NM State Aggies vs Delaware Blue Hens Baseball 3-3-19

I felt a bit better after a good night’s sleep after a long day of watching Aggie sports yesterday.  There was a bright, warm sun out, but a truly cool breeze.  It was hard to decide on a wardrobe, but I went with a jacket.  I was with Ron for the game. 

There was another great crowd at the park.  A bunch of Little League teams were there.  Business at the concessions was buzzing.  Given the line, it was a good thing I’d eaten beforehand.  The Aggie Old Gent said “Hello,” to me when I came in.  I need to find out his name. 

The Delware Blue Hens again looked sharp.  Their uniforms were white with blue trim.  I think I saw an Adidas logo on them just to give proper credit.  I could see the Softball girls practicing next door.  I chatted briefly with radio broadcaster, Adam Young, on his way to the pressbox.  We both agreed Women’s Basketball star, Brooke Salas, was great and we’ll miss her.  The Little Leaguers went out on the field with the team for the Anthem.  The guys gave them all high-fives as they filed past them. 

I’m developing an unnecessary and unproductive crush on the marketing intern, Emerson, at these games.  She was in the stands playing with a fan’s dog in the first.  She has an affectionate side.  The Aggie dugout gave a wave to leadoff batter Logan Bottrell.  The crowd seemed to enjoy it.  Via the radio call, we learned that Nick Gonzales is leading the country in batting average, home runs, and RBI’s.  Wow.  The Aggies scored via an error on Nick’s at bat to take a 1-0 lead.

Aggie starter Chance Hroch and the Aggie defense had a rough second.  A leadoff hit was later advanced to third on a wild pitch.  Owing to the sun and wind, Tristen Carranza in left field lost a flyball.  The run would have scored anyway, but the batter advanced to second.  A slow ground ball on the infield let on another runner, which then resulted in another run.  1-2 Blue Hens.  Neither bad play was an error, but neither looked good. 

During this half inning, I got to stare death in the face.  A foul ball went straight back and arced over the net into the crowd.  Unlike the last time this happened, I saw the ball clearly as it seemed to be coming right at me.  The previous time, I caught the ball in my lap.  Thankfully this time it dropped short and hit the walkway and bounced high into the grandstand.  Adam reported that a fan by the pressbox made a great catch.  I forced my heart out of my throat.  I will die for my love of this game!   

Logan Ehnes was hit on the ankle in the bottom.  He came up limping, but stayed in the game.  When your coach is sitting the dugout after having surgery earlier in the week, you don’t have many excuses for coming out of a game.  Tristan Peterson was hit next, but the Aggies didn’t score.

The third inning went 1-2-3 for both sides.  Blue Hen pitcher Jack Dubecq was hit on a comebacker, but stayed with it to get the out.  I ran out to the bathroom in the fourth.  The line outside at the concessions was even longer than before the game.  (I’ll bet they had plenty of cheese for corn-in-a-cup today, but I’m not bitter.)  Trying to turn a double play, Nick committed the first Aggie error of the series overthrowing first.  It was a good effort though and the right decision to try and throw it. 

In the bottom of the fourth, Ehnes and Peterson got some revenge by driving in a walk and a hit batter in front of them to give the Aggies a 3-2 lead.  In the fifth, normally sure-handed Braden Williams let a third strike go through the wickets.  This let the batter on, who was cashed in immediately on a two-run homer by Kevin Mohallen.  The Delware dugout erupted.  Hroch didn’t even look back after Mohallen hit the ball.  3-4 Blue Hens. 

Joey Ortiz was the next hit batter to start the bottom of the fifth.  Nick promptly doubled him in to tie the score at 4.  Caleb Henderson struck out looking for the second time in the game.  This time he showed frustration with the ump’s calls.  Ehnes drove in Nick for a 5-4 lead.  AD Mario Moccia came on the radio to start the sixth.  Hroch had a reasonably quick top of the inning.  Mario referred to a “Margarita inning,” where a pitcher only throws a few pitches.  Joey made a good throw to get the lead runner at third on a grounder to short.

In the bottom, PA Alexia announced it was snowing and 35 degrees in Newark, Delaware, where the Blue Hens are from.  Mario continued.  He talked about the stadium and field upgrades.  “I was sure a local quarry had provided the infield,” he said, referring to the small rocks that used to litter the basepads.  They had to clean up rocks around the bases all the time.  Mario noted that right field used to be 372’, not the current 345’.  It didn’t matter.  Before the BBCorr bats, those increased distances were no issue to hitting it out. 

While it’s hard to beat a team four times in a row, I actually wasn’t too worried about the outcome.  The Aggies added three more runs in the sixth to make it 8-4.  In the seventh, with Matt Munden now pitching, Ehnes brought a home run back by knocking it off the top of the wall.  It did go for a triple, but the runner was stranded.

Also in the seventh was my personal low-point of the weekend.  Aileen Galicia and a couple of her teammates on the Soccer team came in and sat down in front of me.  If I was regretting not going to talk to her on Senior day before (10-27-18), it was only getting more acute.  This was the second time I’ve seen her since then.  I don’t know.  Maybe if we’d spoken before, these meetings would have actually been more awkward.  In any case, Aileen was hurtingly beautiful.  She’s got this Ariana Grande vibe going for her now.  She was wearing an Aggie Baseball shirt, so this probably isn’t the last time I’ll be seeing her.  Sigh. 

On to the eighth, Eric Mingus at third made a great play, running and stopping a grounder, then getting the runner with a strong throw.  In the bottom, we had some comedy as two Blue Hens collided trying to get Joey’s bunt to move Bottrell over.  The throw hit the runner and moved Botts to third.  Adam was shocked when they pitched Nick up next.  He called it.  Nick cranked his nation-leading tenth home run.  11-4 Aggies after that three-run homer.  The Blue Hens brought in a position player to pitch to finish the inning. 

Aggie Softball’s practice ended and several players came in.  They walked past the soccer players and there was no interaction between the groups.  Later, a young fan got her picture taken with the them.  Mitchell Allen, the closer who has gotten very little closing work so far this season, came in for the ninth.  He struck out Jack Goan.  Goan helicoptered his bat down the third baseline on the final strike.  Allen gave up a double and a walk, which prompted a mound visit.  Adam did confirm that the umps are now counting visits.  Ehnes helped out with a great leaping catch at the wall, and Allen finished it off.

Aggies win 11-4 and sweep the four-game series.  Nick Gonzales went 3 for 5 with 5 RBI’s and a home run.  Scouts should be looking at this kid.  Chance Hroch struggled a bit, though his problems weren’t all of his making.  He did persevere well.  Matt Munden, Aldo Fernandez, and Mitchell Allen did a good job locking it down for three innings.  Aggie pitching only issued one walk today.  Your stat of the game is ten.  That is the number of walks and hit batters given up by the Blue Hens.  Five of them scored.

Pulling out of the parking lot, Ron retrieved a BP softball lying outside the softball complex.  He mentioned he’d heard that the softball team has to run laps up the football berm for every ball they don’t recover during practice.  We tried going to the new Freddies burgers, but they were full.  Raising Canes next door was much easier to get into.  I didn’t think Freddies was that great, so I think things will even out at some point.  We did get to watch the end of the NASCAR race in Las Vegas at my apartment. 

It would have been a pretty good afternoon after a good game and a win, but I was a bit despondent after seeing Aileen.  This felt like a long weekend (especially given that it’s taken until Wednesday to write all this out).  We’ll regroup and hope I’m more enthusiastic next weekend.  

NM State Aggies vs Delaware Blue Hens Baseball 3-2-19

During the Senior Day ceremonies at the Aggie Women’s Basketball game, I tuned into the Men’s Basketball game against the Chicago State Cougars on the road, which was going on at the same time on the radio.  I nudged Ron, who was with me, that it was on.  We started listening at halftime and the score was 43-15 Aggies.  Ron and I both looked at each other.  Did you hear what I just heard?  The guys had a good first half.  They’d win 92-58.  Ivan Aurrecoechea led the team with 17 points.  Four Aggies sat out the game with minor injuries.  Jack Nixon sounded a bit bored during the game call.  Alternately, he may have been in a hurry to get the game over with.  There was a truncated postgame.  Him and the team had to rush to catch the flight home.   

After the basketball game, we went to Zeffiro’s Pizza.  We learned there not to order triple pepperoni.  They’ll give it to you, but won’t tell you it’s not an optimal arrangement.  While listening to the end of the Men’s game, Ron checked out Game 1 of Aggie Baseball’s double header against Delaware.  The game was functionally over, but still had a while to go.  The Aggies won that one 17-3.  Via online stats, Eric Mingus had a modest performance going 3 for 4 with 5 RBI’s and a home run.  As you might suspect, the rest of the team hit well too.  Starter Justin Dehn went six innings only giving up three runs.  Aldo Fernandez and Chris Barraza pitched three scoreless innings of relief.   

I admit I nearly gave Ron a fake excuse to get out of going to Aggie sports today.  On the TV at the pizza place was the reason.  US Women’s Soccer was on this afternoon.  You know what that means right?  Yes, it was a chance to indulge in worshipping my favorite female athlete, Alex Morgan!  (Sorry to all of you female Aggie athletes.)  Oh, Alex.  I did get to see a bit of my soccer goddess in the pregame, but we left a bit after the match actually started.  Unfortunately, I didn’t think I could talk Ron into staying without embarrassing myself. 

Also, I wanted ice cream.  Did you know that the frozen yogurt place next to the pizza place was closed?  We found that out the hard way.  How disappointing.  (Crap really, I’ve run into the Volleyball team there twice.)  Caliches was open down the road.  I instantly picked the key lime with cheese cake.  Thank goodness it was back in season.  Heaven.  Okay, it was great but probably not as great as watching Alex Morgan, but let’s forget about it and go see Aggie Baseball.  Whatever.  (The match was a 2-2 tie versus England.  Typical soccer.)   

We arrived at Presley Askew Field between games.  Inside, that older gent who works for the sports department walked by me.  He saw me with my scorecard out, as usual, and told me to “Keep up the good work.”  I’ve finally made it into the big time.  As happened Friday night, the Blue Hens won the fashion show.  They looked exceptionally sharp with their yellow tops with blue letters and numbers.  Nice. 

Alexia was back as the PA.  Welcome back.  There were some fairly entertaining Greek boys and girls in the center section.  Good to see them out supporting the team.  They sang out the fight song when it was played before the game.  Gasp! Kelsey Horton and the Softball team came in (though not all at the same time).  They walked passed me in an intimating enough manner that I kept my enthusiasm to myself.  Oh, well.  The team and the frats were part of a really good crowd tonight.    

  

The Aggies got the scoring started in the first on a passed ball.  I’d noticed the Delaware catcher, #44 Jack Goan, was huge.  He was a foot taller than the ump.  1-0 Aggies.  I had a pencil for the “What’s in your pocket?” contest, but I wasn’t sure about the prize, so I avoided participating again.  The Aggie defense was good in the top of the second.  Joey Ortiz got the first out with a 360-degree spin on the catch and throw.  Starter Christopher Jefferson helped himself out by fielding a comebacker and getting the lead runner at second to start a double play.  In the bottom, Eric Mingus got a hustle triple off a deep flyball to center that nearly went out.  He was cashed in with an error to make it 2-0 Aggies.

In the third, a little girl won the window toss contest.  She got a cheer and high-fives from the Aggie dugout.  Nick Gonzales, with his modest .600+ batting average, only had one hit in this game, but it was a leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning.  Caleb Henderson followed that up with a solo homer.  The “There’s no crying in baseball!” clip played during a mound visit. 

Goan missed catching a foul ball.  It wasn’t an error, since it wouldn’t have been “ordinary effort” to catch it.  However, that didn’t stop the frat boys from going after him.  “Nice hair, bozo!”  The girl with them said she liked his “flow.”  “That’s why we’re making fun of him.”  Mingus drove in a run to make it 5-0 Aggies.  Joey struck out on a check swing with the bases loaded to end the inning.  Politely, the Aggies only sent nine men to the plate, and not more, so as not to destroy my scorecard. 

Jefferson cruised through another inning.  Nick started the fourth with getting hit hard enough that I could hear it clearly in the stands.  Ouch.  Three more runs came in for the Aggies, including one off an error.  8-0 Aggies.  Joey got a free pass the hard way too to start the fifth.  He was brought in on a sacrifice by Tristen Carranza to make it 9-0.  Jefferson continued to pitch from a rocking chair.  Two more Aggie runs came in in the sixth, including one off a wild pitch, 11-0.  My highlight of inning was the PA playing I’m Too Sexy.  Apparently, I was in the mood for bad nostalgic pop. 

During the next musical interlude, the Old Gent was dancing for the crowd to a techno tune.  Jefferson’s final inning was another gem, as he made two good plays on comebackers.  As part of a four-run bottom of the inning, two runs scored as Logan Bottrell got a hit on an infield single.  Jason Bush caught the defense sleeping and scored from first on the play.  Second baseman Erick Bowren for the Hens made a great play to end the inning.  The ball hit the base and popped up.  He smothered it and managed to throw out Nick at first. 

The eighth was uneventful.  The Blue Hens finally broke through in the ninth during Andrew Edwards’ second inning of relief.  Bowren drove in a run on a single, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double.  For the final batter, I don’t think I’d seen this before.  There was a delay for the pinch hitter.  The original batter and pinch hitter went behind the dugout to exchange something.  Batting helmet?  Gloves?

And we’re done.  15-2 Aggies in a spirited batting practice session.  That wasn’t too competitive.  How did this game last three hours and 40 minutes?  Half the game was the Blue Hens having eight innings of three and four batters.  The Aggies never even batted around in any of the innings.  Delaware issuing 10 walks probably didn’t help.  It was a long day at the university for sports today. 

Let’s hand out some game balls.  Chris Jefferson looked very good going seven innings while only giving up two hits.  Caleb Henderson was seeing the ball well, as he went 4 for 4 with a home run.  Eric Mingus went 3 for 5, driving in two.  Okay, let’s do this again tomorrow after I’ve gotten some sleep.  At least this recap didn’t run as long as the game did.

NM State Aggies vs Chicago State Cougars Women’s Basketball 3-2-19

Noooooooooooooo!

It’s Senior Day.  It’s the last time I get to see Brooke Salas playing in person!  (Probably.  There’s a scenario where I could see her playing again.  She might also randomly show up at some other Aggie sports event.)  I’m also going to be missing the glamorous Mills twins.  It sucks only getting to see them for just two seasons.  After today’s game, I certainly wish we could get another year out of graduate transfer Stabresa McDaniel.  She really lit it up.  And Baylee Robinson, thank you for your contributions to the program.

With all that out of the way, let’s get into it.  (A day late, because I was so tired last night after going to this game and the second game of an Aggie Baseball double header.  Who knew that just sitting around could be so exhausting.)  Ron was with me today and was excited for a day of Aggie sports.  (His wife is obviously okay with him being gone for extended periods of time on the weekends.  Perhaps she’s run out of “honey-do” tasks.) 

I was so nervous listening to the incredible end of that game on Thursday (2-27-18),  I almost couldn’t’ bear it.  This game against Chicago State, I was feeling more confident.  This team only had two wins this season, but at least I didn’t hear anything on the pregame about their entire university possibly going bankrupt.  Actually, we didn’t hear the pregame at all.  There was dead air for the first half on the radio.  Ron went over before the game and actually told broadcaster, Adam Young, about it.  Anyway, Chicago State did bring a full team, so I assume the school is on better footing.  Good for them.

There was a great crowd today with plenty of kids.  Families are essential for a good crowd.  It was the Pink game.  Both teams wore some pink.  Violist Christina Mitchell again provided a magnificent Anthem.  I’m not sure about the spelling or anything about her, but this time I made sure to write her name down.  I saw her later in the crowd with a husband and a kid (maybe) and some friends.  I’m glad she wasn’t there alone this time. 

The Cougars watched the Aggie team intro video and the player introductions with interest.  I usually watch what the opposing team does during the intros.  There’s no telling how they’ll react.  Cougar starters #34 Tamara Overson and #22 Ines Mata Boix had good physical size.  The other three looked really undersized.

First Quarter

And for the last time this season, the scorecard didn’t add up for me.  One day, I’ll get it right.  Adenike Aderinto got the scoring started with a steal and a pass to Brooke for the game’s first points.  I got a chuckle early watching a Cougar player box out under the basket with no one around her.  The Aggies were not playing physical at this point.  During the first timeout, PA Ed wished a “Happy Birthday” to a little girl in the stands.  A couple of Cheerleaders were there with her waving to the camera.

CS was fighting hard though.  They took a lead at 12-14.  Bre got a couple of baskets off of turnovers to get the lead back, 16-14.  However, the Cougars came back for a 16-18 lead at the end of the quarter.  Their bench was cheering up a storm.

Second Quarter

Dino Dash!  Darn, this will also be the last time this season for this tremendous event.  It was quite the prehistoric melee between the contestants in the T-Rex suits.  There was an actual steal during the conflict.  The guys wrestled and knocked over the goal.  The battle went on long enough that I thought the Ref’s were about to intervene so they could restart the game.  Eventually, one of the guy’s prevailed or came close enough to winning.  Please bring this back next year!

I was not concerned about the scoring deficit.  I was pretty confident the Aggies would come back and then some.  Off another steal, Nike found Brooke for another layup.  Dominique Mills got a great layup off a steal and suddenly it was 23-18.  There was some sort of rules confusion over a free throw by Bre.  She didn’t make the basket before the foul, so there should have been two foul shots, but ref insisted there should only be one.  Coach Atkinson didn’t complain.  Here was where I was missing the radio call for an explanation.

It was 26-21 Aggies at the next timeout.  The Aggie Cheerleaders and the Sundancers were honored.  The Roadrunner Review band started chanting, “Cheer!  Cheer!” for them.  They were also getting in a good chant during the game with “Chicago’s not a state!”  Ron was still snickering after the game over that one. 

Ines Mata did give CS a pretty good size advantage at times.  One on trip, she got her own rebound on a bunny three times.  She didn’t get the basket, but did finally get fouled.  She slapped the floor in frustration.  Senior #35 Alexa Blake came over and calmed her down.  I remember her from the last couple of years.  It’s hard to miss a naturally curly red-head out on court. 

Gia Pack found Brooke underneath the basket on a great assist to make it 32-22.  Again, Ines Mata got a couple more rebounds on her own shots, but made the basket this time.  Ron was yelling, “Box her out!”  The quarter ended on an exclamation point with Brooke burying a line drive three.  38-24 Aggies at the half.

Halftime

Yet another little kids hip hop dance troop performed.  I was chuckling watching an excited little boy in the stands dancing along with them.  He was a bundle of energy during the game.  The Cheerleaders gave the kids high-fives as they came off the court.

Third Quarter

I checked my radio during the half and the game was back on.  Yay.  Gia was having a great game shooting, rebounding, and assisting.  She got in another great pass to Nike under the basket to up the score to 43-28.  Brooke would later get called for a foul.  You could see her at the lane lobbying the official afterward.  The game finally got a bit physical between Baylee and #5 Destinee Pointer.  Though Baylee was a foot taller, they nearly came to blows.

Gia got another great assist to Kalei Atkinson for a layup.  Olverson and Ines Mata started scoring in bunches for the Cougars.  But, there was Stabresa answering with 15’ jumpers and a late three.  She was feeling it.  58-44 Aggies after three quarters.

Fourth Quarter

Again for the last time with season, the Cheerleaders lifted up Pistol Pete for a human pyramid.  They were a lot more confident doing it this time.  I wasn’t fearing for Pete’s life.  The little kid nearby did a kid-version of the Macarena as it was being played during the break.  Mom, get this kid some dancing lessons; he’s a natural.

Brooke hit a jumper to start the final quarter.  Bre got a wide-open layup off a steal.  Gia found an open Kalei for a three.  Brooke went down court on a pass to Bre for a layup.  Gia made a tremendous jumping, between-the-legs save of a ball going out.  I felt like I was watching the Globetrotters putting on a show.

Baylee got a layup.  The Aggie bench, with Brooke sitting out briefly, erupted for her.  70-50 Aggies, timeout.  The Band was recognized.  They are essential for the fan experience.  Back to action, Brooke got a steal and passed to a running Aaliyah Prince for a layup.  Bre found Brooke in mid-air with a pass and a bucket.  The Aggie girls were having fun out there.

With two minutes left, all of the seniors were out on court playing.  They were then all taken out together as group to a standing round of applause.  I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but I got choked up anyway.  I’m getting choked up again, just writing this.  I told Ron afterward.  He admitted he felt some manly tears forming during the moment.

The game wasn’t in doubt, but there was still something to play for.  Like I said, Gia was having a great game.  Via the radio, Adam said that she was one assist away from a triple-double.  Brooke had gotten one earlier in the season, only the second one in program history.  The girls tried to make it happen for her, but the last couple of shots didn’t go.  77-54 Aggies win.

Gia Pack did finish with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.  No reason to be too disappointed.  Brooke Salas finished with 16.  Stabresa McDaniel had a monster game with 20 points.  For the Cougars, Ines Mata Boix had 17 and Tamara Olverson had 16.  They put up a good fight today.

Ceremony

Adam’s postgame interview with Coach Atkinson was over the PA for everyone to hear.  She did say they were aware of Gia’s stat’s and did try to get her the triple-double.  The Coach also thanked the fans for their attendance and enthusiasm.  Compared to many of the places the team plays, she was very happy with what the team gets for their home games.

The graduating seniors were honored.  I was intrigued by the Mills Sisters graduation plans.  They majored in something titled like “Independent Study?”  Brooke came out last.  Adam stopped his broadcast to allow the audience to hear PA Ed read off her mile-long list of playing accomplishments.  To sum it up, she’s the second best Aggie Women’s Basketball player ever.  (She’s only behind Anita Maxwell from the 90’s, who finished with over 700 more points than Brooke.  She must have been a heck of a player.)  Gia, a junior, was also honored with a 1,000-point ceremonial ball.        

Next, a WAC official presented the team with their regular season championship award.  The team cut down one of the nets.  Nana Sule, one of the injured players this year, cut off a snip.  Ed couldn’t identify her at first since she was wearing a t-shirt with no number.  I know the coach really wanted her playing this season, so hopefully she’ll blossom next year.  (She also has a killer smile.)  Brooke made the final cuts and put the net around her neck.

The team staff cut down the other net.  I found out the cute little blonde trainer was named Maddie.  She was in a sparkly blouse.  Coach Atkinson got the last cut on that net.  For my last Coach’s wardrobe segment, I noticed she was wearing sparkly heels. 

It’s been a great season to this point.  The team has one more regular season game before the WAC Tournament.  We hope they’re ready for the big show.  If they don’t win there, there is a possibility they could be playing here in the NIT Tournament.  I plan on covering their postseason as much as I can.  

Sports Journal February 19-28, 2019

2-19-19

Lacking a Thursday game this week, the Aggie Men’s Basketball team scheduled a DII game on Tuesday versus the Texas A&M International Dust Devils.  Jack Nixon and Justin Hawkins were not entirely taking this game seriously during the radio coverage.  They got into a discussion about Eli Chuha’s real height.  Jack claimed he was 6’11”, if you counted his upstanding hair. 

It was already 11-3 Aggies at first timeout.  Coach Jans put in put five subs.  The Aggies are pretty deep.  The Dust Devils only had eight players with them, because of a couple of concussions.  Ivan Aurrecoechea got a dunk, so he seems to be well on the way to recovery.  Eli missed a jam and instead stuck the ball into the gap between rim and backboard.  Johnny McCants hit a three.  It was 41-20 Aggies at the half.

At this point, I started watching The Gifted on FOX.  I probably should have stuck with the blowout basketball.  I’ve seen less melodrama and bad acting on any given soap opera.  I checked in with the game periodically during the commercials.  The main highlight I heard was the fans getting free Chik-fil-a with a pair of free throw misses.  I missed Trevelin Queen getting a windmill dunk, though if you’re just listening over the radio, you pretty much still missed it.  80-42 Aggies was the final.  Eli Chuha and Trevelin Queen led the team with 14 points each.

2-22-19

Aggie Baseball started their series against the Yale Bulldogs on Friday.  I was actually glad I was watching this over the Internet and not there in person.  It was 42-degrees out with a 22mph wind.  Aggie starter Brock Whittlesey looked miserable out on the mound, then the rain started.  It didn’t affect his pitching though.  The Aggies scored four runs in the bottom of the first.  Two batters got hit.  Tristen Carranza actually took his base smiling.  Their coach, Brian Green, ruptured his Achilles in practice and he was still out there coaching, so no excuses for pain. 

By the second, it was raining harder, but it actually looked a bit like sleet.  Yale scored one in the inning, but Aggies came back huge.  Tristan Peterson drove in two runs, and Braden Williams doubled in two more as part of a five-run inning.  9-1 Aggies.  Whitt worked through the fifth and gave up two more runs, but the Aggies hadn’t stopped scoring, so it was 13-3 when he came out.  The wind and rain had stopped by that point, but you could see players’ breath.

I wasn’t able to watch much more, but by the sixth, the Aggies were putting in the reserves.  The final was 19-6 Aggies.  Nick Gonzales went 4 for 5, and Braden Williams was 2 for 2 with five RBI’s.  Aggie pitching had a bunch of walks in the game, but 11 walks and five hit batters did in Yale.  Ron is a hardcore fan.  He was there.  He got there a bit late and reported that the crowd was deserting by the fourth.  He did get wet out there.

2-23-19

After my retreat from the cold wind at the baseball stadium this afternoon, I continued with listening to the double header over the radio.  But at the same time, the Aggie Men’s Basketball team was having a big game with UTRGV at the Pan-Am.  When I drove by on the way home, the parking lot was packed there.  I’d checked earlier in the week; the game was sold out. 

I ended up switching back-and-forth between games.  Of course, this meant I wasn’t really listening to either.  Also, I had a headache from catching cold at the park and couldn’t concentrate.  The Aggie Basketball team was up 45-32 at the half when I started listening.  In the second half, they added to the lead.  Ivan Aurrecoechea was playing this game with a vengeance.  The Vaqueros were the cause of his injury last month.  He took a hard foul and was nearly injured again.  It was ruled flagrant and got him hot.  It was the same type of play that he got injured on before.

The chippie play continued and the ref’s finally had to start getting involved.  The UTRGV player who fouled Ivan was later ejected for his second flagrant foul.  Even the coaches started getting into it with each other.  With the game pretty much in hand, the Aggies started playing for the crowd.  Trevelin Queen got a steal.  He then faked out Jack Nixon and crowd on jam, but went for a layup instead.  Queen later made a behind-the-back pass to Ivan, who did jam it.  Justin Hawkins let out a little cheer for the play and then apologized for the outburst.     

The Aggies had been up by at least 20, but were down to an 8-point lead with less than a minute.  Coach Jans didn’t seem bothered by it as he had the reserves in.  The Aggies won 88-79 and will have the top seed at the WAC tournament.  Ivan Aurrecoechea led the team with 20 points.  Hawk wasn’t surprised that the anger in the game didn’t come to blows.  Usually players say, “Hold me back!” when they’re not serious. 

Meanwhile, the Women’s Basketball team also clinched the #1 seed with a tight 70-67 win over UTRGV on the road.  Brooke Salas had 20 and Gia Pack had 17.  Aggie Softball went 2-3 at the Mary Nutter Classic tournament.  They beat North Carolina 6-2 (complete game for Analise de la Roca) and beat Cal 6-5 in ten innings with Samaria Diaz pitching most of it.  They lost a close one to nationally ranked Oregon 1-3 and dropped a blowout to Missouri, 0-15, on a run rule.  (I found out later that game started 20 minutes after that 10-inning.)  On Sunday, they lost to Ohio State 1-5.

2-26-19

In spite of confirming the start time a couple of times, the baseball game between the Aggies and Texas Tech still started an hour earlier than listed.  All right for you guys.  I missed the competitive part of the game.  Aldo Fernandez started and did well.  He only gave up one run over three innings.  In the fourth, when he was out of gas, he talked pitching Coach Anthony Clagget into letting him face one more batter with two on.  That was one batter too many.  That three-run homer broke it open.

Aggie relief pitching was reasonable.  In particular, freshman Justin Schubert went an inning with two strikeouts and no hits.  Logan Ehnes ran into the fence making a catch with the bases loaded in the sixth to keep the final score at 0-7 Texas Tech.  On the downside defensively, Eric Mingus made another error at third.

The otherwise potent Aggie offense only produced five hits for the game.  They had some hard luck DP’s, but several hard-hit balls.  Like I said elsewhere, Aggie hitting is going to mash against average pitching, but not against great pitching.  Adam Young broadcasting said that Tech may be a national championship contender.  I’m sure Coach Brian Green would love to schedule more contending teams, but probably doesn’t have the budget to.  Amazingly, this game took just under three hours.  Attendance was listed at over 3,000 for a Tuesday afternoon!

2-28-19

The Aggie Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams had both clinched the top seeds at the WAC tournament last week, but both were playing UMKC tonight to outright win the conference.  The Men played early first in Kansas City.  Owing to being busy and distracted, I wasn’t listening to the radio call, but did have the scoring up.  The guys seemed to have it in hand at the half being up 39-21. 

I started listening to the Women playing at home in Las Cruces at that point.  When they reached halftime, I switched back over to hear the end the Men’s game.  The guys cruised to a 75-55 win.  Terrell Brown and Johnny McCants led with 12 points each.  McCants got another highlight reel jam on an alley-oop.  The team had 18 turnovers, but only gave up 10 points off them.  Coach Jans delayed talking to Jack Nixon as he was talking to family and friends who came to see the game.  “I’m not telling him to hurry up,” said Jack.  Though the Women were only at halftime, Jack did predict they’d win as well.

Or alternately, he jinxed them.  Jack obviously wasn’t keeping up with the game.  The ladies started out well with a couple of early steals and firing three’s and went up by six.  However, the Roos came back and took the lead.  It was 15-26 UMKC after 10 minutes off of a 12-0 run.  Brooke Salas had zero points and had only taken one shot.  More embarrassing though, the scoreboard operator got the score wrong twice, causing delays.

Brooke did finally get a couple baskets in the second and the Aggies closed the score to 31-33 Roos.  Early in the third, the Roos increased the lead to 10.  Again, the Aggies got close.  Brooke suddenly had a double-double.  But again, UMKC pulled away with an 11-point lead.  Gia Pack, who was also scoring well but was probably trying to do too much, ended up face-down on the court after a collision on the last play of the quarter.  She was okay, but started the fourth quarter on the bench catching her breath.

I’d just about given up and thought their 20-game conference home-winning streak was over.  They were down 12 when the Aggies rallied and got within four with an eight-point run with five minutes left.  The Roos came right out of a timeout and hit a three to get it back up to seven.

From here, the Aggies completely turned up the wick.  Aaliyah Prince was a real sparkplug on offense and defense.  The Roos started coming apart and making mistakes.  With two minutes left, the Aggies were down by three and then by one.  The crowd at the Pan-Am started going wild.  The Aggies finally took the lead on a 16-3 run.  A Prince shot put the Aggies up by three with 31 seconds left.  The Roo’s started intentionally fouling, but Dominique Mills buried her foul shots to ice it.  Aggies win 68-61! 

That last quarter was epic, championship-level play from the Aggies.  Gia Pack led all scorers with 18 points and added 12 rebounds.  Brooke Salas had 17 points with 13 rebounds.  Ericka Mattingly and Brooke Hampel of the Roos both had 17 points.  I’m kind of hoping the Aggies don’t play UMKC in the WAC tournament.  It’s really hard to beat the same team three times in a season, especially after a pair of close games this year.  After the game, Coach Atkinson congratulated the players, her assistant coaches, and the previous staff for their recruiting and gave them all the credit for winning the WAC regular season.  That was very classy of her.

NM State Aggies vs Yale Bulldogs Baseball 2-24-19

 This picture came up on the MLB website last year after President Bush’s death.  It’s a young George H. W. Bush on the Yale Baseball team receiving an award from Babe Ruth.  That’s a pretty good pedigree for a baseball program.  I was feeling much better today after nearly contracting a cold at yesterday’s game.  Ron picked me up early to go to today’s game.    

It was bright and sunny and warmer than yesterday, but there was still an occasional cold breeze.  I thought I was overdressed out in sun without the wind, but I was otherwise appropriately dressed sitting in the shade with occasional wind gusts.  Broadcaster Adam Young was out mingling in the parking lot at one of the RV’s.  I felt like I’d let Adam down a bit, since I didn’t stay for the second game, though I said I’d try to when I met him before Game 1. 

The William Tell Overture (or the Lone Ranger theme) was going as we entered the stadium.  The Aggie team was out on the field hustling to bring in the batting cage and other equipment off the field.  The PA had the music volume up to an ear-splitting level during the teams’ warm-ups.  There also seemed to be some fighting over the music as tunes were changed out in the middle of the song a couple of times. 

It was double dog day at the park.  It was $1 hot dogs at the concessions.  I’ll eventually break down and get one, though it will be disappointing.  Fans were also encouraged to bring in their dogs.  The first I saw were two fluffy chows.  There was a cute service dog that I’d seen before with a pretty young woman.  The scene-stealers were a couple that came in later, an adorable spotted Welsh Corgi and a beautiful mixed Australian Sheppard dog, who both sat down behind us.  The pretty blonde owner was okay, but I kept looking back to see that Sheppard dog.  Woof!

The sudden playing of the Anthem caught Yale by surprise and some of them had to scramble to get in line.  A darling little two-year-old girl threw out the first pitch to the cheers and “Awww’s” of the crowd.  It was an announced 55-degrees with no wind in Las Cruces.  It was 32-degrees and foggy in Yale’s home in Connecticut.  The crowd got a laugh over the weathercast.  It was a great crowd, by the way, with plenty of Yale fans and even more Aggie fans.  There were also lots of pretty girls today mostly dressed in yoga pants.  (I think I’ve finally identified what yoga pants look like.  I’d heard about them without ever knowing what they were.)  

Yale came out swinging against Aggie starter, Chance Hroch.  Three hits and an error in right gave them a 0-2 lead.  In the bottom, Joey Ortiz had an interesting foul ball that went straight back and bounced straight back on to the field.  He got on via a hit-by-pitch.  Adam had a rules-change discussion.  If a batter leans into a pitch, it’s a strike.  Caleb Henderson struck out in Game 2 last night because of that new rule. 

To start the second, a cute Asian Yale fangirl fan came by with a $1 hot dog and, my favorite, corn-in-the-cup.  Unlike my cup last weekend (2-15-19), there was plenty of cheese on hers.  Now I was unhappy with my bowl of Cap’n Crunch this morning. 

On field, Braden Williams was again hit behind the plate.  It was just like yesterday, but worse.  This time he was hit on the top of the helmet on Dai Dai Otaka’s backswing.  Braden went down immediately.  He went though the concussion protocols with the trainer, but stayed in.  Otaka fist-bumped him as play resumed and would single afterward.  On the next batter, the Yale third base coach missed catching a foul grounder and got booed from his own dugout.  Braden did throw out Otaka on an attempted steal, so he got a bit of revenge.

Strangely also like Game 1 yesterday, Tristen Carranza got the scoring started for the Aggies with a solo home run in the bottom of the second.  Before that hit, he’d taken a massive swing-and-miss on an offspeed that got an “Oooh,” out of the Yale fans.  1-2 Yale. 

To start the third inning, Eric Mingus at third got a high, slow bouncer that resulted in him making a hurried throw to first.  It went over Henderson’s head and became a two-base error, which scored on the next batter.  1-3 Yale.  Between innings, a little boy won at the glass-toss strike-throwing game on field.  Even more lucky, he got to hang out with the attractive marketing intern, Emerson. 

Mingus singled to start the bottom of the third.  Joey hit a deep fly to center that the centerfielder couldn’t track down and became a run-scoring triple.  Nick Gonzales cashed him in with a single.  Logan Ehnes advanced Joey to third, where he scored on a wild pitch.  The Aggies were now in the lead 4-3. 

To start the fourth, two adorable little girls won the Best Dressed Aggie competition.  They were quite natty in their matching crimson and white scarves.  The wind had picked up and it was getting colder.  Adam said the new conference flags on the grandstand had been requested by Coach Green to help fielders gauge the wind’s speed and direction. 

Hroch got in a groove pitching for the next three innings.  Adam speculated that he’d been told he needed to stretch out this outing till at least the seventh to save the bullpen with four games this weekend and a game Tuesday.  A double play ended the fourth.  The throw to first pulled Henderson off the bag, but he managed to just tag the dodging runner on the line.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Aggies scored three more runs.  Logan Bottrell drove in one, and Nick doubled in two more.  One double in the inning dropped between the centerfielder and right fielder.  Centerfield apparently didn’t see it and right field couldn’t get to it.  7-3 Aggies. 

In the fifth, Ehnes singled through a wide-open gap on the left side of the infield.  Adam was irate with Yale.  They’d been massively over-shifting for no apparent reason this series.  This finally offended Adam’s baseball sensibilities to the point of outrage.  Yale reliever, Bobby Cecere, made a great play on a comebacker to the breadbasket by Braden.  He stuck with it and got the out at first.

In the sixth, I had the item with me for the “What’s in Your Pocket” contest (earbuds), but again wasn’t interested in the prize.  I want my meeting with Emerson, who was handing out the prizes, to be special.  Certainly, it wasn’t going to be special when I was un-showered and wearing yesterday’s clothes.  (When you wake up a half-hour before you’re picked up for a game, your grooming and wardrobe options are limited.)  I don’t think I smelled or looked any worse than usual, but I’ll wait until I’m wearing a suit or something for that magical first meeting where I sweep her off her feet.

(When I make comments like this, I do need to say I’m just making a joke?  I do think she’s definitely pretty.  In this case, this will probably be a running gag for the rest of the season, because I’m amused by it.  That’s all it really is.) 

Bottrell made a great hustle double to start the sixth and was cashed in by a Henderson single.  8-3 Aggies.  Reliever Rohan Handa came in and worked quick, a bit too quick.  He fired one off before the ump was ready and the pitch was waved off.  Mingus had another error to start the seventh, which came around and scored.  It was originally, and inexplicably, scored a hit, but was changed later.  8-4 Aggies. 

Jake Gehri was again slighted by Adam, as yesterday, when he came in as a Bulldog pinch hitter in the seventh.  He missed him again in the eighth.  I almost think Adam had something against him.  Mingus came up with another hit and an RBI in the bottom of the seventh.  Bottrell drove in a run on a single.  Nick doubled to drive in two more.  Right fielder Brian Ronai nearly came up with ball on a dive, but it popped out.  (A similar play again happened yesterday.  This game wasn’t a repeat, but it sure rhymed.)  Ronai did get an assist in throwing Nick out at third when he tried to stretch it.  12-4 Aggies.

Hroch was stretched to the limit.  He came out for the eighth and hit the first batter and gave up a single.  Chance got a strikeout looking, but Mingus made his third error trying to collect a sac bunt, which let in two runs.  12-6 Aggies.  Wyatt Kelly had to come in to finish the inning. 

Henderson began the bottom of the eighth with a triple and was knocked in by Ehnes.  A Yale double play and a great play on a foul by the left field Diamond Club by Alex Stiegler (yesterday’s Game 1 starter) ended the inning.  Mitchell Allen closed it out for the Aggies in the ninth on a double play.  Aggies win 13-6.

Chance Hroch scattered 10 hits over seven and 1/3 innings for 1 earned run.  Nice job.  The other five Yale runs came via four Aggie errors, three by Eric Mingus, who also went 3 for 4 with an RBI out of the nine spot.  The coach said that Eric is in the lineup for his defense.  So . . . I don’t know what to make of that today.  Nick Gonzales was still stellar going 3 for 5 with five RBI’s.  I’ll also single out Benny Wanger on Yale for his 4 for 5 batting today.      

What have we learned after this weekend?  The Aggies will rake on anything less than excellent pitching.  For their own pitching, Coach Green probably mandated cutting down on walks today, which did happen.  I don’t know what happened with the fielding today though.  If the coach told Mingus to do better hitting, he got it, but not in the way he wanted.  Normally, teams don’t win when they give up four errors that result in five runs.  See Point #1 as to why the Aggies won today anyway.        

It was another tidy three-hour game.  We hope this becomes normal, along with the Aggies continuing to win.  Ron had to leave about halfway through the game for an emergency with his caretaking job.  Later in the game, I got a bit nervous, as he was my ride, but he came back.  As we drove out of the parking lot, we went by where the Yale fans were tailgating.  There was a box there full of large empty hard liquor bottles.  The Yale fans were probably enjoying the game a lot more than the Aggie fans this weekend regardless of the results.  Our dinner was courtesy of Jason’s Deli.  It was okay, but unfortunately, it was only a poor substitute for the dearly departed Schlotzsky’s Deli.  

NM State Aggies vs Yale Bulldogs Baseball 2-23-19

There was snow on the tops of the Organ Mountains this afternoon.  Amazingly, it wasn’t that cold.  It was also sunny with no clouds in the sky.  This was a good change from last night and much better than the forecast earlier in the week.  It was supposed to be raining all day.  However, there was still a cold breeze going.  It felt colder than the announced 46 degrees.  It was better than Connecticut, where Yale is from, where it was 34 degrees with a 50% chance of rain.  

Ron was busy with his caretaking in the morning, but said he’d make it over later.  I drove into the parking lot and noticed a men’s team going to the soccer field.  I don’t know who they were.  The baseball side was filled.  There were several school busses there, though it turned out there weren’t any students inside the stadium.  There was a knot of Aggie fan RV’s and a big tailgate with Yale fans.  Like two years ago when they were here, the Yale fans do travel well.  It was a decent crowd inside with the Yale fans making up nearly half of it.   

I ran into Adam Young in the bathroom.  Yes, just how you think, at the urinals.  That’s really not the best place for conversation, but I wanted to tell him about Braden Williams’ home run ball reaching the softball field last Sunday (2-17-19).  I also asked him about the Cardinals’ chances this year (his favorite team), since they’d picked up some good free agents.  Adam was cautiously optimistic.  I did find out how he can call a four-hour game.  Adam has the bladder control of that alien character from The Orville, who only has to pee once a year.  Adam only has to go once per game for about two-straight minutes.      

Two Aggie Basketball greats threw out the first pitches.  When the catchers went into a crouch, they motioned for them to stand up.  The guys at least did know how to throw a baseball.  I’ve seen a few otherwise excellent male athletes go out and throw like girls.  (No offense to the Softball team.  If they’d been watching, they’d said the same thing.)  

Game 1

The game started frighteningly for the Aggies.  Catcher Braden Williams got hit on the knee by a backswing and went down.  He stayed in to a round of applause.  Starter Justin Dehn gave up an opening walk, but got the next three batters.  Bulldog starter Alex Stiegler got a pair of strikeouts for a 1-2-3 first.  Leadoff Logan Bottrell got a wave from the Aggie dugout to start his at bat.  The Yale catcher, Cal Christofori, actually tried to run off on a ball he thought was the final strike of the inning, but got called back.  The inning ended on the next pitch.

Adam interviewed Reggie Jordan, one of the Aggie Basketball players who threw out a first pitch, during the radio call of the game.  Jordan was being inducted into the Aggie Hall of Fame tonight at the basketball game.  Dehn was a bit wild in the second, but escaped without any damage.  Logan Ehnes singled, but was then picked off to start the bottom.  Tristen Carranza broke the seal of the game with a liner that just cleared the left field wall.  1-0 Aggies.  Right after on the next batter, the Yale part of the crowd started getting unruly disputing the ump’s ball calls.  A strikeout resulted anyway.  Maybe he was listening. 

“What’s in your pocket?”  This contest is back.  I had a pen with me (two, actually), but I wasn’t interested in the free cup for a prize.  I am interested in Emerson, the attractive marketing intern who was giving out the prizes.  I’m waiting for the “Win a Date With Emerson” contest.  Somewhere around this time, Ron showed up, but then left to chase foul balls. 

No changes in the third.  Dehn also cruised through the fourth.  In the bottom, Adam interviewed the commissioner of the WAC, who was probably around since the Aggie Men’s team was about to clinch the conference.  He talked about growing the conference and increasing its status as you’d expect.  On field, the wind had picked up, which made me rather miserable in the increasing cold, but allowed Nick Gonzales a leadoff homer.  It flew to right and just kept carrying on the wind.  There was, I think, a scout, who I heard ask another fan if that was wind-aided.  I think it was, but the scout thought it would have gone out anyway.  The inning ended on a double play.  2-0 Aggies.

In the fifth, the ump was still having issues with the Yale fans and now the coach over the count.  Regardless, a single, a stolen base, and a double got the Bulldogs on the board.  2-1 Aggies.  Ron returned out-of-breath, but he’d gotten a couple of foul balls.  I don’t know why he’s doing this.  He’s got a huge number of balls by now.  He had to leave shortly thereafter and didn’t come back before the end of the game.  This would have serious consequences later.

The Aggies would have their big inning in the bottom.  Joey Ortiz doubled off the centerfield wall and cleared the loaded bases.  Nick came up after and homered to drive him in.  Carranza then hit a two-run homer of his own.  Both homers went out to center and were probably also wind-aided.  (Hey, the wind was blowing out for the Bulldog’s at bats too.)  That was a seven-run inning and a 9-1 Aggie lead.

Eric Mingus made a great spinning catch deep in the hole at third to get the second batter of the sixth inning.  Thanks to that, Dehn blew through another inning.  In the bottom, a hit batter and a walk were driven in on a double by Nick.  Bulldog Tim DeGraw made a good diving attempt on the ball, but it popped out.  11-1 Aggies. 

Dehn finally ran out of gas in the seventh.  He gave way to Chris Barraza, but between the two of them, six runs came in.  Three walks in the inning hurt.  Junior transfer Aldo Fernandez came in to get the last out.  11-6 Aggies.  Almost worse, Adam missed a pinch hitter, Jake Gehri, who was announced.  He usually picks up defensive changes in the outfield that I never notice, but somehow blitzed on this one.  He even missed him again when he came up later.  The Aggies went down in the bottom on another double play and a good dive stop at first by Benny Wanger.       

Fernandez got a double play behind him for a quick eighth.  In the bottom, I noticed the guys in the dugout were bopping to Mingus’ walkup beat.  They love it.  I saw an older man in the crowd doing same earlier.  Maybe we’ll all be doing it before the end of the season.  Joey drove in two runs with a double, and Ehnes sac’d in another run to make it 14-6 Aggies.  Of note, this was the first time I saw an automatic walk issued in a college game.  They’ve adopted the MLB rule. 

Fernandez closed out the ninth 1-2-3.  Aggies win 14-6!  How great is Aggie hitting that Tristen Carranza with two home runs was only their third-best hitter of the game?  Nick Gonzales went 3 for 4 with 6 RBI’s, and Joey Ortiz went 2 for 4 with 4 RBI’s.  These two are quite the duo.  Justin Dehn did a good job getting the win giving up 4 runs in 6+ innings.  I was impressed with Aldo Fernandez going nearly three innings without giving up anything.  For Yale, it’s hard not to be impressed with Simon Whiteman going 3 for 3 with three stolen bases. 

Game 2

I did not attend this game.  By the end of Game 1, the cold and wind had totally gotten to me.  I was actually filling out my scorecards in the later innings with my Isotoner gloves on.  Given my usual penmanship, it’s hard to tell how much worse my writing was.  Ron hadn’t come back.  I was hungry and feeling sick, so I left.  When I got home, I called him.  I found out he’d just missed me.  Worse, he’d brought pizza back with him for the break.  (And by the time he’d found me, I would have already bought a crummy hot dog.) 

I ate ramen at home instead.  Thrilling.  I also had a headache, which resulted in me taking a couple of things and going to bed early.  I couldn’t even write.  On the radio, I switched between the baseball and the Men’s Basketball coverage.  I came at about halftime of the basketball and stuck with it mostly when it was on.  I’ll cover that elsewhere.  Oddly, the starting temperature of Game 2 was actually higher than Game 1 and the wind died down.  The game even finished in three hours.  Unfortunately, this wouldn’t have made any difference, I was shot and had to leave.  I have no regrets on that decision. 

I was sorry that I didn’t get to see the Yale staff ace, Scott Politz.  I’d heard good things about him and he was as advertised.  He went into the eighth inning and only gave up two unearned runs in the first.  The first baseman, Benny Wanger, came on in relief.  He is actually their very good two-way closer and he did just that.      

Aggie starter, Chris Jefferson, did well until the sixth and left with the bases loaded.  Two runs came in, which gave Yale the lead.  Mitchell Allen pitched out of an inherited jam in the seventh, but Yale added another run in the eighth and won 2-4.  I think the Aggies just ran into some really good pitching in the nightcap.  Nobody goes through a baseball season undefeated.