NM State Aggies vs UCSB Gauchos Softball 2-8-25

There was a 30-minute break between this game with the Aggies and the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos and the previous game with the KC Roos.  I went to my car and chugged a half bottle of water that I nearly forgot to bring with me to the game.  While it was about 70-degrees, it was hot sitting out in the sun.  I’d brought a sweatshirt and my regular glasses (I was wearing prescription sunglasses) for the late game, but it was warm enough that I didn’t think I’d need them.  I fruitlessly went over my scorecard in the shade before returning to my seat before the game started.

 

Okay, major disappointment with this game.  Gaucho pitcher, Eva Bradford, was not playing in this game.  Having seen her in the stands in the previous game, I was looking forward to seeing more of her.  However, late in this game, a petite, very pretty girl came in and sat below me.  She looked elegant with her hair up and a doll-like face.  She was stylish, but given that the temperature would drop when the sun went down, she was a bit under-dressed with a top that went below her shoulders.  (So somebody was less prepared than I was.)  This girl had earbuds in, but wasn’t listening to the game like I was.  She was watching the game, but jamming out and dancing in her seat to the music.  She was a charming distraction.   

 

Faith Aragon, centerfielder in the previous game, was the starting pitcher in this one.  For the first inning, both teams had a double and advanced the runner to third without scoring.  The Gauchos did have an error trying to collect a ball off the wall, but generally I noticed they were very sharp on defense.

 

The Gauchos mounted a more serious offensive in the second.  A single, a double, and another single drove in two runs.  There was a play at the plate on one of those runs.  The throw and tag were there, but the umpire called Kendal Lunar for obstruction.  I saw her standing well in front of the plate getting the throw, but the ump saw it differently.  Kendal and Coach Rodolph complained briefly, but not passionately.  The fans were surprisingly quiet, though on the next batter there was a throw to third and a heckler called out, “Obstruction!”  Tamara Carranza started a double play with a catch on a liner and doubling off a runner on first.  Devin Elam made a great catch in right on a dying line drive to end the frame.  2-0 UCSB.

 

In the bottom, a fan made a nice catch up in the stands on a foul.  With two outs, Taylor Nicholson singled.  Some little girls were standing at the rail behind home plate cheering, as Kendal came up to bat.  Boom!  Revenge!  She just cleared the centerfield wall for a two-run homer.  We were tied at 2.  Obstruct that!

 

Tamara made another great play at a short on a soft liner in the top of the third with her back to the infield.  That was an in-order inning.  The Aggies got a pair of singles in the bottom, but didn’t score either.  A double play was seemingly turned in the inning, but the umpire ruled the ball foul late.  In the fourth, the Aggies flashed more leather.  Desirae Spearman, playing in center with a runner on first, ran down a gapper and made a jumping catch for it.  In right, Devin made two more good plays. 

 

The bottom of the fourth started with a nice play by Gaucho centerfielder, Erin Mendoza.  With two outs, there was Kendal up to bat again.  It was another F-U home run to left center to give the Aggies a 3-2 lead.  Sort of amusingly, the scoreboard operator was impressed enough to give the Aggies a 4-2 lead.  We were wondering how long this would last.  Finally between innings, a coach from UCSB brought it to the ump’s attention.  She waved to the Press Box.  During the top of the fifth, the operator kept trying to reset the score, which was apparently not a simple procedure.  About halfway through the inning, it was set right.  The crowd there were cheers and moans from the crowd depending on who you were rooting for.

 

The fifth inning was 1-2-3 for both sides.  There was a bit of comedy as Devin spun around and fell on a swing.  Kristina Watson, on deck, shared a laugh with her.  The top of the sixth wasn’t as funny.  There was an error on an overthrow after an infield single.  Ainsley Waddell then came up a hit a two-run homer for a 4-3 UCSB lead.

 

In the bottom of the sixth, I finally heard a little singing from the Aggie dugout, a usual staple at the Softball Complex.  Maybe I wasn’t hearing it before because I had ear buds in, which are new and better than my older ones.  Riley Carley worked a walk and pinch runner, Patyon Nicholson, barely stole second.  Gaucho Tehya Banks laid out on a soft liner at short to end the inning.

 

Faith gave up a double and a single to start the seventh.  She came out for Zantelle Rodriguez.  This started a cascade of moves that sent Faith to center, Desirae to short, and took Tamara out.  Zantelle got a strikeout, but gave up a single and a double, which scored three runs, 7-3 UCSB.  Faith was reinserted back in as pitcher and finished the inning without further damage, also everyone else went back to their previous positions.  With two two-way players, Coach Rodolph is probably thinking harder on lineup changes than she ever has had to before.

 

By this point, the sun had gone down.  I was sitting in the stands wearing a t-shirt, an undershirt, and a pair of sunglasses.  I was getting cold and feeling ridiculous, but it was the end of the game possibly.  With one out, Lauren Garcia came in as a pinch hitter.  She promptly jacked one out on the first pitch.  As the team went to home plate to congratulate her, Coach Rodolph was there yelling at the team.  I’m not sure if she was telling them to get off the field or telling them to not give up.

 

I’d vote the later given what happened next.  Faith singled and Desirae drove her in with a two-run homer to center.  Des’ teammates made a “tunnel” for her to reenter the dugout instead of meeting her at the plate.  (Maybe Coach Rodolph was telling them to get off the field.)  With two outs, Kristina came up and slapped a line drive home run to tie the score at 7!  This time, the team not only made a tunnel, but the new stadium lights flashed and strobed for her.  (Okay, the coach told them not to give up.)  

 

For the top of the eighth, I ran out to the car for my regular glasses and my sweatshirt.  I wasn’t parked close, which was why I didn’t do this earlier.  During my absence, Emily Carr hit a double to score the automatic runner to give UCSB an 8-7 lead.  I hadn’t remembered how to score that.  Were they doing automatic runners last season?  The Aggies unfortunately went down in order in the bottom, so 8-7 UCSB was the final. 

 

Time for the Gameballs.  For the Gauchos, Ainsley Waddell went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s and a home run and Emily Carr also went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s.  For the Aggies, Desirae Spearman was 2 for 4 with a 2-run homer.  Kendal Lunar was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s off of 2 home runs.  Don’t get Kendal angry; she’ll take it out on you with her bat.  This was a disappointing loss, but hopeful in how the Aggies came back late.

 

The pretty girl ran out the moment the game ended.  Maybe she was colder than she looked, but she was a real fan for sticking it out.  I drove by the Pan-Am Center on the way home.  The parking lot was stuffed full for tonight’s Aggie/Miner Men’s Basketball game.  I listened to that after I got home.  The Aggies had issues on offense, but were still very competitive.  They lost a close one, 66-63.  The Women had beaten the Miners badly in El Paso earlier, so the Aggies almost swept their rivals this season (the Miners and the Lobos).  Coach Hooten said in the postgame that they’d lost their best player to the flu all week and they were out-of-sync.  Okay, we’ll be back tomorrow to close out Softball’s opening weekend.

NM State Aggies vs Kansas City Roos Softball 2-8-25

It’s been a week.  One of my tires got slashed at work on my brand new car.  I spent the week getting that fixed and paying for it (out the nose).  Let’s go to the ballpark and forget all that stuff happened. 

 

On Friday, I listened to Aggie Softball’s Opening Day double header.  This year’s team is decidedly a family affair.  We have three Nicholson sisters, two Lunar sisters, two Aragon sisters and a cousin, and the little sister of Aggie Baseball player, Tristan Carranza.  There are 17 new faces on the team.  Faith Aragon comes to us from UTEP.  She was their ace pitcher, but Coach Rodolph offered to let her be a two-way player like our returning star, Desirae Spearman. 

 

The first game against UC-Santa Barbara, unfortunately had a disastrous fourth inning where the Aggies gave up 8 runs, 7 unearned.  They came back late and made it interesting in a 10-8 loss.  They had their chances with 12 runners left on base.  Desirae started the second game against Colorado State.  She was shaky to start, but settled down well.  She hit her first home run of the season in a 6-4 win.     

 

Driving over to the stadium, I was relieved that they’d finally reopened the direct road to the stadium.  Now granted, the construction continues at the football stadium for probably another year, but its progress.  The parking lot was full at the Softball Complex and a good crowd milling around.  It was a beautiful, clear day in the 70’s here, so little wonder people came out.  The attendance was announced at about 400, but the stands were full.

 

There were two earlier games between visiting teams in the morning, which finished on time for this game between the Aggies and the Roos.  Jeff Matthews, who usually does high school football, was on the radio call and informed me that they no longer go by UMKC and just want to be Kansas City.  They had gone to UTEP yesterday and lost two and already lost earlier today.  At least, they were wearing sharp powder blue uniforms with yellow numbers.  Lil’ Pete the robot was out drawing the lines on the field before the game.  Across the field at Presley Askew Field, the Baseball team was having a practice game. 

 

Speaking of disasters, these scorecards are abysmal.  I looked over a couple of old scorecards in the morning to remind myself of how to do it.  I’d hoped for a simple day of scoring to ease into it again, but I made sure to just use a pencil.  My hopes were exploded in the bottom of the first.

 

Jaileen Mancha worked an efficient top of the first for the Aggies.  The bottom of the frame started spectacularly.  This gorgeous blonde from the Santa Barbara team came in with her family and other members of the team.  She was in uniform, so I could identify her as Ava Bradford.  Wow!  Somehow, I managed to tear myself away from her to watch the action on the field.

 

Catcher Bella Clapp started it off with a triple.  Desirae came up and blasted her second home run of the season to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead.  Also, some cute blondes in the little cut-off shorts entered the stadium, along with some other attractive young women.  How am I supposed to watch this game? 

 

I needed all of my attention focused on the game for what was about to happen.  Okay, after the home run, there was a single and a walk, followed by a double steal.  Newcomer transfer Kristina Watson then doubled in a run.  Then the wheels came off for the Roos.  There were two consecutive errors on the first baseman in the form of an overthrow and then a dropped throw to first.  These errors brought in two runs.  A dropped throw to home on a bunt single brought in another.  It was 6-0 Aggies when the dust settled.

 

Aggie Marketing tossed out a bunch of souvenirs over the weekend.  The top of the second had a foam finger giveaway.  There may not have been enough kids in the crowd to get a more enthusiastic demand.  However, Megan (?) the Hot Marketing Girl was the one doing the giveaway.  She unmercifully teased the crowd with her goodies.  However again, Santa Barbara girls and Ava left to warm up or eat.  Darn.  I didn’t get to see her again this weekend. 

 

In play, Payton Nicholson in left field made a great throw after a flyball catch to double off a runner at first.  The Aggies loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, but failed to bring anyone in.  Kenzie Nicholson did lay down a magnificent bunt for a single.  It died in front of home plate with three players surrounding it and having no play on it.

 

Elleana Navarro led off the top of the third with a double for the Roos.  The ball got past Faith in centerfield as she laid out for it.  The runner was left stranded, as Desirae made an appropriately spearing catch of a liner at short and then a ground out at short.  Between the frames, the crowd did get excited for a hat giveaway.  Megan didn’t have to sell those too hard.  The Aggies got two on in the bottom, but again didn’t bring anyone in.

 

Jaileen gave way to Zantelle Rodriguez in the circle for the Aggies in the fourth after giving up a double.  Zantelle’s a local girl and got good round of applause from the crowd.  The Aggies got on a little traffic on in their half of the inning, Navarro made a nice play at short on a popup to end the inning. 

 

Zantelle worked a second 1-2-3 inning in the fifth.  The Roo catcher and pretty blonde, Chloe Kohnhorst, had made the last out.  By the time she was suited up, she only got one warm up pitch with the pitcher.  Not to tell their coach anything, but you should have a backup catcher ready to do the warm up in that situation. 

Payton led off the inning with a bunt single.  I swear she teleported to first.  She was that quick.  Des worked a walk with two outs.  Devin Elam rapped a double and drove the two runners in.  That was an 8-0 Aggie run rule win.  There was a bit of confusion on field.  The Roos didn’t realize it was over that quick and took a minute to leave the field.  I felt a bit sorry for them.

 

For Gameballs, Desirae Spearman went 1 for 2 with a 2-run homer and played a good shortstop.  Kristina Watson went 3 for 3 with an RBI.  She’s also the tallest player on the team and impressively built on top of it.  Jaileen Mancha and Zantelle Rodriguez combined for the shutout.  It was a pretty dominating victory.  Burying the lead, Matthews on radio did mention that the Aggies are like 25-1 against their former conference foe, so this wasn’t a surprise.

 

In 30 minutes, the Aggies would be playing UCSB in a rematch for their next game.

NM State Aggies vs WKU Lady Toppers Women’s Basketball 2-1-25

 

I’m not sorry to see January pass.  On the one hand, I got the Inauguration I wanted and a lovely new car.  On the other, my truck suffered a perhaps unfixable mechanical failure that necessitated the new car purchase.  Then this week, dad ended up in the Emergency Room with breathing trouble.  He’s okay now, but it was frightening.  Friday night month end processing at work was a long, irritating affair and I ended up staying 45 minutes off the clock to finish.  But, I also got a nice bonus on that same day.  It’s really been mixed.

 

For Aggie Basketball, it’s been less than mixed since my last post.  The Men lost two conference games and won one.  The Women have been on a four-game losing streak.  Their last game on Thursday against Middle Tennessee was particularly heartbreaking.  Molly Kaiser scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and tied the game to send it to overtime, but they lost it there. 

 

In Aggie Football news, Shiyazh Pete has picked Kentucky to transfer to.  This was surprising given the bigger name schools who’d made offers.  Maybe it was an academics thing.  Maybe Kentucky told Shiyazh that they’d start him, while the other schools only told him they’d give him an opportunity to start.

 

I set off for today’s Women’s Basketball game between the Aggies and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers . . . err . . . Lady Toppers (as PA Ed announced them).  Just down the street there was a dead black cat on the road.  Would this be better or worse than a black cat crossing your path?    

Once at the Pan-Am Center, I noticed this little Wave stuffed animal at the Merch kiosk.  I debated it for a minute.  I don’t need any more stuffed animals, but I felt sort of obligated to buy one, since I’d suggested that they stock them there.  Well, Little Wave is quite adorable.  He helped me cheer the team along this afternoon.  (I would have worn my Wave hat if I’d known this was going to happen today.  They should have had those stuffed animals available for that game.)    

 

There was a decent crowd in the arena at 397.  It could have been better given that there was nothing on TV this weekend, as we all wait for the big Taylor Swift Invitational Football game next weekend.  Still, it was a super nice and relatively warm day after last month’s cold spell.  People probably wanted to do stuff outside.  The Aggie Men had started their game on the road against the Hilltoppers an hour before this game.  I brought a radio to listen to the game, though I didn’t pay much attention to it and only got a headache from it.  The Aggies were down 42-34 at the half.  

 

First Quarter

I missed two baskets on the scorecard.  I’m not getting any better at this.  Lady Hilltopper Alexis Mead was the shortest player on the court.  She managed to get two steals off of bad passes and made layups from them in the first couple of minutes of the game.  Molly hit her first jumper to give the Aggies a 7-6 lead at the 5 minute mark.  Sylena Peterson subbed in and made a great assist to Molly, who snuck in under the basket.  9-6 Aggies with 4 minutes left.

 

Unfortunately, the Aggies kept making bad passes and went into a scoring drought on top of it.  Fanta Gassama made her second steal of the quarter, but was tripped going down court.  The Aggies weren’t able to score on the possession.  Molly was taking shots, but not connecting.  Josie Gilvin made a 3 at the end to give WKU a 17-9 lead.

 

Second Quarter

I saw Tylie Jones on the sidelines.  She was not suited up to play, but seemed to now be on the coaching staff.  She was going over stats with the players before Coach Adams came over.  Good for her.  It was National Women in Sports Day.  I finally noticed that some of the other Aggie Women’s teams were here. 

 

I’d looked for Megan the Hot Pan-Am Girl on the sidelines and finally found her seated next to PA Ed.  That seems like a promotion.  On a similar track, one of the refs was an attractive blonde.  Her and Lady Topper, Caleigh-Rose West, chatted and smiled before play.  Caleigh was a pretty girl with an impressive ‘fro.  She was hard to miss.

 

Molly made a steal early, but a Jaila Harding had a travelling call right after.  The Aggies had another bad pass.  Josie converted that into a WKU 3.  They were up 22-11 with 7 minutes left.  Molly powered her way to the basket for a hard layup.  She got the foul, but uncharacteristically missed the free throw. 

 

At the 5 minute Media timeout, it was 26-13 WKU.  Simba Cam was activated.  This time it was mostly parents holding up their kids.  A really cute girl with short hair held up a bucket of popcorn.  I’ll forgive it, because she was really cute.  A Volleyball player was lifted by a teammate.  I did not lift up Little Wave, because that’s not what Simba Cam is for.  I did lift up Little Wave for Dance Cam later, but that was appropriate.  Once again, there was another very cute girl in the stands dancing for that.  The camera guys were doing a great job.

 

Freshman Madi Gewirtz subbed in.  I hoped this wasn’t Coach Adams throwing in the towel early, but I was glad to see Madi anyway.  Madi dropped in a jumper.  After, Sy tried to find her cutting to the basket, but it was another turnover on a bad pass.  Molly hit a jumper and drew a charge.  Sianny Sanchez-Oliver had a steal and passed to Molly under the basket, but Molly was blocked by Mya Pratcher. 

 

The Aggies had another turnover on a bad pass.  Diarrah Sissoko made a steal.  On the possession, Molly was fouled and converted on the free throws.  Lady Topper Destiny Salary (there’s a last name I’ve never seen before) went to the floor for a loose ball.  She tried to argue with the pretty ref for a foul, but was ignored.  However, WKU was up, 30-19.

      

Halftime

The other Women’s teams came down to the court to be honored.  This included Track, Soccer, Cheer and Dance, Swim and Dive, and Volleyball.  The other teams weren’t available.  I saw some pretty girls from the Gonzaga Tennis team at McAlister’s on Friday.  I assumed they were here to play the Aggies.  I might have talked to them and asked, but they were giving me dirty looks as I was wearing an Aggie hat.  (I had the new Turkey Dip Sandwich.  It was awesome.)

 

I noticed Rachel Haan with Soccer.  I really want to see her play next season.  She is a specimen.  Bella Garcia was mentioned during the ceremony, I think for academics.  I saw her go by.  Wow, she is looking gorgeous.  Maggie Lightheart was with Volleyball.  I hope this means she’ll be back next season.  There was a very big, tall girl with them that I didn’t recognize.  She seems like an impressive new recruit.

 

Meanwhile on the radio, things did not go well for the Men.  WKU won 101-69.  No wonder I was mentally tuning out the game.  The Aggies were actually shooting pretty good and had a nationally ranked defense, but the Hilltoppers were unstoppable today, as they shot 58% overall and 50% on 3-pointers (!).  On the other hand, they play at the E.A. Diddle Arena.  I hope that’s a person and not a sponsor. 

  

Third Quarter

The Aggies went down by 13 before a comeback started.  Fanta made another steal, though Molly took a tumble on the fast break.  Lucia Yenes was in and made two layups in short order.  Madi fought for a rebound and went to the floor for it.  She came back with a 3.  Molly made an Alley Oop pass to Lucia for another layup.  34-28 WKU with 5 minutes left in the quarter. 

 

Lady Topper Acacia Hayes hit a 3 and put WKU back up by 10.  Molly got stuffed going to the basket by Zsofia Telegdy.  The Cheerleaders did a Bundt cake giveaway during a break.  The Volleyball and Soccer girls got a couple.  The Aggies came back.  Madi hit another 3.  Fanta made a layup off a great assist by Lucia. 

 

The Aggie defense forced a backcourt violation.  Jaila hit a 3.  Alexis hit an answering 3 for WKU, but the crowd was now into it.  Lucia hit a jumper at the end of the quarter.  It was 43-40 WKU. 

 

Fourth Quarter

The crowd was still right there and loud to start the quarter.  Madi fought for another rebound under the basket and took a poke.  (Not the face!  She’s pretty!)  Lucia hit a jumper.  The Aggies on defense forced WKU shot clock violation.  Molly was blocked again by Zsofia, however this time a technical foul was called.  (I don’t know what brought call on.)  A free throw tied it at 45 with 7 minutes left.

 

Madi hit a 3.  The Aggies were up finally, 48-45.  Zsofia blocked Molly again, but fouled in the process.  Molly dropped in both foul shots.  50-47 Aggies.  Molly took a cheap shot.  The crowd was angry and wanted a foul.  Madi came back with her fourth 3.  WKU took a timeout down, 55-49, with 5 minutes left.

 

Fanta was fouled and put in both of her free throws.  It was 57-49 Aggies with 3 minutes left.  WKU wasn’t done.  After another bad pass was picked off, Zsofia hit a jumper to close it to 57-55 Aggies.  Coach Adams took a timeout with 1 minute remaining in regulation. 

 

Molly drew a foul and knocked down both throws and got a steal.  Jaila committed two fouls in quick succession.  Acacia put in both free throws to get WKU within 59-57 with 24 seconds left.  The Aggies had trouble with their next inbounds and had to burn their final timeout.  Madi and Lucia hugged and chatted before play resumed. 

 

Fanta was fouled and put in two more clutch free throws to make it 61-57 with 16 seconds left.  WKU took their final timeout.  Jaila fouled out and Acacia was back at the nail.  She drained both as the Band in front of her chanted, “Don’t mess up!”  Madi was fouled at the other end.  She took a deep breath and put in both, 63-59 Aggies.  10 seconds left, Alexis shot a 3 and missed.  Madi grabbed the rebound, hit the floor, and was stepped on.  She went back to the foul line and put in one of two to ice the game.  Aggies win, 64-59! 

 

 

Unsurprisingly, Madi was the C-USA Freshman of the Week

After the game, the Aggies made a circle on the court and mobbed Madi Gewirtz.  She’d put in quite the effort today with 17 points and a lot of grit.  Molly Kaiser had 17 points, as well.  Even on an off-night, she’s the co-high-scorer.  (I’m convinced Madi missed a free throw at the end just to make sure she didn’t score more than Molly.)  Fanta Gassama had a great game with 9 points and 9 rebounds.  Lucia Yenes scored 10.  She was a real sparkplug.  Acacia Hayes was the high-scorer for WKU with 14.  Destiny Salary, Alexis Mead, and Josie Gilvin also had good games.

 

WKU had 26 points in paint and was 42% shooting and 38% shooting 3’s.  The Aggies were 40% shooting and 26% on 3’s.  The difference in the score was the Aggies shooting 86% on free throws and they had 27 bench points.  The Aggies didn’t play a perfect game and hurt themselves a lot with bad passing, but they didn’t give up and fought for the win.

 

I got a very long text as exited the Pan-Am Center.  The dealership had been trying to reach me all week about my license plates, but had been dialing the wrong number.  Soon, the new car will legally be mine.  That was additional good news.  Softball and Baseball are about to start.  I’m planning on at least one more Women’s Basketball game.  The real question is: Am I going to have to bring the stuffed dog with me again for good luck?