NM State Aggies vs Oakland U Golden Grizzlies Baseball 2-26-22

This weekend series against the Oakland, California Golden Bears . .  .  Wait.  What?  They’re the Golden Grizzlies?  Golden Bears makes more sense.  Huh?  It’s Oakland, Michigan?  Okay, if you say so.  I’m okay with playing the Washington Generals as long as there’s a game on. 

 

Take Two.

 

This weekend series against the Oakland, Michigan Golden Grizzlies (sorry that I wrote the name wrong on my scorecard) started well for the Aggies.  (It’s still Aggies, right?  And we’re still in Las Cruces, New Mexico?  You just take anything for granted anymore.)  The Aggies won 13-7 on Friday against them.  That score is a bit misleading.  It was 12-0 after five innings.  Only one starting Aggie player was still in at the end; the rest were subbed out. 

 

Saturday didn’t start well for me.  Dad had once again expressed interest in going to a game, but backed out when I called him in the morning.  An hour later, a completely out-of-breath Ron called me to cancel going with me also.  He was having problems breathing.  He thought it might clear up later, but he couldn’t guarantee it.  At that point, even with nice weather outside, I thought twice about going.  I could just listen on the radio.  Then I remembered that Sammy Natera was pitching.  That’s the guy that struck out 14 last weekend and was the national pitcher of the week (though not the WAC pitcher of the week, some guy threw a 7-inning no hitter in conference).  I thought I’d better go. 

 

And the first thing that greets me when I enter the grandstand, there’s Ron chatting with one of the fans.  He’s fine.  I’m gratified about that, but irritated that he didn’t call me back so we could have driven over together.  In any case, new at the field were a couple of portraits now mounted on the front of the batting facility.  I asked the guy Ron was with and he identified them as standout alumni Nick Gonzales and Daniel Johnson. 

 

Another good crowd was shaping up.  The final number was over 900 (out of a 1,000 seat grandstand).  There were the hot chicks, of course.  There was a squad of scouts there to look at Sammy.  There were a bunch of kids, some of them were invited Little Leaguers.  (There were hardly any kids last weekend.)  We had a special guest of honor: Striking the Wonder Dog!  He’s in a well-deserved retirement from retrieving tees on the football field.  I said, “Hello.”  Ron reached out and petted him.  I wasn’t sure that was allowed.  (Apparently his owner wasn’t around when this happened, only a staff member.)          

 

Aggie Softball was actually playing next door, but it was an off weekend for them before going on the road for a while.  I was surprised to see them in the field playing in full uniform.  Yesterday’s baseball game was disrupted for a minute when a softball home run went into the baseball outfield.  (That must have been a tremendous shot to clear two walls and walkway between them.)  Anthony Rifenberg (?) was on the radio, as Adam Young worked an Aggie Women’s Basketball game at home at the same time.  We again had a live Anthem performance.  The guy is really good.  He should also be doing it for Men’s Basketball and Football.     

The totals on the scoreboard at the end of the game were wrong.  My scorecard was right!  It had to happen someday.  (This will probably be the only time.)  The Aggies took the field in their white hats again.  It’s not a bad look, but it’s taking some getting used to.  Natera started off the game well with a “three-pitch see-you-later,” strikeout looking.  (That was Anthony’s description.)  He then gave up two hits, but came back with two more looking strikeouts.  The ump was calling a low strikezone that was helping out.

 

No offense to Striking, but a truly adorable puppy came in.  He was being carried by his owner everywhere inside.  No doubt, he was afraid of the dog getting stolen (like by me).  A co-worker came in and we exchanged waves.  The ball kid was back in the Aggie dugout.  There was also the thunder of children racing after foul balls that went out of the park.  Unfortunately, there was now a sponsor for the foul balls that was announced on every one of them.  That got annoying immediately. 

 

In the bottom of the first, the wind started blowing in a bit and it was knocking down fly balls.  Gunner Antillon got on via a hit by pitch.  Kevin Jimenez followed with a double.  Preston Godfrey brought Gunner in with a sac fly.  Then, Nolan Funke came up with a two-run homer to center.  That had to have been a very muscular shot.  Edwin Martinez-Pagani followed with another single, but was thrown out trying to steal second.  The Aggies don’t seem to be as good at stealing as the coach thinks they are.  I’m not seeing a lot of stealing success so far.  The Oakland fans present let off a cheer with the final out.  3-0 Aggies.

 

The top of the second brought out another t-shirt toss to the crowd.  (The first came after the home run.)  The Sports Accessories trailer outside seemed to be doing good business again, so they probably didn’t mind giving out some freebies.  This inning began with another pair of hits.  One of them was a popup behind first that the wind might have been playing with.  Sammy came back with three-straight strikeouts.  The last one was again on three pitches.

 

I didn’t get the Aggies’ lineup before play started.  Zerek Saenz wasn’t starting today again.  The Aggies went down in order in the second with two strikeouts.  I’d sort of forgot that Men’s Basketball was playing at the same time this afternoon.  I checked with Ron for the score a couple of times.  The Aggies were down by four at the half to Chicago State on the road.  That was surprising, since the Cougars are not a good team with only six wins (two in conference) this season.  With a couple of minutes left in the game and the score tied, I switched over my radio for that game.              

 

At the baseball game, the Grizzlies led off the third with a single.  KJ made a great leaping catch at second and then doubled off the runner.  Sammy next gave up a double, but struck out the following batter to end the inning.  Also of note, there was a little toddler in sleepers wandering around the front of the grandstand.  Too cute.

 

Back at the basketball game, I learned that the Aggies were down four players for this game for various reasons.  Also, star player, Teddy Allen, wasn’t on court at the end of the game with no reason stated.  The Cougars won the game, 61-59, on a last second layup.  In the postgame, I was hearing names of Aggies playing that I hadn’t heard all season.  Coach Jans came on in complete contrition, and apologized to everyone for the performance of the team.

 

Then, it got worse.  Three of the Aggies were out sick with an unspecified illness.  The other missing player had been arrested for (allegedly) beating up his girlfriend.  (That player had played really well in a game a couple of weeks ago.)  Un-discussed, that I heard on the radio call, was why Allen wasn’t playing.  Dad told me later that Teddy and Jans had had big argument on the sideline late and that the coach had sat him down for the rest of the game.  The Aggies are still in the lead in the conference, but could have clinched today.  Now, they’re going to be in a dogfight over their last two games.           

 

Meanwhile back at the ballpark, there was the Pocket Contest.  They were asking for sunscreen, Chapstick, and an Aggie button.  A couple of Softball players in uniform came in.  I guess their practice was over.  Play in the bottom of the third began with a grounder to third.  The next play was set to be the same though a bit harder, but Brandon Nigh threw the ball away way past first.  Gunner made it all the way to third before the ball came into the infield.  While I was scoring this, he suddenly crossed home. 

 

I fumbled with my radio, which was still on the basketball postgame, to get it back to the baseball coverage, which had a few seconds delay on it.  Anthony, flabbergasted by the play, said that the catcher had backed up first base getting the errant throw.  When the ball came into third, there was no one covering the plate.  Gunner simply ran down the line to easily score.  Anthony couldn’t believe, and doubted he’d ever see again, a four-base error.  The Aggies got two more runners on, but weren’t able to get them home.  4-0 Aggies.

 

To the top of the fourth, Natera got a ground out, but gave up a walk (his first of the season) and a single.  Nigh was pulled for a pinch hitter, either for the error or for not covering home.  Sammy got another strikeout.  Seth Tucker came up and hit a sharp liner to second.  KJ laid out for it, but the ball just glanced off his glove and scored a run.  A flyout ended the inning.  4-1 Aggies.

 

There was the I Scream contest on field with three kids screaming for ice cream.  The crowd was amused.  Not so amused was Athletic Director Mario Moccia, who came in.  He hasn’t traveled with the basketball team much lately like he usually does.  This was the first time, I’d even seen him at the ballpark.  Clearly, he’d been watching the basketball game before he came in judging by the sour look on his face. 

 

Grizzlies pitcher, Chas Sagedahl, walked the first Aggie batter of the fourth and gave up a hit to the next.  On a 3-0 count to Kyle Westfall, who was trying to bunt, Sagedahl was pulled for Brett Hagen.  I was mentally going over what the scoring rules were on a walk in this situation, but it resolved into a fielder’s choice anyway, as the lead runner was thrown out at third.  Brandon Dieter hit a hard grounder at the third baseman that the fielder had little chance on.  (It was a tough day at third for the Grizzlies.)  Logan Galina came into score from second.  Dieter stole second on defensive indifference, which was strange.  The Aggies loaded the bases on a walk, but a ground out to first ended the inning.  5-1 Aggies.

 

Sammy led off the fifth with a walk and was pulled immediately for Cam Blazek.  Blazek had a pair of outs before giving up a walk to Brandon Heidal.  In his at bat, Heidal had fouled a ball off a netting pole that ricocheted directly into his dugout.  No harm done thankfully.  However, he did get caught stealing, which ended the inning.  Hey, there’s a fan wearing a Johnny Bench Reds jersey.  Of course, there’s plenty of MLB gear in the stands, but that one caught my attention, along with someone wearing an Albuquerque Dukes hat.   

 

The Aggies got a leadoff single to start to the bottom of the fifth, but a double play killed that rally.  Cam retired the side in order in the sixth.  In the bottom, Galina crushed a monster foul ball outside the stadium past right field.  He struck out, but remember that swing for later.  Pinch hitter Cal Villareal hit a bouncer that Hagen fielded.  There was some confusion covering first, before the first baseman got there, made the catch, and then dropped the ball.  That was the only damage in the inning though.

 

The top of the seventh began with a single by Tucker and a wild pitch advancing him to second.  Brad Goulet singled next.  Here, I have a disagreement with the official scoring.  Godfrey booted the ball in right, but I think Tucker would have scored anyway and Goulet didn’t advance to second.  I don’t think there should have been an error on the play.  But, it was fairly shallow single, so maybe.  A double play killed the rally.  5-2 Aggies. 

 

The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the seventh.  There may have been an automatic strike called.  There was no pitch, but the count changed.  The Aggie dugout was in an uproar at the ump.  Myself, Ron (who noticed the count change), and Anthony did not have a clue what the problem was.  This must be a new rule.  There were several defensive changes for the Aggies in the eighth.  I think it was to put better defenders in.  Pablo Cortes worked around a walk for a quick inning. 

 

In the bottom of the eighth, I was nearly overcome by the strong smell of bologna.  Where the hell did that come from?  The Aggies used their third catcher of the game, Ryan Grobosch, to pinch hit.  Galina came up next and didn’t miss this time.  He banged a monster shot to right.  The fielder acted like he had a bead on it, but it was way over his head.  6-2 Aggies.

 

We go to the top of the ninth.  Alex Bustamonte issued a leadoff walk.  A high foul pop up behind the plate on the next batter seemed to be arcing straight back into the stands.  This got a rise out of everyone.  Thankfully, it blew back into play and Grobosch made a diving catch on it, which the crowd appreciated.  More thankfully he wasn’t hurt on the play, because there may not have been another good catching option left on the bench.  Bustamonte got a strikeout and walked the next batter on a full count with the crowd urging him on.  A grounder finished off the game.  Aggies win 6-2.

 

A kid ran by exclaiming that he got four “home run” balls.  That’s not correct, but good hustle, kid.  At two hours and 44 minutes, it was a fairly tidy victory for Aggie fans.  By and large, they all stuck around until the end, even Striking.  The Golden Grizzlies had their chances (more hits and runners left on).  Big strikeouts and double plays hurt them.  Likewise, the Aggie offense had a couple of opportunities to put the game away, but didn’t get the clutch hit.  They did alright anyway.

 

My gameballs go to Brett Hagen for Oakland for five innings of relief and only giving up 1 run.  (Brad Goulet went 3 for 5 and I think he should have gotten an RBI.)  For the Aggies, I’m giving the pitching staff a nod in a combined 2-run effort.  They got into some trouble with hits and walks, but avoided giving up a big inning.  Logan Galina also gets a gameball for coming in as a sub and going 2 for 3 with an RBI home run and not because of what happened after the game.

 

Ron and I went to What-a-burger (in separate vehicles, which irritated me) for dinner.  Galina came in after us by himself.  He wasn’t in uniform, but had on a warmup jersey with his number on it, thus I was able to identify him.  I went over and congratulated him on a good game and his home run.  (See, this is why you keep a scorecard.)  My that Galina lad is a tall, handsome young man with bright eyes, which lit up when I praised him.  If the rest of the team is like him, little wonder all those hot chicks show at the ballpark.  Ron also wished Galina good luck tomorrow. 

 

Everything worked out okay today.  (What-a-burger even redeemed themselves after my last bad meal there.)  I’ll take that.                  

 

A few holiday cards and photos

Happy Valentine's Day.  Way late.  I'm probably already sleeping on the couch.

 

Here's a Christmas card I got in February.  My mailbox was damaged in November and my apartment complex hasn't started getting mail again until now.  This card was actually delivered to me by a neighbor.  Since we were having to get our mail at the post office for a couple months, they'd accidently given him some of my mail.  This was from Aunt Judy, so I called her right away and thanked her for it.

Tucker sent me a picture and wrote to me on the back of it.

Aunt Judy also sent a picture of a Christmas visitor at her house.  As soon as he noticed the duck, Tucker attempted to enthusiastically greet him at the door and the duck flew off.

Lastly, this was a pretty card from a charity.

Postcards From the Edge: Dad's Family Cards 21

This is continued from Part 1 of the Northwest Arkansas Apple Blossom Festival.

More pictures of floats from the parade.

Lastly, the Queen's coronation ceremony.

NM State Aggies vs UIC Flames Baseball 2-19-22

Yesterday’s Opening Day’s weather wasn’t bad, but certainly this Saturday was even better.  Once again, it was clear.  The temperature was probably in the high 60’s with a cool breeze.  Driving in with Ron, I got a better look at the facilities.  The structure next to the visitor’s dugout was an open-air batting cage.  Ron said they took out the auxiliary bleachers there.  Ron said the large open-air batting facility next to home dugout was actually finished.  I’d thought when they announced it, it was going to be an indoor facility.  Today, I noticed that there were large fans hanging from the ceiling and hanging lights.  There was also a seemingly unnecessary catwalk overlooking the cages.  Hmm.  You could see the field from them.  Maybe they should expand it and make it a party deck.

 

A couple of visiting teams were playing softball next door.  Aggie Softball was off today.  At the same time, the Women’s Basketball team was playing at the Pan Am Center.  Ron with his Aggie Country Pass was cursing this cross-scheduling.  I was cursing that the basketball game was taking my favorite Sports Marketer, Emerson, away from me this afternoon. 

 

On field, I was startled that the Aggies were wearing white hats.  I’d never seen them in that color before.  I saw some fans today wearing them.  The Sports Accessories trailer was again doing good business by the grandstand.  Maybe they were selling them.  I noticed two Aggie players hitting each other on the chest to get pumped up after warming up.  About half the team, knelt in a prayer circle afterward.  Once again, the Anthem seemed to catch everyone on field off guard.  Ron reported that James Harris on the UIC Flames knelt for it.  Possibly not coincidentally, he was the only black player I saw on either team.

 

A great crowd came for the game.  Yesterday was really good at over 700.  Today was over 800.  (The grandstand’s capacity is 1,000.)  The girl with the bob haircut did not return.  I was going to try to sketch her there.  There was a spectacular girl with long blonde hair on the other side of the stadium.  She had to definitely be a player girlfriend.  On the other side of the stadium, there were a couple of attractive enemy fans as well.        

Today’s scorecards worked out a bit better than yesterday.  I took a pregame bathroom break later than I meant to and missed the PA lineup announcement (and getting popcorn).  There was a fill-in radio broadcaster today with Adam Young doing basketball.  His name was Anthony, but I missed his last name.  I also managed to miss him doing the lineups, but I still managed to get everyone listed during the game. 

 Cal Kilgore started as catcher today for the Aggies.  He’d had a rough day yesterday in only one inning of work.  Kudos to Coach Kirby for putting him back in the next day.  Cal Villareal was also starting after his clutch pinch hit yesterday.  Sammy Natera was our starting pitcher.  His family was sitting right below us wearing jackets with his name on them.  Zerek Saenz’s family was likewise in very cool-looking jersey’s with his name on them.  Natera struck out two in a 1-2-3 inning.  I finally cracked yesterday’s mystery to opposing players getting walkup music.  The PA was playing music after strikeouts.  The song choices were curious, but later in the game, they fell back on the standard, Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye one.

 

Since I didn’t get popcorn, I was now smelling it behind me.  I was also occasionally smelling very strong BO, along with beer and vinegar.  I was getting that vinegar smell at Softball last week.  Is it those big pickles they sell?  Tyler Ingram started for the Flames and also worked a quick inning.  That’s going to be a theme today. 

 

Natera struck out the side in the second.  Even early on with the pitchers dominating, the crowd and the broadcaster were questioning the umpire’s strike zone.  Meanwhile, I was amused by a nearby toddler kid playing with a baby.  Preston Godfrey led off with a hit in the bottom, but was thrown out trying to take second on a pitch in the turf.  The next two batters struck out.  The UIC fans got jacked up on that final out.

 

Natera made a great jump play on a comebacker to start the third.  He gave up a double next that seemed to be ticketed to go over the wall, but was hit to the deepest part of the park.  The UIC dugout got vocal, but Natera shut that down with two more strikeouts.  Between innings, the Pocket contest came up.  The items were a lanyard, a penny, and a can of Pistol Pete ale.  Strangely, the beer was the only item nobody admitted to having.  I saw people in the stands with them.  A girl below us was happy to claim the leftover prize.  Three Flame fielders made a campfire around a high popup, but that leadoff single for the Aggies in the bottom was left stranded.

 

In the top of the fourth, Natera got Kevin Jimenez into the action, as KJ made two plays at second.  Both involved running to his right and throwing to his left.  On the second play, he did it with a jump throw.  Shadows of squadrons of birds in formation crossed over the field.  It was like we were at Shea Stadium in La Guardia’s flight path, but more quiet.  There was another 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth.  The last strikeout was looking and got a roar out of the UIC fans.

 

In the fifth, there was an error on first baseman, AJ Garcia, as he waved off Natera on an infield popup that dropped in.  The runner stole second afterward.  KJ made a great catch on a shot just over the infield and nearly doubled off the runner at first.  Oh, and Natera started and finished the inning with strikeouts. 

 

Finally in the bottom of the fifth, Logan Galina, who’d struck out four times yesterday, led off with a home run.  The stadium erupted.  The ball went to left center on a low line.  It just kept carrying and cleared the wall.  I thought the left fielder was going to bring it back momentarily as he jumped at the wall.  Right after, Flames shortstop, Ryan Lin-Peistrup, made a great spin throw to nip Villareal at first and the UIC fans roared back.  After a walk, a double play ended the inning, but the Aggies were now up 1-0.

 

An older gentleman behind me asked me what the score was right after.  I found this curious as he was into the game and cheering along with it.  There was a big roar next door at softball as someone hit a home run.  I could see players trotting around the bases.  The second Flames batter of the sixth, Bryan Rosario, was declared hit by the ump and awarded first.  It was a little odd, because the catcher was the one who reacted to being hit.  The umps conferenced and let the call stand. 

 

Rosario stole second and took third on an overthrow by Kilgore.  Coach Kirby and the catcher argued that the batter got in the way.  (Tip: always throw into the player in that situation, that’s what makes it interference.)  Natera didn’t care and struck out two more.  Kilgore flipped the ball in anger afterward.  The ump immediately told him to cool it, but the bad blood (compounded by the wavering strikezone) was already flowing.  The bottom of the sixth went 1-2-3 for Aggie hitting.  Still, Ingram was unhappy with not getting a call and displayed his displeasure.  After the inning, the ump had a quick talk with him, too. 

 

Top of the seventh, Kilgore, likely at the insistence of his coach, patched things with the ump before play resumed.  Natera had two more strikeouts in his final inning for a total of 14.  In the middle of those K’s, KJ had the defensive play of the day.  He laid out to snow cone catch a line drive.  Due to the quickness of these innings, both the Aggies and Flames coaches delayed the game to chat with their third batter of the inning, likely to give their pitchers more time to warm up.

 

Pablo Cortes took over for Natera in the top of the eighth and worked a quick inning, notching a couple more strikeouts.  On the first batter, Garcia knocked down a grounder that rolled away from him to KJ.  Garcia scrambled back to the bag in time to receive the throw and get the runner.  By this point I admit, I was really kind of cheering on a cessation in scoring.  Anthony was doing a good job on the radio call, but if Adam were here, I’m pretty sure he’d be going through the record book trying to see if there’d ever been a 1-0 game at Presley Askew Field.  I wanted to be able to say, “I was there.”

 

I was disappointed, but in the best way.  Ryan Grabosch had come in to catch and batted second in the inning and singled.  Gunner Antillon followed and doubled to left field.  Grabosch chugged around third and was waved home.  He reached out and touched the plate just under the tag.  The ump paused for a dramatic second before ruling him safe.  But it wasn’t over.  The Aggies went on to score four more runs.  (Of note, Cory Moore at first did make an all-out diving effort on a foul ball trying to stop the bleeding.)  Flames pitcher Joey Morris was finally relieved by Matt Zohora, who got the final out as the Aggies batted around.  Did the Flames coach go out for a beer or something during the inning?  I nearly went to the mound take Morris out myself. 

 

With a 6-1 lead in the top of the ninth, the drama and weirdness still wasn’t over.  Cortes struck out the first batter.  Grobosch made a great effort to get a foul popup and slid into the turf.  He came up smiling.  Then the weirdness started.  KJ caught a very high popup at second . . . and then dropped it.  He looked in disbelief at the ball on the ground.  We all did.  Perhaps trying to make up for not taking out his pitcher, the Flames coach pinch hit for the first six batters of the inning.  Cortes got a flyball out for the second out, but then lost all feel for the strikezone and walked the next two batters.  Then James Harris came up with his grass-stained knees and cleared the bases with a double.  6-3 Aggies.  Then it got even weirder. 

 

Cortes was left in and came back with his hardest stuff and struck out the next batter to end the game.  The Aggies celebrated on the field . . . as the home plate umpire waved the batter to first.  He claimed Gorbosch had dropped the ball and not thrown out the runner.  Gorbosch and Coach Kirby protested to no avail.  Cortes was left in to again get the final out.  The crowd had been loud before, but now they were hysterical.  The next batter was fighting the Cortes and the fans.  Cortes did not disappoint and notched another strikeout.  Gorbosch and the umpire exchanged words afterward, as the team and the crowd were celebrating.  Gorbosch got in the last word in that exchange.  Scoreboard: Aggies win 6-3.              

 

The game took two-and-a-half hours.  That’s almost unbelievable for a game at the Skew.  That should give you an idea of how quick all those 1-2-3 innings were.  Let’s hand out those gameballs.  Let’s see, Sammy Natera, 7 innings, 1 hit, 14 strikeouts.  That’s an easy one.  Logan Galina went 3 for 4 with a home run and 3 RBI’s, a day after striking out four times.  The pregame show the next day said that they’d made an adjustment to his swing.  Tyler Ingram for the Flames had a great effort today, going over 6 innings and only giving up 1 run.  James Harris should get one for his pinch hit 3-run double, but it also comes with my personal disapproval.   

 

I was not at the Sunday game as the Daytona 500 was being run that day.  I listened in on the radio instead.  After a disappointing meal at What-a-burger* dad and I were watching the race, and he asked me why I wasn’t at the game.  “Well, I can listen to the game, but I can’t watch the race at the game.”  “You probably made the wrong choice,” he commented.  He may have been right.  Much of the race was either single or double-file uncompetitive racing.  There were some spectacular wrecks and a dramatic ending, but I probably could have gone to the game and still watched half of the race.  Congrats to rookie, Austin Cindric, on his win and his enthusiastic postrace interview. 

 

(* Which is really rare.  They’re normally great.  This time they got the order wrong, but close enough.  The burgers and fries didn’t taste that great though, and their Dr. Pepper was inexcusably watered down.  Ron and I even had poor frozen custard at Caliches after the game Saturday, which is almost impossible.  I blame that we tried different sundaes than we usually have.)

 

As for the game, it was another pitcher’s duel.  It was 1-1 into the seventh.  Edwin Martinez-Pagani came in to pinch hit with two on and upon seeing his first pitch in D1 baseball smacked a no-doubt three-run homer.  I talked to Ron, who was there, and he reported that it went into the trees in right field.  Adam Young, on the radio, gave an incredible call of the homer.  Edwin did a huge bat flip and thumped his chest rounding the bases to the ire of the Flames.  They threw at the next batter in anger.

 

The Flames loaded the bases in the eighth, but the batter took a swing on a 3-0 count and made a flyout to end the inning.  Alex Bustamonte, who’d failed to record an out in Friday’s five-run inning, came in for the ninth and shut the door for a 4-1 win.  Ian Meija didn’t get the win, but did go 6 innings, only giving up a run.  Ron also reported that Zerek Saenz did not play.  I don’t know what that means.  He also didn’t see the girl with the bob haircut today.  Now, we’re both obsessed with her.   

 

Overall, this was a heck of a series win for the Aggies against a quality opponent.  After the last few years of video game-like hitting, their starting pitching may be their biggest strength this season.  I think the hitting will come around, but the team will only go as far as their pitching.  Ah, it’s good to have baseball back.            

NM State Aggies vs UIC Flames Baseball 2-18-22

 

Ah, Opening Day.  How could I not take off a Friday afternoon for a ball game?  Actually, I was pretty concerned about the weather.  We’d had a bad windstorm a couple of days ago and a cold front had moved in.  Today, it was warm in the sun under a clear blue sky, but there was a biting breeze and some ambient chill in the air.  I went ahead and went for it. 

 

I’d heard an interview with Coach Mike Kirby last week on El Paso Sportstalk.  Steve Kaplowitz did a great job asking him questions, which Kirby appreciated.  It sounded like the Aggies were bringing back a lot of their good hitters from last season, so I got excited listening.  Unfortunately, early on in today’s coverage, I found that big bopper, Ethan Mann, was injured and wasn’t going to be available for the season.  Pitching was still a bit of a question.  The team was picked to finish fourth in conference. 

 

Ron came by to pick me up and we had a late lunch at McAlister’s before heading to the stadium.  New Mexico’s mask mandate had ended yesterday, so while the staff at the restaurant wore masks, we were able to have our meal in peace at least.  I’m sure AD Mario Moccia wished the mandate had ended a couple of weeks ago before the Pack the Pan Am Incident and the closure of the concessions there.  The Men’s Basketball game there on Thursday was, once again, a low attendance event.

 

The Presley Askew Field grandstand was done up in bunting to make it officially Opening Day.  The next door Softball field was active with some visiting teams playing in the Troy Cox Invitational.  We went in and I picked up a couple of sharp-looking posters.  Ron grabbed some little souvenir buttons and put them on his hat to look like a proper fanboy. 

 

I bought a much missed Corn-in-the-Cup from a very pretty concessions vendor.  Sports Accessories also had a trailer and stand set up.  I took a look, but I really don’t need any more shirts period.  They were still doing some brisk business anyway.  A good crowd showed up for this 3:00pm game.  A bunch of scouts were in attendance.  The new batting facility was still an open building and not an enclosed one.  Is it finished?  There was also another open building next to the visitor’s dugout, which I’m not sure if that’s another batting cage or not.

 

Inside, broadcaster, Adam Young, walked by and said, “Hi.”  I finally got to congratulate him on getting married last year.  UIC Flames (University of Illinois-Chicago) also brought a good contingent of fans.  Adam talked about them in the pregame.  I hadn’t heard of them or their conference.  I’d almost think they were arch rivals with WAC school, Chicago State, fighting in Chicago over who’s the state university.  It turns out they were a really good team last year.  Curtis Granderson was their most famous alumni.  He came back made a $5M endowment to build them a new stadium, Grandyman Field.  Or, that’s what I would have called it.       

 

A frequent fanguy came over and greeted us.  I forgot his name.  He was wearing a really cool Clash London Calling t-shirt.  If Sports Accessories was selling one of those I would have bought one.  We had a live Anthem singer today.  He’d come in through the gate right after we did.  He didn’t perform on field and kind of caught the teams by surprise, but did a tremendous job.  Hopefully, they use him at the Pan Am Center, too.  There was a new PA announcer.  It was a new girl, but had same the high-level of enthusiasm.    

I can’t believe these scorecards added up in the end.  I’d screwed up twice writing down the stats in the wrong place.  Lucky, I caught it during the game, before everything after got messed up.  Rorik Maltrud was the Aggies’ Opening Day starter.  He got three flyball outs to start the game.  Nate Peterson started for the Flames.  He worked a quick bottom of the first with a pair of strikeouts.  It was all sedate enough in the beginning.  A bunch of guys from a fraternity came in and sat behind us.     

 OMG!  The Aggie Sports Marketing goddess herself made an appearance.  Yes, it was Emerson, and she was making it rain on the crowd with souvenir hats.  One of the frat guys got one.  I’ve never seen Emerson look so happy and glamourous at the park.  Life must be going good for her. 

 

The top of the second was a bit ugly for the Aggies.  Two hits started the inning.  Brandon Dieter at short fell on a grounder on next batter, but wasn’t able to get the out at first and a run scored.  Oops, distraction.  A group of hot sorority girls came in.  In spite of the temperature, they were in tank tops, because they had to look good.  Back on field, an apparent stolen base at second and a run scoring from third were waved off by the umps.  Adam, on the radio call, wasn’t sure what happened.  My best guess is that there was a foul tip on the play.  The runner at second had to come out with an injured hand. 

 

Maltrud induced a Fielder’s Choice and got a strikeout.  Unfortunately, a walk loaded the bases.  Over the centerfield wall, you could hear the Seventh-inning Stretch playing at the Softball field.  Bryan Rosario came up with a two-run single.  Rayth Peterson, the sub player for the injured one, fell down rounding third but still scored.  Tommy Tabak in center juggled a flyball, but managed to squeeze it for the final out.  0-3 Flames.  I think this half inning took a half hour.  I was seriously worried about the possible length of this game.

Ooh.  A very attractive young woman came in and sat below us.  She was a brunette with a cute bob cut, sexy eyes, and a great nose.  I think I might be looking more to draw her than date her.  I tried doing her from memory the next day, but didn’t come close.  I should have tried it today between innings.  

 

Kevin Jimenez led off the bottom of the second with a single.  Logan Galina came up and I was impressed with him as an athletic physical specimen.  (See, I can be equal opportunity in noticing looks.)  Unfortunately, him and Gunner Antillon both struck out next.  (Gunner is my new favorite player name.)  After, Preston Godfrey got hit by a pitch as one got away from Peterson.  Catcher Ryan Grabosch cashed in KJ with a single.  Tabak made the final out.  Adam mentioned he’d hit well in the Alaskan League in the summer.  I wonder if he was playing in those Midnight Baseball games where they have all-night daylight.  1-3 Flames.

 

Maltrud had a good comeback in the third with a pair of strikeouts looking.  Inexplicably, one of the visiting players got walk up music.  Tabak made a great running catch in center to end the inning.  The Gisele Bundchen remake of Blondie’s Heart of Glass played between innings.  I like it.  A little toddler girl in a doo rag with shiny new pom pom’s trotted down the main walkway.  It was too cute.  She was really happy to be here.  There actually weren’t too many kids here.  It was probably the start time that kept most of the families away.  Dieter singled to start the bottom of the third, but was left stranded.

 

Once again in the fourth, a visitor got walk up music.  Maltrud racked up two more K’s in a 1-2-3 inning.  Peterson matched him in the bottom with the same.  The game time was now moving along.  Ooh, a shapely girl with long dark hair in painted-on yoga pants walked by.  Yikes!  Maltrud was cruising now with two more strikeouts in a minimum fifth inning.  The second strikeout was on an appeal and the crowd roared in approval.  More visitor walk up music played.  Ron’s explanation was that the PA wasn’t paying attention and kept thinking the inning was ending. 

 

Grabosch led off with a sneaky bunt hit in the bottom of the fifth.  A dad, daughter, and son moved in below us.  Dad was giving the girl a highly technical discussion about the pitching in the game.  She was listening.  Unfortunately, they left after a couple of innings.  The boy was eating Corn-in-a-cup.  Everybody wanted it.  There was pent-up demand as Concessions had been closed last year.  The Aggies got another on with a walk, but a strikeout ended the inning.  The UIC fans and dugout let out a cheer.  A drunk Aggie fan yelled out, “You got lucky!”

 

Cam Blazek entered the game to pitch for the Aggies in sixth.  He came in to the tune of Marty Robbin’s Big Iron on His Hip.  Cam gave up a single, but struck out the side.  He worked really fast and had an excellent offspeed pitch.  The drunk Aggie fan was heckling some more.  He serenaded the final strikeout with, “Ha, ha!  You’re out!”  Emerson graced us with her presence for the trivia contest.  “Which team drafted Nick Gonzales?”  A bunch of hands shot up.  (Of course, it’s the Pirates.)  In the bottom, Peterson started off with two strikeouts before giving up a base hit.  Rosario made a great running catch by the foul line to end the inning.

 

There was a ball kid in an Aggie uniform taking care of the foul ball and ball delivery duties today.  That’s usually handled by a freshman player.  For a moment, I was wondering why the Aggies were carrying a five-foot tall player.  Cam breezed through the top of the seventh.  On the final ground out, the heckler struck again, “You’re slow as hell!” 

 

For the stretch, me and a woman behind me sang out by ourselves.  She remarked, “I guess us old folks are the only ones who know the words.”  Adam mentioned that Nick and Joey Ortiz, our star players from a couple of years ago, said they’d be listening to the broadcast, so he said, “Hello,” to them.  Peterson racked up two more strikeouts before giving up a walk.  The coach came out, but didn’t take him out.  Peterson finished his day with his thirteenth K and 110 pitches.  He struck out everyone in the lineup at least once, except for Dieter.  

 

For the eighth, Cam issued a walk and notched two more strikeouts.  Christian Lopez came in for the Flames and worked a 1-2-3 inning.  In the top of the ninth, Noah Estrella worked around loading the bases without damage.  In the bottom of the ninth, Lopez got the first out on a grounder.  Things looked bleak.

 

Then, Godfrey belted a double.  A wild pitch and then an errant throw by the catcher scored him.  Grobosch walked and Kyle Westfall came in to run for him.  That was a good move.  Cal Villareal pinch hit and smacked another double.  Westfall booked it and scored from first.  We were tied at 3.  Dieter was given an intentional walk to put two on, however Zerek Saenz grounded into a double play to end the inning.  Still, that was a thrilling comeback.

 

The top of the tenth did not go well for the Aggies.  The Flames batted around for five runs.  New catcher, Cal Killgore, dropped the third strike on the first batter and overthrew first to let him on.  Then there was a couple of hit batters and a couple of walks.  There were only two hits, but one was a bases clearing double, which also cleared out the crowd.  Bobby Grimes even caught the Aggies sleeping on a flyout and took second.  Alex Bustamonte had started the inning and left without getting an out.  Brendon Rodriguez came in finished the inning.  The inning finally ended with good catch on a low liner by Gunner at third.

 

The Aggies could not mount a second comeback and lost 8-3.  Nolan Funke (Funky) my second favorite new player name did pinch hit for Galina, who struck out four times.  Funke also struck out.  It must have been something about that spot in the order today.  Ron was in the dumps, but I’d seen a good game and it beat going to work.  Even with the extra inning, the game only went a bit over three hours.  There were a lot of quick innings.

 

Maybe not the greatest start to the season, but the Aggies showed some good pitching.  I think their hitting just ran into really good pitching today.  My gameballs go to Flames Nate Peterson (7 innings, 1 run, 13 strikeouts) and Rayth Peterson (2 for 4, 3 RBI’s, not bad for a player who wasn’t a starter), and Aggie Cam Blazek (3 innings, 1 hit, 6 strikeouts).  It’s kind of a pity none of the good pitchers in the game figured into the decision.      

 

Going to the bathroom afterward, Ron pointed out a couple of cute puppies in the Kiss and Cry area.  Even better, there was a large, friendly dog at the front gate accepting pets from passersby, including us.  The owner chastised the dog for being too needy.  There was a magnificent orange sunset outside in the valley.  It was a little nippy, but I was dressed for it.  Aggie Softball was playing at the time.  Ron wanted to go, but forgot that I didn’t have a pass like he did.  I wasn’t going to pay (and pay tournament prices) for half a game.  I’d had enough for the day anyway.  He surprised me on the way home when he asked if I’d noticed the girl with the bob haircut.  He was just as enamored as I was. 

Postcards From the Edge: Dad's Family Cards 20

This is a really different foldout postcard.  Actually, I think it's custom printed invitation.  Maybe.  It's quite the artifact either way.  

This is an invitation to the Northwest Arkansas Apple Blossom festival in Rogers, AR.  

The coronation includes a parade with floats.

 

Continued in Part 2.

Postcards From the Edge: Dad's Family Cards 19

Continued from Part 1 of the Oak Canyon Creek foldout postcard.

Bell Rock.

Montezuma Castle and Oak Creek Falls.

Jerome ghost town and Sedona.

Schnebly Hill.  (Not all of the place names can be winners.)

  

Wilson Mountain.