgot how difficult this season was for me as a fan.  It was cold to start, real cold.  (Of course, it was cold for the players, too.  Thank goodness I wasn’t playing.)  I even waived off the backend of a double header because of the conditions.  Part of me was actually grateful that the WAC Tournament wasn’t here, so that I didn’t roast in the end.  I might have liked to have watched some of the visiting teams playing each other at the tournaments that NMSU hosted, but it was too unpleasant. 

Moreover, I felt disconnected from the team.  There were several cross-scheduling issues with Baseball and even a Women’s Basketball game.  I came into some games late and missed a couple altogether.  I don’t think it was this bad in preceding seasons.  Not to mention, while they played a bunch of games at home to start the season, they were then gone for a month.  Finally, there was no coverage of the WAC Tournament apart from Statcast.  (ESPN covered it, but I don’t think it was on cable, just their Internet outlet, which I think you have to pay extra for, maybe.  I’m not paying two cents for ESPN in any form.)       

Then there was the other issue, which broke my heart.  From going back and looking over Aggie Softball’s season, I could see that Kayla Green was the number one starter at the beginning of the season.  By the time the pre-conference season had ended, Samaria Diaz was the number one starter and Analise de la Roca had made several starts.  Kayla still had a 7-2 record and had some good wins, but was now basically the third starter. 

After the GCU series late in the conference season, Kayla was 7-6 with the worst ERA among the pitchers.  Analise was coming off one of her best performances.  I suspect Kayla lost her starting pitching role altogether, perhaps even relieving.  She also came out of her last game for an injury.  It didn’t seem bad, but I don’t know.  If she couldn’t pitch for the rest of the season because of it, she still would have been with the team.  I just don’t know what happened.  Is it any of my business, even as a fan?  Kayla was my favorite on the team, so I guess it’s personal.   

I don’t think Coach Rodolph cut her because of her performance.  (Any sort personal off-the-field issue would be a different matter.)  Even if she’d lost confidence Kayla’s abilities, she would have kept her in case of an injury to someone else if nothing else.  If Kayla quit because she no longer had a starting spot, that would have been extraordinarily petulant and selfish.  The Coach is going to have to take some blame for letting it get to that point.  I don’t think Kayla would have walked out the door unless she was pushed or thought the coach didn’t care.

It’s too late for advice now, but let me offer this for future reference.  Assuming you’re not yet engaged in a toxic relationship with a pitcher who’s having problems, you might suggest putting them in an “opener” role.  I’m pretty sure Kayla would have been good to start one or two innings.  Have her open the game, then bring in your starter.  This would have taken a couple of innings work off Samaria and Analise’s loads.  Kayla would still be starting and be valuable.  Obviously, this suggestion doesn’t make any difference now, but next year Samaria may drop off like Kayla.  I’m going to take a stab that overwork (over the course of her time with the program) might have been an issue with Kayla.  Having an opener position available might help and smooth over some bruised feelings. 

    

As for team analysis, it was a great year.  The team made it to the championship game and finished with an over .600 record.  Nikki Butler was the WAC Player of the Year, Samaria Diaz was Pitcher of the Year, Mya Felder was Freshman of the Year, Coach Rodolph was Coach of the Year, and Kelsey Horton and Victoria Castro were on the conference first team.  My goodness.

All that said, why does it feel like the team underperformed?  They had big expectations at the start of the season.  Coach Rodolph was pleased to have four legit pitchers.  There was a great returning cast of players in the lineup.  The new crop of freshman players came in and was nearly immediately productive.  (Mya Felder led the team in average.)  Shelby Shultes and Kennedy Johnson were available as great pinch hitters.  They should have been able to take on anybody with a decent chance of success.   

The team had issues, though.  It felt like some inherent weaknesses started showing up in their second home tournament at the beginning of the season.  There was some obvious confusion over second, short, and right fielding jobs.  The batting lineup was also in flux.  Jeanelle Medina, who should be Coach Rodolph’s favorite player for her versatility and adaptability, eventually answered both issues by taking over short and leading off.  The coach also never seemed comfortable with Brandy Hernandez in left, no matter how well she did there.  Maybe it was her light hitting?  This is a fairly normal shakeout for any team, but it took too long for a team with so much talent.  (Actually, I’m not sure right field was ever really solidified.) 

Pitching-wise, Samaria was outstanding, but had her bad moments.  Kayla and Analise had their good moments, but Kayla regressed and Analise was too inconsistent.  Chloe Rivas showed some promise in the circle, batting, and in the field.  She wasn’t used enough to really gauge her talent and she’s still learning, of course.  As potent as the offense should have been, it really sputtered at times.  It felt like Kelsey and Tori dropped off a bit.  They didn’t, by the stats, but it “felt” like it at times in games. 

All that said, Seattle U put a very good team on the field this year.  Even if everything had clicked for the Aggies, they probably would have still faced them for the championship and it would have been a coin flip.  (I’m still questioning why Analise started that game, though she did a good job.  I would have put in my best pitcher first, Samaria, and taken my chances for the next game with whoever.)  Compared to their performance halfway through the season, I wouldn’t have even picked the Aggies to have been in the WAC Championship game, so they really rallied. 

Lastly, I have to give Kelsey Horton some special praise.  I’ve gushed over her so much already during her career.  She’s been responsible for much of this program’s recent success.  I can’t believe anybody pitched to her in the tournament, and she made them pay to the tune of four home runs and two walkoff wins.  (She probably should have been the tourney MVP.)  The coach has recruited some thumpers to follow her departure.  Mya might even end up being better by the end of her career.  But, Kelsey, like Brooke Salas, wasn’t just great, she was also glamorous.  (I’m sure they’d both point at themselves and say, “Who?  Me?”  It’d be so cute.)  Their looks didn’t hurt attendance.  That aspect is going to be harder to replace. 

Regular Season Recap

2-8-19 vs Creighton Bluejays: This was a good first game of the season win, except I nearly froze to near death.

2-9-19 vs UNM Lobos: A tight win.  Kelsey Horton went “The Natural,” as she hit a lightpole with a homer.

2-9-19 vs UTEP Miners: A big win over another rival.

2-10-19 vs Creighton Bluejays: The girls danced during a couple of delays and won again.  We got rain with the cold for this game.

2-15-19 vs Bradley Braves: The Aggies started another tournament at home.   A long cold day ended with a close loss.

2-16-19 vs Montana Griz: A hard, cold wind was blowing today.  The Texas State Bobcats’ uniforms and their fans stole the show before the Aggie game.  Shelby Shultes won this game with a walkoff homer.  It was so cold I didn’t come back for the nightcap, which was a loss.

2-17-19 vs Bradley Braves: Almost insignificantly at the time, I noticed Kayla Green and Coach Rodolph talking before the game, but Analise de la Roca actually started.  I wonder if this was the start of something that concluded near the end of the season.  More very uncomfortable windiness during the game.  A home run ball from the baseball game next door ended up on the softball field during play.  The Aggies won a close one and then the crowd literally ran from the stands.

2-23-19 Mary Nutter Classic: I put up a very quick recap afterward.  The team went 2-3 against some really good teams.

3-5-19 vs Arizona Wildcats: The Aggies lost both games of a double header, big time.  I noted that Kayla didn’t start either game.

3-8 to 3-10-19 ASU Classic: (no coverage) The team went 1-5 against some good teams.

3-19-19 vs UTEP Miners: (no coverage) The Aggies split this double header.  They won the first game big with Kayla pitching, but lost the second game big with Kayla and Samaria Diaz both getting shelled.  That was a really disturbing loss.  I was worried about the team’s chances at this point. 

3-23-19 vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks: After a rough road schedule which resulted in a losing record, the girls returned home.  There were more cross-scheduling issues, this time with Women’s Basketball.  (Some other earlier games were crossed up with baseball.)  At least the weather was pleasant. 

The Aggies won a tight one in Game 1.  Game 2 will forever be known and referred back to as “The Rule Book Game.”  The Aggies had a run rule win.  There were autographs afterward, which was somewhat disappointing, since I didn’t get to talk to any of the players.  Strangely, me and Ron did meet and talk to some of the ND girls later at Jack-in-the-Box.

3-24-19 vs North Dakota Fighting Hawks: We came in late because of baseball.  The Aggies won another close one.

3-29 and 3-30-19 Seatle U Redhawks: (no coverage) The Aggies went 1-2 against SU on the road in three fairly close games.

4-2-19 vs UNM Lobos: I didn’t actually recap the Aggies’ double header victory over the Lobos, but I had an excuse, as I met an ex-NFL player at a dinner.

4-5-19 vs Utah Valley Wolverines: Aggies won 1-0 behind Sam’s great pitching effort.

4-6-19 vs Utah Valley Wolverines: Basia Query.  Sigh.  There was another cross up with baseball, as we arrived late.  I didn’t see as much Basia as I could have.  The Aggies lost in a slugfest in Game 1.  They took Game 2 fairly easily.  I apologize for blowing Sam’s shutout because I was cheering for Basia to homer, which she did.  (That was so awesome though!)

4-12 to 13-19 vs CBU Lancers: (no coverage) The girls went on a five-game California swing.  They played a pair of double headers against CBU and split them.  All of the games were pretty close.    

4-15-19 Loyola-Marymount Lions: (no coverage) Here they ended their West Coast tour.  They lost a close one here.

4-19-19 vs GCU Lopes: I took this Friday off for this important series.  This game ended with another walkoff homer by Shelby.

4-20-19 vs GCU Lopes: Game 1 would be the last time I got to see Kayla in action.  She came out of the game after being hit on the ankle, though she didn’t seem hurt bad.  GCU won this game.  In Game 2, my co-worker, Chuck, was hit by a foul ball.  Sam pitched a shutout win.

4-23-19 vs UNM Lobos: (no coverage) The Aggie had a blowout win in Albuquerque over the Lobos.  They only played one game, which didn’t seem like it was worth the effort to go up there.

4-26-19 vs UMKC Roos: Sam got a shutout win versus UMKC and nearly got a no-hitter.  She was really on a roll at this point. 

4-27-19 vs UMKC Roos:  And then Kayla was gone.  It was actually hot out for Game 1.  This was easily the game of the year as far I saw, as both teams slugged it out in a back and forth battle.  The Aggies came out on top.  Kelsey homered into the scoreboard as part of a big win in Game 2.  A quick and incomplete Senior ceremony followed.  All three Seniors homered over the course of these two games.

4-30-19 vs Texas Tech Red Raiders: This was a rescheduled road series.  Texas Tech was nice to come here to make it up.  The Aggies split this double header.  Analise was rocked in Game 1.  Chuck, who became a softball fan this season, thought the Aggies should have won, but a couple of fielding errors were what did Analise in.  The Aggies returned the favor in Game 2 with a blowout win.

5-3 and 5-4-19 vs CSUB Roadrunners: (no coverage) The Aggies swept Bakersfield to close out the regular season.  That was seven conference wins in a row.  This gave the Aggies a #2 seed and some good momentum going into the tournament.