NM State Aggies vs Chicago St Cougars Baseball 4-14-18

I was about 30 seconds from walking out the door about an hour early for the game when Ron called.  I was going to go early since they were offering a free t-shirt, which looked fairly cool.  He offered to meet me at the ballpark, but I said I'd wait for him to pick me up.  We got to the stadium about 15 minutes till first pitch.  I did not get a free t-shirt.  I saw a couple in the crowd later and they did look good.  Oh, well.  The anti-rape people were there, offering free t-shirts to students for pledging not to rape anyone.  Everyone else was only offered a sticker for taking the pledge.  I declined.  So much for a free t-shirt. 

Worse, the Women's Tennis team was playing their last home match at the same time.  For another year, I'm not going to get to see Eli Arnaudova in person.  I'll just have to live with her tantalizing pictures.  They were even offering free pizza and, I think, free admission.  These NMSU scheduling people need to work a little harder.  If they'd played the matches earlier in the day, I would have gone.

       

It was bright and sunny today, but it wasn’t warm.  With a cold breeze blowing, it was 62 degrees.  I was wearing my Aggie hoodie, but had a windbreaker over it.  I kept reasonably warm, though the wind was blowing in.  I wished I’d brought my sunglasses as there was quite a bit of glare off the field.  Ron forgot to bring his radio for the game and got way angrier about it.

The parking lot was full when we got there.  A couple more RV’s were parked there as well.  On the way in, I at least, got to hear the radio pregame.  Chicago State is winless in the WAC and, including last night’s game against the Aggies, they’d been run-ruled in their last six games.  Inside, there weren’t any programs (though they’d show up later), but there was a great crowd.  The Old Man said “Hi,” as we sat down by him.  He asked me to pass along some hitting advice to catcher Mason Fishback.  I had to tell him that I, not only don’t work for the team, I don’t know anybody on the team.  I’m sure the next obvious question would have been, “Then why are you keeping a scorecard and taking notes?” but he left that alone.  After all, I could ask him back, “Why do you cheer so obnoxiously at times?”

This was a treat before the game, football hero, Larry Rose III threw out one of the first pitches.  He was all smiles.  It was good to see him.  After seeing him throw, good thing he wasn’t a quarterback.  He was joined on field by a pair of sorority girls, whose chapter was seated next to the visiting dugout.  They were about as proficient.  At least they didn’t make Larry look even worse.  Okay, so I’ve seen basketball players (I can’t find the old post to link to it) and a football player not be able to throw a baseball.  How can you be a high-level male sports athlete and throw like girl?  (No offense to the Softball girls.) 

The game started well for Aggie starter Jonathan Groff with two quick outs.  Shortstop Joey Ortiz almost made a great play to end the inning with a running and falling away throw to first.  The batter just beat it out.  After that good play, Marcus Still made a bad throwing decision on a single to center and allowed both runners to advance, but no harm was done.

In the bottom, I noticed Larry was sitting with the sorority girls, but he had his girlfriend with him (at least, I'm guessing that was their relationship).  DJ Downs, Aggie marketing guy, came down from the pressbox to talk to him for a bit.  On the field, Chicago State's catcher, Matt Cox, was really tall and well-built.  He's like a first baseman.  Is this a new preferred body type in grooming catchers?  Adam Young on the radio call mentioned that the Aggies are second in the country in batting average.  On cue, the Aggies went down quickly in order.  Some Cougar fans were there and made themselves known cheering.

Marcus made a good running catch in center on the first batter of the second.  The next batter walked.  Mason Fishback made a bad throw on a stolen base attempt, and then a passed ball got the runner to third.  Groff got a strikeout looking on a great offspeed, but a bunch of those pitches were actually missing, which resulted in another walk.  Groff threw over to first a bunch and managed to pick the runner off to end the inning.  In the bottom, “Bitches, leave.”  (What movie is that from anyway?)  The sorority girls left en mass.  Well, they made an appearance.  I nearly lost my scorecards to a sudden gust of wind.  The Aggies went down in order again.  Shortstop, Tyler Zunkel, made a great throw from his knees to end the inning.

To start the third, Joey matched him by sliding to a knee to get the first out.  Events do not go well in the field after this.  Next, there was a double.  Then Joey bobbled and dropped the next grounder.  Worse, it was contagious.  A sure double-play ball rolled between the legs of second baseman Nick Gonzales.  This allowed a runner to score and put another on third. 

Larry took a phone call and left the game with his girlfriend following.  I was hoping he'd walk by so I could wish him luck, but he went in the other direction.  A groundout brought the runner at third in.  After a walk and several throws to first, a bad throw to second from Fishback on a pitchout brought in another runner on third.  Finally, the inning ended on strikeout looking.  Chicago State scored three runs on three errors and one hit.  What a defensive nightmare that was.  That hurt my feelings to watch and my head to write.  3-1 Cougars.

Between innings, I was hit by another ball.  This was a foam ball tossed in the crowd by those sexual assault people.  Ron retrieved it from nearby and kept it.  Joe Fitka had pitched two good innings starting for the Cougars.  Unfortunately, he was actually their closer.  By the third, he was losing his command.  Fishback's bad day continued as he was hit by a pitch to start the inning.   Nick walked and was erased on a fielder's choice.  The bases were then loaded on another walk.

The Aggies finally got on the board as Joey drew a walk to force in a run.  Trey Stine sacrificed in another run.  The big blow came with Caleb Henderson tripling past a diving centerfielder and clearing the bases.  The centerfielder, Jacob Vanitvelt, came up bleeding from the field.  His nose got cut by his sunglasses.  Chicago State didn't have a trainer, so the Aggies' trainer had to go out and patch him up.  Tristen Carranza then brought Caleb in with a double.  The Aggies would bat around.  The Cougars brought in a reliever to finish the inning.  When the dust cleared the Aggies were now up 6-3.  That's the way to get over some bad defense in the field. 

I saw people walking by with multiple giveaway shirts.  Even the Old Man was now wearing one.  They're all mocking me.  By the way, even with the sorority girls gone, there were plenty of good-looking girls still left in the crowd.  Several handsome young men too.  This is what Aggie Baseball needs to do all the time: bring in an attractive crowd. 

Groff led off the fourth with a walk.  This is a season high for him at four.  He got the next two outs, but hit the next batter.  Matt Paciello came up and doubled the two runners in.  Marcus made a great leaping catch in center to rob another double and end the inning.  The score was now 6-5 Aggies.  The Aggies worked a couple of walks, but didn't score in the bottom.

A couple of glamorous young blondes and a sophisticated older woman sat down behind us and then moved up in front of us in the fifth.  I recognized one of them as a friendly ticket seller from some other games this year.  I'm guessing she was with her sister and their mom.  They had a good time watching the game and amiably chatting.  That's nice to see.  Maybe I'll see her again in the ticket booth and say something.

Groff gave up his fifth walk to start the inning, but a couple of strikeouts and a groundout finished the inning and his outing.  It was a gritty appearance.  He was at over 100 pitches before this inning and left at 123.  He gave up 5 runs, but only 2 earned.  He may have been left in for five innings to qualify for a possible win.  Groff could be tied for the most wins in the nation after today. 

Cougar relief pitcher Robert Gutierrez got two groundouts in the bottom before going wild.  He plunked Carranza on the helmet.  Words were exchanged.  The ump talked to the pitcher.  Then Fishback was hit for the second time, this time in the back.  Again, the ump talked to Gutierrez as he handed him the ball.  Nick then took one for the team.  At this point, the crowd was in an uproar.  No action was taken though.  Marcus got the best revenge with a single, scoring Carranza.  7-5 Aggies.

Wyatt Kelley came in for the Aggies and hit his first batter.  Accident?  Maybe-ish.  It wasn't a hard hit at least.  Unfortunately after a double, a passed ball, and a single, the score was now tied at 7.  If the hit batter was retaliation, it backfired.  The Chicago State dugout and their fans were roaring.  They wanted this one bad given the losing streak they’re on. 

A group of girls, including one on crutches, moved into the seats vacated by the sorority and Larry earlier in the game.  They were having a good time laughing about something in the inning.  Other people around them were laughing too.  I have no idea what that was about, but they left a bit later.  At that point, I think I recognized one of them from Aggie Soccer.  That might explain the crutches.  I'm not sure if it was them or not.  Sometimes, the girls are hard to identify out of uniform.  No more hit batters in the bottom of the sixth, but no Aggie runs either.

Chance Hroch came in after a leadoff double in the seventh and shut the Cougars down.  I should mention here that the wind had finally died down and it was actually a bit warm out in the sun.  It was much nicer.  For the Aggie batters, it was now hitting time.  Fishback got to first via a walk, instead of getting hit.  Nick then came up and bombed one to straightaway left for a two-run homer.  The Aggie bench and the crowd erupted.  They were back in the lead 9-7.

The hit parade continued in the eighth off new reliever Edward Kang.  He comes to Chicago State via Taiwan.  Stine started off with a double.  Logan Ehnes came up next and hit a “Wow!” no-doubter line drive two-run homer to right.  Here’s one time I would have liked an MLB Statcast replay of a homer.  An unnatural quiet came over the crowd as Caleb came up next and then he homered to left.  Then I realized my radio was off, which was why it was so quiet.  Fishback came up after Carranza doubled and was hit for the third time.  The ump called him back to the plate for either leaning into the pitch or not trying to get out of the way.  Fishy and Coach Green both vigorously argued this one.  Kang would manage to get him and the next two batters out to finish the inning.

Brock Whittlesey, who’d come on in the eighth, gave up a leadoff hit in the ninth, but shut the door after that.  Our thrilling final: Aggies 12, Cougars 7.  Matt Paciello gets a gameball for the Cougars for going 3 for 5 with 3 RBI’s.  Caleb “My name is Earle” Henderson gets one for his 4 RBI performance.  Nick Gonzales gets one for his dramatic two-run seventh inning homer.  And Whitt’s two-inning save earns him a gameball.  Mason Fishback gets a purple heart for getting hit three times.

It was a long game at three and half hours, but a good one.  I missed the attendance figure, but it was good too.  It was finally nice and warm by the time we left.  Ron and I enjoyed an excellent meal at Raising Cane’s chicken fingers.  This was my third time in two weeks, though I had the sandwich this time.  It’s been busy there every time.  Overall, it was a great day for baseball.  The Aggies earned this win, though they probably didn’t deserve it after four errors.  I feel bad for Chicago State.  Hopefully they’ll get a win . . . after this Sunday’s game when they’re playing someone else. 

Baseball Journal April 9-13, 2018

4-9-18

I was watching the Brewers and Cardinals on ESPN early in the evening.  It was another extra innings game.  So much for pace of play.  I was going to write my Aunt Judy, who is a Cardinals fan, that I was watching the game, but then the Brewers won 5-4.  I decided not to write.  She might have been taking it hard. 

MLB.TV totally blocked the Giants and Diamondbacks game for their daily free game.  Not even the audio was available.  I did have it on the TV later.  I was busy at work, though, and ended up not watching hardly any of it.  The Giants won 2-1.  Instead, I kept up with the Chihuahuas versus the 51’s.  The pups took advantage of a knuckleballer to the tune of 14-0, the team’s largest margin of victory ever.  Kyle Lloyd went 7 innings and only gave up 5 hits.  Time of the game was 2 hours, 47 minutes.  Wow, I think that’s been par for about every game they’ve had so far.  Not to mention, that Giants game started at the same time and finished before the Chihuahuas game.  There’s some pace of play. 

4-10-18

Today was Opening Day for the Chihuahuas in El Paso.  I missed virtually everything on the local sportstalk show beforehand, which they doing at the ballpark.  Brett Nicolas, who’d made a good impression on me with the Rangers, was on the Chihuahuas.  Jabari Blash and Rymer Lirano were back in the El Paso, but in the other dugout with Salt Lake City Bees.  Eric Young Jr. was also with them, another legacy player, whose dad I watched play.  The Chihuahuas’s bats were pretty quiet early on, as the Bees racked up a couple of runs. 

I completely forgot about Aggie Baseball playing the Lobos in Albuquerque.  I even had it written down.  By the time I’d tuned in, the Aggies were up 9-0 in the seventh.  Shockingly, none of those runs were off home runs.  I do have to admit that the Lobos’ walkup music was way better than the Aggies. 

I tuned back to the Chihuahuas.  What had been a close game was now suddenly 7-1 Bees in the seventh.  Blash and Lirano were happy to be back playing in Southwest University Park, as they’d homered.  Blash had two.  He’s actually homered in the stadium with four different teams.  Tim Hagerty was excited that there was a catcher’s interference call, which he says only happens once a season.  (He called it like three or four times last season.) 

I flipped back to the Aggies to finish out their game.  The final was 9-1 Aggies.  Starter Justin Dehn had 5 scoreless innings with Matt Perea adding 3 more in relief.  Coach Brian Green got his one-hundredth win.  Back in El Paso, the Chihuahuas were using a position player to finish the ninth.  The final score was 14-1 Bees.  What a turnaround from yesterday’s 14-0 win!

4-11-18

Yea!  A weekday day game in El Paso for the Chihuahuas.  It’s nice to have something to listen to during the day.  It was a strangely quiet crowd given that there were a bunch of kids there.  Once again, the SLC Bees were the opponent.  They went up 2-0 early on with Jabari Blash again supplying the offense.  In the fourth, the pups loaded the bases with 2 outs, but got nothing when a popup ended the inning.

In the fifth, Luis Urias homered and lit up the crowd.  Next inning, Javy Guerra hit a two-run shot to give the Chihuahuas a 3-2 lead.  Ben Revere, on the Bees (I didn’t know he wasn’t still in the MLB), homered to tie it in the seventh.  I was making lunch at the time and was in and out of the room.  Something about the ball cleared the stadium and rolled under a car?  The ball was thrown back on the field?  Two attempts were made by an outfielder to toss it back into the crowd?  Revere tossed his batting gloves into the crowd?  This couldn’t have all been the same at bat.  That’s what I get for not listening more closely.

I definitely heard Shane Peterson’s homer in the eighth clearing the stadium to give the Chihuahuas the lead.  That got the kids going.  Blash led off the ninth with a double, but was stranded there.  4-3 Chihuahuas was the final.  Tim Hagerty was really pleased with the game.  With another two-and-half hour game, the kids there even got to see the whole thing.

At work in the evening, MLB.TV was showing the Reds and Phillies in Philadelphia.  It was a thin crowd and a fairly cold night there.  They got a pretty good show, up to a point.  In the second, Luis Castillo hit his first major league home run for the Phillies into the right field upper deck, and it was a two-run blast.  Right after that, Billy Hamilton for the Reds made a leaping robbery of a homer at the wall.  The announcers were amazed.  Even Philly fans applauded (while booing of course). 

Castillo got his second big league homer and hit it to the same spot in the fifth.  In the sixth, Scott Kingery threw out a Reds runner at the plate from left field.  It was an epic throw.  The runner wasn’t even sliding; he thought he was in easy.  A military family was reunited from deployment on the field by the Phanatic.  The little girl’s expression at seeing her dad was priceless. 

While working, I missed a great play as a Philly player knocked over an ump while rounding first, but I saw the replay.  The Reds tied it in the ninth.  Yes, it was another extra innings game.  At this point, much of the crowd probably got more baseball than they wanted and left.  The remaining fans got more vocal.  “Pitcher’s got a big butt!”  “Make them pay!”  In the twelfth, Kingery came up with a runner on third and one out.  The Reds brought in five infielders and had them playing up, but it didn’t help as he hit it to the outfield for a game-winning sacrifice fly.  4-3 Phillies in four hours (in the cold) and a sweep by Phils.  Get back on that Gabe Kapler band wagon.

4-12-18

I picked up the Tigers versus the Indians on the MLB free game in the fourth with the score 9-0 for Indians.  The Tribe is looking good so far.  This was the Detroit broadcast and I’m really enjoying listening to Kirk Gibson as the color commentator.  For such a fiery competitor, he’s rather soft-spoken, thoughtful analyst. 

Without much of a game going on, there were some interesting discussions going on.  One was a breakdown of Francisco Lindor’s swing.  Seeing him in freeze frame, getting jammed, but still getting the barrel on the ball and full extension, was a thing of beauty.  There was also a bit of an accusation that a fielder dove for a ball in the outfield that he did just for “style points.”  Kirk said that he knew some fielders would slow down and then dive, just to get on Sportscenter.  My opinion was that it was a great catch.  The Indians won going away.

Here in the desert Southwest, we were getting our usual spring cleaning in the form of high winds and dust.  Tim Hagerty and Steve Kaplowitz had a pre-game discussion about wind and baseball.  There have been some very high-scoring Diablos games in the past because of the wind.  Pitchers in Major League Baseball have even been blown off the mound, thus causing a balk.  At the start of the game, the wind was a brisk 37 mph.  You could hear it over the microphones for the whole game.

Speaking of high-scoring games, Cody Decker was been moved up to Triple-A Reno and pitched in an 18-run game last night.  He must love that.  Can’t wait to see him at some point in the season.  A more unlikely event occurred in tonight’s game between the Chihuahuas and the Bees.  Would you have picked a catcher to hit the first inside-the-park home run for the Chihuahuas at home?  That’s what Raffy Lopez did in the third.  He also drove in a run with that dash to tie the score at 2.  Almost needless to say, the crowd went nuts.  The wind did carry the ball and former Chihuahua, Rymer Lirano, hit the wall hard trying to get it.  He was down for a while, but came up smiling and stayed in the game for while longer.

The Chihuahuas took a 3-2 lead on an error and added to it in the fifth, making it 5-2.  Then the wheels came off on their pitching.  The Bees scored 7 runs in the last two innings.  9-5 Bees was the disappointing final. 

4-13-18

Super busy at work today.  MLB.TV blacked out the Rangers and Astros for me.  That’s Rangers, Rockies, and D-Backs so far.  Only the Diamondbacks are actually on local TV here.  Aggie Baseball was playing Chicago State here, but no radio or video was available.  I followed along Statcast.  It was a 15-2 run-rule blow out by the Aggies.  Kyle Bradish went 6 innings, only giving up the 2 runs.  Tristen Carranza had 4 RBI’s, and Caleb Henderson had 3.  Even with some wind here today, strangely, no home runs.

Aggie Softball was playing Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.  Thank you, GCU for putting your games up on Youtube.  Unfortunately, I missed virtually the entire game working.  Rachel Rodriguez was back in at short.  The Lopes made a late rally that fell short.  The Aggies won Game 1, 6-5.

What I was able to do was listen to the Chihuahuas playing the 51’s again, for the second time this season.  Tim Hagerty and Steve Kaplowitz had an amusing discussion before the game, as Steve was prodding Tim for another “hot take.”  Tim is such a nice guy, it’s hard to get an angry opinion out of him.  He still felt bad about last year, when he expressed a dislike for a Tom Petty song, and Petty died right after the season was over.  He had a great airline take: “They start tell you things to do right after you sit down.  I paid $500 for this seat and you’re giving me chores?” 

The Chihuahuas were not handing out hot takes tonight.  In the eighth, their hitting coach was ejected from the dugout for arguing balls and strikes.  That was about as fired up as the team got the crowd.  They were losing 3-1 until the ninth when Las Vegas scored 4 more runs.  7-1 51’s final.

Okay, I did get to watch Game 2 of Aggie Softball.  Kayla Green started.  She pitched in relief in Game 1.  Right off the bat, GCU loaded the bases with no outs.  After two plays at the plate and a popout, the Aggies wiggled out of it without damage.  Fahren Glackin started the scoring in the fourth with a two-run triple.  Rachel drove her in for a 3-0 Aggie lead.  In the bottom of the sixth, the Lopes had runners at second and third with no outs.  Again, Kayla got out of it.  In the seventh, the Aggies scored off an error to make it 4-1 going into the bottom of the seventh.

Once again, the Lopes loaded the bases with no outs.  Kayla was taken out for Analise de la Roca.  The GCU announcers were a pair of enthusiastic students.  Analise started getting hit and the guys got all over her and Aggies.  “She’s throwing batting practice!”  “The Aggies are self-destructing again!”  It was like they were trying out for ESPN.  Soon enough, the score was tied with the winning run on third.  Kayla came back in, but the announcers were right, it was too late.  5-4 GCU.  The Aggies never got an out in the inning.  I hope the girls weren’t as crushed as I was by this loss; they’ve got another game tomorrow.

Toy Soldiers

Excuse me, actually the boxes clearly state that these are NOT toys.  What they are is extremely high-priced miniatures . . . that produce childlike glee in everyone who sees them.  These were on sale at the estate sale that I went to last year,  but I didn't actually buy these until this last weekend.  I was trying to give my former co-worker an opportunity to sell them to others and save me from making an absurd purchase.  I don't even have anywhere to put them on display!

I went over to her house to buy two specific figures, but I knew I was in trouble when I took one out of the box and held it.  These figures are extraordinarily detailed.  They're also made of lead and have density and weight to them.  In short, they are a joy to behold.  I had to buy a few more.  Thank God I stopped myself at seven.  She had hundreds of figures there and they're all awesome.

These were the two figures I'd originally come for.  They weren't part of a set, so I could buy them without breaking up anything.

Here's Soldato Carlo Terrinoni.  He was sent to New France to help defend the colony from the Iroquois raids.   

Here's Robert Rogers' Servant from the Battle on Snowshoes, which occurred during the French and Indian War.  

And then I picked out a few other select figures.  Here's the indomitable Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart companion Dr. John Watson.  They are on the trail the nefarious Jack the Ripper.  Look out behind you!

And here's a couple of figures from the Napoleon in Egypt set, namely Napoleon himself.  The camel figure is absolutely magnificent in detail.  

 I was offered the whole Egypt set, but I couldn't justify the cost and would have had no where to put them.  Right now, the whole $70,000+ collection is in several storage bins in her garage.  As it was, I purchased these figures at a 75% discount.  And I'm still not going to say how much they cost.  But I have to say, if you're rich and have got the space, what a hobby!

Baseball Journal April 5-8, 2018

Much like last year, I wasn’t sure about continuing to do this journaling.  Looking back, I noticed my month-by-month journal kept getting bigger with every month.  As long as Aggie Baseball and Softball are going on, I’m not interested in doing detailed accounts of other games.  For now, I’ll just make notes on things that happen during games that I find interesting, even if it’s not on-field action.  Honestly, if you’re going to enjoy baseball, you have enjoy the silly, weird nonsense that surrounds the sport.

4-5-18

This was the first day since Opening Day that I was really able to get into some games.  I’d been watching or listening to bits of games every day though.  I’ve even been watching some replays of games from last year being broadcast on the Stadium Network.  Earlier in the week, they showed Nolan Arenado hitting for the cycle on Father’s Day and finishing it off with a home run.  Friday (4-6-18), they showed Edinson Volquez’s no-hitter.  It was interesting to watch knowing the outcome ahead of time.  Volquez was injured covering first on the first batter of the game.  There were several great plays in the field early on and a review-overturned infield hit to keep it going.  Up to halfway through the game, the big news for the broadcasters was that it was “Bark in the Park” day there in Miami with dogs everywhere. 

After getting new tires in the morning (after getting new brakes and shocks the day before), I picked up a great lunch at Raising Canes, a new chicken strip place that opened up nearby, which nearly made up for my monetary hemorrhaging.  Back at home, thanks to the quick and friendly service at Discount Tires, I was in time to catch the Rangers playing the A’s in a matinee in Oakland.  Curiously for a weekday afternoon, they had 10,000 in attendance, the largest crowd of the series.  Unfortunately I missed the last inning due to the length of the game and having to go to work.  The Rangers would win 6-3, though it was closer than that when I left.

I found myself tickled by an exchange between Eric Nadel and Matt Hicks calling the game for the Rangers.  Today was the Philadelphia Phillies home opener.  Their new rookie manager, Gabe Kapler, was boo’d when introduced.  Matt: “Isn’t that a term of endearment in Philadelphia?”  Eric: “One Opening Day, the fans there rolled out a banner in center field that read, ‘Just wait till next year.’”  Kapler’s had a rough week as he’s been blamed for the team’s losses due to his strategy of constantly bringing in new pitchers into the game.  Nothing against him, but I hope this scheme fails terribly.  It’s resulted in some very long games. 

The upper deck seats at the coliseum have been un-tarped for this season, giving them a bunch more seats available.  Matt chuckled about seeing three fans sitting up on “Mount Davis” last night.  He was worried that they were trapped there in the snow cap.  There’s a “free” game scheduled in Oakland this year to give back further to the fans, who are going to be losing their football and basketball teams shortly.  Even hearing that statement clearly over the radio, I’m still having a hard time believing it.  I don’t want to predict a riot, but let’s make sure there’s a profound police presence at the park that day.  The A’s ownership is committed to staying in Oakland for now and hoping to win over the fans in town and maybe get a new stadium there.

After getting to work and checking the final score, I put on the Tigers versus the White Sox on MLB.TV.  It was the Sox Opening Day.  It was 40 chilling degrees in Chicago at first pitch, and 35 when I joined the game in the eighth with the Sox up 7-3.  During the game, I saw a first baseman helping a runner at first put on a thermal hood, like he was dressing his kid for cold weather.  I’m sure the last two things fans there wanted at that point was a loss and extra innings.  The Tigers would tie it and win 9-7 in the tenth.  It was a four-hour game.  I felt bad for the fans.  Strangely, this was my second extra innings game of the young season, as I’d seen the Red Sox and Marlins play extras earlier in the week.        

Later in the night, the El Paso Chihuahuas had their first game of the season.  They were starting on the road in Las Vegas against the 51’s.  This would be the last Opening Day at Cashman Field downtown.  They were getting a new stadium in the suburbs next year.  Hopefully, they’ll be getting a new name with it.  Tim Hagerty mentioned that the team was using a bat-retrieving dog.  That seems hard to believe, but I’ve got try and find video of that.  The PA at the stadium kept playing music during pitches.  The new reduced time on the pitch clock may have been throwing him off.  The umpire was getting repeatedly annoyed.

During the game, the Chihuahuas loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs and failed to score.  They ended up winning the game though, 4-2.  Well, this result was in direct opposition to the stat I’d heard during Aggie Baseball (3-29-18) that teams doing that nearly always lose.  So much for statistics.

4-6-18

It was a double win for the Aggies tonight.  Aggie Softball won 4-2 over Bakersfield.  I watched part of the game on TV.  In Bakersfield, Aggie Baseball beat the Roadrunners 9-3.  Kyle Bradish went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs.  Joey Oritz had 5 RBI’s and a home run.  David Bellamy also had 2 RBI.  I was surprised NM State covered softball for the weekend instead of traveling and doing radio for baseball.  The Chihuahuas lost their second game 5-2 to the 51’s.  Zach Wheeler was on rehab pitching for Las Vegas and looked good.  There was a Star Wars themed fireworks show afterward.

4-7-18

Before I went to Aggie Softball in the afternoon, I caught a Red Sox versus the Rays game on Mexican TV.  I only found the game flipping around the stations.  I’m going to have to start checking the TV schedule better.  This was a NESN/Red Sox broadcast, not a Fox one.  Fox was showing a UFC documentary instead baseball Saturday.  The Sox won in a blow out on a bright, sunny freezing cold day in Boston.  When I got home from softball, I caught the very end of a Rockies game.  They won it off a walking walkoff as the winning run was forced home on a base on balls.  I swear they didn’t mention who they playing until after the game.  The big baseball news of the day was Shohei Ontani.  After hitting three home runs for the week, in his second pitching start, he had a perfect game going through 19 batters and struck 12 to get the win.  I’m starting to believe.

4-8-18

I almost entirely missed the Chihuahuas beating the 51’s today.  I didn’t even get down the final score.  Between watching my sports paramour Alex Morgan scoring a couple of goals in a 6-2 trouncing of Mexico by US Women’s soccer and watching some of the Masters with my dad, all I heard was little snippets.  I did hear that the pups scored 6 runs in the last two innings for a come-from-behind win.  I got some Raising Canes chicken strips for my dad.  He was impressed with them too.

Later in the evening, I ran into my third extra innings MLB game of the season, as the Mets beat the Nationals 6-5 in a series sweep in DC.  The best part was the ESPN announcer telling a story about Bryce Harper.  He had asked Joey Gallo of the Rangers, who had played with him in Little League, to tell his best Harper story.  Bryce was a pitcher and threw so hard that only Gallo volunteered to catch him.  After Harper had struck out to end an inning, he came out to the mound and warmed up angry. He threw the ball so hard, he hit Gallo.  Joey started crying and they took him out of the game.  They gave him ice cream and sat down between his mom and Mrs. Harper and watched the rest of the game and never tried catching again.  I can barely type this for laughing so hard.

NM State Aggies vs CSU-Bakersfield Roadrunners Game 2, 4-7-18

Continued from Game 1.

Ron and I got pretty toasty in the late afternoon sun, even through a layer of sunblock.  We went back to his car for shade and A/C.  Ron got a drink of water from his jug.  Unfortunately for me, Ron didn’t have any extra water, but I was okay though.  He may have gotten a bit lightheaded during the game. 

Back inside the stadium, I ran into the son of a co-worker, who was working a camera during Game 1.  I told him that I saw him waving to another camera last night.  He told me he was getting blown around on his platform then from the wind.  Today, he was frying under the clear sky and bright sun.  The life of a cameraman isn’t glamorous.  Tatyana Battle and Bridgette Lowe were there to represent Aggie Volleyball.  Taty had a sign with Kelsey Horton’s name on it, but I was never able to read what it said.  I wonder if Kelsey impresses the girls on other teams, like she does softball fans.

The attractive young woman and her family supporting Bakersfield moved to other seats for Game 2.  Another Bakersfield fan moved into their spot.  He was wearing a very sharp-looking new Brooklyn Dodgers hat.  I was seriously coveting it.  (May have to wait until I’m older before I could pull off wearing one of those.)  He piped up on a few occasions, but wasn’t unfriendly.  He did chat with an Aggie fan in a Cubs hat during the game.  This fellow brought his young teen daughter with him.  They were pretty quiet with each other mostly, but he would point out certain events on the field to her.  She was attentive to the game and might have been player herself.  When pennants were handed out to the crowd by the stadium staff, she got one and waved it for the rest of the game.

  

Kayla Green did not start for the Aggies for the third game in a row.  Maybe Coach Kathy Rodolph likes her better in a relief role, where she has shined at times.  Samaria Diaz, Friday’s starter, got the nod.  In the first, Sam walked the first batter, who was moved over with a sacrifice, but nothing came of it.

Ominously for the Roadrunners and for Aggie batters, two of the first three batters got plunked.  Amy Bergeson started off the game getting hit in the back.  After Kelsey walked, Fahren Glackin was also hit.  According to the stats on the program, her and catcher Nikki Butler are in a race for the most bruises while batting.  Speaking of Nikki, she came up next and drove in two with a single, 2-0 Aggies.

Unfortunately, this all got overshadowed by what happened next.  Victoria Castro singled to load the bases.  Caity Szczesny struck out for the first out.  Freshman Sarai Mejia, the DP, came up and lined out to second, two outs.  The second baseman then threw to first to double off Tori, but the throw got away from the first baseman.  Okay, here’s where it gets complicated.  Fahren, who was third, came home.  The home plate umpire yelled out, “Dead ball!”  Fahren was called out.  The Roadrunners left the field.  The two remaining Aggie runners stayed at their bases while the Coach Kathy argued with the umps twice.  You may imagine the crowd’s reaction to all of this.

Athletic Director Mario Moccia and perhaps his dad had come in for the second game and were sitting up front.  A former baseball player, Mario explained to nearby fans that Fahren hadn’t tagged up before touching home, and that was why she was out.  My problem is that I never saw the ball come back into play after the first baseman lost it.  When the ump made his proclamation of “Dead ball,” that meant it either hit someone who wasn’t in play (like a batter on deck), in which case everyone should have returned to their bases, or it rolled out of play into the dugout, in which case everyone should have moved up a base.  The coach was arguing some point pretty vigorously.  Regardless, this all resulted in a 10 minute delay and didn’t go the Aggies’ way.    

Sam gave up a single in the second, again with no damage.  Stefani Duran worked a walk to start the bottom for the Aggies and was moved to third with a sacrifice and a wild pitch.  Kelsey came up and began another epic battle.  One of her fouls dropped into the stands.  The PA belatedly warned the fans to watch out for fouls.  Actually, I think that was the third ball of the afternoon that had had a very close encounter with the crowd.  Ron chuckled and wished he’d been there to see me when a ball landed in my lap at a baseball game (3-17-18).  Kelsey followed that by nearly hitting Stef at third.  Stef shrugged at her.  Kelsey then almost hit Fahren in the on deck circle.  Thankfully for everyone’s safety, Kelsey finally hit a double to score Stefani, 3-0 Aggies.

Sam again gave up a single in the third inning, but with no damage.  In the bottom, the Roadrunners did some creative player reshuffling in the bottom that likely made my scorecard somewhat unreliable.  This caused another lengthy delay.  Chris Hipa went from second to pitcher.  Frankly, I’m not sure about the rest of it.  Caity walked as the second batter of the inning.  With two outs, Stefani came to bat.  The girls in the Aggie dugout began an odd bobbing up and down during her at bat.  I don’t know what that was about, but it ended with her getting hit.  Pinch hitter Kennedy Johnson was then hit.  With the bases loaded, Amy worked a walk and drove in Caity.   

Then Kelsey came up again.  She fouled three pitches back without injury to the crowd.  She pounded one that the wind just blew foul.  A player had to run to the pressbox to get more balls.  Finally, Kelsey walked to drive in a run.  Fahren fouled out to end the inning.  That was 2 runs scored on 0 hits, 3 walks, and 2 hit batters.  5-0 Aggies. 

Ron poked me hard in the side when I didn’t have a superhero item for the “Do you have a (blank) in your pockets” giveaway.  I was wearing my crimson Star Trek shirt with the Aggie button over the insignia, but that only qualified as nerdy, not as something with a superhero on it.  Darkness had fallen over the Mesilla Valley.  In the lighted pressbox, I could see a girl in there dancing to the between innings music.  It was some rap about a guy wanting to “Break your legs” on the dance floor.  Okay.  The wind had also picked up.  I’d brought a jacket and left it in the car, but it thankfully never got cold. 

The fourth inning went 1-2-3 for both teams.  Freshman Anne Marie “Buddy” Vargas came into the game at short in the fourth with some support from the crowd, while Jeanelle went back to third.  In the fifth, Buddy made a great running play to make a throw to first.  She could be the shortstop of the future with those skills.  The Aggies got a single in the bottom, but that was all.   

Sam let on the first two batters of the sixth with singles.  Kayla came into the game in relief.  Buddy was pulled, Jeanelle went back to short, and Stefani was back in at third.  Kayla struck out her first batter.  The next had a shallow single to load the bases.  Kayla came up with another strikeout with her good offspeed and then fielded a grounder by the next batter to end the inning.  Whew.  She is getting to be really good under pressure. 

Meanwhile, I noticed some outside, non-concession food and drink in the crowd, this included Mario.  During the inning, he was watching something intently on the field, but it wasn’t the main action.  He got up and scanned the crowd between innings.  I’m not sure if he was looking for somebody or counting.  Mario then went to the pressbox.  This was all very mysterious, but didn’t affect anything.  

In the bottom of the sixth, Fahren was walked and Nikki was hit to keep up with Fahren in the hit batter stat.  Tori came up next and sent a line drive to center, where Julea Cavazos made the play of the game, as she pulled a homer back from over the fence.  Fahren went to third, and there was nearly another controversy with her tagging up, since it wasn’t immediately clear if Cavazos caught the ball.  The inning ended without any scoring.

To start the seventh, a nearby fan brought up a couple of beers.  He complained that they were serving warm beer at the concessions.  Oh my, between this and bad hot dogs, there’s got to be a change made here.  Kayla got a ground out on the first batter of the seventh and walked the second batter.  She made a play on a popup for the second out on the next batter.  Kayla’s good enough with her glove that infielders defer to her. 

The runner on first injured herself diving back to the base on a pickoff.  Inexplicably, a drunk Aggie fan nearby started heckling Fahern about it.  This is what you get when you start serving warm beer: your fans turn into rioting English soccer hooligans.  I’d like to think that this incident didn’t contribute to the error on the next batter, when she dropped a difficult catch, but it was a bad coincidence.  Thankfully, Fahren got the next throw to end the game.  5-0 Aggies was the final. 

Okay, with two shutouts in the bag, we can once again credit Aggie pitching with another good game.  Nikki Butler had the big hit of the game with a two-run single in the first.  Kelsey Horton, meanwhile, is so dangerous with her bat that even teammates and fans are imperiled when she comes to the plate.  That’s okay; we’ll keep her.  And let’s hear it for Roadrunner pitching handing the Aggies two runs without even a swing of the bat in the third.  To be fair, even while getting blanked out today, the Roadrunners never lost spirit.  They were singing loudly from their dugout much of the time. 

The Aggies are on a good roll to start WAC play.  I’m a bit concerned about Rachel Rodriguez not playing and about some odd replacement decisions.  I’d like to see some more offense out of the other girls beyond Kelsey, Tori, and Nikki.  It doesn’t have to be all home runs.  The pitching is definitely coming together nicely.  Coach Rodolph must be thrilled to have four options this year.  I’m feeling some optimism, as long as the girls don’t get too bruised from being hit to play. 

The young teen girl and her dad with the Cubs hat walked out ahead of me and Ron as we left the stadium.  The girl was skipping and waving her pennant.  I’d say daddy/daughter time was a success tonight.  Ron had to get his hospice caretaking job, which is keeping him up all night.  We only had time to pick up a couple of subs from Subway and ice cream from PQ Treats.  This still wasn’t the meal I’d been hoping for, but I bravely persevered.  It was great to see the girls playing and dominating anyway.                    

NM State Aggies vs CSU-Bakersfield Roadrunners Game 1, 4-7-18

It was a poor start to the afternoon when Ron called and said he was running late and canceled going to lunch before the game.  And there I was at the time, napping and dreaming about food.  That was pretty disappointing.  Certainly the quick lunch from a can I had didn’t help.  We also got to the stadium while the player introductions were going on over the PA.  Things were looking up though.  On the way in, we were both distracted, highly distracted. 

It was the gorgeous woman from the soccer matches last year (10-8-17)!  It was the one who'd inspired me to actually me to write something borderline poetic about her.  To briefly recap, she's damn near perfect in appearance.  Her mirror shades completely obscure her far too cool demeanor.  Her bronze skin tantalized beneath a loose tank top and tiny white shorts.  Her legs went on for miles as she stretched them out after finding a seat.  There I go again, romanticizing this non-encounter.  Her motivations for attending seem unknowable, as she was alone and had no reaction to the events on field.  She disappeared out of my life once again halfway through the game.

Speaking of lovely, Megan Hart and Megan McGuire were in the crowd representing Aggie Volleyball’s support for the softball team.  Today was anti-rape day at the park.  If you were a student and pledged not to rape anyone, they gave you a t-shirt.  If you weren’t a student, they gave you a sticker.  Frankly, this is an embarrassingly cringe-y PC handling of a serious topic.  A more practical message would be: If you’re not into unwanted sex, don’t go out to wild parties and bars and get drunk.  Megan Hart, very practically, used her giveaway shirt to shield her fair complexion in the hot late afternoon sun.  Megan McGuire made sure to sit in Megan Hart’s long 6’5” shadow. 

Friday night on TV, I watched the girls beat this Bakersfield team 4-2.  It was a pretty tight game.  The Aggies’ scoring came via home runs by Kelsey Horton and Nikki Butler.  Kayla Green came in in relief and struck out the side in the seventh to end the game.  Rachel Rodriguez wasn’t playing though.  Jeanelle Medina moved over to short with freshman Stefani Duran playing third.  I saw Rachel running up to the pressbox to retrieve balls a couple of times during the game and she looked okay.  According to the stats on the program, she has the highest batting average on the team, so I’d think they’d play her if they could.   I also noticed Brandi Wilke was also retrieving balls.  She was noticeable because she was wearing a softball top, but black shorts on the bottom.  I’m guessing she wasn’t available to play either.

Today’s Game 1 was also on TV.  Having a radio call would have been nice and I could have found out what was up with Rachel.  I’d missed most of last night’s game where that was probably mentioned and only got to see the last two innings.  The color commentator, whose name I didn’t get, was excellent.  The PA for today’s games was very enthusiastic and kept the energy level up in the stadium.  The crowd was pretty good for the game.  Not SRO like for the Oklahoma game (2-17-18), but still nice.  The crowd for that game feels like a strange dream now. 

The Old Man was there.  Ron’s unofficial daughter was there.  She was running down foul balls during the game.  A family supporting Bakersfield was nearby with a beautiful daughter.  Maybe she was a sister of one of the players.  (She had a strong nose, which I love, and great hair styling.)  There was an actual purse puppy a couple of rows below us, and a larger dog was hanging out in the Aggie bullpen.  I don’t have any stats on the dog to scout her, but she must be pretty talented.  Coach Rodolph never brought her brought her into the game.

Analise de la Roca started in the circle for the Aggies.  I saw her taking an at bat last night, and her stat line for hitting is pretty good in a limited number of at bats.  It's strange that the top of the first only went three batters, but took quite a while to play.  Analise was throwing hard, but the Roadrunners were fouling off a good number of pitches.  She got two strikeouts and a hit batter between them was thrown out by Nikki catching.  Star Wars has fallen out of favor with me lately, but I was loving the new Chewbacca sound effect for Aggie strikeouts.

Kelsey Horton came up second for the Aggies and promptly hit a moonshot to left center.  1-0 Aggies.  It's like she's playing a video game.  I've just about run out of things to say about her greatness hitting.  Fahern Glackin came up next and was hit.  She's like a magnet for balls when she's standing in the batter's box.  The inning ended on a double play.  The Roadrunner's catcher, Karah Wiseman was interesting looking.  She's one of the tallest players on the team at 5'9” and also rather thin and wiry.  It's not your typical catcher build.  I was kind of fascinated watching her play.

For whatever reason, I wasn't taking much in the way of notes for this game.  Maybe it was the game itself.  The second inning was pretty quick on both ends.  The top of the third ended with Jeanelle making a good unassisted play at second for a force out.  Her and Kelsey were smiling at each other during a lot of the plays around second base as they were getting accustomed to one another's coverage.  There weren't any problems, and they worked well together and were having fun.

The bottom of the third was eventful.  You could almost see it coming.  In sum, the Aggies scored 6 runs to make it 7-0.  Four of the runs were scored via Nikki's two-run double and Victoria Castro's two-run homer.  Tori hit one of the trees in left center.  It was a heck of a shot.  However, the other two runs were scored on wild pitches.  Also, there were two more hit batters (including Kelsey in the back) and a walk, two of which scored.  My scoring may also differ from the official scoring.  I thought I heard the PA say there were two errors in the inning, but I'm not sure where they were.

Analise gave up a double to start the fourth, but had no further damage.  Kelsey came up to bat second in the bottom.  This was the battle of the game between her and Roadrunners’ reliever, Summer Evans.  I counted 9 foul balls.  Twice, girls were sent from the dugout to the pressbox to get more balls.  I think two balls went to the soccer field next door.  A couple little boys were breathlessly running them down.  Kelsey was mostly hooking them to the left.  The swings were savage, but early.  Since she stands way up in the box, she might benefit from standing a bit further back.  Finally, Evans threw her an offspeed over the plate and Kelsey crushed it to center.  You could definitely see that coming.  8-0 Aggies.

Mikayla Bongi came in for the fifth, which because of the score, was a possible close out inning.  She gave up 1 hit, but that was all.  Aggies won 8-0 in a run rule game.  For this shortened game, I’ll give nods to the Aggie offense for putting up 8 runs in four innings.  Kelsey Horton was dominating with two homers.  Victoria Castro and Nikki Butler also drove in two runs.  The Roadrunner pitching did hurt themselves with wild pitches, walks and hitting batters.   Aggie pitching combined for 4 hits and no runs.  Analise de la Roca looked overpowering at times. 

Though a short game and only eventful for one of the teams, I feel like I didn’t do much for this recap.  Maybe it was because we found our seats right after the Anthem and I didn’t get properly settled.  Maybe the heat was bothering me as it was a hot, sunny day.  Maybe it was lunch, or the lack of a good one, when I was expecting it.  Sorry.  I got a bit more into it for Game 2. 

NM State Aggies vs Sacramento State Hornets 3-31-18

First, let me apologize for my last two posts.  Both were made after midnight.  I’m not sure why I felt compelled to post them at that time and without proofreading them.  These things are buggy enough with me going over them.  I was certainly excited about Opening Day, but I probably should have waited on that one.  The Friday Aggie post was going to be the front end of this post, but I’d written enough to make a full post out of it.  I should have gone over the box score better to recap that night’s game, but I was really busy for quarter end at work.  I wrote that one paragraph recap after 1:00 am.    

In addition to canceling the Texas Tech game earlier this week for Easter (apparently this calendar holiday caught schedulers by surprise), they also moved up the start time of this game to accommodate Sac St’s travel plans.  (As part of my job, I have to go over holidays and statement drop days on the calendar for the whole year before the new year starts.  It’s a miserable, nitpicky task.)  Always check the latest schedule before making plans to come to the ballpark. 

It was a stunningly perfect day out.  No matter how the game turned out, it was a great day to spend some time outdoors.   I came about a half hour before first pitch and felt a little lonely at the ballpark.  The game time change may have caught most of the fans off guard.   The security guard and ticket taker were talking about it when I came in.  The stands were empty enough to start that when the female PA (maybe someday I’ll get a look at her and her name) muffed a pregame announcement, she chuckled over the mic about it.  The crowd would fill in as the game went on.   

My breakfast consisted of a terrible hot dog and the corn in a cup wasn’t doing it for me.  The people running the concessions are nice, but I’m going to have rethink future ballpark/stadium food purchases.  I did ask about them serving wine, as I’d seen at the last two games.  Yes, they do, and they also serve margaritas.

Oh, the pennant above was handed out at last night’s game.  I found mine lying in the parking lot as I drove in . . . and ran over it.  It cleaned up reasonably well at home.  While I was eating, I watched the Easter Bunny warming up with the Aggie players.  Yes, really.  EB was working on his pitching.  I also listened to the pregame on the radio.  Coach Brian Green gave full credit to yesterday’s lack to hitting to Hornets’ starter, Parker Brahms.  He did say that the players needed to make better adjustments during the game.  Isn’t getting the guys ready for an opposing pitcher, the coaching staff’s job?   

Here’s where I’d like to recap a thrilling, exciting ball game.  But, that’s not going to happen today.  They can’t all be gems.  Honestly, the best event on the field for the day was EB throwing out the first pitch.  He did this complicated Bugs Bunny-esqe wind up.  The PA warned him not to hop it, as he threw from the mound.  The pitch was high and outside, but didn’t hop.  I’m just sorry most of the eventual crowd wasn’t there to watch.

Aggie starter, Jonathan Groff, let on a couple of runners in the first, but Tristen Carranza in right field made a running, crashing-into-the-wall catch to end the inning.  There were slight shifts on all the batters in the game, but none more exaggerated than for Noah Haupt in the bottom.  Three Hornet fielders were on the right side of the field for him, with no one at third.  He struck out. 

 

In the second, the ump wagged his finger at the Sac St bench.  He was motioning to get the in-the-hole batter back in the dugout and off the on-deck circle.  Only batter at a time is allowed there.  After two strikeouts, Groff got in trouble.  First, he gave up a home run to Dylan McPhillips to left.  The Hornet bench went nuts.  Next, he gave up a single, a walk, and another single, which scored another run, 2-0 Hornets.  In the bottom, two happy little girls ran by clutching Aggie player posters.  That was the Aggie highlight.

More trouble in the third.  After a single and a walk, AJ Floyd hit a no doubt three-run homer to right field to make it 4-0 Hornets.  Their bench chanted, “State!  State!  State!” upon his return.  A single afterward dropped in between three Aggie fielders.  It fell in the “no man’s land” behind first.  For the fourth, Carranza again made a great catch as he came running in for a scoop.  Errors cost the team last night.  They were determined to not beat themselves today.  Still no Aggie offense to talk about. 

Boy some nice looking women showed up, and they were all in short shorts.  On the other side of the stadium, one girl had her long legs out on the seat in front of her, getting some sun.  A couple spectacular blondes walked by to join the crowd.  Yeah, not much going on on the field.  The Aggies got their leadoff batter on in the fifth, but he was erased in a double play.  At least Groff had settled into a good groove. 

The Old Man was seated behind me.  He’d cheered for a couple of innings, but then stopped.  The rest of the crowd was actually still into it.  Desperate to get somebody into scoring position, Joey Ortiz tagged up from first on a deep fly ball to center in the sixth.  He just made it to second, becoming the first Aggie to get there, but was left stranded.  A kid and his dad sat down in front of me.  The kid was spitting his sunflower seeds into his used hot dog wrapper, as opposed to on the floor as I’ve seen everyone (including girls) do.  This kid was being raised right.      

The Hornets scored in the seventh off of Aggie reliever, Brock Whittlesey, to make it 6-0.  A couple of kids ran by with Easter Baskets.  There would be an Easter Egg hunt after the game.  Both teams were playing quickly enough that I think they were looking forward to it too.  For the Stretch, EB came out and worked the crowd.  The kids loved it.  A little league team took pictures with him.  Ian Dawkins in center for the Hornets may have made the defensive play of the year in the bottom.  He jumped at the wall and brought back a homer by Carranza.  He ended up retiring all three batters that inning. 

The kid in front of me wanted to go chase foul balls and asked for permission.  Denied!  Ah, come on dad.  Let the kid have some fun.  The kid even brought a mitt.  Whitt took a shot directly off leg in the eighth.  He grabbed the ball to throw, but his knees buckled and he went to the ground.  The coach and trainer ran out to him, but he stayed in.  Haupt did a good job of running down a foul to end the inning.  His guy has mostly been a DH this season. 

Finally, the Aggies scored in the bottom.  It took two singles, a sacrifice, and a fielder’s choice, but the score was now 6-1 Hornets.  This was their starter, Austin Root’s, last inning.  Almost needless to say, this guy pitched well today.  For the top of the ninth, Nick Gonzales made a basket catch in “no man’s land,” again with two other players there. 

In the bottom, Mason Fishback was hit to start the inning by Sac St closer, Tanner Dalton.  Two more singles loaded the bases.  Trey Stine’s single was missed on a dive in the outfield.  Fishback was held at third.  Carranza and Stine were both rounding their bases at the time.  Carranza just barely made it back under the throw into second.  The crowd got into it.  A dog in the crowd was barking.  I was briefly wondering where I would be writing extra innings down on my scorecard, but an infield fly out and a foul out ended that speculation.  Braden Williams did single in a run before a strikeout ended the game.  6-2 Hornets was the final.

Austin Root was the easy standout of the game, going 8 innings and only giving up 1 run.  AJ Floyd was the offensive star with a back-breaking three-run homer.  Matt Smith had a good game going 3 for 5.  Oh, wait.  Those are all Hornet players.  For the Aggies . . . umm . . . it was a good effort defensively in the field.  Playing Texas Tech on the road next may not be a good opportunity to bounce back offensively. 

I think everyone was invited to take part in the Easter Egg hunt, but I declined (because it seems weird for adults to hunt for Easter Eggs).  The game only went two and half hours, which is just right for a baseball game, but highly unexpected for an Aggie home game and certainly not a 9-inning one.  Rats, I really thought they’d win today.  Though I’d eaten not long ago, I had a mid-afternoon meal at Schlotzsky’s afterward.  I was still hungry, or wanted a better meal than what I’d had earlier, or was drowning my sorrows in food.  Take your pick.  In any case, today was the last day for their coupon on the back of Aggie tickets, so I couldn’t resist taking advantage of it one more time. 

I listened to the Rangers and Astros game went I got home.  The Rangers didn’t do much better as they lost 9-3.  There seemed to be plenty of Astros fans in Arlington.  I like both teams.  There was a Mexican League game on TV in the evening.  Those guys had some hustle.  I counted 8 different sponsor patches on their uniforms.  They were one sponsor patch on their hat away from being NASCAR drivers.  (No, we don’t want sponsorship on MLB uniforms.)  Fox Sports decided to spend MLB’s opening weekend showing MLS and German soccer on their over-the-air network.  F you guys.  Okay, softball next week.  Looking forward to it.  No live Aggie Baseball, not even on the radio.