Since Aggie Baseball’s last home series against LA Tech (3-22-26), they’ve suffered a loss to #22 Arizona State, 10-4. They used 8 pitchers in that effort. Steve Solorzano went 2 for 5 with a home run. The team was then swept by Middle Tennessee, though all of the games were fairly close. The team then had a postponed game in Albuquerque with UNM, like Aggie Softball did earlier in the season.
This week would be a Thursday to Saturday series with Sunday off for Easter. The Aggies were home to play Delaware University. We’ve met the Blue Hens previously in baseball before they joined the conference (3-2-19). They were notable for their great uniforms (truly). It was an 11-6 win for the Aggies on Thursday with 811 in attendance. Solo went for 4 for 5 with 3 RBI’s and a 2-run homer. Jonatan Clough had 5 RBI’s from 2 2-run doubles. Julio Ramos and Dylan Weekly closed it out with 2 scoreless innings.
On Friday, it was another big win, 15-9. The Aggie came back from going down 3-0 in the first. Chris Daniels was 2 for 3 with a home run and 2 RBI’s, Camden Kaufman was 2 for 4 with 4 RBI’s, Clough was 3 for 5, and Boston Vest had a 3-run double. Defensively, Vest also had 5 putouts and 7 assists. Ramos and Carson Timmons each had a scoreless inning of relief. There was another good crowd of 745.
That brings us to today, Saturday. Boy, the last thing I want to do on a Saturday morning is wake up early, especially after a poor night’s sleep. It was overcast and little cold, but otherwise nice. I couldn’t quite figure out the wardrobe, but I was mostly comfortable for the game. I passed on the sunblock, though I’d end up a little sunburned. The main issue was that it was too bright for regular glasses, but too dark if you were wearing sunglasses. I went without and felt like I was squinting for the whole game.
Fan Michael was upbeat inside the stadium after watching two Aggie victories. He mentioned it was Frat Night last night and the guys were given free hot dogs for some sort of eating contest. Their section consumed 81. Once again, DU looked sharp in bright blue tops with yellow letters. Their cap featured an Olde English “D,” like the Detroit Tigers. The crowd was small to start, but turned out good with 712 in attendance. The teams looked a little lethargic warming up. Maybe it was early for them, too. Catcher Brandon Clizbe was into it. He came in from the bullpen pumping his fist to the Fight Song.
These added up. I attribute this mostly to having fairly straight-forward scoring, though there was the rare Balk call. Jack Turner started for the Aggies. Also starting the game was some very loud rock music next door. We couldn’t figure out if it was coming from either the Football practice field, the weight room, or the soccer field. There was nothing to be done about it, except to enjoy it.
Actor Sal Mineo led off for the Blue Hens with James Dean on deck. I’m sure Sal has gotten plenty comments involving Rebel Without a Cause. I certainly had too much fun with Matt Houston for that last series. I wonder what obscure celebrity will show up with our next opponent. Sal hit a hard grounder that bounced up and hit Aiden Lombardi at second. No panic. Aiden picked it up and threw out the runner. To finish the inning, Solorzano fell on a grounder to first. He smothered it, got up, and beat the runner to the base. The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the first.
The Blue Hens started the top of the second with a pair of singles. Sam Winsett had a tough at bat next. He fouled off a couple of pitches before striking out looking. He walked away yelling, but made sure to not look back at the ump. The next batter went down on 3 pitches. However, Connor Doherty would single in a run to give DU a 1-0 lead. The Aggies went down in the bottom in order again with two strikeouts.
Turner started off the top of the third with another looking strikeout and got the second batter, but hit the next batter. LT Cockrill came up with a bloop double behind first. It fell into no man’s land and scored the runner for a 2-0 DU lead. Between innings, there was an impromptu Aggie team meeting in the dugout. Coach Angier was hot. Michael said he was probably angry because they threw to the wrong base on that hit. I’d say he likely said something about the offense, too. And then he added, “No chocolate Easter Bunnies for any of you, unless you idiots win!”
On the first Aggie batter of the bottom of the third, Cockrill, the catcher, took a hard foul ball. The trainer had to come out and look at him, as his bell had clearly been rung. He stayed in and the ump gave him a friendly pat. The next pitch was a high popup behind the plate. Cockrill stayed with it and squeezed it for the out. His dugout cheered for him.
Clizbe was up next and tripled on a shot to the wall, though he had trouble getting there. He nearly tripped after rounding second. I thought he’d blown his hammy. The new turf monster almost got him. Kaufman sacrificed him in. Solo then hit a grounder that went right under the shortstop’s glove for an error. After him, Aiden Taclas had an infield hit somehow eluded two fielders, but a fly out ended the inning. 2-1 DU.
In the top of the fourth, Vest made a nice effort on a Winsett grounder to short. The throw went wide and Solo laid completely out for the throw, not quite able to hold the bag. The next batter hit another high foul popup. Kaufman, at third, battled the white overcast sky while closing in on the dugout for the catch. Clizbe then picked off Winsett at first, as Solo applied the sweep tag on him. Doherty walked and stole second, as Clizbe’s throw went into centerfield and advanced Doherty to third. The highs and lows of being a catcher. A groundout ended the frame without further damage.
A pretty blonde woman with a bobbed haircut wearing a sweater and shorts walked by and said, “Hi,” to Michael. He said that was the Coach’s wife. Yikes! The boys on the team should listen to the Coach about how to snare hot chicks.
Blue Hens starter, Chase Deibler, had done pretty well, but in the bottom of the fourth he walked two batters around a flyout and was relieved. Jackson Hulcher began his stint on the mound throwing 6 balls in a row and issuing 2 walks, which forced in a run. A timely double play ended the inning, but the Aggies had tied it up at 2.
I was shocked. Turner was back out for the fifth. This was unprecedented for an Aggie pitcher this season. (Actually, I don’t know if it is or not. I’m not going to check.) Relievers were warming up in the bullpen. Turner finished strong with a 1-2-3 inning and a looking strikeout. The next door music finally ended and it got very quiet. The dugouts picked up the chatter to keep some noise going.
I noticed a guy in the crowd wearing a bright red Cardinals jersey with Arenado on the back. I don’t think the team has a color top. They should. It looks good. The Dodgers have adopted a blue top this season. The last time they tried that, the team went on a losing streak and they burned them behind the bullpen.
Decreased time between innings has generally ended on field activities other than the game, but I saw my first one today. They had a golf challenge between two little boys. It looked like they were swinging hockey sticks at tennis balls. One had problems with his swing. The other kid won, but first one immediately took another shot that was good just for his pride. I think the prize was a free round of golf. Maybe they should have used two adults.
In the bottom of the fifth, Tacalas beat out a hustle double. After a walk to Clough, they executed a successful double steal. During the next at bat, the third base ump suddenly called out, “Balk!” That unexpectedly brought in a run. Hulcher rallied and struck out the next two batters to end the inning. Cockrill did try to run off prematurely on the final out, though the pitch was called a ball. The next pitch ended the at bat.
Jake Carvajal came in to pitch the top of the sixth. He got two outs and went to a 3-2 count on the final batter. Carvajal grunted and fell off the mound on the last pitch. The ump might have liked the effort enough to call it a looking strikeout. In the bottom of the sixth, Daniels came up to bat to Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA. I asked Michael if Daniels had lost a bet. The Aggies went down in order with two strikeouts.
There were some girls behind us. At least one of them was a player girlfriend. They were gossiping a bit loudly. The one girl made sure everyone knew who she was going out with. The wind was picking up and was cold. I was surprised Carvajal was still out there for the seventh, as he seemed to give everything in the last inning. He only gave up a single. Lombardi battled the wind to get a foul out, but the most exciting play of the inning was a foul ball that went straight back into the stands nearby. It clanged off the walkway in front of the stands. The player girlfriend talked about having near miss/near death experience with a foul ball once.
The Blue Hens brought out a new pitcher for the bottom of the seventh. Kaufman made a hustle double to begin the frame after a lazy throw in from the outfield. Solorzano came up and hit a big fly to left field. It stayed fair just inside foul pole for a 2-run homer. The relievers in the bullpen immediately mounted the low wall by the field and started rowing as Solo rounded the bases. It wasn’t over. Taclas singled and Easton Rulli doubled. A sac fly by Vest brought in Tacalas and a wild pitch then brought in Rulli. Suddenly, the Aggies were up, 7-2.
Against the cloudy sky, there was a big hawk orbiting overhead. They haven’t figured out how to charge birds admission yet. Dylan Weekly came out for the top of the eighth. He worked a quick inning thanks to Kaufman snagging a low liner at third and starting a double play. Very slick.
In the bottom of the eighth, during Clizbe’s at bat, the ump and the catcher both got hit on a foul tip. The ump’s mask flew off. They were okay. Anthony Charles didn’t get off as lucky in right field chasing a Solo foul ball. He apparently ran into the wall in the corner, which was out of our view, so I don’t know how bad the impact was. He was shaken up, but okay. The Aggies only got a single in the inning. Weekly finished it off in the ninth. He was floating in strikes and fooling the batters. A “Let’s go Aggies!” chant on the final batter ended the game. Aggies win, 7-2!
It’s a sweep. The Blue Hens are not a great team (1-11 in conference), but the Aggies took care of business. The Aggies had some great pitching today. The pitchers were backed up with some great defense. Though there was an error and the Coach was not happy with some defensive play, I had 6 stars on the scorecard to highlight the good plays. The guys were focused.
The teams lined up to shake hands. Michael went over beside the net and got fist bumps from the Aggies, as well. I’m a bit jealous, but I’d rather get hugs and kisses from the Volleyball team. It was a tidy game at 2 hours and 38 minutes. I went over to see Trey Reese in the reserved section. He seemed a bit unhappy. I told him about the snapped BBCOR bat I saw at Softball last weekend (3-29-26). He’d seen it happen before, but only in very cold weather. He also said those bats are $400! Yow! A few kids lined up to run the bases and potentially blow out their hammies on the turf, but there was no Easter Egg hunt. Sorry.
Gameballs for the Blue Hens. The nine-hole batter, Connor Doherty, was 2 for 2 with an RBI. Pitcher Jackson Hulcher took the loss, but pitched 2 2/3 innings allowing 1 run and 1 inherited run and getting 4 strikeouts. 3 walks did him in.
Several Gameballs for the Aggies. Steve Solorzano was 1 for 5, but that 1 was a 2-run homer. Aiden Taclas went 3 for 4. I’m giving the whole pitching staff today a Gameball. I got to see an actual Aggie start this season with Jack Turner pitching 5 innings for the win, giving up 2 runs with 4 strikeouts. Jake Carvajal and Dylan Weekly both pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief. Well done.
I went off to Burger King for lunch. I had a good coupon for a Whopper, which they are advertising that they’ve slightly improved. Well, I agree. The bun was a bit better. I then went over to see dad and we finished off watching Jack Ryan Season 2. That was a bit uncomfortably close to what happened in Venezuela recently. I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter and we’ll be back out for Aggie Softball against UTEP ***next weekend.***
