NM State Aggie vs FIU Panthers Softball 3-21-26

After the disappointment of not offering autographs two weeks ago, Aggie Softball went on the road and dropped two of three to Sam Houston State.    I’m sure there’s no correlation.    It was an 8-1 Aggie win in the first game with Faith Aragon picking up the win.    After that, it was a 13-5 run rule loss and then a 3-1 loss with Faith taking the hard luck L.    The team had a canceled Tuesday game against the Lobos, so they got the week off.    On Friday, the Aggies started off a series against FIU with a 10-6 win.    Faith pitched 5 innings of relief for the win.    She also had a homer and a 2-run triple.    Devin Elam contributed a 3-run home run.   

As for myself, on Thursday, I took an unexpected trip with dad to Sparky’s in Hatch.    They are famous for their green chili hamburger.    I’m not much for chili, so I had the chicken strips.    They could also be famous for those.    They were the best chicken strips I’ve ever had.    The lady that invited us, also invited us to a singing show at Boba Café on Saturday.    It was well done and I had a great croissant sandwich there, though it was really cold in the cafe.    (I’m not going to fit into my pants much longer eating like this.)

From there, I went to this afternoon’s Aggie Softball game against the Panthers.    I was greeted with He’s choosin’ Texas, I can tell, by Ella Langley over the PA.    I heard that song with dad on the way to Hatch.    He was pretty enthusiastic about it.    I’m not a Country fan, but it is a really good song.    I’d gone from freezing at the café to being unseasonably warm outside in 95-degree heat.    It was merciless with no clouds and no breeze.    I was cooking on the metal stands and started sweating instantly.   

It was a light crowd to start, but filled in later with 401 in attendance.    Duke Keith was on the radio call.    These are the final radio games of the season.    (I couldn’t get broadcast on Friday, unfortunately.)    Baseball was warming up next door, as their series was crossed up with this one.    The FIU players went over to greet the umps during player introductions.    They were actually high-fiving the umps.    One of the guys was pretty tall.    Some of the shorter girls had to jump to reach his palm.

I had some issues with the scorecard, mostly because I couldn’t figure out the Official Scorer’s method of scoring hits and errors.    It seemed a bit capricious.    Taryn Bennett started for the Aggies.    She was wearing red-tinged sunglasses while pitching.    Pitchers never usually wear shades.    She got a looking strikeout to start the game.    The batter contested the call.    It was going to be a wide strikezone today in the heat, regardless.    Kennedy Byrd singled, but unwisely tried to stretch it to a double.    A good relay caught her in a rundown to end the inning.

Devin began the bottom of the first with a line shot to right field.    Kendall Catherwood made a running catch, but dropped it.    It was ruled a tough two-base error.    However, Panther starter, J’dah Girigorie came back with two strikeouts.    Faith was out on a questionable appeal and Skye Johnson was out looking on a strike that looked wide.    The umps were moving this game right along.    Devin ended up stranded on second after a popup to third ended the inning.

The PA announced the temperature here and in Florida, where it was 57-degrees?    Really?    Catcher Madi Bachman made a nice play on a foul popup at the plate with two other fielders standing beside her.    Taryn slapped Madi’s helmet in appreciation.    Taryn then got a comebacker to end the inning.    She pumped her fist leaving the field.    In the bottom, Girigorie had a strikeout and a slick double play to end the inning.

Taryn got into trouble in the top of the third.    After a leadoff single, Taryn fielded a sac bunt, but didn’t get the runner to put two on.    She was given an error on the throw, though it was a tough play. Another sac bunt attempt put the runners in scoring position and Kally Meredith cashed them in with a single.    Janelle Martinez then hit a shallow single.    Meredith made a brave baserunning decision and scored.    A single by Leah Clark moved Martinez to third, but on a double steal attempt, Madi threw out Clark before Martinez made it home.    The FIU coach unsuccessfully argued for the run.    It was 4-0 FIU, anyway.

Taylor Baca came up in the bottom of the third.    Part of the crowd erupted, as Taylor had brought her own cheering section.    Unfortunately in her at bat, Martinez fielded the grounder and putout the lead runner at second.    No problem, Devin doubled Taylor in next.    Skye then doubled her in, as she belly-flopped into second.    Kendal Lunar came up with her new walk up music, Beat It.    She did that and floated one to the scoreboard just over the wall for a 2-run homer.    The Aggies had tied it right back up at 4.

I stood up for that home run.    When I sat back down, cold, wet sweat went down my back.    That was quite unpleasant.    Below me, there was a family with three kids.    The little girl in the group had gotten a foul ball.    The PA all but begged the little girl to return the ball for some candy without singling her out.    No deal.    On the radio, Duke thanked GLAM for his lunch, GLAM being the “Glamorous Ladies of Aggie Marketing.”   

In the top of the fourth, a single, a passed ball, a dropped ball at second that was ruled a hit, and finally, a sac fly brought in a run for FIU.    They had to work for that one.    5-4 Panthers.    Madi led off the bottom of the inning with a double.    She was left stranded.    Kaleena Downing in left field made a standout play on a big foul ball into the corner.    Meanwhile, the dad of the family was pouring soda from a bottle on top of his kids’ heads.    That seems like a waste.    Oh, wait.    It’s a Starry.    Never mind.    Hopefully that was actually just water in the bottle.

A cool, sweet breeze swept across the stands in the top of the fifth.    It was wonderful.    On the field, Taryn again worked into some trouble.    A double, a hit batter, and the first walk of the game loaded the bases.    Taryn helped herself out with a rare “FF1” scoring.    She called off a couple of other players on a foul ball.    For better or worse, Taryn really wants to use her mitt on the field.    Paige Miller nearly hit a bases-clearing double down the left field line that just went foul.    Instead, she hit into a fielder’s choice that ended the inning.   

My feet were starting to get hot on the metal stands.    Faith wasn’t figuring out Girigorie, as she had struck out in her first two at bats.    In the bottom of the fifth, Faith changed up her strategy and legged out a bunt.    Girigorie got two outs in the inning before Kendal singled.    Makenzie Jones came in as a pinch runner and promptly took second.    Riley Silvers at catcher nearly threw out Faith at third base instead of throwing to second.   

Next, Tamara was hit on the ankle on a pitch to load the bases.    Silvers asked her if she was okay.    Faith came in via a wild pitch, before Madi tripled and cleared the bases.    Madi was exhausted by the time she got to third.    Girigorie was relived and Brooke McNichols came in.    She gave up a run-scoring double to pinch hitter, Bella Clapp.    That was a 4-run outburst to put the Aggies back up, 8-4.

In the top of the sixth, a little boy in the family got a foul ball.    The attendant at the foot of the stands directed him to the pressbox.    The boy came back with a souvenir flag and candy.    The little girl still wasn’t budging. Zantelle Rodriguez came in to pitch for the Aggies in the inning.    She gave up a single and a walk before Skye in left field made a great catch on a line drive and a pop out ended the inning.    The bottom of the sixth went 1-2-3 for the Aggies.    The dugout did sing for pinch hitter, Jojo Hair.    More interestingly in crowd, I saw a lady in a Savannah Bananas jersey.    I need cooler gear.   

Before the top of the seventh, Kendal talked to Zantelle by the dugout to try and settle her down and/or encourage her.    Zantelle began with a single and a groundout.    Another single with a bobble in the outfield (no error) brought in a run.    After a wild pitch, Miller then legged out a grounder to reach first.   

Pitching Coach Paige Bachman came out and had a very demonstrative conference in the circle with Zantelle.    Unlike the Coach’s talk to Faith late in the game on 3-7-26, Zantelle walked the next batter to load the bases.    This was even with ump’s wide strikezone.    After Ball 1 to next hitter, Taryn was brought back in to pitch.    Her first pitch was a pop out and a flyball to center ended the game without further scoring.    Aggies win, 8-5!         

Gameballs.    It’s all Aggies today.    FIU didn’t really have any standouts.    Sorry.    Kendal Lunar went 2 for 3 with a 2-run homer.    Madi Bachman was also 2 for 3 with a 2-run triple.    I’ll also hand out one to Taryn Bennett for locking it down in the seventh.   

I looked at the time.    The game went 1 hour and 41 minutes.    It wasn’t my imagination that the game was running quick.    I could have gotten over to Baseball to see the start of their game, but I was thoroughly roasted and done for the evening.    The family left.    The parents had the kids clean up their trash in the stands.    Those are good parents.       

Duke kept announcing the wrong time for Sunday’s game.    I probably should have gone up and said something, but he was there on time the next day.    I listened to the game while heading to Baseball and kept listening while at that game.   

The first play I heard was in the top of the first with a play at the plate and a successful rundown, but an FIU player stole home in the process.    I’m not sure how that worked, either.    Duke gets kind of “creative” with his play calling.    I admit I wasn’t entirely following along for much with the game.    The Aggies went down 3-0.    The Aggies scored on a double steal in the fifth with a rundown lasting long enough to get a run across the plate.    Tamara Carranza singled in a run in the seventh, but the Aggies lost 4-2.    They didn’t have their bats today.    More Softball next week. 

Bonus: Somebody else noticed that the Aggies are doing well.

NM State Aggies vs #25 UTSA Roadrunners Baseball 3-8-26

 

The title here is misleading.    I only saw the last two innings of the game between Aggie Baseball and the UTSA Roadrunners, #25 in the nation.    I’d went to Aggie Softball, instead.  No regrets, though I was disappointed that the promised autograph session did not manifest.    I’d even dressed up a bit.    Just as well, there weren’t any kids in the crowd, which are essential for autographs.    Instead, I’ll recap a few games leading up to today’s game, as well as some surprising Aggie Women’s Basketball news and some Aggie Men’s Basketball recaps.    It’s a potpourri.    

On Tuesday, the Aggies played against the undefeated, 12-0, UNM Lobos.    Admittedly, I didn’t want to sit out in the cold and didn’t like the Aggies’ chances.    Russ Langer did the radio call, as Adam Young, who could barely speak for the Aggie Coach’s Show on Monday, was out.    I think I remember on that show, they previewed this game and somebody said that the Lobo’s had played a “soft” schedule, unlike UTSA, who’d played some stiff competition.    That sounds like bulletin board material, but let’s see how that analysis plays out.

The Aggies got the scoring started in the bottom of the second, as Tommy Meluskey tripled and Cole Rogers sac’d him in, 1-0.    Colton Sneddon started for the Aggies pitching.    A missed flyball that turned into a triple got him taken out for Jake Carvajal, who kept the runner from coming in.    Meluskey led off the fifth with a homer to make it, 2-0.    Brandon Clizbe got on via an error, advanced by passed ball, and was brought in by Boston Vest, 3-0.

The Lobos did come back in the sixth.    With 2 on, Carson Timmons came in and gave up a 3-run homer to tie it at 3.    In the bottom, there was a failed squeeze play and Steve Solorzano was out at the plate.    Rogers drove in a run anyway to give the Aggies back the lead, 4-3.

Russ was doing a good job calling the game.    He mentioned he is a baseball broadcaster in the summer in Las Vegas.    I thought I’d heard his voice before.    I think I’d listened to an Aviators’ broadcast once, when I couldn’t get the El Paso Chihuahuas’ side of the game.   

In the top of the seventh, the Lobos loaded the bases with 2 out.    Connor Wylde was in and gave up a bases clearing double, which gave the Lobos a 6-4 lead.    In the bottom, the Aggies got two on.    The Lobos brought in their best pitcher.    Russ had barely said that, before Aidan Taclas doubled in both runs. Easton Rulli and Rogers each drove in runs to get the Aggies back in the lead, 8-6.

Aggie defense closed it out.    A double play ended the top of the eighth and Wylde finished it off in the ninth.    Aggies win, 8-6!    Awesome!    And I wasn’t there.    It was a beautiful day and night too, with a great crowd of over 1,000.    I had meant to go, but had talked myself out of it, because I didn’t want to be there late at night and I’d underestimated the team.    To make it worse, I’d actually gotten the time wrong.    The game started at 4:00 and finished in the early evening.    Good job, boys.    Bad job by me.

On Friday night, Aggie Baseball took on #25 UTSA.    Russ was back calling the game with Adam still out.    Russ had some trouble pronouncing some player names, but was otherwise okay.    UTSA was coming in with a pretty good resume having beaten Ohio State, DBU, Coastal Carolina, and Baylor, who the Aggies had been swept by early in the season.    The Aggie Band was there for the game and played the Anthem.    It was a good crowd of 881.

It did not go well for the Aggies.    An error in the second brought in 2 runs.    In the fourth, the Roadrunners brought in 4 more.    When it was 6-0, UTSA was bringing in their bench.    It was 8-0 by the seventh.   

By the eighth, Russ was talking about basketball.    By the ninth, it was 10-0.    In the bottom of the inning, the stadium lights went out, thankfully not in the middle of a pitch.    I wasn’t watching the clock, but the delay was lengthy.    When play finally resumed, he said, “If you’re still listening, I’m a member of your fan club.”

In the delay, Russ started telling a story about his baseball-hating grandfather.    Russ’ dad finally talked him into going to a game, because they’d put lights up at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.    Grandpa didn’t like the game.    It was boring.    Little Russ read the paper the next day and found out Johnny Vander Meer had pitched his second no-hitter in row for the Reds at that game.    It was an absolute all-time historical game.       

Well, back to this game.    Jonatan Clough pinch hit a triple to drive in a run. The Band was still there.    They were loud and chanting in the background.    A Chris Daniels fielder’s choice brought in a second run. 10-2 UTSA was the final.

On Saturday, Russ was again doing the commentary.  It was 2-0 until the fifth and the Roadrunners opened up the floodgates.    As the game got out of hand late, Russ kept trying to tell stories, but the pace of the game was frustrating his attempts.    It ended in a 13-0 run rule in the seventh. At that point, I committed to going to Softball in the morning.

That brings us up to the Sunday game.  The baseball game was again on the radio, like softball was, so I followed along a bit.    A guy sitting next to me was also giving updates on the score.    Russ was not available to call this game.    Scott Colletti was in with Adam Young either out for the tournament or still out sick.  I know I’ve heard that name before, but I don’t remember where.  After the softball game, I hustled over to the next door baseball stadium and was waved inside.    It was the seventh inning and there were no programs available.   

Inside, I said, “Hello,” to Trey, Robin, and Nellie Reese and sat down by Fan Michael.    I felt like I needed an explanation for being late, so I said, “Its ‘Spring backward, Fall forward,’ right?”    They figured I was at Softball.    I could see the bright orange tops of UTSA from the softball stands.    They actually had a bat boy, an honest-to-goodness bat boy working for them.    I haven’t seen one of those in few years at the stadium.

I don’t have scorecard for this, since the game was well underway.    I just made some notes on the game.    It was 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh.    The Aggies stranded a runner at third.    In the top of the eighth, a Roadrunners runner was safe at first on an overthrow, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to second.   

In the top of the eighth, the Aggies faced a side-arming pitcher, a rarity in college baseball.    The Aggies got a runner to third with 2 outs.    Dane Woodcook laid down a bunt for a squeeze play.    The pitcher fielded the ball, but missed the first baseman. Woodcook didn’t.    The collision was tremendous and Woodcook got the worst of it.    He did stay in.    Aggies up, 5-4.

Connor Wylde was pitching in the top of the ninth.    He gave up a single and hit a batter.    A sacrifice moved them into scoring position.    There wasn’t a large crowd there, and maybe half was for UTSA, but they were all into it on every pitch.    Steve Solorzano squeezed a foul popup for the second out.    An intentional walk loaded the bases.    A reliever was ready, but Connor talked Coach Angier into letting him stay in.    The UTSA fans were doing a rhythmic clap.    Aggie fans were chanting, “Let’s go Aggies!”    A groundout to second ended the game.    Aggies win, 5-4.

After the game, the Aggies lined up for a handshake.    Connor and Dane could barely keep the smiles off their faces in the postgame interview. The Roadrunners declined.    Oh, well.    The game went a tidy two-and-a-half hours.    I was lucky I got to see any of it.    On the way out, I saw several more Volleyball players beyond Nellie.    None of them were together, though.    I don’t know if they had been sitting together.  

Though I gotten a Whataburger coupon at Softball, I’d been cheated out of a Jimmie John’s sandwich at work the previous week, so I went there.    It was tasty and I thanked the workers there.    (Cue the ominous music.)

A couple of hours after I got home, my dad called and told me that Coach Jody Adams had been let go of the Aggie Women’s Basketball team.    Given that the team had failed to make the tournament and lost their last several games badly, this wasn’t a huge surprise.    This firing wasn’t for losing games, so much as for losing the team.    I saw their final home game and clearly the players and the Coach were feuding.    Somebody had to pay the price.    Right now, Coach Hooten of the Men’s team is breathing a sigh of relief that he made the tournament.     

Flipping around in the evening, I ran into a WBC game from Houston on Mexican TV.    It was Brazil versus Mexico.    I knew former Aggie great, Nick Gonzales, was on the Mexican team.    He came up and I saw him drive in a run in the first.    I didn’t know his former Aggie teammate, Joey Ortiz, was also on the team.    [Samy Natera Jr. is also on the team. Fox Broadcasters did mention that, “Playing for New Mexico State does not make you eligible to play for the Mexican national team.] Together again.    That’s too cool.    Mexico wins in a 16-0 run rule.   

A little later, I spent four hours puking up that sandwich from earlier.    That really sucked.    Needless to say, I didn’t write much that night and that delayed my posts for the week.    As the timeline got pushed back, there were several more Aggie Sports events that I’ll go ahead and cover here.

Aggie Baseball played another Tuesday game against the University of the Southwest.    Duke Keith did the radio announcing for the game.    There was a live Anthem for the game.    Aggie Softball was playing the Lobos at the same time.    It was cold and raining out, so I was okay with missing being there.     

It was 4-0 Aggies after 1 inning and only got more lopsided from there.    In the fifth, Jonatan Clough hit the first Aggie homer at 16-1 Aggies.    In the sixth, he did it again and it was 20-1.    In the seventh, 24-1 Aggies, Duke thought that the run rule would be in effect.    It was not.    At least the sun came out for a while and it was nice out.    I kind of tuned out on listening to most of this one for basketball.    The Aggies won, 39-4.    Oddly, there were just those 2 home runs.    Basically, everyone hit well. Clough was 5 for 7 with 7 RBI’s.    Unfortunately, Cooper Reese never came in as a pitcher.    That may be a really bad sign for him, unless they were saving him for the weekend.

Over at Softball, it was a 9-1 win over UNM with a run rule.    Faith Aragon got the win.    Jaileen Mancha was again supposed to start, but didn’t pitch at all.    This happened on Sunday, too.    Maybe she’s being scratched late for injury after a pregame warm up.    Kendal Lunar dealt the big blow with a 3-run double in the fourth.    I think Adam Young was back calling the game.   

Also on Tuesday, Aggie Men’s Basketball played their first game in the C-USA Basketball Tournament against Jax State.    It was basically home game for the Gamecocks, as it wasn’t far from the their home.   

The Aggies took a 39-28 lead at the half.    Their biggest lead was 14 in the game.    However, Jax State made a comeback.    It was 65-63 Aggies with a minute left.    The Aggies didn’t make their shot, but Juice Mims got the rebound.    JS quickly fouled Gabe Pickens, who made 1 free throw, 66-63.    The Gamecocks missed their shot and the Aggies got the rebound.  The JS big man fouled out and Jayland Randall made both free throws to ice a 68-63 final.    Jemel Jones had 17 points and Pickens had 16.    Juice only had 3.

The next night, the Aggies played Sam Houston State, Coach Hooten’s old school.    Before this game, #1 seed Liberty lost to Missouri St. Liberty was the class of the conference, but fell way off at the end of the season.    Tournament was now wide open.   

Unfortunately, the Aggies were not shooting well.    At the half, it was 37-26 Bearkats.    The Aggies got it down to 4 with 10 minutes left, but that was as close as it got.    Sam Houston won, 69-61. SH was not shooting that well either, but they were defending and rebounding better.    Jemel Jones did well with 19 points.    For some reason, Juice Mims barely played in the game.    It’s another disappointing season for the Aggie Men’s Basketball.    This one was close to catastrophic, as they barely made the tournament.    I’d say next season Coach Hooten is definitely on the hot seat.

NM State Aggies vs LA Tech Bulldogs Softball 3-8-26

Groan. Not only did Daylight Savings Time (Spring forward) start Saturday night, I couldn’t sleep on top of it. I’d had a Grilled Cheese Hamburger and a “Concrete” (basically a Blizzard) at Freddy’s yesterday afternoon. It was great, but seemed to come back to haunt me in my sleep. (This would be bad foreshadowing for what was to come on Sunday.)

Driving in, I saw a couple of players practicing on the soccer field and a couple of people watching. I wonder if there was an exhibition this morning. Aggie Baseball would be playing at the same time as Aggie Softball. There were three school busses sitting over in the baseball parking lot, though I didn’t see a bunch of kids there when I went over later.

There was a sort of light crowd at 425 for today’s Softball game against the LA Tech Bulldogs. It was beautiful out. It was warm and sunny with a little breeze. The players were doing their usual hip bump pregame ritual on the field. A guy sat down next to me with enormous cowbell. There’s always a bigger cowbell. It was so loud, I doubted I needed to ring mine. I was worried I was going to go deaf by the end of the game. There were dueling Anthems with Baseball.

There was a last minute switch at pitcher that put Faith Aragon into the circle, instead of Jaileen Mancha, who was the only pitcher not used yesterday. LA Tech was singing to start the game. The first two outs were runners erased on the basepads. Faith overpowered Reagan Marchant, LA Tech’s main slugger, for the final out.

In the bottom, Faith did it with the bat. With Devin Elam on, she blasted one out to center. I could hear the Aggie dugout singing. Maybe the crowd was quieter than yesterday, so that I could hear the dugout noise. Kendal Lunar got on via an error and she was cashed in by single by Johnna Aragon. 3-0 Aggies.

In the top of the second, Coach Rodolph came in, but without her adorable dog. She left early again. I wonder if she’s only here to put in an appearance and has better things to do. Maybe she’s not enjoying the game as much if she’s not coaching.

The Aggies threw out another runner on base, but there were two runners that got into scoring position from an error when a ball got past Skye Johnson in left field. A foul out behind the plate to Kendal catching ended the threat. Between innings, everyone got a Whataburger coupon for free fries. Well, now I’m glad I came. (I wish I had used it instead of what I did instead.) Faith doubled in the bottom of the second and Kendal doubled her in. Aggies up 4-0.

Faith worked a 1-2-3 top of the third. I hopped to the bathroom before the inning started. On the way back, Fan Tom was talking to a guy, who identified himself as Faith’s dad. He was beaming with pride, as well he should. If I hadn’t been in a hurry, I might have said something. I gave him a thumbs-up. In the bottom, the Bulldogs turned a nice double play to end that frame.

I was listening to game on the radio. I never caught the announcer’s name, but he did a good job. I briefly flipped over to the baseball game, which was also on the radio. I kind of recognized the voice. Adam Young was still out sick and Russ Langer was travelling with the Men’s Basketball team. UTSA was up, 1-0 in the third.

There was a hat toss between innings and it looked pretty good. It was cream-colored with “STATE” across the front. I had to remind myself that I already have a crate full of hats, so let somebody else have them. The guy with the big cowbell and his wife were discussing the UTEP fan riot yesterday with a couple of other fans. Also, he mentioned that it was tied at 1 at Aggie Baseball. (I’m surprised I could hear anything with all his cowbell ringing nearby.) In the crowd, I saw a lady with a really cool Albuquerque Isotopes Bugs Bunny jersey. There’s a giveaway I would make an effort for.

Top of the fourth, Marchant got her revenge with a solo home run to begin the inning. From the radio announcer, I think that was the 18-th home run of the series. Next, Reese Torres was hit hard enough on the elbow that she had to come out for the inning. A single followed to put two on. Faith knuckled down and struck out the next two batters and made a putout on the last batter. 4-1 Aggies. In the bottom Bulldog pitcher, Allie Floyd, also struck out two for a 1-2-3 inning.

Scoring update, 3-1 Aggies in the fifth. Maybe I picked the wrong game to go to, but they announced autographs for today for softball. I had to come. Now I’m rooting for a run rule here, so I can get over to baseball quicker.

Top of the fifth, the Cowbell Guy was going after the female ump after a walk, which put two on to begin the inning. Another fan started loudly arguing with him. The radio guy even commented on the argument. There were more catcalls after another close call. The Cowbell Guy jokingly answered the heckler, “Ah, leave her alone. She’s doing the best she can.” Faith came back with a looking strikeout and the Aggie infield threw out another baserunner. Torres, back in the game, hit a big flyball to the warning track in center for the final out.

The bottom of the fifth began with another hustle double by Faith. A bobbled grounder error put Kendal on. Skye singled in Faith and bravely advanced to second on the throw in to the infield. Tamara Carranza singled in Kendal. A double steal afterward didn’t quite work with Skye getting thrown out at the plate. The scoring on the play was, 2-3-2. The radio announcer was amazed. He didn’t think he’d ever written that down before on a scorecard. Johnna singled in Tamara anyway. A nice jump catch in center by Elena Heng ended the inning, but the Aggies had done the damage, up 7-1.

4-3 Aggies in the sixth at Baseball. Faith was rolling in the top of the sixth in Softball with two looking strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom, Laney Johnson came on in relief for the Bulldogs. Their infield got two baserunners out, including Bradi Gallaway making dive stop and flip to second for an out. Lots of traffic, but the Aggies were not able to run rule it in their final opportunity.

Faith was back out trying for the complete game in the seventh. After a groundout and a single, the Bulldogs bunted over the runner. This seemed like a questionable strategy down 6 runs. Faith hit Gallaway and then hit Marchant to load the bases. Marchant let out an, “Ouch!” before taking her base. I’m pretty sure Faith didn’t mean to hit either batter, but the LA Tech first base coach didn’t see it that way and got ejected for yelling at her. Faith finished it off with a looking strikeout, her ninth. Aggies win, 7-1.

Gameballs. For the Bulldogs, in addition to her defense, Elena Heng went 3 for 4. Reagan Marchant homered again in this series. I have to give some consolation to pitcher, Allie Floyd, who took the losses in all three games this weekend. For the Aggies, Johnna Aragon went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s. Faith Aragon went 3 for 4 with a 2-run homer at the plate and pitched 7 innings in the circle, only giving up 1 run. (How good would this team have been if they still had Desirae Spearman?)

No announcement was made about autographs. I finally asked before leaving. It wasn’t happening. That was likely a good call as there really weren’t any kids in the crowd. I was disappointed, but it was good to see Aggie Softball playing well. The game went about two hours, so the Baseball game still had a couple of innings to go. I hustled myself next door to catch the end of that one.

NM State Aggies vs LA Tech Bulldogs Softball 3-7-26

 

[Running a little late this week on recaps after what happened Sunday evening.] Let’s catch up with Aggie Softball. The team went to the Sundevil Classic in Arizona and dropped 4 of 5, but did get a win against #21 ASU. At the UTSA Tournament, they did better, going 3 of 5, including a win over host UTSA. (I’m not doing a detailed recap of 10 games I wasn’t at or watched.)

I’m going to do a little digression to Aggie Men’s Basketball. (I don’t know where else to put this.) They played Jax State on Thursday and were in a must-win situation to get to the C-USA Tournament. The team came out flat. The Aggies went down by 15 three times, but battled back. At the end of the game, Jayland Randall was fouled on a 3-pointer and made 3 clutch free throws to tie the game to send it to overtime. The 6,600 in attendance were going crazy, but became deathly quiet on those free throw attempts.

Two Aggies fouled out, including Juice Mims. Jemel Jones hit a 3 pointer for 4 point lead in OT. The Aggies committed a foul in the last seconds. The Gamecocks got 2 attempts at missing the final free throw to get a final shot, but missed it. Aggies win, 77-75, and also beat the refs, who were really against them at times. However, UTEP, who was fighting NMSU for that final spot, won their game at the same time, so this would go down to the final game on Saturday.

Back to Softball, the Aggies were playing LA Tech for their first conference game on Friday. Aggie Baseball was playing at the same time, both on the radio. I listened mostly to Baseball, which wasn’t a great decision. (They were badly beaten.) The Softball game was at least a blowout in the Aggies’ favor. It was 14-0 in the fourth with the Aggies getting home runs from five different players. The fifth and final inning was shaky with a 3-run homer by LA Tech’s Reagan Marchant, C-USA’s preseason Player of Year, but the Aggies got the 14-5 run rule win.

Back to Basketball on Saturday afternoon (this overlaps with Softball), the Aggies were playing the Kennesaw State Owls, but there was some scoreboard watching. UTEP had started playing Jax State an hour before. As that game went into the final minutes, I flipped over to listen to it. It was very close. UTEP tied it with 2 free throws, but Jax State won it with a buzzer beater, 63-61. This eliminated the Miners from the tournament and put the Aggies in. A Miner fan nearly got into a chair-throwing fight with the Gamecocks after the game. That’s dedication.

It was odd scheduling today with Men’s Basketball, Softball, and Baseball all going on with overlapping start times and on the radio on three different stations. I wonder if that’s ever happened before. What a bad time for broadcaster Adam Young to still be out sick.

I took off for the Softball game. In addition to the Pan-Am Center parking lot being full for Basketball, I saw a Pee-Wee Football game going on in the running park, a Soccer tournament going on next door to Softball, and I could see Baseball was warming up beyond the outfield wall. I saw Coach Rodolph coming in after me. She was harassed at the gate. She talked to a couple of people and left before the game started.

It was a good crowd (no stats on attendance). There was a hot sun out, but a cool breeze. They sort of canceled each other out and it was pleasant. A little girls’ softball team player threw out the first pitch. (A little more on them later.) The game actually started a couple of minutes early. Somebody was in a hurry.

Destiny Perez was the Aggie starter. She muffed one of her warm up pitches and laughed. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a bad omen. Destiny gave up 3 walks (one on a time violation) and then a grand slam home run to center by Marchant to begin the game. 4-0 LA Tech right off the bat (pardon the pun).

Take Two. Zantelle Rodriguez came in. Skye Johnson made a nice running catch in left field for the first out. Devin Elam then fielded a shallow hit to right, but managed to throw out the runner at first. The radio announcer, whose name I just could not catch, said, “That’s the first time I’ve written 9-3 in a scorebook.” Zantelle finished off the inning with LA Tech up 4-0.

There was a t-shirt toss between innings. A little girl got a t-shirt. She handed it off to another little girl, which was sweet. In the bottom of the first, the Aggies got two on. A muffed grounder loaded the bases with one out, but Bulldog pitcher, Laney Johnson, wriggled out of it with a line out and a looking strikeout. She was grunting on some pitches, I think fastballs.

I was keeping up with Men’s Basketball on the radio. With a minute left, I switched over to listen to the end. It was very tense, but the Aggies held on for a 79-76 win. Since the Aggies were already in the tournament and the game didn’t mean anything, this was a good win. Once again, it was great crowd of 5,300.

A lady below me brought in popcorn bucket filled with nachos. I didn’t know that was an option. I was sort of disgusted, but somewhat intrigued. Zantelle had a good top of the second with two strikeouts. Jade Valladares also made a slick play at third.

Former AD Mario Moccia came in. He greeted a couple of people and went to the pressbox. The Aggies struck back in the bottom of second. Two singles and a hit batter set up Devin for a grand slam to center. Johnson got the first out and Gracie Flores at third made a great dive play on ball down the line, but just missed the runner at first. That was too bad for the Bulldogs, as Tamara Carranza then cranked out a 2-run homer to center. You can tell where the wind was blowing out. 6-4 Aggies.

In the top of the third, the wind was picking up. Bradi Galloway began the inning with a line drive home run to right center for LA Tech. After a double and a walk, Taryn Bennett was brought in. Her first pitch was a 3-run home run to center to Flores. In fairness, it was a popup that caught the Jetstream. Taryn settled down and finished the inning, but the Bulldogs were up, 8-6. The PA announced autographs for tomorrow. Going to Baseball tomorrow was now in jeopardy.

In the bottom of the third, Jade was hit for second time and in the same place, the knee. Marchant made a long stretch at first to corral a high throw from Flores for the second out, but Jade advanced. Devin hit a little single up the middle. Jade acted like a pick on the grounder and it went through and allowed her to score. 8-7 LA Tech. A troop of little girls started chasing foul balls during the inning.

The little girls’ softball team was recognized. They were the 10-and-under National Champions and they were from New Mexico. Congratulations, ladies. They were introduced one at a time and given a gift bag. The top of the fourth began with a comebacker that took off Taryn’s glove, which would be a single. Skye made another running catch in left field, but then Gallaway came up and hooked a 2-run home run to right just inside the pole.

This chased Taryn from the game and brought in freshman Kalena Lemus. With six pitchers on staff, I wonder if she imagined pitching this much after just joining the team. LA Tech catcher, Reese Torres tripled down the right field line and beat the tag at third base. Who says, “Catchers can’t run?” Flores drove her in with a single. A guy blustered in from the Basketball game and asked if I was the official scorekeeper, as he stood in front of me so that I missed final play of inning. Good thing I wasn’t the official scorekeeper. 11-7 LA Tech.

Skye did it with the bat to start the bottom of the fourth, as she homered to start the inning. 11-8 Bulldogs. In the inning, a grounder took a nasty bounce and injured Gallaway at shortstop. She stayed in. Also, a foul ball hits top of pressbox. The radio announcer was unconcerned. 11-8 Aggies.

The top of the fifth began with another bad hop on the infield, which handed Johnna Aragon an error at second. The infield looks nice, but given all the fumbled grounders I’ve seen this season, maybe they should reconsider some of these error calls. Taylor Baca made a dive on shallow liner to center for the first out. Tamara took out the lead runner at third on a fielder’s choice. Makenzie Jones was the new third baseman this inning. Jade’s twice-hit knee might have been swelling up on her. The Bulldogs got two on, but Kalena closed out the inning without allowing a run.

The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the fifth, though LA Tech brought in a new pitcher to get the final out. Some fans started leaving for baseball, which would be starting soon. The softball field was now in shadow. The sun was still up, but it was turning cold.

Top of the sixth, Kalena accidentally threw behind Marchant’s back during her at bat. Kalena visibly went, Oops! Marchant hit a line drive homer to center. She might have been mad. Kalena then went way inside on the next batter and cringed. After surrendering a double and getting a strikeout, Kalena gave up a 2-run homer to Aleah Brooks. Kalena gave way to Destiny returning to the circle. 14-8 LA Tech.

More fans were deserting and likely not for the Baseball game. There was a noise of something hitting the metal stands. It was a kid throwing around some Skittles that had been spilled earlier in the game. I love Skittles. This kind of hurt to witness. Destiny got the second out. Allie Furr laid down a bunt next. The ball spun back to the bat lying on the ground, as Furr made it to first. Everyone questioned whether this should stand, except for the umpire, who said it was a safe hit. Destiny finished off the inning deflecting a grounder that Tamara caught and fed Johnna for the final out.

The lights were on at Softball and Baseball, as the game started next door. Bryannah Campos began her second inning of work in the bottom of the sixth. She got two strikeouts, but had loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and a hit batter. Kendal Lunar came in to pinch hit and doubled down the line and brought in 2 runs. Makenzie came up and made a slap hit to right field. Furr made a running catch, but it popped out of her mitt. 2 more runs scored. Both runs were unearned on the error, but Mak got 2 RBI’s on the play.

Allie Floyd, preseason Pitcher of the Year, came in with the score, 14-12 Bulldogs. Floyd’s first pitch popped out of catcher’s mitt. Mak scored with a head first slide on the passed ball. Madi Buchman came up and singled, but it was waved off for some reason. This confused me and the radio announcer. Never mind, Madi f-ing hammered a bomb to center to tie it. Thanks for the second chance, ump! An error at first put Devin on and pinch hitter, Destan Burks, doubled her in to give the Aggies a 15-14 lead. Too bad all those people left.

I’d wondered why Faith Aragon, the Aggies’ best hitter, was taken out for Destan in the previous inning. She was warming up as the Aggies’ best pitcher to come for the seventh. Faith began the inning with a getting an out on a comebacker. She hit the next batter and walked the next two. She stared in on a couple of questionable ball calls. The remaining crowd was angry.

She threw Ball 1 to next batter. Pitching Coach Paige Bachman, Madi’s older sister, came out for a talk. What happened next was three-straight swinging strikes. The final batter harmlessly popped out on the infield. Aggies win, 15-14! They’d come back from down 4 and then down by 6.

Gameballs for LA Tech, Bradi Gallaway went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI’s from 2 home runs. Gracie Flores had 4 RBI’s with a 3-run homer. Raegan Marchant went 3 for 4 with 5 RBI’s from 2 home runs, including a grand slam.

Plenty more Gameballs for the Aggies. Devin Elam had 5 RBI’s, including a grand slam home run. Skye Johnson went 4 for 5 with an RBI from a home run. Madi Bachman was 2 for 4 with a crusher of a home run. I have to shout out Destiny Perez. After her disastrous start, she did a good job coming back in later. Faith Aragon had a quiet day at the plate (0 for 4), but her 1 inning of relief got her and the team the win. Our star of the game is Coach Bachman. What did she say to Faith? I’ll have to ask at autographs tomorrow.

The game went 2 hours and 30 minutes. I was cold by end, so I glad that the game finished when it did. There was a brilliant orange twilight with Jupiter shining over the horizon. (I looked it up on a stellar cartography program.) I came back home and listened to the Saturday night Baseball game.  I decided that I’d be back for more Softball on Sunday.