Wednesday, May 8, 2024

NM State Aggies vs LA Tech Bulldogs Baseball 5-5-24


It was a perfect day for the final home ball game for Aggie Baseball.  It was warm and sunny with a nice breeze.  Since we starting in the morning, instead of the late evening like yesterday, it wasn’t too hot and there was some shade in the stadium.  I visited the restroom first and ran into Mando, the son of a co-worker, who works for Aggie Vision.  He wasn’t there for yesterday’s game.  I told him that his brother, Rito, had been out in the heat holding up a camera for 13 innings.  Mando said he’d be working the roof camera today.  

 

I picked up a bottle of tea and a tasty corn-in-a-cup at the concessions and joined Fan Michael inside.  He was handing out signed posters to the player parents that were there for Senior Day all during the game.  He does this every year to give them a keepsake.

 

Speaking of perfect, the team photographer was in the dugout chatting with the players, while the hot marketing intern girl was organizing the parents for the first pitch.  Both were dressed alike and had their long, pretty hair straightened out today.  They were like beautiful twins.  (Are they best friends?  Coincidence?) 

 

13 sets of parents threw out first pitches to their sons on field.  We had a flyover with a squadron of birds for the Anthem.  (How do they organize that?)  I was wearing my nice Aggie polo shirt today.  A guy next to me assumed I was working for team, as I had my scorecards out, too.  No, and if the Aggie Sports department read my blog, they’d disavow me and refuse me entry to the games. 

 

Otherwise, it was a decent crowd for a Sunday morning start.  Bianca Perez from the Volleyball team was there, maybe with a couple of new players that I didn’t recognize.  She’s been a regular supporter of the Baseball team this season.  (Is she going out with someone on the team?)  Soccer Coach Baarts was here also, but I didn’t see the team.  On field, LA Tech was in a solid blue top and grey pants and were the spitting image of the Cubs’ road uniforms.               

 


Aaron Treloar was way too amped up for Senior Day.  In his first inning pitching for the Aggies, he walked two, threw two wild pitches, and threw to the backstop a couple of times.  Somehow, LAT did not score.  Titus Dumitru made a great twisting, jumping catch in right for the first out. 

 

The Aggie offense was amped, as well.  Keith Jones hit a line drive homer to begin the bottom of the frame and also Nick Gore solo homered.  2-0 Aggies.  The hot intern came down for a couple of t-shirt tosses.  Between innings, she was joined by the ever effervescent marketing chief, Nicole Sacks.  They handed out rolled tacos to everyone.  I don’t like rolled tacos, but couldn’t resist free food, even if it possibly spoiled my lunch.  (It didn’t.)  Actually, they were okay.  It’s good thing I avoided a $1 dog at the concessions.


 

Treloar worked another scoreless inning.  He had a pair of strikeouts between another walk and another wild pitch.  The Aggie offense kicked it up a notch in the bottom of second.  Steve Solorzano began with a double.  Edwin Martinez-Pagani brought him in with a single.  Damone Hale singled.  In his at bat, Keith Jones protested that he was hit by a pitch.  The umps conferenced and agreed, which loaded the bases.  Titus sacrificed one run in.  Logan Galina, who was starting at first today, hit a three-run homer to make it 7-0 Aggies.  I think the boys wanted to win on Senior Day.  LAT brought in a new pitcher to finish the inning. 

 

During the inning, the ump talked to EMP after he scored.  Edwin protested that he didn’t do anything.  I also thought I saw a couple of Aggies taunting the LAT dugout while running to first.  After the inning, the home plate ump talked to both coaches.  However, later in the game, Michael came back from delivering posters and said that the argument was that the LAT coach said the Aggie dugout was using binoculars on their bullpen.  Well, if that’s the case, they were using them to see who was warming up, which isn’t secret information.  I don’t know what was going on. 

 

The hot marketing intern handed out more souvenirs in the break.  She handed a fanny pack to an adorable little girl in a cheerleading outfit.  Good call.  Josh Sharman relieved Treloar, who was the opener today, I guess.  LAT plated their first run after a double, a wild pitch, and a sac fly.  7-1 Aggies.  The Aggies didn’t score in the bottom, though Solo collected another hit and advanced to second after a bad pickoff throw.

 

I went to bathroom during the break.  I came back to find my seat occupied by another fan.  Meanwhile, Michael was speaking to a very attractive blonde woman.  She didn’t seem to be the right age to fit any profile to be related to the players.  After she left, Michael said that was the coach’s wife.  “Can this guy recruit or what?” he said.  She was extremely pleasant and circulated around the crowd to the different player families and probably charms the boosters, too.  That is a husband and wife working as a team. 

 

LAT tacked on two more runs via a walk and a home run in the fourth.  7-3 Aggies.  In the bottom, Titus hit a hustle double off a lazy throw to the infield, but was left stranded.  Romeo Ballesteros hit a grounder to first to start the frame.  Dalton Davis juggled it, dropped it, and finally flipped it to the pitcher ahead of Romeo diving headfirst to bag.  Michael mentioned he’d once asked him if he had any trouble living up to his first name.  The roguishly handsome young man answered, “No.”

 

Sharman allowed another walk and homer combination and was relieved by Kade Benevidez, who got the final out in the fifth.  The Aggies responded in the bottom with Solo’s third hit of the game and Damone driving him in with a single.  8-5 Aggies. 

 

Kade was getting squeezed by the ump in his second inning of work in the sixth and was pitching well below the strikezone on top of it.  He left the game with the bases loaded from two walks and a single.  Austin Corbett relieved him.  Wait.  (Checking scorecards.)  He was yesterday’s centerfielder and he’s not listed as a pitcher on the program.  Michael said he’d pitched on Friday.  This didn’t seem like the best moment to put in a position player to pitch with the bases loaded and one out.  The next batter grounded to second.  EMP tagged the runner going by and threw to first for the inning-ending double play.  This is why I’m not the coach.

 

Connor Nation (what a great name) came in to pitch for LAT in the sixth.  He began with a walk and a single, which were cashed in by Logan and Preston Godfrey for two more runs.  10-5 Aggies.  Hayden Walker pitched for the Aggies in the seventh.  Wait.  (Checking scorecards.)  He pitched two innings yesterday.  No problem.  He went 1-2-3 for the inning. 

 

The Aggies exhausted another pitcher in the bottom of the seventh, as Damone doubled to start the inning and Romeo suddenly hit a two-run home run on an arc to left field.  Wait.  (Checking program.)  That was his first home run of the season.  Caden Copeland came in to mop up the inning.  Adarius Myers made a great diving catch on a liner that was curling away from him.  12-5 Aggies.

 

To start the top of the eighth, Walker threw five straight balls.  Gore went out for a chat with him.  Hayden came back with a strikeout and double play ball.  That was a good talk.  In the bottom, Grant Comeaux was given a tough error on a squib shot to third, but Copeland came back with three strikeouts.  Regular first baseman, Mitch Namie, came in for the ninth.  I’d seen him in the dugout cheering earlier in the game.  He seemed okay with letting Logan get the Senior Day start.  Walker began the ninth with another leadoff walk.  He almost worked around it, but Romeo lost a popup in the sun and a run scored.  That’s okay.  Aggies win 12-6.           

  

Both teams came out to shake hands after the game.  I always like to see that.  Oh my goodness!  Michael had mentioned yesterday that LA Tech had a 7’ player and there he was!  Brenton Thiels towered over everyone else on the field.  Wow is this kid playing the wrong sport. 

 

Here’s your Gameballs.  For the Bulldogs, I’m giving one to Caden Copeland for pitching two scoreless innings and he looked fairly impressive doing it.  For the Aggies, I’m glad to say Steve Solorzano seems to finally be back from his injury with a couple of hits yesterday and going 3 for 5 today.  Coach Angier did well sticking with him.  Damone Hale also broke out of his slump going 3 for 4 with an RBI. 

 

Logan Galina shined going 3 for 5 with 4 RBI’s and a home run.  He also made a couple of great stretch plays in his return to first.  Aaron Treloar was all over the place to start the game, but came away with two scoreless innings.  Lastly, Austin Corbett and Edwin Martinez-Pagani probably saved the game for the Aggies with that DP in the sixth. 

 

The Senior Ceremony was tremendous.  The photographer girl and the intern girl were on the field the whole time.  There were also 13 guys graduating: Aaron Treloar, Josh Sharman, Tyler Hoeft, Cade Swenson, Preston Godfrey, Logan Galina, Edwin Martinez-Pagani, Romeo Ballesteros, Damone Hale, Trey Meza, Nick Gore, Hayden Walker, and Keith Jones.  Yikes, I’ll miss these guys, almost as much I’ll miss the girls.  I should give some parting advice to the graduates.  Logan!  Marry Xophia Venegas already!

 

That was a tremendous way to end the season at the ‘Skew.  This was a great weekend for baseball.  I was handed a Raising Cane’s coupon on the way out, so that settled lunch.  There was a new red Corvette parked behind me as I nervously pulled out.  I wonder who owns that. 

          

This marks the end of my Aggie Country Pass this year whether I go to the Softball tournament this week or not.  By my count, I went to 49 games with it, including Baseball, Softball, Women’s Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball.  I might have to pick Saturday’s Baseball game as the best game of the bunch, but that’s mostly because I don’t feel like auditing 48 other games on my blog. 

 

I certainly got my money’s worth.  Individually, all those games would have probably cost more than twice what I paid for the pass, especially with the ticket price increase.  I almost didn’t get it as there was talk of another lockdown in August of 2023, and I haven’t forgotten losing half the value of my card in 2020 when Softball and Baseball were canceled (for nothing I might add).  I don’t know what I’ll be doing in the fall with Aggie Sports, but I do plan on coming back for more baseball next year, and following along with the rest of their season this year.      

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