NM State Aggies vs Wyoming Cowgirls Women's NIT Basketball 3-15-18

Photo from Las Cruces Sun News by Gary Mook.

This is a great pic of Brooke Salas, and there's UTEP's Katerina Zec in the background, adding to the good looks.

Welcome to 7,200ft above sea level and the city of Laramie,Wyoming.  Apparently , there's only one flight a day into Laramie, so the Aggie girls had to fly to Denver and bus in.  Their destination was the “Dome of Doom,” Wyoming University's arena and a good Cowgirls team (and I appreciate the gender-specific team naming for a change).  I took a look at a picture online.  It is a large, nice facility. 

At least the Aggies wouldn't be battling the elements tonight unlike Wyoming's fans.  It was snowing hard there in the evening.  Adam Young reported that they usually draw 3000 people for their games from the surrounding area, but the weather was keeping many of their otherwise hearty fans away, even for a tournament game.

Before the game, I wondered how the girls were going to react to playing in the NIT.  Seniors Zaire Williams and Jasmine Cooper, who haven't known anything other than playing the NCAA Tournament for three years, must have been keenly disappointed.  Likewise, everyone except new players this year, would have been looking forward to it.  This had to be a come-down. 

They were at least playing for the possibility, given the NIT's arcane scheduling, of at least one more home game.  I seem to remember that the UTEP Women's team a couple of years ago actually played for the NIT title in El Paso.  I'd hoped this game would be here, since tickets were a fairly reasonable $13 (as opposed to the $100 Men's NCAA tickets).  Standing in the Aggies' way though was Mountain West Player of the Year, Liv Roberts.  This Cowgirls team had also beaten the New Mexico Lobos three times this season.  This was the same team that the Aggies had lost to twice, including a barn-burning in Las Cruces (12-2-17).

First Quarter

Regardless of the size of the crowd, they were very enthusiastic.  The Aggies didn't get their first points until five minutes into the game, but their defense held up well, so it was only 6-2 Cowgirls halfway through the quarter.  Unfortunately, Wyoming planted a couple of three's right after to make it 12-3.  The quarter finished with the Cowgirls firmly up, 21-11.  The two conference Players of the Year were leading their teams, Liv Roberts with 15 and Brooke Salas with 9.

Second Quarter

Coach Atkinson was making frequent substitutions for the altitude.  Jeneva Toilolo  came into the game wearing a new number.  Her regular jersey didn't make the trip.  The Aggies turned up their defense and managed to close the difference to 6, but the Cowgirls soon had it back to double digits.  Good thing for them that their team doesn't play like their band.  I caught a little of them during a break.  They suck and made me appreciate the Roadrunner Review all the more.

Aaliyah Prince cycled into the game off the bench and immediately hit a basket.  Good for her getting some playing time.  Gia Pack, who'd been playing well, got hit with an elbow on a flagrant foul.  She had to come out for the rest of the half.  Prince came back in for her.  I was skeptical given what I'd seen of her play this year, but she proceeded to get get a reverse layup and hit another jumper.  I was happily impressed.  The Aggies were back in it, down 35-30.  Roberts finished the half with 22, 7 for 7 on free throws.  Brooke was up to 16.

Third Quarter

Adam reported that both highways out of Laramie were closed.  This was going to be putting a bit of a crimp in the Aggies' departure plans, which involved taking the bus back to Denver tonight.  Gia came back into the game with a vengeance.  The Aggies got within 2, but a couple of turnovers drove the Wyoming lead back up to 7.  Brooke was covered like a blanket was it was on Gia to score.  The coach became infuriated over a non-call on Brooke being hit while shooting.  It was 53-48 Cowgirls after three quarters.  Terrible stat during the quarter: the Aggies were 1 for 14 on three-point attempts. 

Fourth Quarter

The game continued to be tight.  Playing the hot hand, Prince was back in and scored 5 to tie the score at 53.  The crowd definitely got into it.  The Aggies picked up three quick fouls and the Cowgirls were back up 57-53.  The crowd was still roaring at the two minute mark as Wyoming increased their lead to 63-56.  Brooke hit a three late , but it was too late.  67-59 Wyoming was the final.  The Aggies did not try fouling in the last minute and just let it expire. 

Only five Aggies scored in the game.  Brooke Salas had 21 and Gia Pack had 20.  We're looking forward to seeing these two back next season.  Our next leading scorer was Aaliyah Prince with 11, going 5 for 6!  Was this the same little hotdog I'd seen out on the court this year with more ambition than talent?  Did she just need a bigger stage to showoff?  I'm looking forward to seeing more of her too.

Zaire Williams had 6 points, but really had a bad game with turnovers.  Jeneva Toilolo had 1 point on a free throw.  She had a couple of chances in the paint, but wasn't able to finish.  I see the potential with her.  I hope she'll be able to work on it over the off-season.  Okay, that was all the offensive contributions, and I'd say that was why they lost.  I don't know where Monique Mills or Jasmine Cooper were, but some scoring from them, probably would have put the team over the top.  Meanwhile, there was no defending Liv Roberts on the Cowgirls.  She had 28 points on 8 for 10 shooting and went 9 for 9 for free throws.    

There wasn't an interview with Coach Atkinson again after the game, just like after their last WAC game (3-19-18).  With that, I'm going to take a stab at recapping the season.  I wasn't really prepared for this today, so forgive me if I forget lots of stuff and don't link to every game I went to.

The Aggies had some bad losses at home in 2017, including a shocker to the start the season to Western Michigan (11-12-17).  They hadn't lost on their home court since 2016 in an OT loss to Arizona (12-4-16).  They lost to the NM Lobos in Albuquerque in front of over 5,000 hostile fans and in Las Cruces (12-2-17).  The Lobos brought a bunch of their fans with them for that game, while Aggies fans were sitting outside, tailgating for the big football game.  Even with the disappointing loss, at 101-93, that was one of the best Women's basketball games I'd ever seen. 

The team had a good, grind-it-out win over their other main rival, UTEP next (12-10-17).  Tangentially, I got to see lots of Katerina Zec then and became enamored.  The Aggies went on a long road trip.  They were completely annihilated at Arizona in front of 7,500 fans, mostly screaming kids (12-14-17).  The girls had an inspired win at Pepperdine with their former coach, Mark Trakh in attendance (12-17-18).  

Once again (12-29-17), Aggie Women's Basketball conflicted with a big football game.  While it was extremely gratifying that Aggie Football was playing meaningful games, it was another low-attendance game for the girls.  What followed was a 30-point loss to UC-Santa Barbara.  This might have been the low-point of the girls' season, though Jasmine Cooper did breakout offensively in the game.

After a chippy contest with Western NM (12-31-17), the Aggies began conference play to start 2018.  This was when the girls turned it up and only dropped three games out of 14, all losses on the road.  They got that home court magic back.  With a little help on the last day of the season (3-18-18), they won the regular season championship.  However, there was some stiff competition this season in the WAC tournament and the Aggies ran right into a buzzsaw that was Seattle U's red-hot shooting (3-9-18).

Brooke Salas definitely earned her pre-season POTY award.  She was a good, steady rock for the team.  When she wasn't scoring, Brooke was getting rebounds, blocks, and steals.  Gia Pack was a great compliment in scoring for a one-two punch.  It was very hard for any team to keep both of them from scoring in a game.  Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough support for these two to be able to play with really good opponents.  We hope Monique Mills will step into that role next year.

The program lost a great coach in Mark Trakh, along with a great class of seniors last year.  Coach Brooke Atkinson was still handed a pretty good team for a first-year head coach.  Her first and best decision was not to make any major changes in play philosophy.  I think the first half of the season was a learning one for her.  Given how the team played in the second half, she obviously learned well.  This post-season was also a learning one for her, so we'll hopefully see what she learned next season.  This, of course, depends on repeating this season's success and seeing how well she does in off-season recruiting. 

Cheers to the girls on a good season.  I had a good time with them.  And from Twitter, the girls did make it to Denver in the morning for their flight and still look in good spirits.

                                    

NM State Aggies WAC Basketball Tournament 2018

Full disclosure, I caught a cold this week.  So, my enthusiasm for note-taking and writing, even for this big event, isn't where it should be.  I'm even doing this on a laptop, while watching TV.  I was able to listen to all these games, but I think some quick summaries, with the usual random, incoherent details strung together in an incomprehensible narrative, will be the best I can do.

3-7-18 Aggie Women vs Chicago State Cougars

Before the WAC tournament in Las Vegas, Brooke Salas was named WAC Player of the Year, Gia Pack was named to the First Team All-Conference, Coach Brooke Atkinson was Coach of the Year, and Monique Mills was named Newcomer of the Year.  Since Grand Canyon University is now eligible for the postseason, the Aggies would not be getting a bye in the first round with their #1 seeding.  They'd be playing Chicago State, the #8 seed, who had finally broken their 59-game winless streak this season.  I would have liked to have seen that victory celebration.   

I can likely sum up this game with one stat: Chicago State scored their first points with two minutes left in the first quarter, making the score 17-2 Aggies at the time.  Coach Atkinson was actually emptying the bench before the second quarter.  Boy did Gia Pack have a great half with 20 points.  Monique Mills was also all over it on defense.  42-27 Aggies at the half.

AD Mario Moccia came on with sportscaster Adam Young during halftime.  Mario was pleased with the Aggie crowd for this game.  The Roadrunner Review band and the Cheerleaders were there too.  They were expecting more fans when the Men started playing the next day.  Pep rallies were planned before the games.  Mario also teased Adam for wearing a UTEP-colored tie.

The second half was more of the same.  Jeneva Toilolo had four points for the game, but I was pleased that she scored them by finishing on her shots in the paint.  Tonishia Childress put in a couple of threes.  Sara Lopez was put in to run the point for the Aggies' last possession.  She could have dribbled it out, but instead pulled up and hit a three.  I hope the Cougars weren't offended by that.  The crowd, and myself, let out a cheer.  I think I could hear Adam smiling while he called the shot.

Our final was 84-60 Aggies.  (I forgot to write it down at the time and had to look it up later.  I must have really been out of it.)  Gia Pack finished with 29.  Brooke Salas had 27.  Monique Mills only had 2 points, but was doing it on defense and they didn't need extra offense today.  Tyeshia Bowers for the Cougars had 22.  Chicago State does have some players.  Disturbingly, the Aggies were -15 in rebounds, but made it up being +11 in turnovers.

3-8-18 Aggie Men vs Chicago State Cougars

Okay, same set up here, just different genders.  Coach Chris Jans did win Coach of the Year, and Jermerrio Jones won Player of the Year.  The Aggie guys went on a run early and never looked back.  It was 19-6 early.  Joe Garza came in to run the point for a spell and hit a three.  Sportscaster Jack Nixon offered some constructive criticism of Jemerrio during the half, calling him out for trying to hit a three and for “never making an easy pass.”  It was 45-26 Aggies at the half.  Zach Lofton led with 18.

I took a look at the girls' Twitter feed.  They posted a picture of the team with seats on the floor for this game and looking good.  In the second half, Jack mentioned they got into the action at one point with an out-of-bounds ball landing near Zaire Williams.  (Yeah, I'm sure that was accidental.  No doubt whoever did the inbounds came over and said, “Hey, baby!  Like what you see out here?  What you doin' after the game?”  Okay, that's what I might have done if I were one of these ballplayers.) 

Not much was going on competitively.  Johnny McCants got the Aggie fans going with one of his jams to make it 60-41 Aggies.  Jack did get on to the guys for some “lazy passing” and playing badly.  They must have heard him, as the team put in back-to-back reverse jams and went on a 14-0 run.  97-70 Aggies was the final.  Zach Lofton led with 21 points.  Keyon Jones hit six threes for 18 points.  The stat of the game was that the team forced 20 turnovers.       

3-9-18 Aggie Women vs Seattle U Redhawks

This tilt was an afternoon game.  I flipped on my TV beforehand and suddenly caught the very end of the Mountain West Women's Basketball final between the Boise State Broncos and the Nevada Wolfpack.  They were playing in Las Vegas too, but on the UNLV campus.  Darn, if I'd known this was on, I would have watched.  Time was up in the game.  The refs were deciding if a last second shot counted.  The Boise girls were huddled in a tight circle on the court when the decision came.  Their sub 1-second shot counted and the Broncos were the conference champs.  There was a decent crowd there for the game.  Nevada did win the regular season; they'd be getting an automatic bid to the NIT tournament.  I didn't realize the foreshadowing of that postgame comment until later.

The Aggie game came on the radio a bit later.  The Aggies had lost to the Redhawks in Seattle earlier in the season, but beaten them handily at home (2-18-18).  This matchup was a tossup.  Adam Young sounded serious from the beginning in his game call.  He reported there was good contingent of Aggie fans there.  (If you're there to see the guys, you might as well see the girls.  I know someone who went to the tournament.  I'll ask him about the pricing later.) 

This game unfortunately reminded me of the Chicago State game, but in reverse.  The Aggies went down 8-1 to start the game.  I kept waiting for Brooke Salas to takeover and start a run, but it never happened.  The score kept getting worse.  At 14-5 Redhawks, Coach Atkinson finally called a timeout, though I doubt it mattered.  For the first half, Seattle was shooting 69%.  The Aggies tried playing up tempo in the second quarter, but couldn't keep up with them.  Moreover, the refs were calling nothing.  At one point, Brooke had a staredown with a referee after a no-call while being hit on a shot.  Gia Pack got hammered on a shot with no call. It was 49-22 Redhawks at the half.

Adam, perhaps sensing this wasn't going to be the girls' day, had mentioned in the first quarter that the Aggie Baseball team was beating Alabama 3-0 late in their game.  AD Mario Moccia came on at halftime and Adam mentioned it to him to cheer him up.  Mario threatened Adam with violence if he'd potentially jinxed the team, but the score held and was final.  They'd even won the game, not with their ace, Kyle Bradish, but with Justin Dehn.  (I checked later.  The Aggies lost the night cap, 3-1.  That’s still impressively competitive against a good team.)

The third quarter started with the coverage coming back late from commercial.  I had to be on my way to work anyway.  I decided not to bother taking my portable radio to listen on the way.  (My car radio doesn't work.  I live such a silly life.)  I when I picked up the game again at work, nothing had changed.  84-61 Redhawks was the final.  Beyond Seattle shooting the lights out, the Aggies were -29 in rebounding.  That poor rebounding against Chicago State did come back and hurt them. Brooke Salas and Gia Pack both had 18 points.  It was going to take more than that today. 

Coach Atkinson didn't do an interview after the game.  I saw the postgame press conference with her and Gia and Brooke.  She didn't have any answers on how they could have stopped Seattle's offensive onslaught.  Gia was at a loss to explain too.  She would make the All-Tournament Team announced the next day.  Brooke looked kind of devastated.  She did acknowledge that the Redhawks just played better.  Well, the Aggies will get an NIT bid, since they won the conference.  Come on, Brooke.  Get that game-face back on.

Aggie Men vs Seattle U Redhawks

     

It was another identical match up later in the evening.  Much later.  The game started near 10:00 pm our time.  The coverage started with the previous game between Grand Canyon University and Utah Valley still going on.  Jack Nixon resisted for a while, but finally started doing play-by-play of the closing minutes.  Given that he probably hadn't prepped for the game, he did his usual great job, although I have to think he might have violated the other teams' broadcast rights.  Grand Canyon won to advance to the finals.  Frighteningly, from a quick estimation, they might have had as many fans there as the Aggies brought, though there was a record number of tickets sold by NM State for the tournament.

I was encouraged that Zach Lofton hit a three early.  The Aggies ran up an 18-5 lead.  Sidy N'Dir and AJ Harris had a pair of blocks that got gasps from the crowd.  They were loving it.  Then suddenly, it was 21-18 Aggies.  Get your stomach ready for the roller coaster.  Zach hit his fifth three of the half to make it 31-20.  Then it was 36-33 with two minutes left.  Then it was tied at 37.  When the buzzer sounded, it was 48-43 Seattle after a pair of last second shots.

The second half started.  I should mention that the Redhawks have a 7'3” center named Aaron Menzies.  Jemerrio Jones was un-intimidated.  He drove the lane and jammed on him.  “There's a poster coming!” shouted Jack Nixon.  The Aggies retook the lead with a 13-0 run to make it 48-43.  The Redhawks went on a 6-0 run to close it to 50-49 with 11 minutes left. 

At this point, work and illness may have gotten the better of me, and I was only able to listen, not take notes.  Zach and AJ put in a couple of critical threes to keep the Aggies in it.  Menzies fouled out with two minutes left.  With the Aggies ahead with under a minute left, the Redhawks started fouling.  That was a great strategy as the Aggies went 1 for 4 in free throws at one point.  Thankfully, they eventually made a couple and put it away.  84-79 Aggies final.  Zach Lofton put in a jaw-dropping 31 points.  Stay agog as Jemerrio Jones came up with 22 rebounds.  On to the championship round.

3-10-18 Aggie Men vs Grand Canyon University Lopes

Good thing I wasn't playing.  I was exhausted from dealing with my cold the night before.  I tuned into the pregame and heard an interesting/scary conversation with AD Mario Moccia.  Jack Nixon asked him about the status of the WAC.  One school was leaving (Bakersfield), another is being actively courted (Seattle U), and another is probably looking to jump since they're considered valuable (GCU).  Meanwhile, Chicago State's finances are putting their whole university in danger and UMKC is reevaluating having DI athletics.  I guess that's everyone except NM State and Utah Valley with pending plans.  The conference is adding another school, but they’re a DII program making the jump.  This was scary because Mario doesn't seem to have an answer (or is playing things really close to the vest).  He was very intent on making sure they retain Chris Jans as their basketball coach.

The team stat guy (whose name I'm not going to be able to figure out to spell) came on with a comforting stat.  A team with two wins on an opponent in a season were over 70% likely to win a third contest.  That's not my experience, at least from watching the NFL, but with two Aggie wins over GCU this year, it's good to know.  He said that they didn't tell the team about this stat.  In the coach's interview, Jans said he was very happy with the crowd support for the tournament.  The crowd might well have been about equal in rooting for the teams.  Vegas isn't too far from Phoenix after all.

Certainly to start the game, the teams were about equal.  GCU is actually #1 in the nation in defending three's, which was going to crimp the Aggies style a bit.  Johnny McCants did get in a crowd-pleasing jam, but the team went through a four-minute scoring drought with five minutes left.  However, the Lopes only managed a four-point lead during that time.  With three minutes left, Zach Lofton finally got his first points of the game.  This set off an avalanche though.  Steals, layups, and threes happened all at once for the Aggies.  Zach hit a three at the half to make it 33-22 Aggies.  Jemerrio Jones already had a double-double in points and rebounds. 

Jack kept having to correct the bumper announcer.  For some reason, the official intro was missing the word “conference” in it.  During halftime, Jack interviewed an Aggie alum who lives in Vegas and works in a sports book.  He said the busiest time of the year for sports betting was actually the first four days of March Madness.  So many games, so much money, so little brains.

The Aggies came out fouling to start the second half and picked up three quickly.  The Lopes went on a run, prompting a timeout.  However, they were fouling too.  After that last game, my mind was blown as the Aggies went 6 for 6 in free throws.  Ten minutes left and GCU led all of the second half stats, but not the score, 50-42 Aggies.  The Lopes kept fouling.  Unbelievably, the Aggies were 13 of 15 from the nail by this point.  Who were these guys?  Had they been saving these up all season?  Was the coach threatening their families?

GCU never managed a comeback.  For the last 30 seconds, Joe Garza came in and dribbled it out.  Our championship final: Aggies 72, Lopes 58.  Jemerrio Jones was named Tournament MVP.  Jack interviewed him afterward, and we found out AJ Harris' nickname is “Amos” (probably his actual name) and Jemerrio's is “Double J.”  Enough dancing lessons, it's time for the big dance.   

NM State Aggies vs the Harvard Crimson Baseball 3-4-18

Ron was out for this Sunday game to take care of some family members, so I was solo today.  I took advantage of the concessions special and picked up a $1 hot dog for lunch.  It had a stale bun, but at least it was cheap.  I also finally got the Corn in the Cup that I’d been craving.  It was a messy, soupy gumbo swimming in a butter/grease/water concoction.  It was delicious.  I ate the meal while watching the Aggies warm up on field.  Then the “Aggies” retreated to the visiting dugout.  Harvard’s team is called “The Crimson.”  As this implies, they wear crimson, which is the same primary color as the Aggies.  Today, both teams were wearing colored crimson tops and white pants.  I thought that one confused fan from last night’s game was a bit inebriated, but it was probably confusing for everyone at times.          

It was a clear, warm day, somewhat spoiled by a stiff breeze.  At least it wasn’t a cold one and for the fans in the grandstand, it was blowing out and not bothering them.  It was going to be bothering the players during the game however.  This was another TV game with no radio.  Friday night, I’d seen former Aggie pitcher, Matt McHugh, in the booth for the game.  He was here again and was the only guy at the stadium in a suit.  (I’m not sure even play-by-play guy, Adam Young, was as dressed up.)  Matt walked by me on the way to the booth.  I called him by name and told him to call a good game.  He seemed pleased with the recognition.

The Harvard announcer guy from last night was here, but he wasn’t broadcasting.  Once again, I had no opportunity to talk to him to see if he really was broadcasting for them.  The Old Man was there, cheering up a storm as usual.  It was a pretty good crowd.  I noticed a guy in a new Diablos t-shirt.  I think the El Paso Chihuahuas may have undercut their brand by bringing back the old logo and team name. 

A trio of young women sat down in front of me for the game.  Two were pretty attractive and even the other one had a nice hairstyle.  I think they were in the sports medicine program.  They sort of knew the guys in some fashion and were there to support them.  “All my baseball knowledge comes from watching Trouble With the Curve,” said the cute one.  I’ve seen some the movie.  That’s not a bad place to start.  In any case, they were fully engaged in the game and had a good time watching. 

I missed the PA lineup announcement trying to find a trash can for my lunch.  (What happened to the ones at either end of the grandstand?) Thankfully, there was a program today, so I didn’t have any trouble filling out my scorecard.  I finally identified the organ music clip the PA plays.  It was surprisingly Suki Yaki, not a tune I’d expect at a ballpark.  Though a TV game, there was only one lengthy delay for the broadcast at the beginning of the game.  The rest of the breaks were normal.      

           

Though Harvard got a double play to start off the bottom of the first, Mason Fishback came up next and homered.  It looked like an easy flyball to center, but just kept carrying in the wind.  This would inspire many of the other batters in the game to swing for flyballs.  Not a bad strategy.  A popup by Tristen Carranza next, blew all over the place before the Harvard first baseman caught it and fell down.

In the top of the second, Nick Gonzales made a great play on a dying little blooper to throw out the runner at first.  Jonathan Groff, starting for the Aggies, kept the ball low and got a couple of groundouts to end the inning.  The fielding was good there and I wonder if it was helped by Groff working quickly.  The wind picked up in the bottom.  Aggie batters aimed for the sky, but ended up with three fly outs.

The third featured a souvenir cup giveaway.  I already had one.  One of the girls in front applauded a lead-off base hit by Harvard to start the third.  She immediately realized her mistake and said she was confused by the uniforms.  The bases were loaded on another hit and a walk, but a double play limited the damage to one run.  1-0 Harvard.  Nick started off the bottom.  The Old Man and another fan, perhaps Marcus Still’s dad, told him to “Put it over the wall!”  He responded by sending the ball over the wall to right center.  It was a line drive shot, but the wind may have kept it flying.  We were tied at one.  A couple of attractive girls from the Track and Field team came in and sat down behind me.  They were in shorts and, as you might guess, they had great legs.

For the fourth, a little kid hit the window for the pitching contest.  He got some low-fives from the guys in the dugout.  The wind was blowing for both teams.  Hunter Bigge got one up in the jetstream to right with a runner on and put Harvard up on a homer, 3-1.  Groff got in some more trouble after, but worked out of it.      

The bottom of the fourth started with a bang.  Tristan Carranza hit the outfield wall with a line shot.  However, he only made it to first.  I initially thought it was because he was admiring what seemed like a sure home run, but actually he pulled something on the hit and had to be stretched out by a trainer at first.  He stayed in.  Caleb Henderson singled, then Logan Ehnes hit a popup, which the fielder lost in the sun, allowing him to reach.  This loaded the bases. 

“Hit us a granny!” yelled someone in the crowd to Trey Stine, up next.  He didn’t, but did drive in a run from being hit by a pitch.  The girls in front of me took their second group selfie of the game.  “People ask me, ‘How do you get those fine abs?’  I say, ‘It’s from holding out my phone all the time,’” said the cute one in the group.  Ah, she’s clever too.  On the field, Nick Gonzales hit a fly ball to left.  Between the sun and the wind, the fielder never saw the ball, and it ended up being a two-run double.

Marcus Still’s Dad started repeating the Old Man’s cheers as the Aggies batted around for the frame.  Marcus Still singled in a run.  Joey Ortiz sacrificed in a run.  Fishback and Carranza both doubled in runs.  When the dust cleared, the Aggies were up 9-3.  The PA had to take a minute before announcing the inning totals.  No errors were given out for the untouched fly balls.  Conditions were a bit rough for the players in the field and generally, if nobody touches the ball, it’s not an error.

The girls brought back something vicious-smelling from the concession, like really strong pickles.  Here, I regretted sitting near them.  The Aggies turned a double play for a quick top of the fifth.  Marcus Still drove in another run with a double in the bottom, 10-2.  Patrick Robinson for Harvard made a good diving catch in left field for an out.  In the sixth, I knew the trivia question (or more accurately, I knew to look at the program for the answer).  I would have run to the pressbox if I’d know they were giving away an umbrella.  I’ve destroyed both of mine going to softball and soccer games.  Also, I would have gotten to finally see the female PA voice. 

While the Aggies had been blasting away this game, Jake Suddleson for Harvard got the height and distance medal for a homer today.  His solo shot in the top of the sixth went 400’ to dead center and cleared the 20’ batter’s eye.  This one was definitely wind-aided.  Marcus Still out in center, didn’t even move or look as the ball flew overhead.  10-4 Aggies. 

Then the Aggies sent 16 men to the plate in the bottom of the sixth.  (Deep breath.)  Ortiz walked, Fishback doubled him in.  A hit batter and another walk loaded the bases.  Harvard changed pitchers (a little too late).  The PA ran him off with multiple sound effects and played Pressure by David Bowie and Queen for his replacement.  Ehnes singled in two runs.  Trey Stine then came up and hit a three-run homer.  The right fielder turned around and watched the ball hit one of the pine trees behind the wall.  He flapped his arms in resignation, or perhaps he wanted to fly away.

The girls, meanwhile, were reviewing some emergency medical procedures, maybe for a test.  Certainly the hemorrhaging on field might have reminded them about it.  Where were we?  Let’s see.  Next up, walk, hit batter, hit batter, grand slam home run.  That last one was courtesy of Joey Ortiz.  He hit the scoreboard in left field.  Fishback then got hit in the head on a fastball.  Given how many batters Harvard hit today (6 in total, 2 in Game 2 yesterday, I don’t know about the other two games), it might have been an accident.  Unfortunately, this one was hard.  Fishy had to come out of the game.  The pitcher was also yanked immediately.  Aggie pitching showed remarkable restraint in not retaliating. 

The Harvard shortstop, Chad Minato, came over to pitch.  Harvard does have close to a full roster, but I guess he was their best option at that moment.  His first batter, Carranza, fouled out to the first baseman.  That was the first out of the inning.  Then another hit batter, a three-run homer by Ehnes, and finally the second and third outs.  13 runs on five hits for the sixth.  23-4 Aggies.

The girls left after that barrage, but there was an Aggie Baseball t-shirt toss to the crowd from the pressbox.  There weren’t many kids there today, so heck yes, I wanted one.  I stood and waved, but came away empty.  “Good effort, Yale! . . . I mean Harvard,” shouted out a fan as they came to bat in the seventh.  That was just cruel (but you shouldn’t have pegged one of our star players).  After three quick groundouts, the game suddenly ended.  The run rule was in effect for this game apparently.  (Why isn’t this rule in effect for every game?)  Our final Aggies 23, Harvard 4. 

Jonathan Groff did a great job pitching in conditions not conducive to good pitching.  Good job by the fielders too.  Offensively, holy crap!  Let’s hand it to Logan Ehnes going 4 for 5 with 5 RBI’s and a homer.  Of course, there were plenty of other great performances hitting today (Joey Ortiz 5 RBI, grand slam HR; Mason Fishback 3 for 4, 3 RBI, HR; Trey Stine 4 RBI, HR).  This was one of those days where the Aggies looked like world-beaters.

Thanks to the truncation, the game ended in under three hours.  I drove by the tennis complex on the way home, since I knew there were matches going on today.  I saw a bunch of people there, but didn’t see the girls playing from the road, so I decided not to stop.  I wouldn’t finally be seeing Eli Arnaudova today.  This was a feel-good win today after yesterday’s loss.  If that strong wind had been blowing into the stands, I might not have felt so good about it.  Okay, no live Aggie sports for this upcoming weekend, but we’re hoping to hear the Men and Women’s Basketball teams playing for the WAC championship on Saturday.              

  

NM State Aggies vs the Harvard Crimson Baseball Game 2, 3-3-18

 

While we were at the Aggie Women’s Basketball game and watching the girls win their regular season championship, Ron kept updating me on Game 1 of this double header with Harvard.  It was a back and forth affair.  The Aggies made a comeback in the ninth to force a tenth inning, which Mason Fishback ended on a two-run walk-off homer, 11-9 Aggies. 

The game was tied in the ninth when the basketball game ended.  Ron may have wanted to leave at that point to try and see the end, but I wanted to stick around and see the girls cut down the net and didn’t think we’d make it over in time.  My bad, but no regrets.  Actually, it would have sort of been a great game to watch all of.  Sort of.  It ran for four hours.  Good thing for the fans there that the Aggies won.  Boy would that have hurt otherwise.

Just to backtrack a little to Friday night’s first game of this series, I was able to watch the end of the game at work, since it was on TV.  Kyle Bradish had another great start.  He let in one run on a wild pitch, while the Aggies built up a five run lead.  Unfortunately in the eighth, Harvard got to the Aggie relievers and scored four to tie it.  But the Aggies came back in a big way in the bottom.  Fishback drove in two and then Trey Stine clobbered a grand slam to put the game out of reach.  Brock Whittlesey shut the door in the ninth for an 11-5 Aggie win.

After the basketball game, Ron wanted a quick lunch.  I had to talk him out of McDonalds by mentioning that nearby Schlotzsky’s also had a drive through.  Since we were eating in Ron’s car in the baseball parking lot waiting for the game, we ended up skipping getting chips and, more importantly, their ice cream.  Still, our sandwiches were great.  Amazingly, Game 2 had not started by the time we went inside the stadium.  There were some complaints from the fans that had been there for Game 1 about the lengthy delay. 

It was a pretty good crowd.  The Diamond Club area was full.  I’m not sure how many came over from the basketball game, since the tickets for that were being honored here today.  I was the only one wearing an Aggie Women’s Basketball shirt.  Harvard did bring some fans with them, though nothing like Yale’s section-filling contingent from last year (3-5-17).  There was no program up front, but there was a new Kyle Bradish poster.  (Where am I going to find room for all of these posters?)  

In the late afternoon, it still very pleasant out in the high 70’s.  There was only a light breeze.  However, the sun was starting to set.  Thankfully, I’d brought my jacket, just in case we came to this game, but I didn’t bring a hat.  As the game went into the night, I was worried I’d start freezing again, like last weekend, but it never got cold.      

When I mentioned complaining fans earlier, I actually mainly meant one guy.  He was in a Dale Earnhardt Sr jacket, so he’ll be referred to as Senior here as we go along.  I’ve never seen this guy out at the park before, but he certainly knew his baseball and about the Aggie team.  He also knew how to hold his alcohol, which may have been a contributor to his outspokenness.  AD Mario Moccia came in before the game started.  Senior called him over and asked about getting good seats like at the ballpark into the football stadium, as well as some handrails for climbing the stairs.  He may have had some good points.  Mario said he’d bring it up at his next meeting. 

Ron made the impromptu observation that in Game 2, on the second pitch of the game, the batter hit a double.  No, he wasn’t drinking.  That runner did score on a base hit to give Harvard a 1-0 lead.  Bruno Teramoto had another error at second, but there was a great double play turned to end the inning.  Kevin Stone for Harvard worked around two lead-off walks with a double play for a scoreless first.

Harvard tacked on another run in the second with two singles and a walk, 2-0.  David Bellamy did make a great throw to the plate to try and get the runner.  Pitcher Alex Pinedo also made an excellent fake that he was going to cut off the throw.  In this inning, I noticed another voice just underneath Senior’s constant loud chatter.  It was a deep, smooth professional call of the game by an announcer from the Harvard point of view.  He was sitting in the stands only a few rows back, but with Senior in between, I could barely hear him.  I think he was calling the game for them, but I’m not quite sure.  Everyone who talks to me at after seeing me writing stuff down, asks me if I’m with the newspaper, so there’s no telling.  This uncertainty would be more clearly manifest later.  Unfortunately, I never got the chance to talk to him to clarify things and compliment him on his game call. 

The third inning passed without scoring.  There was a mini-football toss into the crowd from the pressbox, and I saw a woman wearing a new throwback Diablos jersey.  In the bottom, Marcus Still did hit Stone on a comebacker, but he recovered well and threw Still out.  They brought a kid out on field in the fourth for the throwing contest at a window pane.  With Senior yelling out advice, he hit it. 

Senior also had some interesting gossip during the inning.  He was telling a Harvard fan that this facility used to be totally primitive, until a donation a couple of years ago by a donor.  Said donor didn’t like the previous coach of the team and pledged the donation if the university fired him.  This is somewhat believable.  The previous coach was very tightly wound.  I could where he might rubbed people the wrong way.  The moment he stopped getting good results on the field, he got canned.  Coach Brian Green had a horrific first season, but he is an NMSU grad and has a much more pleasant personality.  Thankfully, he started getting results the next season and was able to sell the program to recruits with the stadium upgrades.

On the field, the Aggies finally got a run on a strange error.  Joey Ortiz got on from being hit by a pitch and was advanced to third on a hit by Fishback.  I wasn’t even watching what happened next.  The routine thrown in to the infield was muffed and Ortiz took home and Fishback took second.  2-1 Harvard.  During this inning I was also really distracted.  I was still trying to listen to the Harvard announcer.  (“And he lays off the high cheese.  It’s two balls, one strike.”  Ah, it was just musical commentary.)  The Aggie Men’s Basketball game also just started on the radio.  I kept listening in and out on that.

Senior sang along with NSync over the PA in between innings.  Him and the Harvard announcer had a proxy disagreement.  Somehow a football rule came up.  Senior said he was wrong.  The announcer said that someone in the Aggie crowd did not agree with him.  Needless to say, I got a chuckle out of that exchange.  In the bottom of the fifth, the Aggie offense finally got going.  The Aggies tried to use some small ball to score.  Teramoto singled and was bunted over.  Still hit a shallow single.  He ran for second to try and draw a throw to allow Bruno to score, but the throw went home.  Bruno was thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice on the next batter.  Enough of that crap.  Joey Ortiz came up and hit a three-run homer.  It didn’t seem to be hit that hard, but it just kept carrying to right center.  The wind probably kept it up.  4-2 Aggies.

Senior came back from the concessions with a foul ball he’d acquired while over there.  He sang along with Corey Hart’s Sunglasses at Night.  Ron was seething that other people were getting all of these fouls.  Logan Bottrell pinch hit in the sixth and made it to third base on a two-base error from a bad throw by the shortstop.  Stone walked the next batter, precipitating a mound visit by the coach.  The gobbledygook sound bite played over their conversation.  “Another classy sound effect by the Aggies,” said the Harvard announcer.  Unfortunately, Bottrell would be thrown out at the plate on a good play by Stone.  It was a fielder’s choice bunt which was incorrectly, in my opinion, officially scored as a hit.

“Why do I keep rooting for Harvard?” asked Senior in the seventh.  It was true.  He kept accidently cheering for the wrong team.  I thought it was alcohol-related, but from tomorrow’s experience, everyone including myself was vulnerable to some confusion.  Both teams were essentially wearing the same colors.  Harvard might have been wearing very light grays tonight, as they were on TV the night before.  (Or they were wearing whites tonight, in which case they were wearing exactly the same uniform as NMSU.  I can’t remember exactly.)  Anyway, Senior chatted with a Harvard fan and we both learned that Harvard offers no athletic scholarships.  Their players were all volunteers.  The main highlight of the inning was Still making a great catch in deep centerfield to end the top half.  Meanwhile, it was 48-33 Aggies at the half in basketball.  UTRGV ended the half with a 6-0 run.

For the eighth, Senior corrected the Harvard announcer on the inning.  He wasn’t that drunk.  Me and Ron may have been the only ones not drinking at the stadium judging from the general level of banter from the crowd.  Oooh, that lady with the cute cocker spaniel just came in.  It’s so adorable.  Also, there were a bunch of good-looking women at the stadium tonight.  Some may have been Harvard fans.  In any case, they were all seated behind me.  I’d only notice them as they walked in aisles.  In the top, Ortiz made a great play at short on a slow roller to end the frame.  This was Kevin Stone’s last inning pitching.  Ron noted later that his fastball kept getting faster as the game went on.     

For the Aggies in the ninth, Matt Perea came in to close.  It did not go well.  The first two batters reached on singles and were sacrificed into scoring position.  Perea got a strikeout for the second out, but Chad Minato singled both of them in to tie the score.  Ben Skinner then doubled in Minato to give Harvard a 5-4 lead.  In the bottom, David Bellamy hit a blooper that he hustled into a double.  Ortiz walked behind him, but two strikeouts ended the game, 5-4 Harvard.

Well, that was disappointing in a crushing sort of way.  In a slightly broader perspective, the Aggies did win the last two games against Harvard with last inning comebacks.  I suppose expecting three-in-a-row was too much.  Not being able to close out with a two-run lead was a bit more troubling.  At least Aggie Men’s Basketball won their game, 86-71, to finish their regular season.  Shockingly for Aggie Baseball, this game did take under three hours.

Senior suddenly disappeared well before the end of the game.  The Harvard announcer stopped broadcasting in the eighth.  I’d noticed he’d also gotten up and gone to the bathroom and/or concessions during the game a couple of times and missed some of the action.  So, I don’t know if he was really broadcasting or not.  He certainly should have been with his voice and delivery.  He mentioned to another fan that he was Harvard third baseman Hunter Bigge’s father.  I had Hunter in as the ninth inning pitcher, though I wasn’t able to hear his introduction.  At the time, I must have thought I misheard the name, but did write down his number.  When a got a program the next day, he was listed as a pitcher.  Harvard used a couple other players the next day in dual roles. 

Harvard pitcher Kevin Stone gets a gameball for an eight-inning, 5 hit, 2 earned run effort.  Also, credit to the team for some clutch hitting in the ninth.  Aggie pitching with Alex Pinedo and Wyatt Kelly combined for eight innings and only one earned run.  Joey Ortiz had what would have been the play of the game with his big fifth inning three-run homer. 

Ron and I had some ice cream at PQ Treats afterward.  That’s always a good way to sweeten a loss (or celebrate a victory).  At least we saw the Women’s Basketball team win a championship today.  Well, let’s regroup for tomorrow’s noon game.

NM State Aggies vs UTRGV Vaqueros Women’s Basketball 3-3-18

We got to the Pan-Am Center way too early.  Ron really likes watching the players warm up.  Today’s matchup was certainly worth getting excited about.  The Aggie Women were playing for a possible WAC regular season championship.  There were already cars in the parking lot when we got there.  Inside, the Vaqueros (once again, I really dislike this name for UTRGV’s Women’s teams) were stretching and running drills.  The Aggies were doing a shoot-around.  We did get to see the Roadrunner Review band doing their pre-game ritual (assuming they do this every game).  They got up and marched around the concourse, playing and singing the Aggie fight song, before returning to their seats.

The university was expecting a good crowd for this game.  A couple more registers were open at the concessions.  (But still not the grill, when I am going to be able to try an Aggie Burger?)  AD Mario Moccia had offered free tickets to any business that got in touch with him this week, which was how I got my tickets.  This was a bit of a “Thank you” for all the community support the university had gotten over this school year.  Even better, tickets for this game would be good for entry to Aggie Baseball, which was playing a double header against Harvard this afternoon.  This was a nice gesture too, since fans, such as myself and Ron, had to choose which game to attend because of the overlapping scheduling.  (They probably weren’t able to move either of the events around.)  Ron kept an eye on Statcast of the baseball game.  It was 5-0 Aggies in the third.

I was in my “3 Pete” Women’s Basketball WAC championship shirt for the last time until next season.  I saw a couple of them in the crowd.  I also picked out a football “Made History” shirt.  On that front, Coach Brooke Atkinson was wearing pink pants and a tank top.  It was another bold fashion choice for the coach.  Adam Young, doing a welcome radio broadcast with Nolan Fox today, fist-bumped her as she walked by.  You could hear the girls roaring in the tunnel before they came out and were introduced. 

At mid-court, senior Jasmine Cooper was all smiles as she shook hands with the officials and the opposing captain.  This would be her last game at the Pan-Am.  Her, Tonishia Childress, and Zaire Williams were all honored as departing seniors, along with the seniors on the Vaqueros, before the game.  Totally breaking character with virtually every other post I’ve made, I have say Zaire’s dad is really handsome.  She gets her good looks from him.  Her mom definitely contributed to Zee’s great hair though, since dad was “shiny” on top.  

An awesome crowd suddenly materialized right before the tipoff.  It was later announced at over 1,500.  Most of the bigger crowds this season included some large kids’ groups that performed at the half, along with their parents.  There were plenty of kids here today, but this crowd was here for the game.  I hope the girls were pleased with the turnout.    

First Quarter

If you like defensive basketball, this was your quarter.  Neither team was shooting well, as the defenses were ferocious.  I counted three steals by Brooke Salas in the opening minutes.  One of those steals, Brooke sent to Monique Mills for a layup and the game’s first score.  Remember that Aggie fans are told to stand until the opposing team scores?  Six minutes into the game, we were still standing.  It was 7-0 Aggies before the first media timeout finally settled everybody, except for the cheerleaders.  They were still standing up in the aisles for a few more minutes.  Ron and I exchanged disbelieving looks during the timeout.  Was UTRGV going to score?  It was 9-0 Aggies with three minutes left before the Vaqueros finally got a layup. 

UTRGV did mount a comeback as the Aggies went cold.  The game got more physical.  With under a minute, there was a spectacle like a tag-team wrestling match for a loose ball at mid-court.  Brooke made her first field goal right before the buzzer.  11-8 Aggies after 10 minutes.  From the radio, we got the following stats: Aggies 3 for 15 shooting, Vaqueros 4 for 16 along with 11 turnovers.  

Second Quarter

A little girls’ dance troop performed between quarters.  The Cheerleaders and the Sundancers watched, and I think, enjoyed it.  Back in play, the Vaqueros were 0 for 8 on threes, until they made one to tie the score at 11.  There was more fighting on the floor for the ball.  Both teams seemed well motivated this afternoon, and were going to be black and blue tomorrow. 

Megan Johnson on UTRGV collected an impressive three fouls in one minute and had to sit.  Brooke and Jameka Dowell fought under the basket for a rebound.  Brooke came up with it and got an assist to Monique for a basket.  I also had Mo with a block on an open-look three.  I could be wrong there; the radio call didn’t specify the player either.  Mo definitely got a steal and a layup for a 23-17 Aggie lead.  

During a timeout, that kid that I see everywhere at Aggie sporting events, was brought out on court with a couple of cheerleaders.  I first time I saw him was at a softball game where he left a dish of nachos out in the heat for over an hour before he ate them.  Obviously, he has an iron stomach.  The last time was also at a softball game, where marketing guy, DJ Downs, was chasing him around.  He’s well connected.  I didn’t catch his name, but he was introduced as an “Aggie Superfan.”  It was his birthday today and he got well wishes from the crowd. 

Back in the game, Brooke had to come out with two fouls and three minutes left in the half.  It was tied at 23 at the two minute mark.  The Vaqueros got their first lead of the game on a layup right before the buzzer.  Coach Atkinson was furious with team for that breakdown.  25-24 Vaqueros at the half. 

Halftime

A different group of little girl dancers performed, followed by another routine by the previous group.  It was something of an unofficial dance-off.  Both groups had performed at previous games, but not together.  The Sundancers watched both groups, but the cheerleaders hung out together in the stands.  It wasn’t until later that I finally noticed that they didn’t perform at all on court during the game.  They had a full complement of girls and guys there to do their routines.  I did see my favorite, the little goth-y one.  I don’t know why she’s favorite, she just is.  Well, this will be the last time I see her until the fall, assuming she’s not graduating.

 

Third Quarter

Let’s breakdown the scoring for the beginning of this quarter:  Brooke Salas hit a three, Brooke got a layup off a Gia Pack steal (I think it was her), Brooke hit another three, and then she hit another three.  Timeout UTRGV.  It was now 35-27 Aggies.  Brooke had put in 11 points in three minutes.  Coming out of the timeout, Zaire grabbed her by the arm, smiling like a happy fan. 

The game was still very physical.  Mo drove the lane on one possession and ended up flat on her back.  She did convert the free throws.  Gia got her second steal of the quarter and rammed it in for a contested layup.  It was good see her scoring.  It was 48-38 Aggies after 30 minutes, though the Aggies did have another defensive breakdown before the buzzer to let in a layup. 

Fourth Quarter

The cheerleaders came out and tossed little basketballs to the crowd, which was the closest they came to performing.  Brooke popped a three right after play started.  She also got a jump hook in the lane.  There was some good passing.  Coop found Gia under the basket, then Zaire found Coop in the same place right after.  There was somewhat comical scene going on the other side of the court, as Coach Atkinson was directing the players from the sidelines in front of Adam, as he was standing, dodging around her trying to see the game to call it.

What happened next had been brewing all game.  Brooke and Megan Johnson tussled under the basket for a rebound, stopping play.  Brooke, as usual, was nonplussed and even smiling afterward, but other players were not going to let it go.  Jameka Dowell started shoving and Zaire came in to give it back.  Coach Atkinson immediately ran out on the court to break up any more fighting.  She was trying protect her players from any possible suspensions, though she could have been ejected immediately for going out on court.    

The refs took a while to sort this one out, given that there wasn’t a full camera crew working the game.  UTRGV coach Larry Tidwell, who looks like he should be in a coffee house reading poetry with some beatniks, told the officials that he was sitting Dowell out for the rest of the game.  The refs decided to eject her and Zaire as well.  As Zee was going to the locker room, she passed Mario, who was sitting behind the UTRGV bench.  He gave her a high-five. 

Mo dropped a three coming out of the break to make it 60-41 Aggies with five minutes left.  She also got fouled on a three and converted on all three shots from the nail.  Yeah, it was rout by this point.  A little boy working it for Flex-Cam cracked up the crowd, who were already in a good mood.  At 70-51 with 90 seconds left, the coach took out all the starters at the same time.  She might have had something else planned, but with Zaire out, this was the next best way to give the crowd a chance to honor them.  Our final: Aggies 72, Vaqueros 56.

We’ll hand out some gameballs here.  For the Vaqueros, Valeria Tapia shot well above her 5’7” height with 15 points.  Marie-Fatou Gueye also had 15.  I think Adam mentioned that her season average was 2 points per game.  For the Aggies, we have our scoring triumvirate.  Brooke Salas had 24, Monique Mills had 20, and Gia Pack had 18.  This is what the team needs for the tournament, since you really can’t double team three players without exhausting yourself.  Mo really had a tremendous game, which was what the team needed until Brooke and Gia got hot.  Brooke was just a dagger in the back in the third.  The team defense also refused to let UTRGV get on an uncontested run. 

With this win, the Aggies won at least a share of the WAC regular season championship.  Congratulations to Coach Brooke Atkinson for this winning a season as a first time head coach.  She later gave former coach Mark Trakh a lot of credit for handing her such a great team.  When asked at the beginning of the season, Atkinson said she didn’t plan any changes, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Also with this win, Coop and Zaire became the first players ever in the WAC to win four regular season championships.  

A ladder was brought out on court and the girls were announced as they each cut off a piece of the net.  Brooke was wearing a bigger smile than I’d ever seen on her.  Zaire was the last player and finished cutting it loose.  The only item remaining was the question of whether they were co-champs or outright champs.  This was being decided in Bakersfield at the same time as this game, but there, the Roadrunners and the Grand Canyon Lopes needed two overtimes to decide their fate. 

Ron and I got to the ballpark during the intermission between the double header games.  No reason not to go to see baseball, since it’d be free.  I never imagined that Game 1, which started two hours before the basketball game, would finish after the basketball game.  Just as we came in, the PA announced to the crowd that Bakersfield had lost and that the Aggies were the sole conference champs in Women’s Basketball. 

And I have another ticket that I’ll be holding on to.

                                

NM State vs Arizona Wildcats Baseball 2-27-18

At least there was radio for this game.  Also, I wasn’t sitting out in the cold to watch, since the game was in Tucson.  Adam Young reported that it was sunny, but very windy.  I’m sure it got cold when the sun went down.  Hi-Corbett Field was built big to begin with, so the ball would be staying inside the fences this evening.  During the Anthem, listeners could hear people singing in 2,000+ crowd and even whistling the tune.  Mid-week starter, Brock Whittlesey, was on the mound for the Aggies.  Perhaps the team’s hottest batter, Noah Haupt, was listed as “not available.”  There was no further explanation, but it seemed like a bad sign.

Both teams had their chances to take an early lead in the first and second, but pitching and defense held.  Mason Fishback threw out a runner at second to cripple one threat.  In the top of the third, Logan Bottrell was thrown out at home on a sac fly.  Whitt got a strikeout looking to end the third inning.  The Aggies finally broke through in the fourth with a Trey Stine sacrifice fly, 1-0. 

In the bottom, Whitt was pulled after two batters got on.  Unfortunately, an error at second by Bruno Teramoto led to two runs scoring.  He made a second error on a safety squeeze which scored another run and allowed another runner on.  A second safety squeeze brought in a fourth run.  Finally, a blooper to the outfield scored a fifth run.  It was 5-1 Wildcats, 3 unearned runs and no one was scored on a hard hit ball. 

The Aggies got one run back in the fifth with Joey Ortiz singling in Marcus Still, driving the Wildcats’ starter out of the game.  5-2 Wildcats.  Ortiz drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the seventh.  Fishback also drove in a run to make it 5-4.  In the bottom, Adam’s voice started cracking.  I hope he’s not catching something.  This frame was battle of the managers.  An Arizona batter was pulled after one pitch.  Immediately after, a new Aggie pitcher was put in, AJ Castillo.  He worked out of a jam with a strikeout.

For the eighth, Stine made a great catch on a hard liner at third and Castillo pitched very well.  I kept hearing cheering in the background.  There was reported to be a good-sized contingent of Aggie fans there.  Still, 5-4 Wildcats was the final. 

I admit, I got angry during the game, something that usually never happens.  I was listening at work, so it might have been partly stress, but it was easy to get frustrated with missed opportunities and bad play.  As Adam said, “The Aggies only had one bad inning.”  Arizona isn’t having a good year; this was the time to beat them.  I was slightly encouraged that the Aggies did score runs, did make a comeback, and did have some pitching.  (Somewhat discouraged that this game, once again, took over three-and-half hours.)  I really think if Haupt had been there, it might have been the difference.  Well, regroup and take it out on Harvard this weekend.      

NM State Aggies vs MS Valley St Delta Devils Baseball Game 2, 2-24-18

Game 2

(Continued from Game 1.)

Between games, we went back to Ron’s car.  Lovely Kiley Tonge from the Aggie Volleyball team was still around.  Ron saw her and seemed to be mentally planning on joining me for volleyball next season.  The sun was hitting the car’s windshield and it was warm inside.  I started screaming as I sat down.  It was so wonderful to be warm again.  After a snack, we reluctantly returned to the ballpark.  I saw a couple of extremes there.  One girl entering was wearing a tank top.  I told Ron and he was shocked.  (She did put on a hoodie after sitting down.)  On the Visitor’s side, I saw one lady wearing a parka, which seemed a lot more appropriate.

The wind had stilled a bit, but basically any wind in that cold was miserable.  The crowd had definitely thinned out.  My notes became less frequent as I didn’t feel like writing.  Jonathan Groff got the Aggie start in Game 2.  He finished off the first with a strikeout looking.  The umpire hesitated, causing a Devil’s fan to comment, “Drama!” 

The Aggie lineup was about half different from the last game with a bunch of subs in.  Logan Bottrell led off the game with perfectly placed infield hit behind the pitcher.  Jeremiah Barr for the Devils hit four batters in the inning, but somehow only gave up three runs, leaving the bases loaded.  Thankfully, I don’t think he hit anyone hard.  Logan Ehnes had a memorable strikeout, accidently chucking his bat down the third base line on the third strike.  3-0 Aggies.

Noah Haupt managed to get a base hit on a sacrifice bunt in the second.  Mason Fishback would drive in Joey Ortiz from second to make it 4-0.  The bases were left loaded again.  In the third, Ortiz made a good play deep in the hole on a grounder for the final out.  In the bottom, Bruno Teramoto got hit on the helmet.  Again, thankfully, not a hard hit.  Butrell got an infield hit on another sac bunt attempt.  Gotta be really honest, it’s not just bad pitching for MSVS, they’ve got some fielding issues too.  No runs this inning.

One of the guys behind us made the comment, “Hey, there’s a basketball game tonight at the Pan-Am.”  His friend replied, “I bet it’s warmer there too.”  They both agreed that it would be a lot more expensive as well.  By the fourth, I started listening to the Aggie Men’s Basketball pregame on my radio.  The Aggie Women’s Basketball team had won that afternoon.  They’d be playing for a chance at the WAC regular season championship next weekend. 

AD Mario Moccia came on and was asked about the current NCAA scandal.  He told everyone not to worry about it reaching NMSU, “We don’t have any money to bribe anyone.”  It was also mentioned that tonight’s opponent, UMKC, was reevaluating its Division I status.  With Chicago State’s shaky footing, the WAC may have some problems.  The Roo’s, for now at least, came into this game, the Aggie Men’s last home game, with a four-game winning streak.  The Aggie Men had a chance to clinch their regular season championship tonight. 

It had also gotten cold enough that I was only able to keep up my scorecard.  Scribbling notes became too much effort.  The Aggies put up a couple more runs to make it 6-0 after four.  Caleb Henderson, aka “Earl”, drove in one run, but was thrown out trying to take second.  Ehnes struck out again and this time helicoptered his bat into the Aggie dugout on the third strike.  Try using some of that furniture glue spray. 

In the fifth, Jancarlos Aponte on the Devils got a triple as Tristen Carranza missed the ball on a dive, but he was left stranded.  The Devils brought in a new pitcher for the bottom.  Seven batters came to the plate before he got an out.  The Aggies sent 18 men to the plate in the inning.  Coach Brian Green put in some subs, but most of his subs had already started in the game.  MSVS finally put in another pitcher to get the last out, but by that time 14 runs had scored.  The PA had to take a minute before giving the inning totals.  20-0 Aggies.

Chance Hroch relieved Groff in the sixth.  No problems there.  The Aggies went down in the sixth without scoring, though Carranza almost made it to first on a dropped third strike, when the catcher nearly forgot to make a play.  For the seventh, I finally noticed that MSVS didn’t have a first base coach.  At the basketball game, it was 40-28 Aggies at the half.  I was listening, but not even attempting to take notes on the action. 

After the Delta Devils’ at bat ended in the top of the seventh, instead of the stretch, regular between innings music started playing.  Both teams then went out on the field and started shaking hands.  The music suddenly switched to the Aggie fight song.  The PA announced the final score.  It was over.  Aggies win 20-0, but even better, I was still alive.  I was pretty sure I was going to expire before the ninth.  Ron later told me that his teeth had started chattering at the start of the inning.  His windbreaker and hoodie were insufficient against the wind.  I had heard this was going to be a 9-inning game yesterday, but that could have been wrong.  I have been there for 9 and 7 inning double headers.  Whatever.  I don’t feel cheated, though Death might feel differently, just missing out on a couple new recruits.

For this game, Jonathan Groff gets a gameball for going 5 innings, giving up no runs, three hits, and getting 7 strikeouts.  Once again, Mason Fishback gets another for going 3 for 5 with 4 RBI’s.  Logan Bottrell went 4 for 5 with three runs scored.  And like the last game, the Aggies got all of their runs without a home run.  I missed an error somewhere on my scorecard.  The official scorer must have changed their mind after an inning at some point, because I did hear the PA giving the after-inning stats. 

For my part, these two games just about sucked the life out of me.  The next day, I was still nearly too exhausted to write or do anything.  As I told Ron afterward, if it had just been me going, I wouldn’t have gone.  When I stepped outside in the morning to get the mail, I figured out this going to be a mistake.  Long, blowout games against bad opponents aren’t that great to sit through to begin with, much less when it’s freezing.  Frankly so far, this hasn’t been a very enjoyable Aggie Baseball season with some unpleasant weather, uncompetitive wins, and a couple of bad losses.  

After the game, we went to Jack-in-the-Box, mostly since I had a coupon for free tacos.  Our meals were good.  (I especially liked my chocolate shake.)  We finished listening to the Men’s Basketball game.  They had started out hot and had a 20-point lead for much of the game.  Near the end, the seniors were taken out of the game, one at a time.  The Aggies won in a 82-58 thrashing.  They won the regular season WAC title.  I was so tired, just writing down the score and a little “Yea!” was all I could manage.