NM State Aggies vs Oakland U Golden Grizzlies Baseball 2-26-22

This weekend series against the Oakland, California Golden Bears . .  .  Wait.  What?  They’re the Golden Grizzlies?  Golden Bears makes more sense.  Huh?  It’s Oakland, Michigan?  Okay, if you say so.  I’m okay with playing the Washington Generals as long as there’s a game on. 

 

Take Two.

 

This weekend series against the Oakland, Michigan Golden Grizzlies (sorry that I wrote the name wrong on my scorecard) started well for the Aggies.  (It’s still Aggies, right?  And we’re still in Las Cruces, New Mexico?  You just take anything for granted anymore.)  The Aggies won 13-7 on Friday against them.  That score is a bit misleading.  It was 12-0 after five innings.  Only one starting Aggie player was still in at the end; the rest were subbed out. 

 

Saturday didn’t start well for me.  Dad had once again expressed interest in going to a game, but backed out when I called him in the morning.  An hour later, a completely out-of-breath Ron called me to cancel going with me also.  He was having problems breathing.  He thought it might clear up later, but he couldn’t guarantee it.  At that point, even with nice weather outside, I thought twice about going.  I could just listen on the radio.  Then I remembered that Sammy Natera was pitching.  That’s the guy that struck out 14 last weekend and was the national pitcher of the week (though not the WAC pitcher of the week, some guy threw a 7-inning no hitter in conference).  I thought I’d better go. 

 

And the first thing that greets me when I enter the grandstand, there’s Ron chatting with one of the fans.  He’s fine.  I’m gratified about that, but irritated that he didn’t call me back so we could have driven over together.  In any case, new at the field were a couple of portraits now mounted on the front of the batting facility.  I asked the guy Ron was with and he identified them as standout alumni Nick Gonzales and Daniel Johnson. 

 

Another good crowd was shaping up.  The final number was over 900 (out of a 1,000 seat grandstand).  There were the hot chicks, of course.  There was a squad of scouts there to look at Sammy.  There were a bunch of kids, some of them were invited Little Leaguers.  (There were hardly any kids last weekend.)  We had a special guest of honor: Striking the Wonder Dog!  He’s in a well-deserved retirement from retrieving tees on the football field.  I said, “Hello.”  Ron reached out and petted him.  I wasn’t sure that was allowed.  (Apparently his owner wasn’t around when this happened, only a staff member.)          

 

Aggie Softball was actually playing next door, but it was an off weekend for them before going on the road for a while.  I was surprised to see them in the field playing in full uniform.  Yesterday’s baseball game was disrupted for a minute when a softball home run went into the baseball outfield.  (That must have been a tremendous shot to clear two walls and walkway between them.)  Anthony Rifenberg (?) was on the radio, as Adam Young worked an Aggie Women’s Basketball game at home at the same time.  We again had a live Anthem performance.  The guy is really good.  He should also be doing it for Men’s Basketball and Football.     

The totals on the scoreboard at the end of the game were wrong.  My scorecard was right!  It had to happen someday.  (This will probably be the only time.)  The Aggies took the field in their white hats again.  It’s not a bad look, but it’s taking some getting used to.  Natera started off the game well with a “three-pitch see-you-later,” strikeout looking.  (That was Anthony’s description.)  He then gave up two hits, but came back with two more looking strikeouts.  The ump was calling a low strikezone that was helping out.

 

No offense to Striking, but a truly adorable puppy came in.  He was being carried by his owner everywhere inside.  No doubt, he was afraid of the dog getting stolen (like by me).  A co-worker came in and we exchanged waves.  The ball kid was back in the Aggie dugout.  There was also the thunder of children racing after foul balls that went out of the park.  Unfortunately, there was now a sponsor for the foul balls that was announced on every one of them.  That got annoying immediately. 

 

In the bottom of the first, the wind started blowing in a bit and it was knocking down fly balls.  Gunner Antillon got on via a hit by pitch.  Kevin Jimenez followed with a double.  Preston Godfrey brought Gunner in with a sac fly.  Then, Nolan Funke came up with a two-run homer to center.  That had to have been a very muscular shot.  Edwin Martinez-Pagani followed with another single, but was thrown out trying to steal second.  The Aggies don’t seem to be as good at stealing as the coach thinks they are.  I’m not seeing a lot of stealing success so far.  The Oakland fans present let off a cheer with the final out.  3-0 Aggies.

 

The top of the second brought out another t-shirt toss to the crowd.  (The first came after the home run.)  The Sports Accessories trailer outside seemed to be doing good business again, so they probably didn’t mind giving out some freebies.  This inning began with another pair of hits.  One of them was a popup behind first that the wind might have been playing with.  Sammy came back with three-straight strikeouts.  The last one was again on three pitches.

 

I didn’t get the Aggies’ lineup before play started.  Zerek Saenz wasn’t starting today again.  The Aggies went down in order in the second with two strikeouts.  I’d sort of forgot that Men’s Basketball was playing at the same time this afternoon.  I checked with Ron for the score a couple of times.  The Aggies were down by four at the half to Chicago State on the road.  That was surprising, since the Cougars are not a good team with only six wins (two in conference) this season.  With a couple of minutes left in the game and the score tied, I switched over my radio for that game.              

 

At the baseball game, the Grizzlies led off the third with a single.  KJ made a great leaping catch at second and then doubled off the runner.  Sammy next gave up a double, but struck out the following batter to end the inning.  Also of note, there was a little toddler in sleepers wandering around the front of the grandstand.  Too cute.

 

Back at the basketball game, I learned that the Aggies were down four players for this game for various reasons.  Also, star player, Teddy Allen, wasn’t on court at the end of the game with no reason stated.  The Cougars won the game, 61-59, on a last second layup.  In the postgame, I was hearing names of Aggies playing that I hadn’t heard all season.  Coach Jans came on in complete contrition, and apologized to everyone for the performance of the team.

 

Then, it got worse.  Three of the Aggies were out sick with an unspecified illness.  The other missing player had been arrested for (allegedly) beating up his girlfriend.  (That player had played really well in a game a couple of weeks ago.)  Un-discussed, that I heard on the radio call, was why Allen wasn’t playing.  Dad told me later that Teddy and Jans had had big argument on the sideline late and that the coach had sat him down for the rest of the game.  The Aggies are still in the lead in the conference, but could have clinched today.  Now, they’re going to be in a dogfight over their last two games.           

 

Meanwhile back at the ballpark, there was the Pocket Contest.  They were asking for sunscreen, Chapstick, and an Aggie button.  A couple of Softball players in uniform came in.  I guess their practice was over.  Play in the bottom of the third began with a grounder to third.  The next play was set to be the same though a bit harder, but Brandon Nigh threw the ball away way past first.  Gunner made it all the way to third before the ball came into the infield.  While I was scoring this, he suddenly crossed home. 

 

I fumbled with my radio, which was still on the basketball postgame, to get it back to the baseball coverage, which had a few seconds delay on it.  Anthony, flabbergasted by the play, said that the catcher had backed up first base getting the errant throw.  When the ball came into third, there was no one covering the plate.  Gunner simply ran down the line to easily score.  Anthony couldn’t believe, and doubted he’d ever see again, a four-base error.  The Aggies got two more runners on, but weren’t able to get them home.  4-0 Aggies.

 

To the top of the fourth, Natera got a ground out, but gave up a walk (his first of the season) and a single.  Nigh was pulled for a pinch hitter, either for the error or for not covering home.  Sammy got another strikeout.  Seth Tucker came up and hit a sharp liner to second.  KJ laid out for it, but the ball just glanced off his glove and scored a run.  A flyout ended the inning.  4-1 Aggies.

 

There was the I Scream contest on field with three kids screaming for ice cream.  The crowd was amused.  Not so amused was Athletic Director Mario Moccia, who came in.  He hasn’t traveled with the basketball team much lately like he usually does.  This was the first time, I’d even seen him at the ballpark.  Clearly, he’d been watching the basketball game before he came in judging by the sour look on his face. 

 

Grizzlies pitcher, Chas Sagedahl, walked the first Aggie batter of the fourth and gave up a hit to the next.  On a 3-0 count to Kyle Westfall, who was trying to bunt, Sagedahl was pulled for Brett Hagen.  I was mentally going over what the scoring rules were on a walk in this situation, but it resolved into a fielder’s choice anyway, as the lead runner was thrown out at third.  Brandon Dieter hit a hard grounder at the third baseman that the fielder had little chance on.  (It was a tough day at third for the Grizzlies.)  Logan Galina came into score from second.  Dieter stole second on defensive indifference, which was strange.  The Aggies loaded the bases on a walk, but a ground out to first ended the inning.  5-1 Aggies.

 

Sammy led off the fifth with a walk and was pulled immediately for Cam Blazek.  Blazek had a pair of outs before giving up a walk to Brandon Heidal.  In his at bat, Heidal had fouled a ball off a netting pole that ricocheted directly into his dugout.  No harm done thankfully.  However, he did get caught stealing, which ended the inning.  Hey, there’s a fan wearing a Johnny Bench Reds jersey.  Of course, there’s plenty of MLB gear in the stands, but that one caught my attention, along with someone wearing an Albuquerque Dukes hat.   

 

The Aggies got a leadoff single to start to the bottom of the fifth, but a double play killed that rally.  Cam retired the side in order in the sixth.  In the bottom, Galina crushed a monster foul ball outside the stadium past right field.  He struck out, but remember that swing for later.  Pinch hitter Cal Villareal hit a bouncer that Hagen fielded.  There was some confusion covering first, before the first baseman got there, made the catch, and then dropped the ball.  That was the only damage in the inning though.

 

The top of the seventh began with a single by Tucker and a wild pitch advancing him to second.  Brad Goulet singled next.  Here, I have a disagreement with the official scoring.  Godfrey booted the ball in right, but I think Tucker would have scored anyway and Goulet didn’t advance to second.  I don’t think there should have been an error on the play.  But, it was fairly shallow single, so maybe.  A double play killed the rally.  5-2 Aggies. 

 

The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the seventh.  There may have been an automatic strike called.  There was no pitch, but the count changed.  The Aggie dugout was in an uproar at the ump.  Myself, Ron (who noticed the count change), and Anthony did not have a clue what the problem was.  This must be a new rule.  There were several defensive changes for the Aggies in the eighth.  I think it was to put better defenders in.  Pablo Cortes worked around a walk for a quick inning. 

 

In the bottom of the eighth, I was nearly overcome by the strong smell of bologna.  Where the hell did that come from?  The Aggies used their third catcher of the game, Ryan Grobosch, to pinch hit.  Galina came up next and didn’t miss this time.  He banged a monster shot to right.  The fielder acted like he had a bead on it, but it was way over his head.  6-2 Aggies.

 

We go to the top of the ninth.  Alex Bustamonte issued a leadoff walk.  A high foul pop up behind the plate on the next batter seemed to be arcing straight back into the stands.  This got a rise out of everyone.  Thankfully, it blew back into play and Grobosch made a diving catch on it, which the crowd appreciated.  More thankfully he wasn’t hurt on the play, because there may not have been another good catching option left on the bench.  Bustamonte got a strikeout and walked the next batter on a full count with the crowd urging him on.  A grounder finished off the game.  Aggies win 6-2.

 

A kid ran by exclaiming that he got four “home run” balls.  That’s not correct, but good hustle, kid.  At two hours and 44 minutes, it was a fairly tidy victory for Aggie fans.  By and large, they all stuck around until the end, even Striking.  The Golden Grizzlies had their chances (more hits and runners left on).  Big strikeouts and double plays hurt them.  Likewise, the Aggie offense had a couple of opportunities to put the game away, but didn’t get the clutch hit.  They did alright anyway.

 

My gameballs go to Brett Hagen for Oakland for five innings of relief and only giving up 1 run.  (Brad Goulet went 3 for 5 and I think he should have gotten an RBI.)  For the Aggies, I’m giving the pitching staff a nod in a combined 2-run effort.  They got into some trouble with hits and walks, but avoided giving up a big inning.  Logan Galina also gets a gameball for coming in as a sub and going 2 for 3 with an RBI home run and not because of what happened after the game.

 

Ron and I went to What-a-burger (in separate vehicles, which irritated me) for dinner.  Galina came in after us by himself.  He wasn’t in uniform, but had on a warmup jersey with his number on it, thus I was able to identify him.  I went over and congratulated him on a good game and his home run.  (See, this is why you keep a scorecard.)  My that Galina lad is a tall, handsome young man with bright eyes, which lit up when I praised him.  If the rest of the team is like him, little wonder all those hot chicks show at the ballpark.  Ron also wished Galina good luck tomorrow. 

 

Everything worked out okay today.  (What-a-burger even redeemed themselves after my last bad meal there.)  I’ll take that.