NM State Aggies vs GCU Lopes Softball 4-19-19

I don’t want to say that it was preordained that the Aggies were going to win this game, but, on the way to the Softball Complex, I did notice an odd cloud pattern in the sky.  Three long, thin clouds formed a capital “A” in the partly cloudy sky.  I was with Ron, but I didn’t say anything at the time.  I didn’t want to jinx it, or alternately, appear to be going mad.  Regardless, I had a good feeling about today’s game.

This was in spite of today’s opponent, GCU.  Going into this, I knew that earlier in the season they had beaten the #1 team in the nation, Florida State.  Looking at the program after we got there, they were 8-1 in conference.  (They’ve also played four more games than the Aggies.)  I had decided to take off this Friday for the game, instead of for the Lobo double header a couple of weeks ago, figuring they might need the fan support here more. 

Ron and I had a quick dinner at Raising Canes and had an early dessert at PQ Treats.  Yes, “Ice cream is for winners!”  I know.  This was premature, but we were actually way too early to go to the game.  Getting my just desserts, I didn’t think much of the root beer float on special after I drank it.  I’ll stick to the Frozen Tornados from now on.  Inside the stadium, after we got there, a selection of buttons of the senior girls on the team were out on the courtesy table.  The ones just featuring Kelsey Horton and Kayla Green were nice, but I thought this one with all four was sweet. 

The warmup music was modern urban and definitely not the 80’s mix at the baseball stadium.  The GCU girls were really loose and mostly dancing to the music.  I picked out Lexy Coons having fun taking infield.  She was easy to notice with her lush curly red hair.  I’m pretty sure I noticed her at the tournament last year.  Ron picked out Kaileigh Holland and Gianna Nicoletti as his favorites.  I think he was ready to switch allegiances.  I’ve been a bad influence. 

Some of the GCU girls put their mitts on their heads and turned around doing a dance in sort of a pregame ritual.  Their whole team got together to pray before the game.  The Aggie girls played hacky on their side of the field.  The Aggies’ bats were all lined up outside of the dugout.  When the umpires came on to the field, they checked each one of them and did the same at the GCU dugout. 

The crowd for the game was great.  There were a bunch of kids throughout the crowd and a knot of Lopes fans behind us.  At the same start time, Aggie Baseball was playing on the road.  Ron and I both brought radios to listen to that game while watching this game.  I’ll cover the baseball elsewhere.  Occasionally, it was a distraction, but not a big one.         

Samaria Diaz started for the Aggies.  In the first, she started off with two strikeouts, gave up an infield hit, but finished out the inning with a flyout.  Jeanelle Medina ledoff in the bottom with a single and advanced to second on a bad throw.  Jeanelle has been a great team player, adapting to whatever position and wherever in the lineup and doing it well. 

No surprise what happened next with Kelsey up.  She homered to the opposite field.  2-0 Aggies.  The PA announced that that was her 65-th home run and that she was now the program leader in homers.  Aggie Baseball, in the middle of their game, actually retweeted congratulations to Kelsey.  Ryan Denhart didn’t make it out of the first after she loaded the bases after the home run.  Brianna Aguilar came in to finish the inning.  Sierra Smith at third made an unassisted double play by catching a liner and doubling off the runner at third. 

Earlier, there was a foul ball that hit near the pressbox and almost hit a little girl there.  I was told the next day by fellow softball fan Danny that the girl was Brandy Hernandez’s niece.  In the second, another ball dropped into the stands.  This one bounced directly to the foot of the grandstand and was caught by a little girl there.  She got a round of applause.  Ron shouted out, “Sign her up!”  Danny had also scouted her; she is a softball player. 

On field, Sam yielded up a single, though Victoria Castro almost threw the runner out at first.  Coach Heifner argued with the ump, but didn’t bring out a rulebook this time (3-23-19).  Sam got a strikeout looking to end the inning.  Nikki Butler, catching, flipped the ball and ran off before the ump showed the call.  (Hopefully, he said something before she flipped the ball.)  In the bottom, Jeanelle got a hustle double, but was stranded.  Back in the stands, some Volleyball girls came in.  Brielle Sterns was now working some tremendous braids with highlights.  Very impressive.  Coach Baarts from the soccer team and his family also came in to watch.

There was a contest up front at the courtesy table for guessing the number of chocolate Easter eggs in a jar.  It paid off between innings.  A little girl won an Aggie beer stein.  Okay.  Sam worked a quick third inning with two strikeouts.  Nikki singled in the bottom and Keala Brown pinch ran for her, but she was left stranded. 

For the fourth, the third base ump had to jump in the air to dodge a hard low liner.  He got a round of applause for his nimbleness.  Sam walked a batter, but cut her down at second on a comebacker on the next batter.  Jeanelle got spiked on the leg on the slide.  The trainer had to come out and bandage her up, but she stayed in.  She’s tough.  In the bottom, GCU catcher, Kaylee Dietrich, threw out a runner at second.  I noticed that she was using a team color-coordinated purple glove.     

Mya Felder had a great fifth for the Aggies at third base.  She made all the outs for the inning, including a couple of difficult grounders.  After the Stretch, the PA complimented the crowd for their participation.  This was a very engaged bunch of fans tonight.  Kelsey nicked the third base line for a leadoff double, Taylor Olsen at first started a double play on the next batter, catching a liner, then doubling off Kelsey.

The PA announced it was 98 degrees in Phoenix.  It was in the high 70’s here, but cooler with the wind and the sun going down.  Ron’s attention perked up as Kaileigh Holland came in to pinch hit in the sixth.  She walked.  I’m not sure if Ron was rooting for her at the time.  There was a questionable call by the ump next on an infield hit by Shea Smith, and the crowd let him have it.  Savannah Tourville singled next to drive in Holland. 

Rachel Hammons pinch ran for Savannah.  She allowed herself to get caught stealing, which allowed Shea to steal home.  Rachel even made it back safely to first.  That was impressive.  The GCU fans started chanting for their team at this point as the score was tied at 2.  Sam held the line and closed out the inning with a strikeout looking.

The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the sixth.  Sam was back out for the seventh.  She allowed a leadoff hit, but got two more strikeouts to end the frame.  Here’s your bottom of the seventh.  Casie Roberto doubled.  Caity Szczesny pinch ran for her.  Shelby Shultes pinch hit for Brandy and hit a two-run homer to end the game.  The ball actually bounced off the top of the wall before going over. 

4-2 Aggies win with a bang!  That was at least Shelby’s second walk off pinch hit home run this season.  (Forgive me that I’m not willing to go through my posts to count up all of her pinch hits.)  She’s really good at in this role.  The team went to the circle and chanted out the fight song with the crowd.  Shelby was all smiles.  Brandy hugged her and jumped into her arms.  Shelby could have gone out front and gotten hugs from all the Aggie fans in the crowd if she wanted.

Shelby Shultes gets an obvious gameball.  Kelsey Horton gets another for her record book homer.  Lastly, Samaria Diaz worked seven dominating innings with 8 strikeouts and only giving up 2 runs.  GCU is a tough team.  Keeping them down and getting those runs were not easy.  This was a great win. 

Ron had some extra time after the game, so we went back to my apartment.  We ended up listening to the end of the baseball game, which didn’t work out for the Aggies there.  I brought up Twitch on my computer while we were listening, and we also watched my favorite Starcraft II streamer, Winter.  Overstimulation and OCD much?  Pshah.

Baseball Journal April 9-15, 2019

4-9-19

Aggie Baseball traveled to Midland to play Texas Tech, #11 in the nation.  This was theoretically a neutral site game at the Double A stadium, but the stands were filled with Red Raider fans.  The crowd was over 5,000 for the game.  Their Men’s Basketball team certainly finished a great run on Monday, taking eventual national champion Virginia into overtime.  Adam Young on the radio seemed to be having a great time there.  I think he appreciated the upgrade in facilities when calling the game.  

It was confirmed that Logan Bottrell was injured and out for today.  He didn’t make the trip.  Bruno Teramoto was in at DH.  Adam praised Bruno’s great attitude, even though he hasn’t played much over the last two years.  Mitchell Allen, who I think had been tagged as the closer at the beginning of the season, was starting.  I missed the first inning.  The Aggies scored on a sacrifice by Tristan Peterson.  The Red Raiders scored one on a fielder’s choice, so we were tied.

To start the third, Bruno homered to make it 2-1 Aggies.  The Aggie dugout went nuts for him.  However, Red Raiders tied it on a leadoff inside-the-park home run to center by Max Marusak.  He’s reportedly and demonstrably, the fastest guy on their team.  Logan Ehnes was getting a workout.  He’d gotten caught in a rundown earlier.  This inning, he was chasing deep flyballs in center.  I’m imagining Botts listening to the game here and chuckling. 

Texas Tech scored another run on a fielder’s choice.  Aldo Fernandez came in.  During the delay, Adam mentioned that there were a lot of kids at the game, especially on out on the grassy berm.  There’s a kids train that goes around the stadium, but it cost $2 to ride.  “It’s not free, but what is these days?” remarked Adam.  A single drove in another run to make it 4-2 Red Raiders.

In the bottom of the fourth, one of those kid fans got hit by a foul ball.  He came up smiling and nearly got hit again by another foul right after.  The concessions there gave the kid a cherry snowcone and, of course, he got the ball.  Adam chastised the adults in the area for not paying attention and protecting him.  On the field, Marusak used his speed to get to first on a dropped third strike, but a double play ended the inning. 

Big time prospect, Josh Jung, hit a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 6-2.  Catcher Braden Williams, who had been on the Red Raiders a couple of years ago, drove in Ehnes to make it 6-3 in the seventh.  The bottom of the inning didn’t go well though.  Texas Tech scored four runs.  Andrew Edwards wasn’t getting calls, which resulted in walks.  The home plate ump and the Aggie dugout had a loud exchange.  There was a bases loaded walk for one run.  There was a collision on a play at third that caused Coach Green to hobble out of the dugout to argue.  There was another collision at the plate, but Williams lost the ball on a good throw.  10-3 Red Raiders. 

In the eighth, Nick Gonzales struck out looking for the third time in the game.  He’s definitely slumping.  The scoreboard operator at the park had not been paying attention during the game.  It got really bad in the bottom.  “I think the operator gave up,” said Adam.  The ump had to flash the count on every pitch.  There was a rare error by Joey Ortiz at short, but a good double play ended the inning. 

For the ninth, Brendan Williams and Noah Haupt pinch hit to start.  They got a walk and a hit respectively.  Braden drove in his brother, and Austin Duffy sac’d in Haupt.  The final would be 10-5 Texas Tech.  Brandon Williams had a good game against his former team with two RBI’s, but Red Raider pitching was too much for the Aggie lineup for most of the game.  I would have liked to have seen how Chance Hroch would have done, as the bullpen day didn’t go too well tonight. 

4-12-19

Okay, flat out.  I messed up here.  I’ve already posted the next two games of this series between the Aggies and the Northern Colorado Bears.  Though I meant to write this earlier this week, I’m actually writing this way after the fact.  Next season, I’m probably not doing this like this anymore.  The issue here mostly is that I really just saw the beginning and end of the game.  I was also distracted by an MLB game and I was hardly taking any notes.  There’s almost no point to recapping a game just off of the official recap.

The wind was blowing out.  That was evident in the first.  The Bears’ best player and hugely built, Jack Pauley, led off with a massive home run over the batter’s eye in center.  I’d never seen one go over that wall before.  Soon after that, I wasn’t watching or able to watch. 

What happened in the meantime was the Bears getting ahead and the Aggies coming back . . . on four separate occasions.  The Aggies finally took a 9-8 lead in the sixth on an error.  Kevin Jimenez singled in another run in the eighth to make it 10-8.  The Bears came back in the ninth and scored a run and then loaded the bases with one out.  Freshman Chris Barraza came in and induced a double play for the 10-9 win.  This was a great win for the Aggies tonight.  They showed some real resilience.    

Meanwhile, the Royals and Indians were playing on the MLB free game.  The Royals looked good with the gold trim and numbers on their uniforms.  The Indians were playing without Chief Wahoo and looked extremely generic.  The Royals completely tee’d off on Carlos Carrasco in the first, as they batted around and scored six.  This is what you get for wearing a poor uniform.

Alex Gordon was wearing an armband with the name “Charlie” on it.  This was a boy having brain surgery that he’d met through a charitable organization.  Alex had dedicated the game to him, and went on to hit a first inning homer on his way to a 4 for 5 game.  I hope Charlie was able to watch.  The Royals went on to an 8-1 win and ended 10-game losing streak.

4-13-19

After a good win by Aggie Baseball on a somewhat unpleasant day at the park, I actually still had plenty sports to watch at home.  I’d been checking up on Mexican TV this season looking for MLB games.  Tonight, I finally found one as the Cardinals were playing the Reds in the evening.  I couldn’t recognize the stadium though.  I know the look of both of their home parks pretty well, but this wasn’t either of them. 

In fact, they were playing in Mexico.  This was a visiting international game at Monterrey, playing at the Sultan’s stadium.  I’ve seen the team before; their uniform is like a cross between the Yankees and a NASCAR driver.  Their stadium is like a major league facility with three decks.  I’m not going to recap the game, but it was close at 1-1, until the eighth.  The Reds hit two triples off of missed dive attempts in the outfield and took a 5-1 lead.  Kolten Wong homered in the ninth, but the Reds won 5-2.

Speaking of NASCAR, I caught the end of the race at Richmond.  Martin Truex Jr was leading with 40 laps left.  He basically had nothing but position and traffic working for him.  Some gutty driving allowed Truex to fend off Clint Boywer and Joey Logano for his first short track win.  That was pretty exciting race, even without any wrecks or passing for the lead.

4-15-19

The Chihuahuas played the Reno Aces on the road in an afternoon game.  Since I’m at home in the afternoon, I love these matinees.  For a weekday game, it sounded well-attended.  Tim Hagerty mentioned at the beginning that the game was under a curfew for travel.  He was already cutting the postgame show short, so he could be sure to make the flight.  “You don’t want to be last one on the plane if you’re the announcer.  They won’t wait for you, and announcers have been left behind,” Tim said.  It seemed like they could probably easily get the game in though.

I went to work before the game finished.  After a meeting, I remembered the game and tuned back in, expecting it to be over as it was near the curfew.  Instead, it was in the ninth.  The Chihuahuas were up by three, but I was in time to hear a three-run Reno homer to tie it.  This happened about seven minutes before curfew, but they did go ahead and start the tenth. 

Neither team scored unfortunately.  I can’t imagine having to announce to a big excited crowd that just saw a comeback, that the game was suspended until later in the season.  I can’t even actually give any for-sure stats or plays, because the game isn’t official, so they haven’t posted any recap.  Yasmani Tomas was thrown out at home trying to score on a popout behind first that ended the game.  (What was he thinking?)  Our old friend, Cody Decker, did come up with a chance to win it for Reno.  I’m a bit worried for the Chihuahuas when the game resumes.  I think Tim said they were out of position players to sub into the game.

NM State Aggies vs Northern Colorado Bears Baseball 4-14-19

It was a glorious day.  Unlike yesterday, it was clear blue and sunny with a slight cool breeze today.  Ron and I arrived at Presley Askew Field, but wandered through the abandoned dorms area next door looking for a foul ball Ron thought he saw yesterday.  This area is a complete eyesore and needs to be torn down. 

Inside the park, I picked up a new poster.  Cool.  I also finally noticed this old-timey picture on one of the panels under the stands.  This is the Aggie baseball team from 1903.  Even cooler.  A current team needs to wear these uniforms as throwbacks some day.  Also up front, I got to pet Logan Bottrell’s little white fluffy dog.  The dog was wearing a shirt that said “Bottrell” on it, so I’m making some assumptions.  I’d also guess his girlfriend was taking care of it.  Said dog was rather profoundly interested in another dog nearby.  I understand the feeling.

We got to watch the team take down the batting cage from the foot of the stands with another fan.  We all liked the spectacle of them doing it as fast as they could with a great amount of enthusiasm.  They were being timed by a coach.  At our seats, I said, “Hello,” TV commentator Jerry Lujan as he walked by and told him to call a good game. 

It was Attractive Blonde Day at the stadium.  The good-looking trainer girl for Northern Colorado was standing at the rail of the dugout during practice.  I wonder about her relationship to the team, since I’m sure they appreciate more about her than just her skills.  There was also a photographer at the park this weekend.  She had a large professional camera and was taking shots of the teams.  She had an impressive big hair look like from an 80’s music video.      

The last blonde was a complete surprise.  There were a bunch Little League kids at the game.  Before the Anthem, they came out and went by both dugouts.  Suddenly, Ron nudged me, “Hey, that’s Brooke Salas out there with the kids.”  Yikes, it was.  Wow, she looked spectacular too.  She must have been here as part of a Sports Marketing degree requirement.  Brooke knew at least one of the baseball guys as she fist-bumped a player going by.  I was on the lookout for her for the rest of the game. 

The Director of the Las Cruces Space Festival threw out the first pitch.  I didn’t know there was such an event.  I have a co-worker who would have probably loved to have gone, but it was only running for yesterday and today.  He would have needed to know beforehand to make plans.  [Edit: Actually, he did know about it and wasn’t impressed with their itinerary.  There was also a Comic Book convention in El Paso this weekend.]  I say “first pitch,” but the Englishman muffed the first toss.  He insisted on making a second which was only slightly better.  His presumed co-workers in the crowd gave him large “Boo.”  I’m sure he has many better skills than the one displayed.

 Play ball.  “Take him out!” a group of kids chanted during Jack Pauley’s at bat.  The crowd was fully engaged.  During Pauley’s at bat, Aggie starter Chance Hroch made a bad pickoff throw and Billy Moreland, who singled to lead off, made it to third.  It was a bad precedent for what followed in this game.  Pauley singled him to make it 1-0 Bears. 

Tom was again here with his youthful ward, explaining the game to him.  This was good, because it kept him from cheering.  Hroch got hit on a comebacker by Jake Gitter hard enough to hear it in the stands.  Hroch stayed with the play and got the lead runner at second, nearly starting a double play.  Chance was okay and stayed in.  Sam Leach doubled next, but was left stranded.

A bunch of mini-baseballs were tossed to the kids in the crowd.  Ron told me he found a pile of BP baseballs outside of the stadium.  He told him he should brought them in and to tossed them to kids.  The UNC couple from yesterday was seated in front of me, but for Sunday Dog Day, they brought in a big friendly white Lab.  It was so pretty.  The Bears’ DH was also their starting pitcher, Sam Leach.  Logan Bottrell led off for the Aggies with a triple.  The ball went past a diving Paley in right field.  It was a good start for the inning.

Deep breath.  Here we go.  Joey Ortiz drove in Botts with a single to tie the score at one.  He advanced to third with a stolen base and a wild pitch.  Nick Gonzales walked and moved to second on a wild pitch.  Tristan Peterson walked to load the bases with still nobody out.  Logan Ehnes flied out for the first out.  Tristen Carranza sacrificed in Joey to make it 2-1 Aggies with two outs.  Eric Mingus got on with a bobbled ball at short.  Nick had some heads up baserunning and came home to make it 3-1. 

Still with me?  Jason Bush singled to load the bases again.  Kevin Jimenez walked to drive in Peterson, 4-1.  We’ve batted around.  Botts was hit to force in another run, 5-1.  The least unexpected grand slam home run I’ve ever seen happened next with Joey putting one out to left.  9-1 Aggies. 

“Throw a strike!  It can’t get any worse!”  I’m sure Leach appreciated the advice from the crowd.  Nick singled, but was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.  A somewhat shocked PA Alexia gave the line score of “Nine runs, five hits, one error, and no one left on base.”  It was even worse than that.  That error at short on what should have been the third out meant that all the runs after were unearned.  I’ll do the counting for you.  That was seven unearned runs.

Welcome to inning number two.  We’re about an hour in to this game.  I was really looking forward to a run rule shortened game here.  Unfortunately, the Bears wouldn’t cooperate.  Hroch walked the first batter.  Joey hesitated on a possible double play ball next and ended up throwing the ball away.  This put runners at second and third.  One of those came in on a wild pitch, the next came in on a sacrifice.  Joey did make a good play on a grounder, doing a 360 and making the throw with a flourish for the second out. 

Pauley, ever the threat, homered to left next.  It just cleared the wall and Carranza nearly brought it back.  It didn’t end there.  A double, a wild pitch, and a single brought in another run.  Hroch picked off a runner at first to finally end it.  9-5 Aggies.  Okay, this game was going to take awhile.

There was a mummer in the crowd that Tiger Woods had won the Masters this morning.  Groan.  Remind me to avoid Sports Talk radio for the next few days.  There will be no other subject during that time.  I saw Brooke working in the crowd.  She was taking pictures of people and their dogs.  I saw her later with a couple of hot dogs.  Unfortunately, she was only on the other side of the stadium.  I would have liked to have asked her how her WNBA tryout went and congratulate her on the WAC championship and her career here.

Unsurprisingly, the Bears brought in a new pitcher for the second.  He hit a batter and gave up a single, but got a double play.  Pauley made a great sliding catch to end the inning.  Meanwhile, Tom was yelling up a storm.  The Colorado couple in front of me didn’t know what to make of him.  Their dog was ambivalent.   

The hits kept coming in the third.  Leach singled and stole second and was driven in.  Carranza let a single get past him.  That error put a runner on second, who was brought in with a single.  Hroch finally had to come out.  Aldo Fernandez finished the inning by striking out Pauley.  Chance’s line was two and 1/3 innings, 10 hits, 8 runs, 3 earned!  Hroch didn’t have his best stuff today, but 3 errors (including one of his own) likely shortened his outing.

We’re still in the third.  Two walks began the bottom of the frame.  Bottrell came up to the tune of Start Me Up.  The crowd actually responded to the Old School walkup music.  He had an infield hit, but a bad throw let in the two runners and put Logan on third.  Joey then hit a popup behind first.  Three fielders made a campfire around the ball as it dropped in fair for a double (not an error, by the way).  That drove in Botts.  Nick drove in Joey with a single. 

After a walk, the Bears changed pitchers.  A double play and a flyout finally ended the inning, though there was another error.  13-8 Aggies.  Alexia sounded exasperated giving out the line score.  We were probably over two hours in and were a third of the way through the game.  Much of the crowd started leaving.  It wasn’t a well-played game either.  Out of the 21 runs scored to this point, 15 were unearned.  Thankfully, events were more conventional after this.

Aldo worked an uneventful fourth, a nice quick change of pace.  The Aggies tacked on two more in the bottom.  Jimenez singled, Botts doubled, Joey drove in a run with a sacrifice, and Nick doubled in a run.  15-8 Aggies.  By the fifth, the game was definitively dragging.  The PA playing organ rally music between pitches wasn’t helping to perk the remaining crowd up.  Aldo had another thankfully quick inning.  In the bottom, the Bears turned a double play, but also added another error.  Carranza accidently helicopter-ed his bat down the third base line in his at bat.  That woke the third base coach up.

The ump was goofing a bit between innings.  We were all getting a little punchy.  Perhaps a poor choice of words on my part given what happened next.  Pauley came up in the sixth.  Thinking he’d been walked, he flipped his bat, but was called back halfway down the line.  He ran down the line again after the next pitch and was rung up.  Pauley turned to say something, but instead went to the dugout.  A moment after he went out of sight there was a massive, “F!” followed by the sound of something getting hit with a bat.  I feel like the strikeout and this incident might be connected.            

Aldo picked up another K in the sixth for another quick inning.  Meanwhile, Tom was getting louder, shouting more, and in Spanish about half the time.  The Aggies went down quick in the bottom after another double play.  Adrian Vela, at first for the Bears, caught a Bottrell liner and doubled off Jimenez.  The Colorado couple bought a Frito pie at the Concessions and took a picture of it.  I didn’t realize the miserable food here was unique.  Andrew Edwards and Mitchell Allen worked a messy seventh, but only gave up one run, in spite of loading the bases.  15-10 Aggies. 

I’d given up on a quick run rule end to this game.  Bear third baseman, Billy Moreland came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh.  I’m sure I missed a sub on field.  On his first pitch, Nick homered to center.  16-10 Aggies.  Billy’s second pitch hit Peterson, but Peterson was thrown out on an ill-advised steal attempt on a wide pitch.  It wasn’t a wild pitch; it was just wide and the catcher caught it.  Carranza tripled next and was sac’d in by Ehnes, 17-10.  Billy hit another batter, but finished the inning.

Fan-wise, I think we were down to friends, family, and Tom, along with myself and Ron somewhere beyond the outfield.  Alex Reyes came in for the eighth.  He was grunting on every pitch, but worked a quick inning.  Gitter did double, but was also inspired to make poor steal attempt of third and Bush threw him out.

“I just want to use your love . . . tonight!”  At last, PA song I liked.  I found myself singing along.  Quentin Parr came in to pitch for the Bears.  The Colorado couple brought out their phone to record his outing, so they must have been his parents.  He walked the first batter and gave up a triple to Joey, which scored Jimenez.  After another walk, he was taken out.  He came out of the game hanging his head.  Even Aggie fans, including myself, gave him a round of applause going back to the dugout.  Peterson sac’d in Joey to finally end the game. 

Aggies win 19-9 on a run rule.  Better late than never.  Yay?  Is it over?  Is it?  Even going eight innings, this still came close to four hours.  It was an endurance contest.  First, gameball to the Bears team in general.  Going down 9-1 in the first, they did not give up at that point, but couldn’t put together the pitching to stop Aggie hitting.  Thank you, Aldo Fernandez for your three and 2/3 scoreless innings.  We needed those quick innings.  Nick Gonzales’ hitting was definitely back on track, as he went 4 for 4 with 3 RBI’s and a home run.

Then there was Joey Ortiz’s day.  He went 4 for 5 with 8 RBI’s.  I found Ron outside the stadium.  He wanted to go back in.  Walking in, an Aggie fan couple said “Hi,” to Ron.  The guy was pretty happy as he mentioned that Joey had hit for the cycle.  No wonder he went for that triple at the end.  Even keeping a scorecard, I had embarrassingly not noticed.  Ron told me that the couple was Chance Hroch’s parents. 

Inside, Ron tracked down Joey and got his autograph on one of his foul balls.  He gave it to me.  I wasn’t expecting that.  Ron’s gone into an altruistic phase in his ball gathering.  I’ll find somewhere to display it.  Dinner was disappointing at What-a-burger, but that was my fault.  I’d accidentally ordered the wrong chicken sandwich, instead of what I meant to get.  I’ll do better next time.  Good job by the Aggies sweeping here this weekend.

NM State Aggies vs Northern Colorado Bears Baseball 4-13-19

Honestly, it wasn’t the nicest day for a game.  It could have been worse, as it was only partly cloudy with a cold breeze blowing in.  It felt more unpleasant than it was according to then current listed conditions.  My day didn’t get off to a good start with a neighbor banging on my door at 7:00am sharp, asking for a ride.  This was a two-hour too early wakeup call.  It was very cold at 7:00am driving down the road.  When I got back home, I was too cold to go back to sleep and I ended up exercising to warmup.  I got in an hour nap before Ron picked me up for the game, but I couldn’t sleep the next night, thinking I was going to get woke up again.  I still haven’t recovered. 

This helped my day.  I got a free t-shirt entering the stadium from a pretty and sweet blonde attendant upon entry.  They threw out a few last week, but I didn’t get to see what it looked like.  They also didn’t advertise this giveaway in their media.  I was hoping it was a camo Aggie shirt, but instead it was an olive shirt featuring the state fish, the cutthroat trout.  I think I’ll be giving this to my dad. 

A co-worker, Chuck, came in shortly after we did.  He didn’t have anything to do this afternoon, so he drove by the ballpark and hoped there was a game on this afternoon.  I gave him a limited recap of last night’s exciting win for the Aggies over Northern Colorado, which I’d watched over the Internet.  (Annoyingly, Ron could remember what the score was in an inning-by-inning manner.)  The Aggies came back four times in the game and won by a run.  They left the bases loaded in the ninth and ended the game on a double play.  Of special note in the game, Jack Pauley led off the game for the Bears with a monstrous home run to dead center over the 25’ tall batter’s eye.  I’d never seen a ball go over that wall.

Before the game, about half the team prayed in a circle by the dugout.  However, Tristen Carranza prayed by himself by next to third base.  It’s a bit of an odd scene, but it happens every game.  It’s good to see some public faith out there though.  In spite of the not entirely welcoming weather, a really good crowd showed up for the game.  The center section was nearly full.            

Jack Pauley is indeed a very large individual.  I was very impressed with his stature leading off for the Bears and seeing him in-person.  Justin Dehn, starting for the Aggies, did not give up a leadoff home run and cruised through the first.  I had an amusing exchange with Ron during the game.  I mentioned that San Antonio had acquired a new Triple-A team.  “The San Antonio Chicken Strips,” I called them.  For one horrible, civilization-doubting moment, he believed me.  Given other minor league names, it seemed plausible.  (They’re still “The Missions,” by the way, a great baseball team name.)     

Logan Bottrell and Nick Gonzales walked in the bottom of the first.  Nick was trying out a new walkup song.  I approve of it.  The kid has pretty good musical tastes.  A passed ball did advance Botts to third.  Adam Young, over the radio, commented that Lucas Allen was a good catcher, but had had a long four-hour night last night.  Next up, Tristan Peterson, apparently inspired that it could be done, jacked one over the batter’s eye himself for a three-run homer.  3-0 Aggies.  I’m thinking the team had some sort of contest going on about doing that. 

Carranza got a bit intimate with his bat next, kissing it.  We didn’t need to see that.  Adam probably shouldn’t have mentioned that over the air either.  (Yes, I know there are Major Leaguers who lick their bats.)  He hit a mile-high popup behind the plate that Allen squeezed for the out.  He is a good catcher.  AD Mario Moccia and his little girls came in.  He was wearing a really cool long-sleeve crimson and white Aggie pullover.  I saw two other people wearing them.  I admit I want one.  I hope those aren’t a staff exclusive, like those hockey sweaters that are just available for the Roadrunner Review Band.  (They could make a bunch of money selling those.)

I kept taking my sunglasses on and off as clouds rolled by overhead.  Eventually, they came off for good.  Ron had gone off hunting balls after the first.  He came back with a Carranza foul and gave it to Chuck.  He was pleased with the gift.  A trio of senior Aggie fan ladies in front of me chatted amicably with a fan couple there for UNC.  See, we’re friendly here.  Dehn blew through another inning. 

In the bottom, Connor Anderson, pitching for the Bears, went airborne diving for a popped up Jason Bush bunt.  It was an impressive effort, but he landed on his catcher.  Both were laid out for a minute.  Meanwhile, Billy Moreland from third, grabbed the ball and threw out Eric Mingus at second.  Good concentration there.  Anderson and Allen were tended to by an attractive blonde trainer.  (She reminded me of the legendary WAC Girl.)  The guys were okay and got a round of applause. 

A kid hit the window on his first try for the window contest.  They’re picking winners now.  The kid got high-fives from the Aggie dugout.  Dehn worked another quick inning.  He’d set down nine in a row.  Mingus made a great dive stop and throw from third to end the frame.  Joey Ortiz led off the third with a solo shot to right.  The wind carried that one over the fence.  4-0 Aggies.

One of the senior ladies in front of me screamed for the drawstring backpack giveaway.  She got one.  I noticed Pauley, leading off the fourth, had a sparkly shinny helmet different from the rest of the team.  Either he’s polishing his or it’s a different model.  After sitting down 10 straight batters, Dehn finally gave up a hit to Jake Gitter.  No, not Jack Glitter, like I thought his name was when I first filled out the scorecard.  (That’d be a tremendous name for a guy in a 70’s rock band.)  Dehn didn’t give up anything else in the inning.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom.

To start the fifth, two little boys were brought down to the field for the “Scream Off.”  Yep, there was no subtly to it.  The boys took turns letting out a scream.  The loudest won.  It was surprising hysterical.  The winner chatted with the Aggie players afterward.  Dehn struck out two to start the fifth.  Botts made a good running catch to end the inning.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom, but more disturbing was the PA message asking for the owner of a certain vehicle to report to the pressbox.  That sounded ominous.

Dehn yielded a double with two outs in the sixth.  Botts dove for the ball and just missed it.  On the next batter, Dehn redirected a comebacker.  Nick stayed with it and got the out to end the inning.  Here’s your stat of the game to this point, courtesy of the radio call, the Aggies had four runs on two hits. 

Some Volleyball girls came in for the seventh.  They were wearing their long-sleeve championship shirts.  I recognized Halle Razo and Cat Kelly (I’d like to ask her what she got sick with last year), but I still don’t know who the tall pretty girl with the long dark-hair was with them.  Joey made a great diving attempt on a single by Sam Leach behind second.  With that, the Bears actually had more hits than the Aggies.  Mingus did a good job to cutting down the lead runner at second with Nick making a stretch for the throw. 

The crowd was in good voice for the Stretch today.  The Aggies tried to manufacture a run in the seventh.  Kevin Jimenez was caught stealing after a hit.  Botts stole second after a hit, advanced to third on a wild pitch, but was left stranded.  The game was unbelievably under two hours old to this point.

Braxton Inniss pinch hit in the eighth.  He was like a smaller version of Pauley with the same long blonde hair coming out the back of this helmet.  He got on via an infield hit that hit Dehn on the leg.  Braxton stole second and took third on an errant throw by Bush behind the plate.  With that, Justin Dehn’s day was done.  Wyatt Kelly came in and got a strikeout to preserve the shutout.

By this time, it was actually getting colder.  More clouds were moving in.  Some of them looked like rain.  The Aggies still had the strategy of trying to manufacture a run in the bottom of the eighth.  Nick walked, took second on a wild pitch on a strikeout by Peterson, and stole third.  Carranza singled him in to make it 5-0 Aggies. 

Gitter got a leadoff hit in the top of the ninth.  “That run doesn’t matter!  Where was Gitter going?” said Adam as Gitter was thrown out trying to steal second.  Leach doubled later, but Kelly struck out the last batter looking to end it.  There was a scary moment in the inning.  A popup went straight back.  I lost sight of it.  Bush came to the grandstand netting and looked with some concern at the crowd.  I was about to cover my head, but the ball hit the canopy and rolled off.  It hit the front of the stands where a kid snagged it.

5-0 Aggies win!  With the cold and the threat of rain, I was glad for the quick game, which only went about two-and-a-half hours.  I can only wish that more of these games could be played in under three hours.  Justin Dehn is an obvious gameball recipient, going seven and 2/3, giving up just four hits.  Tristan Peterson gets one for his massive three-run homer.  With that, Ron and I had Long John Silvers for dinner for a change.  Two of my last three meals there had made me sick, but I couldn’t stay away.  This time I ordered sensibly and had no ill effects.  It was a good day after all, even with the bad start.      

NM State vs GCU Lopes Baseball 4-7-19

“We’re through!  I can’t believe you fantasy-cheated on me with another woman!  An opposing softball player no less!” screamed Emerson.

“But, it was Basia Query,” I showed her a picture, “See?”

“Wow, she’s totally hot!  I now understand why you did it, but we’re still done.  Goodbye.”

Crap.

This is the last time I take advice from a relationship book.  “Be open and sharing and don’t keep secrets.”  What a crock!  I only hope Emerson can love again after this betrayal.  The rest of this post will continue on as though this interaction never actually happened (which it didn’t). 

At least it was a gorgeous day with a clear blue sky and a light breeze.  Ron and I arrived way early for the game.  We came in just as the players were bent over as if on starting blocks, ready to move out the batting cage to the tune of the William Tell Overture.  I’m not sure if it was necessary for guys standing over the bent over players to mime pulling a lawnmower cord out of their butts, but it was funny. 

Thank goodness for the TV coverage today.  While Adam Young and Jerry Lujan were down on the field taping the pregame, the PA turned down the usual blaring music.  What a relief.  (At least the music is decent, as opposed the player walkup music.)  A sportscaster with a camera showed up from an El Paso station.  He hung around for a couple of innings to shoot some footage.  He was hard to miss in the bright orange official station shirt. 

Another great crowd showed up for the game.  Thanks to the Greeks for coming to support the team.  (And ogling the boys on the field.  See, it’s not just me being sexist.)  Its good there’s students at the game (who aren’t just there because they’re dating the players).  A good-sized GCU contingent was also present.  

Ron left before the first pitch to chase balls.  It’s incomprehensible, but he is able to watch the game from the outfield.  Okay, you’re missing your seat and watching the pretty girls here and Emerson, but have fun.  Actually afterward, Ron mentioned there was a girl sitting behind us without a bra that had some kind of hardware in her nips.  I never noticed.  (I don’t like weird body piercings anyway.) 

Also in the crowd, Tom was sitting nearby.  Maybe that was why Ron left.  This time, he had a little boy with him, maybe a grandson.  He’d tell the kid about the game and have him hold up his “Go Aggies!” sign.  It was wholesomely cute.  The fraternity and sorority boys and girls behind me found Tom fairly amusing. 

GCU started off the game fouling off pitches behind the grandstand.  “If that hits my car, I’m suing GCU!”  One of the sorority girls got anxious enough that she got up and left to move her car.  Chance Hroch worked a scoreless first, though with a tight strikezone today.  Eric Mingus made a great play on a leadoff bunt to start the game.

In the bottom, a kid and his dad came in wearing matching Royals hats.  They were really cool with gold trim on them.  The first noticeable thing about the Aggie lineup was that Logan Bottrell wasn’t batting leadoff.  He may have been injured yesterday.  Coach Green just moved everyone up a spot.  Joey Ortiz led off.  He hit a foul line drive into the Lopes’ dugout and knocked the hat off of a player.  Everyone was okay.  Quin Cotton in right field made a great catch at the wall in the inning. 

“Do you know any of the players?” asked one of the Greek girls to her sister.  “No, but I want to,” she replied.  These baseball guys are big and strong athletes, but not freaks like the basketball and football players (no offense, but you guys aren’t built to normal human proportions).  The number of pretty girls at these games is unsurprising.  Well, thanks to these girls, I had a close encounter with Emerson, as they screamed for a souvenir giveaway and she handed it to them.  It was a scoreless second.  The GCU pitcher did make a great diving catch on a Jason Bush popup bunt.  

Hroch got three groundouts for a quick third.  For the window contest, the little boy hit the window square on the first throw with no nonsense.  Usually, they pick out a kid who can’t throw.  The Aggies loaded the bases in the bottom, but didn’t score.  Tristen Carranza started off with a new walkup song in the first and then a different one in the third.  He seems to auditioning for the right one.  Logan Ehnes was wrapped a bit tight in his at bat.  He was shouting, “Fudge,” after every swinging strike (only he didn’t say “Fudge). 

For the fourth, I saw softball player Victoria Castro holding a wiener dog in the stadium.  I wish Tori could play with her hair loose.  She just looks spectacular with it down.  A GCU fan kid handed a recovered ball (he must have beat Ron to it) to Tom’s youthful ward.  That was so sweet.  And it was good karma.  Hroch worked into some trouble with a walk and a hit batter.  A single drove both of them in for a 2-0 GCU lead.

Ehnes had taken over for Botts in center.  Daniel Head came in to cover right.  He led off the fourth with a double out of the eight spot.  Austin Duffy was the DH today and singled behind him from the nine hole.  Nice contributions off the bench.  Joey doubled them both in to tie the score.  The crowd went crazy.  He did get thrown out trying to steal third later.  The team wasn’t able to cash in two walks after.  To this point, they’d left nine on base.

Nick Gonzales wasn’t having a great day at the plate, but for the fifth, he made three straight putouts in the field.  Also, Tristan Peterson had three unassisted putouts at first and Mingus had three putouts from third.  In other words, Hroch was inducing lots of grounders.  The Aggies also went down in order in the fifth.  Mingus was halfway down the first base line before the ump called him out for a looking strikeout.  The crowd was in an uproar on that call.

Two adorable Pomeranians came in for the sixth.  Emerson had been around earlier to take pictures of people’s dogs for social media.  For Emerson’s Pocket contest, the generous GCU kid got an Aggie visor from her.  I noticed he took his GCU hat off first before going over.  There was a near double play in the top, but Nick threw the ball wide to first.  However, the ump ruled Runner’s Interference, which must have caused the bad throw, and the Aggies got the DP anyway.  The Aggies didn’t score in the bottom.

Lovely Sarai Mejia and Keala Brown from the Softball team came in and went over to Tom.  (Sarai was in a tube top and Keala was in a tank top.)  They got selfies with him and then thanked him for supporting their team.  I was a bit jealous, but I chuckled imagining Ron’s reaction to this incident, so I planned on telling him later.  A hip, handsome-looking young man, sitting with his girlfriend and her family, asked them a question about the players, “Do they all pick the most annoying songs for their walkup music?”  See, it’s not just old fart me saying it.    

For the seventh, Joey had the defensive highlight of the game, diving to stop a grounder by second and then throwing out the runner.  Peterson made a great stretch for it.  That play ended the top of the inning.  The crowd cheered and Hroch came off the mound pumped.  Peterson got a leadoff double in the bottom.  Mingus drove him in to give the Aggies a 3-2 lead.  Cotton did make another great catch at the right field wall.

Hroch got another 1-2-3 inning in the eighth.  I’m not surprised he nearly got a seven-inning perfect game last week.  Another cool MLB hat appeared in the crowd.  It was a psychedelic tie-dyed Mariners’ lid.  Just too cool.  Freshman Kevin Jimenez pinch hit in the eighth and singled.  Joey singled after him and Nick drew a walk to load the bases.  Carranza drove in run with a walk.  This time the GCU fans were irate over the call. 

Up to this point, the wind had been steadily blowing in.  It finally died down a bit as Ehnes came up.  That was all an Aggie hitter needs at home.  He hammered a line drive to right.  It just kept carrying and flew over the wall.  Grand slam home run!  And there was Ron.  I could see him going after the ball behind the fence.  The Aggies weren’t done yet.  Mingus singled and was driven in by Jason on a hit down the right field line.  It was an aggressive send.  The throw to the plate was offline.  Mingus missed the base, but crawled over and slapped it.  9-2 Aggies.

The kid in the Royals hat had come back disappointed from trying to get a foul a couple of times.  When he left though, I noticed he did get ball.  Apparently, Ron missed one.  Hroch came back out for the ninth.  He got the first two outs before issuing a walk.  Pitching Coach Anthony Clagget came out and talked to him.  The crowd applauded when Hroch was left in.  The crowd tried to help him on the next batter and will him through it, but he gave up another walk.  Matt Munden came in and got a strikeout looking on three pitches. 

9-2 Aggies win!  That score is nowhere near indicative of how close the game was until the eighth.  Let’s hand out those gameballs.  Joey Ortiz did a good job leading off, going 3 for 5 with 2 RBI’s.  Logan Ehnes stole the show offensively with that huge back-breaking grand slam.  The wind cooperated and he took full advantage.  Chance Hroch gave it everything over the course of 124 pitches.  For seven of his eight and 2/3 innings, he only faced three to four batters.  Chance kept his thumb on the Lopes for most of the game.  Great job.

I found Ron later by the Concessions.  I asked him if he got Logan Ehnes’ home run ball.  He had.  He’d been just about to come back in the stadium when he saw it coming.  I held up his seat cushion, which I barely noticed to grab before I left my seat.  “Why did you even bring this?”  

We went into the big crowd in the “Kiss and Cry” area by the dugout.  Ron found Logan and presented him with his grand slam ball.  Logan thanked him and then kissed his girlfriend . . . (wait for it) Emerson.  Thank goodness she could love again.  This wasn’t exactly a surprise.  I thought she was going out with a player, but I didn’t know which one.  Hey, he’s strapping handsome young man with great hair, who just hit a grand slam home run.  I can’t even be jealous.  He totally deserves the hottest chick in the stadium.  With that, I’m probably retiring this running gag with Emerson.  It’s reached its logical conclusion.  If something really interesting happens with Emerson at the park, I’ll mention it.

We went to McAlisters for dinner.  I told Ron about Tom having a youthful ward there with him.  Ron grumbled that he could hear his yelling all the way beyond the outfield.  Then I told him about the Softball girls coming to see him.  Ron’s face went red and, I think, I could see steam coming out of his ears.  Thankfully, his large sandwich and tea calmed him down, not to mention dessert at Orange Leaf.