NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Women's Basketball 2-21-26

Lots of Aggie Basketball to recap since the last game I went to (1-17-26).    Honestly, I probably wouldn’t bother with this except I’ve been scratching out some notes ever since.    Unfortunately, after that great win over Missouri State, the Aggie Women had three road losses, each by double digits.         

Versus Jax State, Lucia Yenes, Imani Warren, and Morane Dossou all scored in double digits, but lost, 57-46.    A 4-point second quarter likely did them in.    Against Kennesaw State, the Aggies lost, 70-55.    Imani and Keira Hudson were the main scorers.    The Aggies shot the ball well against UTEP, but couldn’t stop the Miners from scoring and lost, 79-69. Imani and Lucia scored over 20 points each.    Keira had 12 points.

Back at home, the Aggies had a comeback win against a very good Sam Houston team, 65-57.    They shot 48% and kept Sam Houston to 31%. The rest of the stats were close or in SH’s favor.    Only Lucia was in double digits at 17, but nearly every player chipped in.    While I was at Aggie Softball two weeks ago (2-7-26), LA Tech beat the Aggies, 77-58. Imani led with 17 points. The Aggies shot 45%, but LA Tech shot 50%.   

The Aggies then lost to Delaware, 65-62.    Emma Christiano hit a half court 3 to end the first half and made another 3 at the end to the game to make it close.    The Aggies had 4 players in double digits with Lucia leading with 18 points.    The team scored 23 points in fourth quarter, so they went down fighting.    Finally, they lost to Liberty, 67-42.    Imani was the only Aggie in double digits with 11.

I guess I’ll do a recap of Aggie Men’s Basketball, too.    Groan.    On the Aggie Coach’s Show, Coach Hooten sounds defeated or perplexed or resigned at this point.    He’s down to openly asking why God is testing him like this. After their win at Delaware, they dropped four in a row.    Even worse, three of those games were at home and were well attended at over 5,000 each.

Against Missouri State, they went down by 17, came back, took a brief lead, but lost, 84-75.    The Aggies lost to FIU, 81-78.    Against Delaware, whom they’d beaten badly earlier in the season, the Aggies lost, 73-64.    There was a road loss to Kennesaw State, 76-53.    The Aggies finally got a victory with a 72-63 win versus La Tech.    The game was closer than the final score would indicate.

 

The road loss to UTEP was a crusher.    The Aggies had a 14-point lead in the first half lead.    The Miners kept whittling it down until they hit a 3 in the final seconds to tie it.    UTEP took a 7-point lead in the overtime.    The Aggies got close, but lost it, 91-88.    Back at home, the Aggies played Liberty, who was still undefeated in conference.    This was another heartbreaking loss, this one on a last-second shot, 77-75.    There was still over 5,000 at the Pan-Am Center for the game.    The Aggies are averaging 1,000 more a game than anyone else in conference, in spite of their record.    While I was at Softball last weekend (2-14-26), the Aggies beat Jax State, 79-70, in a must win game.   

In the pregame show, broadcaster Russ Langer was emphasizing that 7 players on the team have a 3.0 GPA.    That’s when you know the team is bad.    In the last interview I heard with Aggie Football Coach Sanchez, he offhandedly mentioned that NMSU was the only school in conference that spent more NIL money on their Men’s Basketball team than on their Football team.     Don’t think he doesn’t know what Basketball’s record is right now and how the Football team was maybe a playmaker away from being bowl eligible last season.

That’s a long way to go to get us up-to-date for this afternoon’s Aggie Women’s Basketball game against UTEP.    Originally, the Men and Women were set to have a double header of sorts, but the girls were moved up a couple of hours.    I kind of have to agree with this from a revenue perspective, though I might have like to have stayed for both games like I did earlier in the season (11-11-25).   

I was committed to going to the afternoon game, but uncertain about going to Aggie Baseball in the evening.    I got up this morning and went out in the bright sunny morning and shivered from the cold.    It warmed later, but that shock was enough to convince me to just plan on going to one game today.    Also, for whatever reason (probably a long week at work), I was really rundown before I even went to Basketball.    I should have taken a nap first.

I left a bit early, anticipating a big crowd for the rivalry game.    When I got to the Pan-Am Center, I wondered if they’d changed times again.    The parking lot was pretty deserted, but people were still going inside, so the game was on.    Attendance was only 712 and that’s with a contingent of UTEP fans.    Maybe they should have done the double header.    Both teams are bad, but you’d think a rivalry game would still draw a crowd.    The Miners brought a lot fewer visiting fans than they had at Volleyball last year, though (10-10-25).    

Inside, I ran into the ever effervescent Sydney McIntosh at the courtesy table.    She was handing out rally towels.    She said she was just about to get her master’s degree in Marketing.    I told her, with that smile of hers, she was going to do well.    The grill was open, but I had lunch plans.

The Roadrunner Revue Band and the Cheerleaders were there.    The Sundancers showed up a little late and had to scramble to get on court to be introduced.    Pistol Pete was nowhere to be seen for this big game.    Did he not get the time change or was he traumatized by last week’s encounter with the Oklahoma fans and seeking counseling? I think I saw Steve Kaplowitz doing the radio call for the Miners across the court. I wouldn’t have been able to get his AM station in the building, anyway. (I tuned in after I got out to my car. If they were doing coverage, I totally missed it.)    

Mia Fox and Jacqueline Corcoran were here, both looking lovely, representing Aggie Volleyball.    There were a couple of other fans of note at the sideline tables.    One guy was wearing a crimson bowler hat.    The sharpest dressed person in the arena was a guy in a classy short, felt cowboy hat and a crimson Aggie sports coat.    These guys know where to get their merchandise.

I was once again tempted by a UTEP player, maybe?    I remember pretty blonde, Katerina Zec, on their team (11-13-19).    This girl was an almost total opposite with an enormous mound of dark beautiful curls.    However, she was dressed in street clothes when she came in with the team.    She greeted some Miner fans before the game, but then tragically disappeared.    I know I’ve seen her before, but can’t remember anything about her.    Was that Gaby Oliver from the Cochise College Apaches (10-26-25)?           

   

First Quarter

I missed a couple of baskets on this scorecard.    I was tired and not sharp and then I got depressed during the game.    “Y’all ready for this!” apparently I wasn’t, even with the exciting musical intro complete with steam jets for the team coming on to the court.    (I think the Men use them all the time.    Since they had them set up, they used them for the girls, too.)   

There was some strangeness before the game started.    There was a delay with the referees talking to both teams.    Imani hit a jumper to start the scoring for the game.    Or did she?    I noticed on the scoreboard that Ivane Tensaie on the Miners had 1 point.    Hmmm.    I remember a game once (I have no chance of finding it on the blog), where the game began with a technical foul before the tipoff.    It was like the visiting team wasn’t ready to start the game on time and got charged with a foul, but I remember they actually had to shoot the basket.    I didn’t notice anyone taking a shot before the game.   

Regardless, Emma made a hustle play on a loose ball.    She flipped it to Morane for a layup.    Imani then hit a 3 and it was looking good.    Portia Adams had two layups for UTEP and it was, 7-5 (with that unexplained extra point), with 5 minutes left in the quarter.    Senoj Jones had a layup and Lucia was fouled and made both free throws.    11-9 Aggies with 3’ left.   

During an extended break, broadcaster Adam Young and his color commentator were frantically trying to get the referees’ attention.    Finally, the head ref came over and talked to them.    I suspect this was about that UTEP point.    From the official scoring, it was a technical foul with no explanation.

This quarter was going pretty fast.    The Aggies were playing way up-tempo and shooting quick on their possessions.    Anna Csenyi made a 3 to make it, 14-11 Aggies with 2’ left. Imani and Miner Mary Amaniyo got involved in a vicious tie up.    Imani got the worst of it and had to come out after hitting her head on the court.    She seemed to attempt to go to the wrong bench and had to be led away.    A ball got tipped out-of-play and went down one of the tunnels.    A ref had to go get it.    Anna and Senoj combined on a block.    14-11 Aggies after 10 minutes.

Second Quarter

Tensaie made a 3 to start the quarter to tie it.    Wave the Wonder Dog came in.    I should have seriously considered changing seats for these basketball games to be close to him.    The Aggies went scoreless for 4 minutes before Lucia made a jumper, but UTEP was now ahead, 18-16 with 6’ left in the half.

During some Miner free throws, the Band would pipe up with helpful advice, such as, “Hey, your shoe’s untied!”    Anna and Imani made jumpers to tie it at 20 with 4’ left.    Heaven Samayoa-Mathis took a moonshot 3 that maybe bounced off the unit and dropped in.    It was that kind of game for UTEP.    After a Miner turnover, Lucia found Emma on a fast break for a layup, 22-23 UTEP with 3’ left.    Emma took a charge afterward.    She’s small, but tough.

Pistol Pete came in, though this was the mustache-less Pete.    This lends credence to the theory that he showed up late because of the game time change.    However, the other Pete might still be in therapy.    In play, Imani broke up a fast break under the basket and then hit a 3, 25-25 with 1’ left in the half.    Aolani Woldai knocked down Emma on a loose ball.    That looked like it hurt, but not enough for a flagrant foul upon review.    Wave was put on camera and got a big cheer from the crowd.    Mrs. Hubbard arrived.    Maybe she wasn’t sure about the new start time, either.    Her and Pete chatted for a moment.    On court, Keira hit a 3 at the buzzer.    28-29 UTEP at the half.

Halftime

The Sundancers put on hip hop pants and performed for the halftime show.    They were really good, but the music was terrible.    Wave was on camera for Dance Cam, while his entourage chatted with Pete.    The Cheerleaders handed out those souvenir cowboy hats.    I may have to try and get one of those   

Third Quarter

6’3” Miner NDack MBengue knocked down 5’3” Emma early in the quarter, but no foul was called.    Portia made a 3, Heaven went coast-to-coast for a layup, and Delma Zita hit another 3, all for UTEP.    In the meantime, Loes Rozing was the only one scoring for the Aggies with 3 jump shots.    It was 34-47 Miners with 4’ left in the quarter.   

A fan played the Matching Game and failed to match any of the 6 cards in the allotted time.    This was a first.    The Aggies kept falling further behind.    MBengue had a steal, a layup, and made a foul shot on top of it.    34-50 Miners with 3’ left.    Keira was fouled on a 3 and made all 3 foul shots.    Loes made her fourth jumper of the quarter.    Heaven made a last second shot tossing the ball up from under the basket and it went in.    It was UTEP’s day.    42-55 Miners.

           

Fourth Quarter               

Zita made a 3 to begin the quarter.    Emma answered it with a 3, but Heaven came right back with a 3.    Morane nearly got into a fight with one of the Miners under the basket.    Loes was restraining Morane.    The Miner player was smiling.    Another loose ball went down the tunnel.    I don’t think I’ve seen this before in a game and yet, I’ve seen it twice today.   

Keira hit another 3, but the crowd was starting to desert.    48-62 and UTEP was already starting to celebrate with 5’ left in the game.    Soon enough, Coach Adams started putting in the bench players.    Loes was still on the floor and made a steal and got a layup and Keira made another 3.    With under a minute left, UTEP Coach Adams took out all of the Miner starters.    The UTEP fans were pretty quiet during the game, but piped up here to cheer the team.  Tatiana Collazo was in for the Miners.    She was kind of gorgeous.    Sorry she wasn’t playing more.    UTEP wins 69-58.       

The Miners ran off the court howling.    The dejected Aggies went around the sidelines shaking hands and getting hugs.    A little bitty girl was there with an autograph poster and each of the players stopped and signed it.       

UTEP shot 46%, 87% on free throws, and had 32 points in the paint.    The Aggies shot 33%, 50% on 3’s, and 78% on free throws.    In my recap (such as it was), I didn’t mention all of the times that the Aggies missed open shots or took a good shot that just somehow didn’t fall in.    When you don’t make the easy ones, you don’t get the lucky ones.    Lucia Yenes not scoring was a big problem for the Aggies.    She was getting some open looks, but not making the shots.   

UTEP had five players in double figures.    Delma Zita led with 14 points, and NDack MBengue (too bad you can’t use proper names in Scrabble, this one would be a winner) had 13 points and 14 rebounds.    Keira Hudson led the Aggies with 15 points from 3 made 3’s and going 6 for 6 on free throws. Imani Warren and Loes Rozing both had 10 points.    Loes really stepped up in the third quarter, but nobody stepped up with her.   

Somewhat disheartened, I went over to Chik-fil-a for a late lunch.    I saw a small group of Aggie Volleyball girls there that I didn’t recognize.    I guess they’re newcomers.    The meal was great, at least.    It was bright and sunny, but I didn’t let that fool me into going to Baseball and instead went home.    I had the TV on for a couple of hours before I discovered I was missing a NASCAR race.    It had started before the game, so I had assumed it was long over.    They’d had some rain, I guess.    Shoot.   

I listened to Aggie Baseball on the radio, which they won.    Annoyingly, the Aggie Men’s Basketball game against UTEP was on at the same time and finished at the same time.    I only listened to bits of it.    The Aggies were up 10 to start the second half, 35-25.    At the end, it was a 4-point Aggie lead with 12 seconds left after Jemel Jones made a pair of free throws.    The Aggies held on and won this time, 67-63.    There was nearly a fight at the end of the game that was started by the coaches.    Security nearly got involved.    Attendance for the game was 7,600. When these two played in El Paso a couple of weeks ago, the crowd was 7,800, but El Paso is a much larger city.  Later, Coach Hooten was sure that the Pan-Am crowd was well under counted.

Tomorrow, I’ll hopefully be at Aggie Baseball finally for a ***day game.***

NM State Aggies vs Montana Grizzlies Softball 2-15-26

I woke up Sunday morning and started listening to the Aggie Softball on the radio with Adam Young. Wait. Didn’t I do this last weekend.  It’s been a long two weeks with all this softball and all I’ve done is watch and write about it. (And for the two weeks before this, with no Aggie sports to go to, I obsessively played Command & Conquer and I finally beat all of the missions at the Medium level.)

Who are we playing today? It’s Minnesota again. Faith Aragon started for the Aggies. In the top of the first, Tara Wolocko hit a 2-run homer. That was her third against the Aggies this weekend. Kendal Lunar drove in a run in the bottom to make it, 2-1. In the third, Devin Elam took a spill fielding. She stayed for the inning, but didn’t return to play after the inning or for the next game. Devin was out last Sunday with an injury, too. Hopefully, she’ll recover quickly.

In the bottom of the third, Faith tripled in the tying run. A successful squeeze play by Destan Burks, who came in for Devin, brought Faith in, and it was 4-2 Aggies. In the top of the fourth, a MN home run closed it to, 4-3 Aggies. Adam mentioned this game was under a curfew, as well as the next game. No pressure.

In the bottom of the fourth, an error brought in an Aggie run to make it, 5-3 Aggies. A second squeeze play in the inning didn’t work this time. In the top of the sixth, Aggie catcher, Madi Bachman, was hurt. Adam thought she pulled a hamstring, but she stayed in. The Aggie defense was a little shaky defense in the seventh, but errorless, and the Aggies won it, 5-3.

That was their first P4 win of the season and the first since 2024. Faith Aragon had 7 strikeouts and 3 hits. This kind of pitching performance is what I meant by wanting to see a pitcher step up. Now, we need the rest of the staff feeding off that. It’s also probably not a coincidence that the Aggies didn’t have an error in the game and they won. They committed 25 errors in 10 preceding games.

Since the next game against Montana was also under a curfew, they attempted to start the game early. Though the team was there, they probably weren’t ready to play yet, so the game was going to start at noon, as scheduled. In the meantime, I was listening to the broadcast going over this. I was about to take a shower. Then I was getting dressed, thinking the game was going to begin early. Then I was getting undressed for a shower, since the game would starting on time. This all took place over about a 5-minute time span.

It was bright and sunny outside with a light cool breeze. There was a wiener dog puppy outside the stands. There was another wiener dog inside that barked at him when he came in. Next door, I saw Coach Rodolph walking her half-doodle dog on the soccer field. Attendance was 600 in the previous game (not including dogs), but it was a bit lighter in the second game at 289. No offense to Montana, but a game versus Minnesota was going to draw better.

The PA was playing lousy music today, unlike the last two days. Fire the DJ. It was 64-degrees with the wind blowing into the stands to start. Thankfully, it wasn’t colder. However, the wind would be changing directions during the game and swirl around over the field. Before the game, they played the team highlight reel on the new videoboard and I noticed it featured the dancing cowboy from last year (4-13-25). He was rooting for the other team! The Coach came in with her dog at the first pitch. Madi was still catching, Kendal was at first, and Devin was not in the lineup.

Zantelle Rodriguez started for the Aggies. Taylor Baca began the game with a diving catch in the left field. Adam on the radio broadcast thought she trapped it and sold it. He might have had a point, but I like Taylor, so we’ll give it to her. A single and a walk put two on. Grizzlies executed on a double steal. Catcher Madi missed Jade Valladares at third, who wasn’t near the bag anyway, and the ball went into left field.

The lead runner scored and Madi was hurt on the throw, or hurt further from earlier. She stayed in. I question Coach Higgs here. Madi probably shouldn’t have started this game hurt and shouldn’t have stayed in after getting hurt again. She might have been the best option, but I’d rather take my chances with the other four players listed on the roster that could play at catcher, including Kendal at first, rather than risking Madi getting hurt worse.

However, what got really got me angry was the scoring. Somehow that run that came in on an error was an earned run. I’ve already had insanity-inducing scoring issues with those 8 unearned runs last week (2-8-26).  I’m not bothering Grok to try and explain this one. A single drove in the other baserunner right after. If the error hadn’t happened, the run would have come in on the single anyway, I guess? My head is going to explode before this season is over. 2-0 MT.

The Coach’s dog went over to meet the Grizzlies’ staff member at the scorer’s table. She’s a friendly creature, even to the enemy. Marketing Director Nicole Sack tossed out some t-shirts between innings and then went over to talk to Coach Rodolph for a while. The Coach made a lot of friends here. I spoke to Fan Michael from Baseball the day before and he remembered her fondly when he was groundskeeping for Softball. She would offer the crew a share of the postgame food spread. She saw Michael had just taken a little once and insisted that he take more.

In the bottom of the first, Faith led off with a single. From the radio call, she’s hitting a crisp .577. Mackenzie Bekofsky in right field battled the wind for a catch at the wall on a flyball by Taylor. Up next, Destan took advantage of the wind blowing to right for a line drive 2-run homer to tie it. Nicole came out with a t-shirt toss for the home run and was well short getting it to a fan behind me. I handed it to the woman then teased Nicole that she was going to get cut from the team with that arm.

Zantelle worked into immediate trouble in the second with a single, a walk, and a 3-run homer, without getting an out. Taryn Bennett came on in relief. She allowed a single, but got the next three batters to end the inning. MT up 5-2. Also troubling in the inning were the two passed balls charged to Madi, in addition to juggling a pitch and not being able make a throw on a stolen base.

The Aggies rallied in the bottom of the second. Tamara Carranza led off with a single, Jade was hit, and Violet Redondo walked to load the bases. Tamara came in on a wild pitch and the other two runners advanced. A bad throw from third on a grounder by Faith scored 2 runs. (One of those was earned, one was unearned. I get that scoring.) Jojo Christiaens made a good play on a liner and doubled off Faith at second to end the inning. We were tied at 5.

There was an Aggie cowboy hat giveaway to the crowd?! I feel like I should have made an effort to get one of those. Taryn walked two batters in the third, but was unscored upon. Grizzly DP Kaiana Kong went into the circle to pitch in the bottom. (MT has players named “K. Kong,” “Cockhill,” and two girls named “Mackenzie,” but each spells it differently.) The Aggies got on one runner via an error in the inning.

Taryn walked the first batter of the fourth. The next batter popped one up on the infield. Taryn authoritatively called everyone off to handle it. This is a rare quality in a pitcher. A stolen base and a single scored the runner to give the Grizzlies a 6-5 lead. Taryn got a strikeout to end the inning. Madi was still hurting in the inning. She was limping when walking and stretching out between batters.

The Aggies loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but weren’t able to get a run across. Violet beat out an infield single in the frame. Wow, is she fast! Kong made a good play on a comebacker that erased a runner at third.

Meanwhile at the scorer’s table, the little, white, fluffy dog from yesterday that belonged to player was brought in by her dad. This dog met the coach’s dog and it was unbearably cute. Another little dog came and also met them. It was like an adorable dog show. A girl and her husband brought over a baby see Coach Rodolph and to meet the dog. I didn’t recognize her, but I’m wondering if she was a former player.

In the top of the fifth, MT had a single that was brought in on a double. An error at short brought in another run (that was unearned), though the batter was thrown out at second after run scored. 8-5 MT. The Aggies got a couple of singles in the bottom, but again, couldn’t cash them in. I think a couple of people from the Concession trailer came in and gave away hot dogs. They will giveaway unsold dogs late in the game here and at baseball.

Faith came in to pitch the final two innings. They were 1-2-3 affairs with 4 strikeouts. The Aggies managed one single over those two innings. Brianna Gutierrez was a sixth inning sub for MT. She made a nice catch with her back to the field right after she came in. In the top of the seventh, there was smoke coming from Aggie clubhouse. I think they were grilling lunch for the girls, as I could smell it. Montana wins it, 8-5.

Just a handful of Gameballs this time. Kaci Kiblen had the big blow in the game with a 3-run homer in the second for the Grizzlies. Kaiana Kong pitched 5 scoreless innings in relief, in addition to being the DP for Montana. For the Aggies, Faith Aragon was 2 for 4 with an RBI as the DP and pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief.

Aggie pitching wasn’t that bad, but gave up too many walks and 3 of the 5 scored. The Aggie defense had 2 errors and 2 runs scored on those errors. Aggie hitting had its chances, especially in the fourth with the bases loaded. (There were 7 Aggies left on base for the game. There were 6 for MT, so they could have scored more, too.) They were missing Devin Elam. We hope she’ll be okay next weekend. Was Lauren Garcia not available to pinch hit?

Leaving the stands, I did get some good news. A lady was talking to someone and mentioned that Oklahoma was playing UTEP and beating them, 27-0. (The final would be 34-0 and that was in 5 innings.) OK run ruled all five teams they played this weekend. The Aggies were the only team to at least give them a fight in their game, though they even beat up our mascot in the process.

Thanks to those crappy OK fans, we had record setting attendance for the Troy Cox Classic this weekend, according to AD Joe Fields on Monday. There were people watching that Aggie/OK game from truck beds in parking lot according to Adam. This was a significant economic boost for the community.

I went over and washed car after the game and then went to Smokey Sensations for barbecue. I unfortunately accidentally ordered the wrong thing, but it was still delicious. Even better, I got to watch the end of the Daytona 500 there. The drivers were fairly well-behaved until last lap. The two leaders took each other out right after getting the white flag. No caution. Chase Elliot was leading after the fourth turn and then dumped into the wall by Tyler Reddick, who won the race. There was even another crash on the way to the checkers. I enjoyed the spectacle. I was happy enough to go over to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard (mostly to help my stomach after that spicy meal).

Glad I had Monday off for President’s Day. I went out to the comic book store and got a couple of fun items, including a trade of 60’s Dr. Strange. (In a word, psychedelic.) I also got a delicious small pizza at the Grounded Café, which had a line out the door for lunch. And I went over to see dad and watched a couple of episodes of Jack Ryan. It was a nice mellow way to wrap up the three-day weekend. Aggie Baseball starts this week.

NM State Aggies vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Softball 2-14-26

 

After the Oklahoma/Idaho State game and after my lunch, I went to the bathroom and saw a large crowd queuing up at the gate. It ended up being a great crowd at 754 officially. It was mostly Aggie fans this time (as opposed to last time), I think. Aggie Softball’s opponent, Minnesota, also wears crimson. However, the Golden Gophers team was actually wearing all black with a smiling cartoon gopher head on their jerseys. It was like we were playing the Buckee’s girls softball team. (I’m sure their team has made this observation, as well. It’s too obvious.)

Some of the crowd brought in adorable dogs. There was a beagle puppy, a little wiener dog, and a little fluffy dog with a one of the Aggie girls at the scoring table. He took a nap on a towel on the table. He was so cute. Coach Rodolph was here, but didn’t bring in her half doodle, unfortunately.

The Aggie girls on field were laughing at a couple of Valentines cards on the video screen featuring the players. (It was Valentine’s Day.) Kendal Lunar was pictured in a cute pose with the line, “My lineup is better with you in it.” And there was a mock proposal picture between two of the girls saying, “We make the perfect double play.”

Taryn Bennett started for the Aggies. After a leadoff single, Lucy Hooper bunted. Lauren Garcia ran up from first to get it and threw the ball to first. Unfortunately, it went somewhere downfield instead. Both runners scored on the error. I couldn’t see where exactly where the ball went from where I was sitting and apparently, neither could the Aggies. Tara Wolocko followed that with a solo home run. The Gophers had double, but that was left stranded. 3-0 MN.

The PA announced it was 51-degress in Minnesota. Here in Las Cruces, it was alternating hot and cold in the game depending on the cloud cover and the wind. There was a cold breeze going at times. Taylor Baca gave the ball a ride to centerfield in her at bat, but the wind knocked it down. Devin Elam did single, but that was all for the inning. An usher gave a little girl a foul ball. She kept it. The PA wasn’t asking for the balls back today. I also saw an Oklahoma kid at the game with a signed ball and some Aggie swag. (Visitors love getting giveaways from the host.) There was at least one other OK fan at the game. She was sitting next to me.

Taryn had three fly ball outs for the top of the second. Devin made a running catch in right field for the final out. In the bottom, the Aggies’ offense warmed up. After a pair of singles, Bella Clapp worked with the wind and caught the jet steam for a 3-run homer. A walk followed, but a nice glove flip from Hooper to first helped kill the rally. We were tied at 3.

I was listening to Aggie Men’s Basketball against Jax State on the radio during this game. They were at halftime with the Aggies up, 32-29. Makenzie Jones at third had a hard luck error on a bad hop to start the top of the third. There was nearly another error on Bella at second, but she managed to get the out anyway. Hooper tried to score on a single from second, but Taylor made a great on-target throw to Madi Bachman at the plate to get her and end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, Brooklyn Jones made a running dive and catch on a hit by Devin to start the inning. Next, the wind knocked down a drive by Lauren. The PA announced Joleeanna Hair as “Jojo,” which I’ll go ahead and use for the rest of the season. (Thank you.) She hit a grounder to short that took a bad hop on the shortstop for another error in the game. The infield seems to be rougher than it looks. Jojo was left stranded.

The Gophers scratched out another run in the top of the fourth with a single, a sacrifice, and a double. Makenzie made a diving catch on a foul liner to end the inning with MN up, 4-3. The Aggies got a walk and a single in the bottom, but couldn’t make anything of it.

The Gophers added to their lead with a 2-run homer by Scarlett Kuhn in the fifth. This one was crushed. It was not wind-aided at all. 6-3 MN. Devin doubled to start the Aggie half of the inning. Lauren struck an RBI double liner off of the third baseman’s mitt, which chased the MN starter from the game. Sydney Schwartz came in with a walk, but then proceeded to strike out the side with a great offspeed pitch. Bella was the final batter and even with a mid-at bat from chat from Coach Higgs, she still couldn’t hit it. 6-4 MN.

Top of the sixth, Taryn worked a scoreless inning. There was an error, as Taryn got a comebacker and Bella clanked on the toss while covering first. The umpire was somehow in the middle of that play. Bella had an involved conversation with the umpire between innings. The Aggies were also scoreless in their half. There was a controversy on Makenzie getting hit in her at bat. The umps had a conference and awarded her first. The MN fans piped up in an uproar. At the scorer’s table, Coach Rodolph was taking care of the player’s little, puffy dog. He was irresistible.

The stadium lights came on, though it was maybe an hour before the sun would go down. The Gophers began the seventh with another homer from Wolocko. After that and back-to-back singles, Taryn was finally pulled from the game. I felt so bad for her. I (and I’m sure the team) really want her to figure it out and do well. Faith Aragon came in and handed out a walk to load the bases and then gave up a grand slam to Jae Cosgriff. Faith is a pretty good pitcher. I almost think she wasn’t prepared to come in here. She settled down to get the final two outs. The Aggies would go down in order in the bottom. The Golden Gophers win, 11-4.

I got several Gameballs for the Gophers. Tara Wolocko went 2 for 4 with 2 solo home runs, Scarlett Kuhn was 4 for 4 with 2-RBI’s from a home run, Jae Cosgriff was 2 for 4 with 5 RBI’s including a grand slam, and Sydney Schwartz pitched 3 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts. For the Aggies, I’ll highlight Bella Clapp for her 3-run homer. The pitching, hitting, and defense (3 errors) weren’t sharp enough to beat a P4 team today, but they were competitive. It was a disappointing loss, though.

The MN team chanted something to their fans in stands after the game. I’m not sure what I heard. Not sure I wanted to. It didn’t seem polite. On the radio, the Men won at basketball at least, 79-77. They lead all the way, but by mostly single digits. I was also finally informed that they’re in last place in the conference in the postgame. I wasn’t aware of that.

I again avoided the nightcap. I wasn’t cold yet and I didn’t want to be. I got home in time to see the end of the O’Rilley Series (it’s going to take a while to get used to that) Daytona race. In spite of the drivers’ best efforts at crashing everyone out, Austin Hill would win the race. Just as well I missed the Softball game, the Aggies lost to Idaho State, 11-7. The Aggies had 5 errors that resulted in 7 unearned runs. Faith Aragon was a bright spot going 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and she pitched 4 innings allowing 1 run.

One more day of the Troy Cox Classic on Sunday.  I’m beat, frankly, but I’ll be there.

Idaho State Bengals vs #4 Oklahoma Sooners Softball 2-14-26

I think that's me bottom center in the white floppy hat.

I seriously considered not going to this game. I did want to see more of #4 in the nation, Oklahoma. I just didn’t want to deal with more of their fans. Actually, the matchup I really wanted to see this weekend was Oklahoma against Minnesota. I thought MN might be a closer match anyone else. That was the early morning game, though. The Sooners beat the Golden Gophers, 12-2, in a run rule. So much for that.

The parking lot was again full and the “Sold Out” sign was up at the ticket office for this OK game against the Idaho State Bengals. This has been a banner weekend for the Aggie Softball program, at least monetarily. (The ticket prices were doubled for these games.) The Talking Heads, This Must Be the Place, was my walkup music coming up to the stadium. I like that song.

I didn’t have a problem getting in this time, unlike yesterday, but they were counting everyone, and judging by the full stands, it was close to a sellout. It was mostly Sooner fans, but there were several IDS fans there. I don’t know how many Aggie fans were present, other than myself. I was again lucky to find a seat. This time, I noticed that there were two concessions trailers parked by the soccer field and one of them was serving burgers and tacos. (Too bad they don’t do more of this at Softball, Baseball, and Soccer.)

The PA played Eric Clapton’s It’s in the Way That You Use It. It’s all my 80’s favorites today. OK coach was cheered when she brought out the lineup card. That’s loyalty. IDS was wearing snazzy orange and black uniforms. They made a circle by their dugout and clapped before the game. OK made a circle in the pitching circle before the game.

Marketing Director Nicole Sack walked by and suddenly said, “Hi.” (I was sitting by the aisle.) Perhaps she was surprised to see an Aggie fan here. She was in a good mood and who could blame her with this attendance. Later, back to reality, she was sweeping up popcorn on the stairs.

The top of the first began with a looking strikeout of a Sooner that caught everyone by surprise. The heckling by the OK fans started immediately and never quit on any further close calls. They did agree with the two walks in the inning. Bengal pitcher, Elizabeth Tommasini, did take a hard hit on the leg on a comebacker. She was okay. She later hit a batter, which forced in a run. Another run scored on a fielder’s choice, before Kai Minor cleared the bases with a triple. It was 4-0 Sooners.

During the inning, an OK foul ball hit the tent with their broadcaster. There were lots of foul balls in this game, but very few kids, so nobody chasing them. Also, the crowd was packed in, so getting up to chase them would have been a problem. The PA was giving all of the players some kind of walkup music for the game, likely not to their tastes, but it was upbeat. The PA also announced that it was 60-degrees in OK, 44-degrees in Idaho, and 65-degrees here.

The Bengals only managed a walk in the bottom of the first. In the top of the second, an OK fan in the red and white overalls appeared. It’s almost like a big-time football game. A great infield hit by Abby Dayton, a walk, and a 3-run homer by Kasidi Pickering chased Tommasini from the circle. Josslin Law came in and got the next three batters out. The final out was a looking strikeout on an appeal. Now the OK fans were mad at another umpire. Law had a great offspeed pitch. She was mobbed coming back to the dugout. 7-0 Sooners. The Bengals got two on in the bottom via a walk and an error, but weren’t able to cash them.

A cloud passed overhead and it was like an eclipse with the otherwise bright sunshine. Top of the third, a walk began the inning. The OK and IDS fans around me now agreed that the home plate ump was terrible. The OK fans were getting along better with the IDS fans than they were with the Aggie fans. Minor next blasted a majestic 2-run homer over the new scoreboard. Law was hit on a comebacker by the next batter, but did get the out on the play. She hit a batter and gave up a single, but without further damage. 9-0 Sooners.

In the bottom of the third, the second baseman dropped a grounder, but still got the out at first. Or should I say that the umpire gave her the out at first. There was a pitching change after the second out. Odd, given that Alyssa Parker had a no-hitter going. It wasn’t a good move as Ava Brown came up and broke up it up with a home run to center. 9-1 Sooners.

Gabbie Garcia got the run back to start the fourth with a homer. The PA was now saying “Boomer Sooner” on their home runs. Kennedy Dudley made a nice shoetop liner catch at third before Law retired the side. 10-1 Sooners. In the bottom of the fifth, I think former AD Mario Moccia’s daughter and a friend sat down by me after a couple of other fans had left. She wasn’t next to me, otherwise I might have asked how her dad was doing. There was a leadoff single in the inning, but that was all of the offense. OK wins 10-1 on a run rule. The girls didn’t get to see much of the game before leaving.

The teams made a prayer circle after game. This must be an Oklahoma tradition. They’re trying to make a better impression on the road than their lousy fans are. This began a mass exodus from the stands.

Gameballs for OK, Kasidi Pickering went 2 for 2 with 3 RBI’s and a home run, Kai Minor went 2 for 3 with 4 RBI’s with a home run, and Alyssa Parker gave up no hits or runs for 2 2/3 innings. For the Bengals, Ava Brown broke up the no-hitter with home run, so nice job there.

It was an hour and a half before the next game. I hadn’t planned on this contingency. I wasn’t really hungry, but had nothing better to do, so I went ahead and hit the Concessions trailer. At the grill, I got a $17 burger, chips, and soda. I returned to the empty stands to eat. It was really good. The burger reminded me of the ones served at the El Paso Chihuahuas games, thick and juicy.

I ran into Rito with the Aggievision crew and chatted for minute. I waved to his brother Mando, who was on field setting up a promo pic for the next game. The PA was still playing good music. I was enjoying Tears for Fears’ Head Over Heels.

Several IDS players were hanging out in stands, some with their parents. The girls danced a bit to the PA music, but left before the game started. (Good thing. It ended up being crowded for the Aggie game.) I noticed pitcher Josslin Law with her dad. I went over and complimented her on her offspeed pitch. She’s a cute little blonde. She smiled, giggled, and laughed. If I’d noticed Ava Brown, I would have congratulated her, too.

I was missing the O’Rilley Series Daytona race on TV. (I had to look up who the sponsor was this season.) I had to hope the next softball game with the Aggies would be worth it. I brought my radio for the Men’s Basketball game against Jax State, which would be starting at the same time. From the pregame show, I discovered that the Aggies are in danger of missing the tournament. They may have to win out in their last six games and get some help. Okay, Aggie Softball versus the Golden Gophers, up next.