Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 3

I'm not sure who the sender is, but he sent this from Las Vegas to Aunt Gladys and Grandma.  I've actually been to six to the eight hotels pictured.

 

Sitzmark Lodge in Vail, Colorado.

A postcard from California.  That's a roadrunner pictured there.  They are the state bird here in New Mexico.  I've encountered a couple of them in town.  They're cool birds and very impressive-looking.

NM State Aggies vs Seattle U Redhawks Baseball 3-13-22

Ian Mejia and his mustache 

“We need a win today,” said Aggie Baseball fan, Michael, at the game on Sunday.  Me and Ron were talking to him before the game.  (I was happy to finally get his name.  I’d talked to him a few times without knowing what it was.)  We’d all been disheartened by the Friday and Saturday losses.  Michael was also unhappy with Coach Kirby’s regime.  He didn’t feel like it wasn’t fan-friendly enough and that the coach was messing with the lineup too much.  He also pointed out that last years’ standout, Zerek Saenz, wasn’t even on the roster anymore (but he’s still on the schedule poster) after a slow start to the season.

 

Meanwhile, Ron was for some reason obsessed with getting into the Diamond Club.  It’s just an open section by left field.  Sometimes, there’s grilling.  Michael said a Mexican food restaurant used to cater for the club.  It’s not even a great view of the field.  Ron was crushed to find out that it was only open to boosters and only by invitation.  I suspect Ron’s going to try to cozy up to a booster to get invited in for a game. 

 

For the first time this season, I decided to partake in Sunday $1 hot dogs.  It didn’t disappoint . . . It was as crummy as I expected.  For the price, while on a stale bun, the wiener was good-sized and had some flavor.  Pity it was served only just above room temperature.  I had a side of Corn-in-a-Cup with it, which was great, and I tried a Lemon Brisk Tea, which was awesome.  Michael, though he’s been a long time fan, said he’d never tried Corn-in-a-Cup.  I recommended it and warned him about the hot dogs.  I saw him later with two hot dogs and no Corn-in-a-Cup.  Nobody listens to me.

 

The game started off sunny, but with a cold breeze.  The wind died down and became pleasantly warm.  There was a light crowd to start, but it picked up steadily during the game.  The time change on Saturday night left everyone a little subdued.  The Seattle U dugout tried to work up some chatter, but the Aggie dugout wouldn’t engage.

Ian Mejia came out to hopefully stop the Aggie losing streak.  He was using his trademark turquoise glove, or rather he wasn’t, as Ian tried to bare hand a ball from the first batter that went up the middle for a single.  Pitchers, stop doing that!  Ian got two strikeouts after.  Kevin Jimenez, who’d had a rough game yesterday, got two balls hit at him.  One was routine.  KJ bobbled the other, but stayed with it for an acrobatic putout.  The Aggies went down in order in their half of the inning.

Sunday is also Dog Day at the park.  I saw a couple of adorable big-eared twin dogs with a couple.  (Not my picture, it’s from the team Twitter.)  The first SU batter of the second tried to take a premature walk, but ended up grounding out to second.  KJ made a flashy running play on the ball.  The next batter also grounded out to second.  A pattern seemed to be developing.  Ian finished off the inning with a strikeout looking.  His fastball was hitting over 90.  In the bottom, KJ beat the shift that was put on him for single, but was left stranded.

 

Some more dogs came in, along with more people.  There was some barking.  That was mostly the dogs.  Kevin caught a liner right at him for the first out of the third.  He also got two more groundouts.  Hmmm.  The bottom third was finally more productive for the Aggies.  The SU pitcher, Brady Liddle, had been tossing between 70 and 80 mph, and the hitters were adjusting to it.  After a flyball out, Cal Villareal hit a comebacker that smacked Liddle on the thigh hard enough that everyone heard it.  He was okay and still made a play on it, but Cal beat out the throw.  The SU coach checked on his pitcher afterward.

 

Tommy Tabak, not cheated of starting today unlike yesterday, came up and singled.  Brandon Dieter followed with a single.  Coach Kirby, in the third base coaching box, waved Cal in and Tabak into third.  The coach dove to ground himself telling Tabak to slide in.  The SU coach checked on Liddle again and left him in.  A single, a double, and a run-scoring grounder brought in three more runs.  4-0 Aggies.

 

For the fourth, once again, three more balls were hit to second.  I think I can see SU’s cunning strategy coming into focus.  This resulted in two more ground outs and me nearly storming the pressbox.  Follow this, KJ had to lay flat out to stop a grounder.  He made a quick throw from his knees.  Nolan Funke wasn’t able to cleanly catch the ball at first, but it didn’t get away from him.  This happened as the runner crossed the bag.  It’s ruled an error. 

 

By the rule book, an error is charged when a play requiring “ordinary effort” isn’t made.  This play would have required more than “ordinary effort.”  If the ball had been thrown out of the play and the runner had advanced to second, it would have been scored a hit and an error.  Moreover, the runner may have beaten the throw, even if it was caught.  I was quietly fuming for the rest of the game.

 

The Redhawks brought in a new pitcher for the fourth.  The Aggies got back-to-back singles, but didn’t score.  Ron noted that Ryan Grabosch always drags his bat to the plate, like a caveman and his club.  The Pocket Contest came during the break.  The items asked for were an air pod, a receipt, and a pen.  A kid jumped in front of an old man to grab one of the prizes.  The Redhawks led off the fifth with a single that hit Mejia on the mound.  Ian came back with a foul out and two strikeouts, so I’d say he was fine. 

 

I noticed a couple of dads at the game with their little daughters.  It was so sweet—daddy/daughter day at the park.  I saw one of the dads giving his girl what looked like a discussion about the finer points of the game.  That’s a good dad.  Logan led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, but was erased on a double play. 

 

There was a family nearby us and the dad there was chatting with another fan (loudly).  He said they were from Springfield, Missouri.  That’s where most of my relatives are.  They let the son pick a trip for his birthday and he wanted to see White Sands and the Gila Cliff Dwellings.  Last year, he’d picked the Grand Canyon.  It was icy and snowing where they were, so the kid probably just wants to be warm.  (Good thing they didn’t come Friday during our freak snow storm.)  They had just gotten into town today and came to see a ball game. 

 

Ian gave up a single in the sixth, but that was all.  There was a foul ball that hit the canopy and rolled into the crowd.  A fan caught it to a round of applause.  KJ led off the bottom with a hustle double, over my objections.  (I didn’t think he could make it.)  Grabosch tried to bunt him over, but instead slapped a hit off the third baseman’s glove (which was not ruled an error by the scorer).  Cal made a sac bunt.  On the play, Kevin aggressively charged home and slid in under the tag.  Dieter came up and singled Grabosch in to make it 6-0 Aggies.

 

Ian was back out for the seventh.  He gave up a double, but finished off the inning with a looking strikeout.  The strikezone was maybe a little questionable there, but nobody complained.  I tried singing the Seventh Inning Stretch as Louis Armstrong with mixed results.  Logan led off the bottom with another single off a new Redhawks pitcher.  Funke drew a walk behind him, as Logan took off for second.  It was either a steal attempt or hit-and-run, but the catcher’s throw went into centerfield and Galina took third.  He came in on a double play (no RBI).  KJ came up and slapped a rare ground rule double over the left center wall.  I’m not even sure I’ve seen that before at the stadium.  7-0 Aggies.

 

Ian was back out for the eighth.  Why not?  He was touching 93, but got a little wild and issued his first walk to the first batter.  He came back and sat down the next three batters.  No problem.  SU came out with another new pitcher.  Tabak doubled.  Then, holy cats!  Dieter came up and hit a bomb to left.  It was obviously out as soon as it left his bat.  It was a majestic arcing shot out into the trees. 

 

There was a home run t-shirt toss into the crowd for that blast.  The daughter with the Missouri family got one.  She’d also gotten a gift bag from the Pocket Contest.  I think the son chased down a foul ball.  It was quite a day at the park for them.  After giving up another hit, SU changed pitchers.  There was another hit.  I briefly realized that with the score 9-0, another run would end the game on a run rule, but a looking strikeout ended the inning.  Once again, the strikezone was a bit wide and this time the crowd complained. 

 

Noah Estrella came in to finish up in the ninth.  The wide strikezone continued as Noah got a couple of looking strikeouts around a double.  The SU first base coach made an impressive leaping catch on a foul, which the crowd applauded.  Aggies win 9-0.

The teams lined up and shook hands afterward.  Ron gave me a little foam finger he’d picked up at Aggie Softball before this game.  I was going to pass it along to the Missouri family kids and chat with the dad for a second, but he left early and I didn’t want to accost the wife.  A frequent fan lady, who I’d run into a Wal-Mart earlier in the week, did come by and ask me how I scored that error play.  Yeah, I wasn’t the only one who was been miffed by that. 

 

It was another tidy game at two-and-a-half hours.  The Saturday and Sunday games were about a combined same length as the Friday game.  Not a lot of drama, but a fine win.  There was a great crowd of over 600.  The Aggies get all of the gameballs today.  Obviously, Ian Mejia’s 8-inning with no runs effort gets one.  Brandon Dieter went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI’s and a memorable home run.  Logan Galina went 4 for 5 with an RBI.  Finally, Kevin Jimenez bounced right back after a tough day yesterday as he went 3 for 4 and had 10 putouts.  Thank you Seattle U for giving KJ some more infield practice to get his confidence back.

    

I left the bathroom after the game and found Ron holding a tray of hot dogs.  Concessions gave away whatever they didn’t sell.  He offered some, but I doubted the stale dogs would taste better as leftovers.  They’d announced during the game that the Men’s Basketball team was having a watch party at a suite in the football stadium for their NCAA Tournament seeding.  Ron was completely uninterested in going.  Darn it, I’ve missed out on all of these NCAA watch parties.

 

We went to Little Caesars for pizza and ate it over at his brother’s house, so we could watch the NASCAR race that was on.  I also checked the official scoring for the game while filling out my scorecards.  KJ’s error had been officially changed to a hit upon reflection.  Thank goodness.  I could sleep easy tonight. 

 

I flipped over to the NCAA selection show, which began at 4:00pm sharp showing the brackets.  The Aggies were seeded immediately (#12 vs. #5 UConn).  I found out later that at the watch party, the team hadn’t even taken a seat yet when they were announced.  I hope they’re better prepared for the game.  I was a bit irritated at Ron, because Pistol Pete and some Cheerleaders were there.  He probably would have wanted to have hung out with them, too.

NM State Aggies vs Seattle U Redhawks Baseball 3-12-22

This isn't a relevant picture, but it's a fun one.

 

I’m a wee bit distracted writing this.  I’ve got the TV, radio, an iPad, and two computers on.  No, I don’t want to explain, but it’s all necessary.  We’ll start this post quickly reviewing Friday’s two Aggie games—one baseball, one basketball.  Strangely, there was a freak morning snow storm on Friday.  It all went away by 10:00am, but it was still a bit cold and damp the rest of the day. 

 

The afternoon game with Seattle U unfortunately ran nearly five hours and ended with a 13-12 Aggie loss in 13 innings.  I followed along with the live scoring at work.  It was won on a solo home run.  I noticed Logan Galina wasn’t playing.  I would have expected him to have ended the game on a home run shot.  Ron was there.  He said it was okay when the sun was up, but became bone-chillingly cold when it went down.  Ron said he was shaking, so it must have been really cold.  Him and a few other diehard fans ran into the heated bathrooms between innings.  He did enjoy the game, since the score went back-and-forth with lots of action.  At least Ron got the innings he was cheated out of in last week’s double header, albeit in an uncomfortable manner.

 

Meanwhile in Las Vegas, the WAC Men’s Basketball semi-finals were being playing at the same time as the extra innings.  The Aggies beat GCU 75-70.  The Aggies had a 14-point lead about halfway through the second half, but it was whittled down to a 2-point lead at the end.  The Aggies suddenly couldn’t rebound, but bailed out by some clutch free throws by Jabari Rice and Teddy Allen.  Those two also scored most of the Aggies’ points.  NM State would go on to the final later Saturday night.

 

Saturday, it was much nicer out, but I was bundled up anyway.  That proved to be a good notion.  There was a friendly crowd out for the game.  It turned out to be over 500, so it wasn’t bad.  There was a nice woman with a group by us that was fairly chatty during the game that we talked to.  Coach Kirby had an animated conversation with the umps before the game, but I don’t think it was serious. 

 

A Little League team went out on field for the Anthem.  The Aggie Baseball team gave them a cheer.  I noticed that several of the Redhawks pitchers were warming up out on the nearby practice football field (which the new football coach deemed unsafe to play on).  I’ve never seen visiting players out there, instead their bullpen.  When the Anthem played, the players out there did all stop and stand at attention.  The Little Leaguer’s coach threw out the first pitch.  He shook off the catcher before bouncing one to the plate.  Ryan Grabosch caught all 13 innings yesterday, so Hunter Antillon started today.  During player introductions, he tripped and went down going out on to the field to the amusement of his teammates.       

I now have a home Internet connection, at least for the moment.  (Let’s not discuss the particulars.)  I was able to check my scorecards immediately after getting them all filled out.  It’s nice to be able to quickly figure out that I’ve screwed up my cards without the waiting to get to an Internet connection at work. 

 

Both dugouts were extraordinary vocal during the game.  This isn’t a huge rivalry, but the players were totally into it.  Pablo Cortes started for the Aggies, but in a shaky fashion.  He gave up a hit, hit a batter, and a run-scoring hit on the first three batters.  The RBI came on a deep fly that hit the wall, but strangely only resulted in a single.  Kevin Jimenez got the first out on a flashy glove flip force out.  It was nearly an error. 

 

That really cute girl with the black-rimmed glasses that I’d noticed at a previous game came in wearing a tank top, shorts, and striped socks.  Soon enough, she’d left and came back wearing a pullover.  Though it was probably too cool for it, it was nice to see the girls back in the stands in shorts.  The sunny sky was a bit deceptive.  Cortes was working really slowly with runners on and threw to first a bunch.  After the first out, he had better pace and struck out the next two batters to end the inning.  1-0 SU.

 

Andrew Haight, the SU catcher, shook hands warmly with the umpire to start the bottom of the first.  Peter Chronowski started for the Redhawks and had a 1-2-3 inning.  PA music accidently played during one of the at bats, which elicited a stare from the ump. 

 

Between innings, the ump had a friendly chat with the ball boy, who was gathering up some equipment.  Last night, Ron said the home plate for that game had gotten a lot of flack for his small strike zone.  Today’s ump was trying to have a more pleasant game and seemed to call the zone pretty fairly.  Cortes racked up the first two outs of the second, but gave up a pair of singles.  KJ made a great dive attempt on one of them.  The inning ended with Hunter gunning down a base stealer at second.  Him and the dugout got charged up over it.

 

In the bottom of the second, the Aggies answered with a walk, a hit, and a ground out scoring a run.  1-1.  The Redhawks came back with a solo homer in the third to make it 2-1 SU.  The home run flew out to right center, which was really odd placement for a home run at Presley Askew Field.  Cortes made a great play on the first batter as he cut in front of Gunner Antillon from third to catch a high bouncer and throw out the runner.  That was probably Gunner’s play, but it was an out either way.

 

Tommy Tabak had been announced as the Aggie starting centerfielder.  I’m not sure if he played or not as Kyle Westfall took his at bat to lead off the third.  (There was no radio call for the game.  Ron went up and asked in the pressbox before the game.)  It was a good sub, as Kyle homered to left to tie the score.  The dugout erupted.  Kyle stomped on home plate as he scored.  Brandon Dieter singled right after, but Chronowski got a double play and a strikeout to get back on track.  2-2. 

 

The Redhawks came right back in the fourth.  Jackson Reed led off with a hustle triple as he got in under the tag.  Haight singled him in to put the Redhawks back up 3-2.  Gunner made a good catch on a high foul popup, and Westfall made a running, over-the-shoulder catch in the center to end the inning.

 

Here’s one you don’t see every game: a strikeout with the batter ending up on second.  Preston Godfrey came up in the bottom of the fourth and struckout, but the ball got away from Haight.  He threw the ball into right field attempting to get the putout.  Godfrey sprinted to second.  Haight did seem to be hurt on the play and their coach checked him out, but he stayed in. 

 

Logan came up to the cheering expectations of the dugout and the crowd.  His reputation is proceeding him.  He singled this time.  AJ Garcia came up and hit a potential double play ball, but beat it out and Godfrey scored.  After the play, there was a wild pitch that looked more like a passed ball that hit Haight.  He came limping off the field and had to be replaced.  He’d been hurt worse than he’d let on earlier.  3-3.

 

The PA played The Devil Went Down to Georgia during the break.  I hadn’t heard that in long time.  I was sorry when they cut it short.  There was a great range of MLB hats on the fans today.  I saw the Giants, the Royals, the Yankees, the Rockies, and (my favorite) an Old School Braves hat.  There was also a confused little boy with a mitt wearing a Broncos hat.  For the top of the fifth, Dieter dropped a grounder at short for an error, but Cortes worked through it to retire the next three batters.

 

For the Pocket Contest in the break, the PA asked for a blanket, a bandana, and a cowbell (a frequent noise-maker at Aggie games).  The gorgeous blonde that I’d noticed a couple of games came in.  Wow, she looked spectacular with her hair pulled back.  She was wearing a bright red lettermen’s jacket, which was not from around here.  In the bottom of the fifth, Dieter singled, but was left stranded at third.

 

Cortes gave up a single, but racked up two more strikeouts in the top of the sixth.  The Aggies struckout three times in the bottom.  Logan went down on three big swings.  Redhawks replacement catcher, Jackson Lind, took a foul tip for some pain.  The umpire walked the ball out to the pitcher and then cleaned off the plate as a courtesy.  It was a rougher day than usual for catchers.  Brendon Rodriguez came out and worked the seventh for the Aggies to a chorus of screaming girls in the crowd.  It’s nice to be popular.  He gave up a single and hit a batter, while striking out the side.

 

The Seventh inning stretch Take Me Out to the Ballgame led directly to Hunter’s walkup music, the Beastie Boys’ Girls.  Not a good combination on your DJ spin table.  After the game, Ron played a podcast for me about the origin of the Ballgame song.  Apparently, it’s been reinterpreted as just being feminist propaganda.  Everything is getting ruined.  The kid in the Broncos hat hung out at the foot of the grandstand to watch the game.  The game came to him on a foul ball that went straight back into the net front of him.  The ball will find you if it wants to.  Dieter got an infield hit as Dylan Gerard at second made great diving stop, but didn’t have a play afterward.  Dieter was left stranded on second.

 

Tie score and late in the game, things were getting tense.  Trevor Antonson pinch hit to start the eighth for the Redhawks.  He doubled and was replaced with a pinch runner.  The SU dugout erupted.  Gerard slapped a hit that looked like it hit the third base line for a double, but was ruled foul.  Me and some fans around me thought it looked fair, in all fairness.  The crowd really got into it to help Rodriguez get the final out.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom.

 

I tried to sketch the pretty blonde sitting below us, but I gave up immediately.  My pencil was too blunt by the end of the game.  Along with other issues, I was sure there was no chance of me doing her justice without working from a still picture, instead of a moving and occasionally occluded live model.  In getting a good look at her, I did notice she was either married or engaged.  Disappointment abounds, as the game would highlight.

 

Rodriguez started the inning.  He began with a strikeout, but after issuing two walks, was lifted for Rorik Maltrud.  Last I saw Rorik, he was starting, so this was a role change.  He went 3-0 on the first two batters he faced.  One, he got a line out on.  The other was another walk, which loaded the bases with two outs.  After throwing another ball to the next batter, Rorik was lifted for Cade Swenson. 

 

Cade got an easy grounder out to KJ.  Normally very sure-handed, the throw went wide of first.  The runner was safe and the go-ahead run crossed the plate.  Kevin immediately jumped, crouched, and put his head in his hand and mitt.  It was crushing.  Cade struckout the last batter, but the damage was done.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom, so our final was 4-3 Redhawks.  Before SU went ahead, I called it that Logan would win it with one swing in the ninth. 

 

Oh, well.  At least the game didn’t go five hours.  That was a concern as my fingers were getting cold by the end.  As it was, it only went two-and-a-half hours.  It felt longer, maybe because of the tension or the encroaching cold.  I’ve got three gameballs.  The obvious one goes to Peter Chronowski who got the win for the Redhawks by going eight innings, scattering 6 hits for 3 runs, 2 earned, with 6 strikeouts.  For the Aggies, Brandon Dieter gets one for going 3 for 4.  AJ Garcia gets the other.  While he was hitless, he did drive in 2 of the Aggies’ 3 runs.  While he went 0 for 4 and had critical error, I have every faith that Kevin Jimenez will bounce back after this game.  (Disclaimer: I am writing this after seeing Sunday’s game, but I did feel this way right after Saturday’s game.) 

 

There were still plenty of friends, family, and girlfriends in the Kiss and Cry.  I saw some kids getting autographs.  I was stepping around a yellow puddle to use the bathroom.  (How bad a shot do you have to be to miss a urinal?)  Afterward, we went to a Mexican restaurant that Ron recommended for dinner, El Jacalito.  Ron said they made great hamburgers, and they do.  I did feel a bit cheated, because I didn’t notice that one of their daily specials was for a mac & cheese hamburger.  That would have been awesome.  They have a pretty big menu.  Some customers inside were having pasta when we got there.  

 

It’s a little bitty restaurant, so we ate back at my apartment.  That gave me the opportunity to eat the meal with a new Starlight Space Flavored Coke.  A friend at work gave me one to try.  It’s interesting.  It’s tasty and smooth, but the flavor is very subtle.  I never could quite identify it.  After, Ron was nice enough to help me set up an Internet connection, which will surely distract me from any further writing (like it is right now).                    

 

Let’s payoff that basketball story from the beginning.  The Aggies beat Abilene Christian, 66-52, to win the WAC Championship.  The Aggies were in control of this game about halfway through the first half.  Aggie star, Teddy Allen, even fouled out in the second half, but balanced Aggie scoring still won it.  I was listening to the game over the radio and didn’t get to hear the end.  The coverage dropped inside of the last minute and the station went back to playing Country.  Broadcaster Jack Nixon came back on about five minutes later on a cell phone to explain that they’d lost their connection.  He seemed pretty embarrassed and there wasn’t even a postgame.  The “lucky” Aggie socks I’d worn two days in a row, at least worked for the basketball team.

Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 2

"Springtime splendor in the Oklahoma," showing off some Azaleas.

The Ryman Auditorium.  The postmark says it's from Nashville.

"Enjoy summertime in Winter Park/Fraser Valley," in Colorado.  In winter, it's probably not as hospitable.

Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 1

These are some postcards that were from mom's side of the family.

Cute Christmas card.

From Virginia City, Nevada.

From Hawaii.  Quite the scene.

James Dean and the Pink Panther

It's an odd, but cool combination.  Dad handed these off to me a months ago.  They were mom's and were rolled up in a closet.  The James Dean poster is bigger than life and meant for the back of a door.  I'd given this to mom as a gift.  The Pink Panther painting was a gift from one of mom's old boyfriends.  Dad was unsurprisingly unsentimental about it.  It used to be framed under glass.  At some point, it damaged in a move and also water-damaged, but it still looks good.   

NM State Aggies vs Prairie View A&M Panthers Baseball 3-5-22 Game 2

Continued from Game 1.

 

Ron and I had warning that Game 2 was about to start.  That warning was hearing the PA announce the lineups while we were still outside the stadium.  Hey, we were busy stuffing snacks into our faces during the break.  Needless to say, I didn't get my scorecards filled out before play began.  We were also distracted by a gorgeous blonde by the entrance, who also seated down below us.  We'd seen her there before and assume she's a player girlfriend.  The crowd thinned out a bit from the first game (and she left early as well).  With that, we began play.

The Aggie dugout started off the game good and loud.  Cade Swenson made his first start of the season.  He gave up two singles in the first.  One of the runners was rubbed out on a pitch out when he tried to steal second.  Nolan Funke made a sliding catch in left for the final out.

 

In the bottom, Brandon Dieter led off with a walk.  Next, Gunner Antillon was hit and had no reaction to the ball striking him.  Kevin Jimenez had an infield single to load the bases.  There were three Panther players around the bag, but none of them were covering it.  Preston Godfrey singled in a run and Logan Galina followed with a two-run single.  The ball was hit deep, so Galina went for a double, but Godfrey had already stopped at second.  The throw went to first, but again, no one was covering.  Everyone advanced on the error.  There was nearly another error on the next batter when the shortstop made a bad throw to first, but the runner was tagged going by.  3-0 Aggies after some shaky PV defense.

 

The Panthers went down in order in the second.  Gunner made a good play down on a knee on a hot shot to third.  Right to the bottom, the Aggies loaded the bases on a walk and two more hit batters.  Galina took three huge swings and struck out to end the inning.  Ron and I talked about his swings afterward.  He was even going down to a knee ala Vlad Guerrero.  As we saw in Game 1 and later in this game (spoilers), that's his strategy, all or nothing, and it works for him.  On the other hand, maybe take a little off to focus more on contact than raw power.

 

After a quick What's in Your Pocket Contest, we went to the top of the third.  Swenson got a looking strikeout on the second batter of the inning, but the third strike was dropped.  Catcher Hunter Antillon started to throw around the horn anyway.  The batter stood around confused.  Lucky, Hunter's brother, Gunner at third, alertly threw the ball to first to complete the out.  I barely noticed a 5-3 putout on a strikeout, after what had happened at the end of the Game 1.  There was a single next, but Hunter took out another base stealer on a great play to end the inning. 

 

By this point, I had finally finished filling out the line ups on my scorecards.  The Aggies started a two-out rally in the bottom with a single by Funke.  There was more weirdness as Cal Villareal singled and the speedy Funke was waved home.  I could tell it was a bad send immediately and Nolan was dead well before reaching the plate. He stopped.  Inexplicably, the Panther catcher didn't tag him and instead threw to second as Cal tried for it.  He got the out and ended the inning, but not before Funke scored.  4-0 Aggies.

 

Swenson gave up a double that went down the line off of Gunner's glove, but that was all the damage for the top of the fourth.  Gunner worked a walk in the bottom, but that was eliminated on a fielder's choice by KJ.  Godfrey doubled and KJ was waved home on another bad send.  It was pretty easy to see it was too optimistic.  This time the runner going home was tagged out. 

 

Brayden Johnson led off the fifth for the Panthers with a home run to left.  The Prairie View fans went crazy.  The wind might have carried it a bit.  Johnson was awarded with the cowboy hat in the PV dugout.  This was followed up with a double and single.  I was worried the good defensive play would fire up the Panther's offense.  Cade had a wild pitch after, but finished out the inning.  4-2 Aggies.  Anthony on the radio call said that he'd been informed that this game would be nine innings.  This time for sure. 

 

The bottom of the fifth started off with another hit batter.  Next, Edwin Martinez-Pagani accidentally hit the Panther catcher on the back of the helmet on his backswing.  It's a hurtful game.  EMP singled.  Hunter got on via an error, as his bunt attempt was mishandled by the catcher.  The Aggie dugout gave Hunter a cheer.  It was his first time on base this season.  He looked happy to be there.  The wind kicked up and a dust devil blew along the warning track.  PV changed pitchers.  Funke greeted him with a two-run single.  The Aggies then stole another run with a delayed double steal, as Funke let himself get caught in a pickle so that Hunter could score from third.  7-2 Aggies.

 

Swenson gave up a single to start the sixth and was pulled for Brendon Rodriguez.  After a strikeout, he hit Christian Mendez with a fastball on the shoulder near his head.  The ump immediately checked on him, but Mendez was okay.  A double play finished the inning. 

 

Gunner led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple.  Tre Turner in right lost the ball as he was looking directly into the sun on the line shot.  It nearly hit him.  KJ walked and Godfrey sacrificed in Gunner with a flyball.  Galina came up and kept swinging hard and belted the ball to straightaway center for a two-run homer.  I lost track of the ball in flight, but it either went over the batter's eye or into the big tree next to it.  Keanu Maldonado made a good play on an EMP slow roller.  Hunter came up and got his first hit of the season with a double.  The dugout loved it.  There was a walk following that, but a strikeout ended the inning.  10-2 Aggies.

 

Rodriguez got three strikeouts in the seventh, while giving up a single.  A foul ball went into the stands.  The guy retrieving it gave it to the PV fan kid.  The kid, in a further show of politeness since he'd already retrieved one earlier, gave it to another little kid.  Anthony on the radio held his breath after the inning finished, but the umps stayed on field this time and play would continue.

 

Maldonado began the bottom of the sixth with a flashy spin and throw from short to get Brandon Dieter.  Gunner doubled and Godfrey walked to put two on.  Galina made another big swing, but it seemed like the wind knocked this one down.  The centerfielder had to run in to catch it.  Rodriguez worked his third inning in the top of the eighth giving up only a walk.  Gunner got hit in the chest on a bouncer, but stayed with it and threw out the batter for the final out.

 

PV brought out a new pitcher for the eighth.  It was getting a bit cold and I'd left my jacket in Ron's car.  I was kind of rooting for a quick inning, which didn't happen.  A foul ball hit the canopy and rolled off into grandstand.  The crowd cheered a little boy getting it.  The inning started with a strikeout, then a hit batter, then another strikeout.  Kyle Westfall came in as a pinch hitter and the dugout cheered him on.  He was hit for the Panthers' sixth hit batter.  Anthony was shocked by the number of hit batters, but a couple of years ago, I think the Aggies led the nation in that stat. 

 

Maldonado took a tough error on a grounder to short by Dieter.  He made a great stop and threw from his knees, but his throw just missed first base.  Two runs scored.  The official scorer initially ruled them RBI's for some reason.  Turner had a great game in right in Game 1, but Game 2 not so much.  Gunner hit a single to him out in the right, and Turner just let it roll away from him to advance Gunner to second.  This was ruled a double, I guess since the ball wasn't touched.  The inning ended with a strikeout.  Rodriguez finished off the ninth, only allowing a walk.  Aggies win 13-2 in a tidy two-hour 41-minute game.

 

Rorik Maltrud and Sammy Natera took the weekend off, but the pitching staff held up fairly well in their absence.  Zerek Saenz is still MIA.  He's likely lost his job starting.  Also missing were nearly all of the hot player girlfriends in the kiss-and-cry area.  Where were the girls?  With three errors, six hit batters, and some other mishaps, I shuddered to imagine the dressing down, PV’s intimidating-looking coach gave his team after the game.

 

Gameballs to Brendon Rodriguez for four innings of scoreless relief (he also gets a save, even with the score), Gunner Antillon for going 3 for 4 with an RBI, and to Logan Galina for two hits and four RBI's (keep swinging hard, but watch out that pitchers don't start just giving you offspeed junk).  Gunner and Logan also got National Player of the Week awards for their performances this weekend, which is okay, but not as good as one of my Gameballs. 

 

The forecast for the Sunday game was for really bad winds, so I begged off going and listened on the radio (and watched NASCAR).  It was a bit worse than advertised because the wind was also cold.  The Aggies won in an error-filled back-and-forth game 11-9.  It was hard for either team to hold a lead and also their hats.  Hats and even a helmet flew off in the hard breeze.  500 hardy souls (minus Ron, who would have gone, but wasn't able to) braved the elements for two-hours and 46-minutes.  The game felt longer just listening to it.  I can't imagine what it was like to sit in.