NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos Baseball 4-18-23

At least the meal was good. 

 

The Aggie Baseball games over the weekend were good enough that I felt reasonable over taking a day off to see the I-25 Rivalry against the UNM Lobos.  I even took my cowbell to the game.  Ron was very unhappy that I brought it with me when he picked up me up for dinner before the game.  I told him I’d only ring it on strikeouts, runs scored, and great plays in the field.  I didn’t ring that bell a whole lot during the game.  (Also, I forgot to ring it during great plays.)

 

It's even better-looking in person.

Part of the reason for going for today’s Tuesday evening game was to again take advantage of Ruby Tuesday’s $6 Burger and Fries lunch deal.  We’d done this last year after a morning basketball game.  The burger was great, but visiting the restaurant next to Sam’s Club a couple of days before Christmas was a traffic and service mess.  This time, no problem, and boy, was that burger good.  However, we were seated in the bar area surrounded by TV’s on different stations.  Ron was nearly hypnotized by the Internet bloopers channel.

 

The only thing needed for the meal to make it perfect was ice cream!  We took care of that on the way back to the stadium by stopping by Sonic for Blasts.  (Hey, their machine was working.)  With that, we arrived about an hour before the game.  Some Cheerleaders and Pistol Pete were greeting fans inside for the game.  (They were handing out coupons for something later, but I didn’t get one.)   

 

I picked up a program, but declined the free fanny pack.  I felt like I offended the girl handing them out.  I saw earlier, broadcaster Adam Young (TV only tonight, no radio, which would have been helpful for scoring the game), grabbed a couple of programs.  (He didn’t take a fanny pack, either.)  I had assumed broadcasters was working off a more official roster.

 

The crowd was great for the game.  It was listed at more than capacity at 1,085.  Ron said he only counted three Lobos fans.  There was a couple below us, but I didn’t see many, either.  It was warm and sunny with a pleasant breeze, which helped attendance.  There was a buzz in the air in the crowd.  (The girls behind us were just buzzed.)  A second Concessions area was opened under the stands, which made trips for drinks and snacks much quicker. 

 

We met with fan Michael inside the grandstand.  Strangely, we mostly discussed pizza.  Since we arrived early, we got our usual seats.  Unlike most games, we ended up surrounded by young women.  This description would fit half the crowd.  (I should have called my Casanova co-worker, Taylor.  He could have come and handed out business cards.)  One girl came by that was just barely covering her “D’s” with her tank top.  I averted my eyes as she climbed the stairs next to me.  A high school kid with his dad watched her going all of the way up. 

 

The hot Pan-Am Girl was there, but not working.  Softball was practicing next door, but I didn’t notice if any of them came over to the game.  I saw some very pretty girls from a team, but I couldn’t identify which team.  They looked familiar.  I think Xitlaly Hernandez from Soccer was there.  I’m seeing her everywhere.  There was a guy in the next section over that was also keeping a scorecard.  (I should have asked his opinion on a couple of plays.)          

         

Before the game, new Men’s Basketball coach, Jason Hooten threw out the first pitch.  He looked happy.  AD Mario Moccia was with him and was walking around the crowd later.  He looked like a very troubled man, even before the game started.  [Edit: I found out why the next day.  Two Basketball players accused three other players of raping them.  They’ve filed charges against them, the coaching staff, and the board of regents.  It’s bad.]  Some Little Leaguers joined the Aggies on field.  A high school girl belted out the Anthem and did an excellent job.  

There were some issues with this game in the scoring.  The official scorer may have changed his mind a couple of times.  The scoreboard and the announcements differed.  The official scoring had a couple extra players inserted that I missed, and also missed scoring a couple of players that I scored (and I’m right). 

 

Will Sierra was the somewhat surprise starter for the Aggies.  He led off the game with a walk.  The next batter hit into a tailor-made double play, but the runner from first broke it up.  It looked like it may have been interference with the runner hitting Nolan Funke, but it wasn’t called. 

 

What followed instead was another walk, a run-scoring double, two runs scored on a single, a wild pitch, and run-scoring single for four runs total.  There was a strikeout, so I got to ring the bell, much to Ron’s irritation.  Keith Jones II in right had trouble squeezing the final fly ball.  The sun was setting at the time.  4-0 Lobos.

 

The Cheerleaders and Pistol Pete came out front and led the crowd in a cheer before the bottom of the first.  KJII led off with a near infield hit.  Reed Spenrath at first fell on the ball and managed to slap the base with his glove before Keith got there.  The crowd disagreed with the call.  Two batters later, Kevin Jimenez and Spenrath had the same play, but KJ was called “safe.”  That was it, though.

 

Coach Hooten came out with the Cheerleaders and Pete to toss t-shirts to the crowd.  He seemed kind of amused.  The girls behind us were having a steady stream of interesting conversations after a guy joined them.  They party hard.  Hayden Walker was now pitching for the Aggies to start the second.  He struck out the first batter, but the next doubled.

 

The next field play had a few question marks.  A grounder to Funke was double-clutched and the throw pulled Logan Galina on first off the bag briefly, though he did re-tap it.  The ump ruled the runner safe, but the umps did confer and confirmed it.  The scoreboard didn’t show it as a hit or error until later.  The PA announced it as an error at the end of the inning.     

 

Walker got a groundout next, but then a popup behind first dropped in between Logan and Keith, which became a two-run double.  After another walk, Aaron Treloar was brought in.  He gave up a two-run single before getting a strikeout to end the inning.  8-0 Lobos.

 

(All of Walker’s runs were officially listed as unearned.  I’d love to hear the logic on this.  I am truly confused.  I think the general rule is to reconstruct the inning without the errors to determine whether runs are earned or unearned.  By my count, there were three earned runs, one unearned.)

 

Christian Perez singled in the bottom of the second.  That’s all.  Balls were tossed to the crowd before the third.  That seemed dangerous given the umpiring and the score, but I think they were foam.  Treloar worked a fairly easy inning, only giving up a single.  I got some insightful commentary from one of the girls behind me.  “Why’d you hit it like that?  They’re going to catch it.  What the F!”  And also, “Swing at it!  Are you scared?”

 

The Pocket Contest was before the bottom of the third.  I had none of the items.  They were giving away fanny packs, anyway.  I told Ron that the Aggies needed that little bat boy from the weekend back.  He was their good luck charm.  After I said that, Funke doubled.  Like magic, suddenly the kid showed up to grab bats for the rest of the game.  Unfortunately, that was all the luck he had in him.  (I was also wondering later if it was past his bedtime.)

 

Some of the girls around us left right after the third.  That was dumb.  There was a $1K scholarship drawing before the fourth for the students.  A name was read.  There was a single scream up near the top of the stands, and then a girl came down to collect.  “I’m over this,” said one of the girls behind us, and a couple left after the drawing.  They were smart. 

 

Sakemi Sato worked a 1-2-3 fourth with three grounders.  Perez dropped a grounder at third, but stayed with it and still threw out the runner.  On the last out, Logan jumped up to get a ball on a high bounce.  Sato alertly ran to first and Logan fed him for the out.           

 

More balls were tossed to the crowd before the bottom of the fourth.  After a couple of called third strikes on the Aggies in previous innings, I’m still questioning this.  Back to play, Spenrath whiffed on a grounder by Mitch Namie, who made it to first.  This was scored a hit for some reason on the scoreboard, but as an error by the PA, but then as a hit officially.  Damone Hale legged out an impressive bunt hit and dodged the tag.  And that was it for the rally.

 

The Lobos led off the top of the fifth with a triple.  The outfielder seemed to lose the ball as it hit the wall.  On the next batter, the ball boy came out to retrieve a ball.  The crowd cheered, but then he stumbled getting the ball.  It was that kind of night.  A wild pitch scored the runner from third.  The batter would bunt for a single.  Logan made a great effort on the throw to him to keep the ball from going into the dugout. 

 

A two-run homer followed.  I don’t think either fielder in the area saw it.  Sato came out for Alan Aguero.  He got a ground out and then gave up a walk.  Next, KJ snagged a low liner and doubled off the runner to end the inning.  11-0 Lobos.

 

The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the fifth.  There was a group of vocal fans up in the grandstand by the Aggie dugout.  They started a wave and got the rest of the stands into it.  The bat boy got a hand for fielding a foul.  What am doing here writing this?

 

There was an unannounced hat toss to the stands for the sixth.  Aguero gave up a leadoff homer and was immediately lifted for Tyler Hoeft.  According to the official stats, this substitution did not happen, but it actually did.  Hoeft began by giving up a monster home run to right.  He came back with a strikeout.  Hoeft got a comebacker next and ran it to first himself.  Finally, KJ dove on a grounder.  He threw from his back side to Logan, who did the splits to get the out.  The boys were playing hard.  13-0 Lobos.

 

Now in run rule territory, Coach Zuniga tossed in the towel in the bottom of sixth and put in three pinch hitters off the bench.  That was a 1-2-3 inning.  Matt Maloney came in for the top of the seventh and gave up a single, but got a couple of strikeouts.  For the Stretch, the girls behind us started singing along.  I was a bit startled. 

 

In the bottom of the seventh, three more pinch hitters came in and two of them got hits (Cal Villareal and Brant Voth).  KJII and Funke struck out to end the game.  One of Keith’s foul balls somehow ricocheted into the center of the stands.  That was about as exciting as it got.  The game was called on a run rule.  Lobos win 13-0.  One of the girls behind us had said the run rule was in effect.  (Those girls were knowledgeable fans.)  I was out of space on my notes page and didn’t want to write more anyway.             

 

If all of the ump’s calls had gone the Aggies’ way, this was still going to be a bad loss.  At least it was quick at two hours and 12 minutes.  For Lobo Gameballs, Dylan Ditzenberger gets one for going 3 for 3, Braydon Runion went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s, and starter Jaren Jackson went for 5 scoreless innings and 6 strikeouts for the win.  After Sunday’s bag full of Gameballs, the Aggies get none tonight.  I could hand out a few honorary ones for effort and a couple of good innings of garbage-time pitching, but that might be kind of patronizing. 

 

I told Ron I didn’t think I’d be taking off any more days for weekday games this season.  He didn’t blame me.  I found no relief at home.  The Fernando Tatis Jr.-less Chihuahuas were down 11-2.  They at least mounted a bit of a comeback and actually had the tying run at the plate, but lost 11-7 to Tacoma.  Some days you take an “L” everywhere (except for lunch).  

NM State Aggies vs SFA Lumberjacks Baseball 4-16-23

 

Yesterday’s game, had ended on an epic walk off home run by Preston Godfrey to win it for the Aggies over SFA.  I was okay with missing out on watching Fernando Tatis Jr. hit 2 home runs for the Chihuahuas on a national broadcast.  Today, I was going to be missing out on another Chihuahuas game with Tatis, along with an MLB game, and the IRL race at Long Beach, a race I’d like to see, but seem to miss every year.  Would it be worth it again?

 

Unfortunately, there was a surprise cold, stiff breeze blowing in the morning.  This would be an ominous portent for the pitchers today.  Ron, who I was going with, did not care about what else was on TV today; he was into this game.  When we got to the stadium, he went to the bathroom.  While I was waiting, last night’s starter, Pablo Cortes, walked by, then Keith Jones II, then the Lumberjacks’ coaching staff.

 

Inside the grandstand, Ron talked to one of the Aggie coaches on the field, whom he’d recently befriended.  Ron then went up to the press box to talk to Adam Young on the radio call today.  As I joined them a little later, Adam asked me, “What is this about a triple play where the defense didn’t touch the ball?”  I’d told Ron about my favorite anecdote from Chihuahuas’ announcer, Tim Hagerty’s new book, Tales from the Dugout, and he’d told Adam.  Adam was genuinely intrigued. 

 

I told him, but I’m not spoiling it here.  I also told him I liked his interview with Aggie reliever, Matt Maloney.  Adam added that Matt was really raw, being a converted catcher, but he profiles as a potential pro.  Adam absolutely beamed when asked about his first child that’s due in July.  He’s looking forward to it and already saying he’s not going to be prepared for games in the fall.     

 

We also had a chat with fan Michael.  It was a day for meeting-and-greeting.  The little boy was back as the bat boy in the Aggie dugout.  He was again all over retrieving bats and balls.  The kid’s got a future in baseball.  Noah Estrella, one of the team’s best relievers, was starting today to get him some work.  Logan Galina was back at first today. 

 

The crowd was okay.  It was listed at over 600.  One of those in attendance was Superfan Tom.  He was in fine voice today cheering on the team . . . for the entire game.  By the end, the Lumberjacks probably wanted the frat boys back from yesterday heckling them.  Assistant Athletic Director Herb Taylor walked by and told him to keep it down to no effect.  (He may not have been being serious in that request.) 

To start off the game, Noah had a couple of looking strikeouts and a home run to left in between them.  Did I mention that there was a good breeze blowing out from right to left?  The wind helped that one. 

 

In the bottom, Lumberjack starter, Reid Bowyer, walked the first three Aggie batters.  I don’t know if he didn’t have it today or was too mindful of the outgoing wind.  Nolan Funke had no trouble taking advantage of that wind with the bases loaded.  He popped the ball into the Jetstream and it flew right out.  Grand Slam!  I should have been more elated at this point, but that wind was blowing for both teams.  I was sure this would not enough to win today. 

 

After another walk by Bowyer without getting an out, he was relieved by Caleb Rutledge.  The parade of pitchers begins.  Good thing for SFA that the frat boys weren’t here to comment on this.  Rutledge finally managed to finish the inning without further damage, though the Aggies sent 9 batters to the plate.  I noticed two kids running up to the press box.  They were carrying 5 collected foul balls.  They were going to be busy for the rest of the game.  4-1 Aggies. 

 

To start the top of the second, an SFA batter fouled one straight back into the net at Tom.  That had to be a coincidence?  Didn’t it?  The Lumberjacks went small ball.  A hit batter, a stolen base, and a single scored another run for them.  After another single, Noah got out of the inning with a strikeout/throw out on another attempted stolen base. 

 

The hot Pan-Am Girl was glowing, happy, and bouncy today, as she tossed out hats and t-shirts.  She seems to be getting into the job.  I think there were a few Aggie athletes in the crowd, but I didn’t identify any of them, except for maybe Mya Hammack from the Soccer team.  She looked nice.  KJII singled to begin the bottom of the second, and Mitch Namie followed with a walk, but both were left stranded. 

 

At the top of the third, two beautiful, rambunctious golden retrievers came in.  I did not get to meet them, but Ron did.  He said they were very friendly.  Tom and a group of little kids were now alternating cheering.  Noah got the first out, but then loaded the bases with a double, a walk, and a single.  He struck out the next batter on 3 pitches, but then gave up a 2-run single. 

 

Coach Zuniga had ridden Noah as far as he could and brought in Aaron Treloar.  He gave up a run-scoring single, but on the play, Cole Hill tried to score from first.  Damone Hale in center relayed to Logan in the center of the diamond, who hit Nick Gore at the plate for an easy out.  However, it was now 5-4 SFA.  Hale wasn’t having it.  After two outs in the bottom of the third, he jacked one to left out with the wind and tied it at 5.  Treloar worked a 1-2-3 top of the fourth to make it stick. 

 

KJII began the bottom of the fourth getting on base again with a single off a new SFA pitcher.  After a strikeout and a walk to KJ, Funke drove in Keith with a single.  Christian Perez then grounded to first.  The ball was thrown to second for the force, but the return throw went to the SFA dugout and bounced back on to the field.  Kevin made it home on the error.  Perez went to second and then to third on a passed ball, where Gore drove him in with a single.  That was 3 runs with some help from the Lumberjacks.  8-4 Aggies.

 

I was still nervous.  I wasn’t enjoying the game to this point.  No lead seemed safe with that wind.  Hayden Walker was the next Aggie pitcher.  After a double, an error, a stolen base, and a fly ball out, Walker was pulled for Sakemi Sato.  With two runners in scoring position, he was helped out by Logan catching a big league foul by the SFA dugout.  A fly ball to the outfield ended the inning without damage.

 

A loud bird suddenly started chirping in my ear.  He was near press box and singing into the radio microphone.  Logan took one for the team in the bottom of the fifth and was hit by a pitch.  KJII was on again via walk.  Both got moved up a base on a grounder by Mitch.  KJ hit a weak bouncer up the middle that rolled into the outfield and scored 2.  Kevin took second on a passed ball before the inning ended.  (I can’t believe I correctly identified two passed balls in this game.)  10-4 Aggies. 

 

The wind was dying down a bit, but I was still concerned.  Ron was muttering incoherently next to me.  Hopefully, he wasn’t stroking out; I wanted to watch the rest of this game.  Sato got in immediate trouble to start the sixth with a single and a walk.

 

He was relieved by Kade Benevidez.  Perez took a grounder to third, stepped on the bag for the force, and threw to Logan, who made a big stretch and completed the double play.  Kade then got in trouble with a hit batter and a walk to load the bases.  A short blooper to center looked like it would fall in, but Hale ran it down to end the inning.

 

More new pitchers cycled in.  The Aggies only worked a walk in the bottom of the sixth.  Cade Swenson worked a 1-2-3 top of the seventh.  KJII singled again in the bottom, but was thrown out on a strikeout/throw out to end the inning.  In the eighth, SFA led off with a single.  Another single led to a fielder’s choice bringing in a run.  Funke made a great jump throw to KJ for a force out on that play.  Kevin was stepped on by the runner, but was able to walk it off.  Tyler Hoeft came in to get the final out.  10-6 Aggies.    

 

Another new Lumberjack pitcher came in for the bottom of the eighth.  Crew Wilson got the first two outs, but then gave up a single to Perez.  Gore put an exclamation point on the afternoon with a massive home run.  The wind carried it over the scoreboard in left center.  Up next, Preston, Adam on the radio, and the crowd complained about a low strike call.  Even in a potential blowout, umps get no slack.  Preston singled his way on anyway.  Hale did the same, but was thrown out trying to steal second.  (He should have slid into the bag.)  12-6 Aggies. 

 

Hoeft came back out to finish it in the bottom of the ninth.  He hit the first batter, but got the next three outs.  Logan made another great play at first to feed Hoeft for the final out.  Aggies win 12-6!             

        

By the end of it, I might have joined in a mob tossing Tom out of the stadium.  Great win, but an annoying and nervous one.  The teams used 14 pitchers in this 2 hour, 49 minute game.  The Aggies out-slugged the Lumberjacks in this one and won the battle of the staff days in pitching. 

 

For Gameballs, Nolan Brown on SFA impressively went 4 for 4 with 2 RBI’s today.  For the Aggies, I got bag full.  I’ll give an honorable Gameball to Logan Galina.  He may have saved a couple of runs today by resuming his first base duties.  Nick Gore went 2 for 5, but drove in 3 in the game. 

 

Adam speculated that either Keith Jones II or Nolan Funke would be getting a WAC Player of the Week nod.  KJII went 3 for 3 and got on base for all 5 of his plate appearances.  Funke went 2 for 5, but had 5 RBI’s, including a grand slam.  Looking for this weekend’s stats for both, I think it will go to Keith.  [Edit: it went to a guy playing for Tarleton, who also had a heck of a weekend.] 

 

In an unprecedented more, I’m also handing out a Gameball to all six Aggie relievers today: Aaron Treloar (got the win), Hayden Walker, Sakemi Sato, Kade Benavidez, Cade Swenson, and Tyler Hoeft.  Cumulatively, they gave up only 1 run in 6 1/3 innings.  (They also had 0 strikeouts, which is weird.)  You guys were nails.

 

Afterward, Ron and I got stuffed at Jimmie Johns and then further stuffed with frozen custard at Caliches.  We walked it off at Barnes & Noble, while I picked out a gift for a departing friend at work.  Great weekend for the Aggies with the sweep.  Hopefully, they can keep up this confidence for the rest of the season.   

NM State Aggies vs SFA Lumberjacks Baseball 4-15-23

The Big Man Saturday night: Keith Jones II

 

I was making sacrifices to attend tonight’s game.  The El Paso Chihuahuas were playing on national TV tonight on Stadium.  Fernando Tatis Jr. was in the lineup.  He’d only gone 5 for 6 with 8 RBI’s and 3 home runs on Thursday.  Tim Hagerty, voice of the Chihuahuas, had even written me today with a “thank you” for putting up a positive review of his new book, Tales from the Dugout.  (And it is great.)  Not to mention, I’d also forgot about today’s MLB.TV free game and missed it entirely.  I was pissed.

 

However, the Aggies did good Friday night against Stephen F. Austin, a team that was second in the WAC standings.  The Aggies beat SFA with a run rule win, 16-6.  The game ended suddenly in the eighth inning, when a misjudged fly ball was dropped and three unearned runs scored. 

 

I was still a little skeptical.  I did briefly try to talk Ron into watching the Chihuahuas instead when he picked me up, but it was a non-starter.  (Dad, at least, said he’d be watching the game at home.)  The good news is that last night’s big win activated the Raising Canes Challenge.  Ron had picked up a coupon for a two-for-one meal deal, which we deliciously cashed in on.   

 

It was a beauty of a night at the ballpark tonight.  There was a clear blue sky with a light breeze and a good crowd of over 800.  This some mostly due to a fraternity and a sorority showing up with their parents.  (I heard it was also mandatory for them.)  Adam Young on the radio call tonight came by.  He talked to a family behind us.  He said AD Mario Moccia wasn’t here last night.  Adam told him to stay away and not jinx the streak. 

 

Cal Villareal and Logan Galina were back in the lineup.  It’s been awhile.  The most notable addition to the team was an adorable little bat boy.  Dressed in an oversized jersey and a hat too big, the kid hustled and was alert and enthusiastic for the entire game.  I am not overstating this small child’s competence at his job.  He was a treat and delight to watch in action.    

 

About four times, I was sure my scorecards were going to get destroyed by a team batting around, but it never happened.  I also completely muffed the scoring the top of the second, but somehow recovered and corrected it in-game.  This game was a challenge to score at times. 

 

Pablo Cortes was tapped to start for the Aggies.  He worked into early trouble with 3 straight singles, which scored a run.  Pablo came back with some good stuff, including a knockout curve, to finish the inning with a pair of strikeouts.  1-0 SFA.  The frat section was vocal early in this one with their cheering.  Behind me, a girl was singing along to a Taylor Swift song on the PA.  Ugh.  Ron has been teasing me relentless lately about my former love interest.  She never even write a song about me. 

 

And here we go.  Bottom of the first, Kevin Jones II led off with a home run to left center.  The frat guys went off with a Tomahawk Chop cheer.  After a follow up single and a double, Nolan Funke cashed them in with a single.  A single came next, along with Nick Gore driving Funke in with another single.  Kevin Jimenez and Funke were both fired up as they crossed the plate in the inning. 

 

There was a mound visit by the coach after 5 straight hits.  The Frats sang to him while he was out there.  Lumberjack pitcher, Conner Woods, would get out of the inning with a double play and a fly out.  Remember that name.  It was a 9-batter inning.  5-1 Aggies.

 

A double began the top of the first.  KJII made a great leaping catch in right next, but there was nothing to be done about a home run shot after that.  After a walk and a single, there was a run-scoring single along with an errant throw for an error.  The bleeding stopped there, but now it was 5-4 Aggies. 

 

Between innings, the frat guys shouted out to a girl coming back from the Concessions.  They knew her by name.  The guys also went crazy for a hat toss to the crowd.  The Aggies got 2 on via a hit batter and Funke making an “excuse me” swing for a single, but no one scored. 

 

Two singles began the top of the third and Pablo came out.  None of these singles in the game looked hard hit.  I couldn’t believe how they were just finding the holes.  I got a phone call from my dad at this point to tell me that Tatis had hit a home run in El Paso.  (He would hit 2 in the game in a big win for the Chihuahuas.)  I wasn’t feeling entirely good about my entertainment choices this evening.

 

I was about to feel worse.  A run-scoring single, a walk, a run-scoring walk, a run-scoring sac fly, and another walk would chase Saul Soto and bring in Hayden Johns to get the final out of the inning.  7-5 SFA.  Ouch.

 

Amazingly, the next two frames would go 1-2-3.  In the bottom of the fourth, Logan led off with a home run to right center.  The ball bounced off the top of the wall, off a tree, and then back on to the field.  That was good to see from Logan given his recent injury.  KJII said, "Hey, let me try that, too,” and hit another homer to the same place.  After a single by Mitch Namie, KJ drove him in with a home run blast to right. 

 

Some of the fans behind us came back from the Concessions at this point.  “We missed everything!” they exclaimed.  Conner Woods was relieved at this point by Reid Boyett.  He allowed a pair of singles (again, more singles), but finished out the inning.  The Aggies again sent 9 batters to the plate.  The Aggies were back up 9-7.

 

Funke began the top of the fifth flashing some leather.  He went to his right at short and made a jump throw to nip the runner at first.  (Maybe?  We’ll take it.)  This was followed by a hit batter.  Lumberjack Alex Rogers took it personal and stole second, on a pitchout no less.  Johns got a fly out next, but after issuing a walk, he was relieved by Will Sierra.  A pitch hit the ground during the next at bat.  Rogers took off for third and made it, but Peyton Parker at first, unwisely tried to take second during the play and was picked off in a quick rundown. 

 

Logan led off the bottom of the fifth.  One of his foul balls arced back into the stands.  The ball landed with a clang on the aluminum walkway in front of a fan.  He brought the ball back to his seat.  A girl then shouted at him, “I’m your girlfriend!”  I guess she wanted the ball.  I don’t know.  Boyett struck out Logan.  The frat guys chanted, “We want Conner!”  KJII got an infield hit off the pitcher, but a double play ended the inning. 

 

Sierra struck out the first batter of the sixth on three pitches.  He also tagged out the next batter on an infield hit.  Will surrendered a walk next.  Christian Perez at third took a bouncer off the chest for an error.  With two on, Will struck out Sam Adams to end the inning.  What a cool name.  A lady behind me mentioned it, as well.  Boyett gave up a single and double in the bottom, but a third SFA double play of the game and a strikeout ended the frame.

 

KJII made a couple more good catches in right in the seventh.  Mitch made a great catch at first on a low liner to end the inning.  Skylar Jaco came in for Boyett in the bottom.  The frat guys serenaded him, “He’s not Conner!”  Jaco made a couple of wide pitches to walk the first batter to the chant of “Here comes Conner!”  There was another hit batter, but both runners were left stranded.

 

Unfortunately, the frat guys left in the top of the eighth.  I admit I was loving these guys.  Matt Maloney came on.  I’d heard an interview with him this week.  Matt’s a converted catcher and has a really impressive attitude.  Matt began the inning with a walk and a single.  After 2 balls to the next batter, Coach Zuniga came out for a talk.  Matt came back with 3 straight strikeouts.  Good talk. 

 

The Aggie dugout was loose.  They were dancing to a rap song on the PA, “It’s a party!”  But, they went down in order in the bottom of the eighth.  Matt began the top of the ninth with a looking strikeout.  Rogers hit a liner into the right field corner, but he initially thought it was foul and was held to a single. 

 

After another single, the coach came back out for a talk.  There was no one warming up in the bullpen.  This talk didn’t go as well.  Matt made a bad pickoff throw that scored a run and advanced the other runner to third, who was brought in on a sac fly.  After another single, Matt finished the inning with a strikeout.  We were tied at 9.

 

A group of little kids took up the cheering for the team.  How was this one going to end?  Regretfully or triumphantly?  Gore got it started in the bottom of the ninth with a walk.  I was little surprised that the catcher wasn’t taken out for a pinch runner.  (Perhaps Hunter Antillon wasn’t available to catch.)  Preston Godfrey came up next.  He made two bunt attempts, but thankfully Gore advanced to second on a wild pitch.  Okay, hit away Preston!  That he did.  He hammered one to left field that cleared the wall.  Walk it off!  Aggies win 11-9. 

 

In spite of 3 errors, the Aggies had some good defense.  SFA left 13 on base, so they had their chances.  Their pitching limited walks (3), but the Aggies avoided strikeouts early in the game.  When the Aggies put the ball in play, good things happened.  It was two iffy pitching staffs versus two good-hitting lineups.  It felt like this one could have gone either way. 

 

Lots of Gameballs to hand out.  For the Lumberjacks, Peyton Parker went 2 for 3 with 4 RBI’s that came in via 2 singles and 2 sacrifices.  Also, reliever Reid Boyett pitched 3 scoreless innings for the Jacks and kept them in it.  For the Aggies, relievers Hayden Johns and Will Sierra combined to lock down the lead for over 4 innings.  (Honorable mention to Matt Maloney.  His 2 runs were unearned, though it was his throwing error that made them unearned.  Out of the 6 outs he got, 5 were strikeouts.)  Keith Jones II went 3 for 5 with 2 home runs, along with some great defense in right field.  Finally, you know Preston Godfrey gets one for his game-winning 2-run homer.     

 

I felt good about my decision to go to tonight’s game finally.  It came in at just under 3 hours and had been exciting.  While waiting for Ron in the bathroom, the despondent Lumberjacks filed out through the front gate.  I tried saying “Good game,” as some passed by, but they mostly had a thousand-yard stare going.  One of the guys was friendly, but I missed his number.  I felt kind of bad for them.  Anyway, I guess I’ll return for the finale and possible sweep on Sunday. 

Diecast Carshow: Motorized

These aren't technically diecasts, but why not pull out all of the cars?  (I've got plenty diecasts left to do posts on.)

Here's a little radio-controlled Mini-Cooper.  I don't remember how I got this.

I dig World Rally Championship racing, though I no longer get to watch any of it.  (I was able to watch it on Mexican TV and I bought a couple of expensive, but cool, British magazines.)  I loved the Ford Focus cars.  They were my favorite.  I jumped on buying one when I saw this R/C car at Radio Shack.

Here's a couple more views of the box.

Also inside the box was a model of the WRC Focus.  They're not to the same scale.

There's the still nice, neat R/C car. 

Here's the dirty, worse-for-wear post-race Focus.  (Actually, it's just old.)

Forgot what these things are called, but they're motorized.  Just rev up the wheels and let them go.  They are magnetized on the bottom.  You can run them straight up the magnetized track and up refrigerators.  These were, I think, cereal mail-in offers.  

This is the Scooby-Doo car.

I don't know who the character is, but it might be another Cartoon Network character.

Diecast Carshow: Hendrick Kellogg's Set

 

Kellogg's cereals had an offer for a set of Hendrick NASCAR diecasts in 2006.  It required some box tops and like $5 or so.  I was all over it.  I remember when this little box came.  (Yes, it shipped just like this.  No padding, no plastic bags.  It was only taped shut.)  I had been sick on a Friday and missed work.  On Saturday, I felt a bit better and went outside and got the mail and received this.  I went back to bed and sat up and played with the cars.  I still feel happy every time I see these cars.       

Here they are out of the box.  The next year, they offered a hauler and I declined on it.  I didn't have anywhere to put it.  I still sort of regret not getting it.

#5 Terry Labonte  Tony the Tiger car.

#44 Terry Labonte Kellogg's Corn Flakes car.

#25 Brian Vickers GMAC car.

This is the Nextel Cup promotional car.  Remember that?  Yeah, NASCAR had offers from Coca-Cola and Visa to sponsor the series, but they picked Nextel.  That series sponsorship lasted two years before Sprint bought Nextel.  

#48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's car.

#24 Jeff Gordon Dupont Flames.  I've got several more Jeff Gordon cars, including another "Flames" one.  I'll do a separate post on those.  

Diecast Carshow: Peanuts

 

From here out I'll be using my camera, which isn't as good, but it's okay for closeups.  These are my Peanuts cars that I got as a kid.  I think they were mostly holiday gifts.  These are not in good shape and, conceptually, they're kind of weird, but they're fun.  

Here's Snoopy in a racecar.  His head has been glued back on after coming off.

This is a larger car.  It's cool-looking, but missing the steering wheel and a couple of stickers.

Snoopy on a fire engine.  This one's probably in the best condition of this set.

Snoopy in a cheeky "Cat Catcher" van.  Unfortunately, the wheels on this car never worked right, so it doesn't roll.

An oddly hip-looking Charlie Brown on a skateboard.  The figure came off a long time ago.  He's just standing loose on his deck now.

And Charlie Brown in a racecar.  I wish they still made real cars that looked like this.

Diecast Carshow: The Display

Here's an overview of my little Diecast car collection.   

This is the display in my bedroom.  It is a bit precarious at times on top of my dresser.  It's mainly three six-car displays stacked on top of each other.  The picture frame holds some hoods that came with some cars.  There's six individual car displays for my favorites.      

The Elvis Rusty Wallace car is perched on top of the display.  I wrote about it here.

These two are tacked to the wall.  They were Christmas presents that I wrote about here.

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Yep, this case is from my childhood, as are some of cars inside.  They are pretty much everything I didn't have room to display.  (The top of the dresser is full.)  There are a couple of larger diecasts in my living room.  

Since Ron was over at my apartment this weekend, I asked to take pictures of the display and the case.  The other pictures I already had.  I'll try to take some more pictures of individual cars with my camera (which isn't as good as his) in the near future.  Several of these cars have stories with them.