NM State Aggies vs Seattle U Redhawks Baseball 3-12-22

This isn't a relevant picture, but it's a fun one.

 

I’m a wee bit distracted writing this.  I’ve got the TV, radio, an iPad, and two computers on.  No, I don’t want to explain, but it’s all necessary.  We’ll start this post quickly reviewing Friday’s two Aggie games—one baseball, one basketball.  Strangely, there was a freak morning snow storm on Friday.  It all went away by 10:00am, but it was still a bit cold and damp the rest of the day. 

 

The afternoon game with Seattle U unfortunately ran nearly five hours and ended with a 13-12 Aggie loss in 13 innings.  I followed along with the live scoring at work.  It was won on a solo home run.  I noticed Logan Galina wasn’t playing.  I would have expected him to have ended the game on a home run shot.  Ron was there.  He said it was okay when the sun was up, but became bone-chillingly cold when it went down.  Ron said he was shaking, so it must have been really cold.  Him and a few other diehard fans ran into the heated bathrooms between innings.  He did enjoy the game, since the score went back-and-forth with lots of action.  At least Ron got the innings he was cheated out of in last week’s double header, albeit in an uncomfortable manner.

 

Meanwhile in Las Vegas, the WAC Men’s Basketball semi-finals were being playing at the same time as the extra innings.  The Aggies beat GCU 75-70.  The Aggies had a 14-point lead about halfway through the second half, but it was whittled down to a 2-point lead at the end.  The Aggies suddenly couldn’t rebound, but bailed out by some clutch free throws by Jabari Rice and Teddy Allen.  Those two also scored most of the Aggies’ points.  NM State would go on to the final later Saturday night.

 

Saturday, it was much nicer out, but I was bundled up anyway.  That proved to be a good notion.  There was a friendly crowd out for the game.  It turned out to be over 500, so it wasn’t bad.  There was a nice woman with a group by us that was fairly chatty during the game that we talked to.  Coach Kirby had an animated conversation with the umps before the game, but I don’t think it was serious. 

 

A Little League team went out on field for the Anthem.  The Aggie Baseball team gave them a cheer.  I noticed that several of the Redhawks pitchers were warming up out on the nearby practice football field (which the new football coach deemed unsafe to play on).  I’ve never seen visiting players out there, instead their bullpen.  When the Anthem played, the players out there did all stop and stand at attention.  The Little Leaguer’s coach threw out the first pitch.  He shook off the catcher before bouncing one to the plate.  Ryan Grabosch caught all 13 innings yesterday, so Hunter Antillon started today.  During player introductions, he tripped and went down going out on to the field to the amusement of his teammates.       

I now have a home Internet connection, at least for the moment.  (Let’s not discuss the particulars.)  I was able to check my scorecards immediately after getting them all filled out.  It’s nice to be able to quickly figure out that I’ve screwed up my cards without the waiting to get to an Internet connection at work. 

 

Both dugouts were extraordinary vocal during the game.  This isn’t a huge rivalry, but the players were totally into it.  Pablo Cortes started for the Aggies, but in a shaky fashion.  He gave up a hit, hit a batter, and a run-scoring hit on the first three batters.  The RBI came on a deep fly that hit the wall, but strangely only resulted in a single.  Kevin Jimenez got the first out on a flashy glove flip force out.  It was nearly an error. 

 

That really cute girl with the black-rimmed glasses that I’d noticed at a previous game came in wearing a tank top, shorts, and striped socks.  Soon enough, she’d left and came back wearing a pullover.  Though it was probably too cool for it, it was nice to see the girls back in the stands in shorts.  The sunny sky was a bit deceptive.  Cortes was working really slowly with runners on and threw to first a bunch.  After the first out, he had better pace and struck out the next two batters to end the inning.  1-0 SU.

 

Andrew Haight, the SU catcher, shook hands warmly with the umpire to start the bottom of the first.  Peter Chronowski started for the Redhawks and had a 1-2-3 inning.  PA music accidently played during one of the at bats, which elicited a stare from the ump. 

 

Between innings, the ump had a friendly chat with the ball boy, who was gathering up some equipment.  Last night, Ron said the home plate for that game had gotten a lot of flack for his small strike zone.  Today’s ump was trying to have a more pleasant game and seemed to call the zone pretty fairly.  Cortes racked up the first two outs of the second, but gave up a pair of singles.  KJ made a great dive attempt on one of them.  The inning ended with Hunter gunning down a base stealer at second.  Him and the dugout got charged up over it.

 

In the bottom of the second, the Aggies answered with a walk, a hit, and a ground out scoring a run.  1-1.  The Redhawks came back with a solo homer in the third to make it 2-1 SU.  The home run flew out to right center, which was really odd placement for a home run at Presley Askew Field.  Cortes made a great play on the first batter as he cut in front of Gunner Antillon from third to catch a high bouncer and throw out the runner.  That was probably Gunner’s play, but it was an out either way.

 

Tommy Tabak had been announced as the Aggie starting centerfielder.  I’m not sure if he played or not as Kyle Westfall took his at bat to lead off the third.  (There was no radio call for the game.  Ron went up and asked in the pressbox before the game.)  It was a good sub, as Kyle homered to left to tie the score.  The dugout erupted.  Kyle stomped on home plate as he scored.  Brandon Dieter singled right after, but Chronowski got a double play and a strikeout to get back on track.  2-2. 

 

The Redhawks came right back in the fourth.  Jackson Reed led off with a hustle triple as he got in under the tag.  Haight singled him in to put the Redhawks back up 3-2.  Gunner made a good catch on a high foul popup, and Westfall made a running, over-the-shoulder catch in the center to end the inning.

 

Here’s one you don’t see every game: a strikeout with the batter ending up on second.  Preston Godfrey came up in the bottom of the fourth and struckout, but the ball got away from Haight.  He threw the ball into right field attempting to get the putout.  Godfrey sprinted to second.  Haight did seem to be hurt on the play and their coach checked him out, but he stayed in. 

 

Logan came up to the cheering expectations of the dugout and the crowd.  His reputation is proceeding him.  He singled this time.  AJ Garcia came up and hit a potential double play ball, but beat it out and Godfrey scored.  After the play, there was a wild pitch that looked more like a passed ball that hit Haight.  He came limping off the field and had to be replaced.  He’d been hurt worse than he’d let on earlier.  3-3.

 

The PA played The Devil Went Down to Georgia during the break.  I hadn’t heard that in long time.  I was sorry when they cut it short.  There was a great range of MLB hats on the fans today.  I saw the Giants, the Royals, the Yankees, the Rockies, and (my favorite) an Old School Braves hat.  There was also a confused little boy with a mitt wearing a Broncos hat.  For the top of the fifth, Dieter dropped a grounder at short for an error, but Cortes worked through it to retire the next three batters.

 

For the Pocket Contest in the break, the PA asked for a blanket, a bandana, and a cowbell (a frequent noise-maker at Aggie games).  The gorgeous blonde that I’d noticed a couple of games came in.  Wow, she looked spectacular with her hair pulled back.  She was wearing a bright red lettermen’s jacket, which was not from around here.  In the bottom of the fifth, Dieter singled, but was left stranded at third.

 

Cortes gave up a single, but racked up two more strikeouts in the top of the sixth.  The Aggies struckout three times in the bottom.  Logan went down on three big swings.  Redhawks replacement catcher, Jackson Lind, took a foul tip for some pain.  The umpire walked the ball out to the pitcher and then cleaned off the plate as a courtesy.  It was a rougher day than usual for catchers.  Brendon Rodriguez came out and worked the seventh for the Aggies to a chorus of screaming girls in the crowd.  It’s nice to be popular.  He gave up a single and hit a batter, while striking out the side.

 

The Seventh inning stretch Take Me Out to the Ballgame led directly to Hunter’s walkup music, the Beastie Boys’ Girls.  Not a good combination on your DJ spin table.  After the game, Ron played a podcast for me about the origin of the Ballgame song.  Apparently, it’s been reinterpreted as just being feminist propaganda.  Everything is getting ruined.  The kid in the Broncos hat hung out at the foot of the grandstand to watch the game.  The game came to him on a foul ball that went straight back into the net front of him.  The ball will find you if it wants to.  Dieter got an infield hit as Dylan Gerard at second made great diving stop, but didn’t have a play afterward.  Dieter was left stranded on second.

 

Tie score and late in the game, things were getting tense.  Trevor Antonson pinch hit to start the eighth for the Redhawks.  He doubled and was replaced with a pinch runner.  The SU dugout erupted.  Gerard slapped a hit that looked like it hit the third base line for a double, but was ruled foul.  Me and some fans around me thought it looked fair, in all fairness.  The crowd really got into it to help Rodriguez get the final out.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom.

 

I tried to sketch the pretty blonde sitting below us, but I gave up immediately.  My pencil was too blunt by the end of the game.  Along with other issues, I was sure there was no chance of me doing her justice without working from a still picture, instead of a moving and occasionally occluded live model.  In getting a good look at her, I did notice she was either married or engaged.  Disappointment abounds, as the game would highlight.

 

Rodriguez started the inning.  He began with a strikeout, but after issuing two walks, was lifted for Rorik Maltrud.  Last I saw Rorik, he was starting, so this was a role change.  He went 3-0 on the first two batters he faced.  One, he got a line out on.  The other was another walk, which loaded the bases with two outs.  After throwing another ball to the next batter, Rorik was lifted for Cade Swenson. 

 

Cade got an easy grounder out to KJ.  Normally very sure-handed, the throw went wide of first.  The runner was safe and the go-ahead run crossed the plate.  Kevin immediately jumped, crouched, and put his head in his hand and mitt.  It was crushing.  Cade struckout the last batter, but the damage was done.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom, so our final was 4-3 Redhawks.  Before SU went ahead, I called it that Logan would win it with one swing in the ninth. 

 

Oh, well.  At least the game didn’t go five hours.  That was a concern as my fingers were getting cold by the end.  As it was, it only went two-and-a-half hours.  It felt longer, maybe because of the tension or the encroaching cold.  I’ve got three gameballs.  The obvious one goes to Peter Chronowski who got the win for the Redhawks by going eight innings, scattering 6 hits for 3 runs, 2 earned, with 6 strikeouts.  For the Aggies, Brandon Dieter gets one for going 3 for 4.  AJ Garcia gets the other.  While he was hitless, he did drive in 2 of the Aggies’ 3 runs.  While he went 0 for 4 and had critical error, I have every faith that Kevin Jimenez will bounce back after this game.  (Disclaimer: I am writing this after seeing Sunday’s game, but I did feel this way right after Saturday’s game.) 

 

There were still plenty of friends, family, and girlfriends in the Kiss and Cry.  I saw some kids getting autographs.  I was stepping around a yellow puddle to use the bathroom.  (How bad a shot do you have to be to miss a urinal?)  Afterward, we went to a Mexican restaurant that Ron recommended for dinner, El Jacalito.  Ron said they made great hamburgers, and they do.  I did feel a bit cheated, because I didn’t notice that one of their daily specials was for a mac & cheese hamburger.  That would have been awesome.  They have a pretty big menu.  Some customers inside were having pasta when we got there.  

 

It’s a little bitty restaurant, so we ate back at my apartment.  That gave me the opportunity to eat the meal with a new Starlight Space Flavored Coke.  A friend at work gave me one to try.  It’s interesting.  It’s tasty and smooth, but the flavor is very subtle.  I never could quite identify it.  After, Ron was nice enough to help me set up an Internet connection, which will surely distract me from any further writing (like it is right now).                    

 

Let’s payoff that basketball story from the beginning.  The Aggies beat Abilene Christian, 66-52, to win the WAC Championship.  The Aggies were in control of this game about halfway through the first half.  Aggie star, Teddy Allen, even fouled out in the second half, but balanced Aggie scoring still won it.  I was listening to the game over the radio and didn’t get to hear the end.  The coverage dropped inside of the last minute and the station went back to playing Country.  Broadcaster Jack Nixon came back on about five minutes later on a cell phone to explain that they’d lost their connection.  He seemed pretty embarrassed and there wasn’t even a postgame.  The “lucky” Aggie socks I’d worn two days in a row, at least worked for the basketball team.