A big, wet-looking cloud hung over Presley Askew Field to start today’s game between the Aggies and the Sam Houston Bearkats. We did
get a little rain last night. It made
the first half of this game a bit more nervous given the close score. There was a cold breeze blowing, but it
wasn’t too bad. The sun kept going in
and out. I was just happy that I’d
gotten up on time today. With the
11:00am start, I decided on a $1 dog, corn-in-a-cup, and a Brisk tea at the
Concessions for breakfast. (It was
okay.)
On field, Sam Houston was wearing orange tops. They were reminiscent of the Orioles, as yesterday’s grays looked
like the Giants. The crowd was again pretty good, especially
given the time. I was with Fans Michael
and Ken as usual.
No radio again today and I was on my own with the scoring. These added up, but I did need to look up a couple plays. Determining the difference between a wild pitch and a passed ball is tough in a split-second situation. Also, I did make a couple of careless boo-boo’s with the pen.
Hayden
Walker started for the Aggies with a 1-2-3 top of the
first. Gavi Coldiron began for the Bearkats. (What a name!) He had a rougher first. Keith
Jones singled and a bobble in the outfield moved him to second. After he was moved over on a grounder, KJ
came in on a wild pitch. The
Aggies got a couple more baserunners, but an unconventional double play ended
the inning. It was a grounder to first
that was thrown to second. The shortstop
then threw to the pitcher covering first.
1-0 Aggies.
There were a series of giveaways in a raffle today. The first one was for a commemorative
championship ring. Michael wanted one,
but a player’s mom won it. “Fix!” he
yelled. Michael was sour about not
winning for the rest of the game.
Walker had a fairly easy top of the second. He only gave up a single. SHS also got their first stolen base of the
day. The Aggies had some traffic in the
bottom of the inning. There was a
dropped DP ball that gave the Aggies another out, but they weren’t able to get
anyone across.
Caleb
Cotton led off for the Bearkats in the third. He singled on a bunt hit. He was very fast and then stole second. He was caught leaning and was tagged out in a
rundown. Walker gave up a walk and a
single without any damage. In the
bottom, Nick Gore, who’d had a quiet
series, blasted a humpback line drive to center. The ball easily cleared the wall and hit the
fieldhouse roof. 2-0 Aggies.
Romeo
Ballesteros began the top of the fourth by snagging a
line drive. Walker got involved in the
next two plays. He interfered with a
high chopper in the in the infield for a single and deflected a grounder on the
next batter for another hit. (Why do
they let pitchers wear gloves?) He got a
flyout to end the inning. The Aggies
went down in order in the bottom. Cotton
made a good sliding catch for the first out.
It was Bark at the Park day. Several nice-looking dogs came in. A big brown handsome Doberman was sitting by
nearby that caught my eye. I later got
to pet him. He was ambivalent about
it. Another family member won a gift bag
in the raffle. Michael was
muttering. The big prize was a cooler
that I don’t think went to a family member.
I didn’t enter, since I didn’t really want any of the prizes, except for
the ring.
The fifth was scoreless in both halves of the inning. Tension was mounting. Saul
Soto came in for the top of the sixth.
He gave up a single, but no more.
The Aggies went down quickly in the bottom. It was difficult to imagine a 2-0 score
holding out much longer here at the ‘Skew.
Soto got the first batter of the seventh. He walked the next batter and then gave up a
double. The next batter was
intentionally walked to load the bases.
The next batter hit a shallow fly to left field. The runner at third started, but then KJ
threw a dart to the infield, and he held up.
The crowd went wild.
Unfortunately, Jeffrey David
then hit a two-run single, which tied the score at 2. Soto finished out the inning on a groundout.
Coldiron got the first out of the bottom of the seventh
and was then pulled for Logan Hewitt. He was greeted with a pair of singles. Romeo’s second single dropped into shallow
center in front of the centerfielder. It
was either going to be two on or two out with Sheehan O’Connor already at second.
KJ came up. He fouled one back to
a light pole that ricocheted directly into the crowd. He straightened up another pitch and put it
into the trees in the outfield for a three-run homer. Aggies up 5-2! Titus
Dumitru made the final out of the frame with a looking strikeout. He seemed genuinely shocked by the call.
The rest of the crowd started getting restless on balls
and strikes, as well. Hayden Lewis came in to start the top
of the eighth. He walked the first
batter and was visibly irritated with the call.
(The crowd was plenty vocal.) The
next play was a comebacker. Lewis
angrily grabbed the ball and threw to second to get the lead runner. (Oh, that’s why they give pitchers
mitts.) Romeo wasn’t able to turn the
DP.
After the Bearkats’ fourth stolen base of the day (Gore
wasn’t having a great day behind the plate), Lewis walked another. Lane
Brewster took a walking lead off second.
When he realized no one was paying attention, he took off for
third. Lewis made a throw to third, but
it got away from O’Connor. There is a
lot of foul space past third base. Both
runners came around to score on the error.
(At least, he didn’t throw it underhand like Aaron Treloar’s error yesterday.)
Lewis came back with two strikeouts to end the inning. 5-4 Aggies.
Some of the fans and the Aggie dugout started yelling at
the umps. It got ugly for a minute
before settling down. Two Aggie
strikeouts started the bottom of the eighth.
There was a single, which was rubbed out on a grounder.
Lewis came back out for the ninth. I was surprised, but Coach Angier either had faith in him or had no one else he
trusted. Lewis gave up a walk and a
single. He got a double play ball next,
but the tying run scored. Oh, there’s
that Hunter Autrey guy again. He’d been quiet today after 8 RBI’s
yesterday. Too quiet. He hit the go-ahead home run. Now, I finally heard some emotion (and curse
words) from the SHS dugout. 6-5
Bearkats.
We go to the bottom of the ninth. SHS brought in Chandler David for the save.
After a strikeout, bopper Logan
Galina was brought in off the bench to pinch hit. He got ahold of one and sent a hard high liner
to center. Jake Tatom jumped for it, but it got past him and went to the
wall. Logan cruised into third, where he
was pulled for Jadon Arakaki. This paid off quickly, as a passed
ball went to backstop and Jadon came in to tie it up.
KJ struck out leaving the Aggies only one out left. Damone
Hale was having a frustrating game with no hits and three strikeouts. He let everyone know that he hadn’t forgotten
how to hit. Damone crushed a no doubt,
high-arcing home run to center. It
wasn’t just a walk off, it was an exclamation point! Pitcher David was the last off the infield
for his team and was a picture of dejection.
Hale was doused in Gatorade right after crossing the plate. Aggies
win 7-6!
Neat. I was glad I
woke up early for this. It was also a
tidy two-and-a-half hour tension-filled thriller. I had no trouble doing other stuff after the
game. I went to the grocery store,
walked over to the mall, and went over to dad’s to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show. I had a happy glow the rest of the afternoon.
Gameballs! For the
Bearkats, Jeffrey David went 2 for 5
with 2 RBI’s on a clutch single. Hunter Autrey went 1 for 5, but that
“1” was a go-ahead home run in the ninth.
For the Aggies, Keith Jones
went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI’s coming off a big home run. (I also found out he drives a Cadillac
pickup. I might have to question his
taste in cars.) Damone Hale got one hit today and it decided the game. Hayden
Walker deserved the win today, though he didn’t get it. He went 5 innings and gave up 0 runs.
I was wearing a green t-shirt for St. Patrick’s Day today. We
sure seemed to have the luck of the Irish with us. Baseball will be gone for a couple of weeks,
but we should have some Softball to report on in the meantime.
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