At the baseball stadium last weekend, they announced that
they were giving away free t-shirts at the softball game on the following
Friday. This was the only mention of the
promotion I heard. It was the same thing
with the cozy I got at the baseball game.
They need to get the word out a little better. People will show up for freebies.
Regardless, threatening weather may have kept away any crowd
from the softball field on Friday. Since
I work at night, I wasn’t able to go, but I did get to see the game on TV while
at work. I did not envy the people who
were there as there was an hour and half lightning delay early, and it rained
in the final inning. I really pity the Aggievision
camera operators though. They’re up on
totally exposed platforms next to the walls.
It was a sloppy game with the Aggies and the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners
committing a combined seven errors, though it was also a tight, exciting game
with Aggies coming out on top 6 to 5.
Saturday’s weather was much more agreeable. The temperature was in the 80’s with scattered
clouds and a bright, warm sun. Ron and I
were both looking forward to this double-header, the final homestand for the
Aggie softball team. Since they had
announced that they were giving out 300 t-shirts for the Friday game and the
announced attendance was 200, I’d hoped they might be handing out the
leftovers, but such was not the case.
The Friday fans certainly earned their day-glo yellow shirts and a few
were wearing them Saturday.
No promotion was needed to get a crowd out for the weekend as
six seniors on the team were making their last home start. (In fact, Ron noticed that they weren’t doing
their usual hot, fresh pizza giveaway or throwing towels into the crowd during
the games.) Friends and family were in
abundance. #7 Brennalyn Nakamura’s
family actually had t-shirts on with her name on them. Some of them had signs, including a gag sign
for #21 Karysta Donisthrope with a picture of her not looking her best. The grounds crew had put down the numbers of
the retiring players in the outfield around the Aggie logo. More on that later.
The announced crowd was 378, but I’d say the stadium was
well over half capacity, which would put it at 500+. (I’m still doubtful of the official 1,000
person stadium capacity.) There were the
usual group of senior citizens there, but this time there were plenty young men
and women students in the crowd. For the
second game, some kids came out, with one group sitting behind us and the
little girl with the big cheer sitting down in front (I’m afraid she’s
become famous). The crowd was loud
altogether and into both games. It was a
good group to be with. Of note in team
gear news, I saw an Albuquerque Isotopes hat amongst the fans.
I have to give the opposition credit. From what I’ve seen so far, the Aggies
(baseball and softball) have always won the fashion show with the
uniforms. (I hope Under Armor doesn’t
screw this up next semester with the new uniforms.) The CSU-Bakerfield Roadrunners, however, looked
good. They wore bright blue tops with
yellow trim, sort of reminiscent of the throwback Brewers’ look. They also had on white pants, which might
have been a faux pas for a visiting team, but they went so well with tops. Ron noticed that the Aggies all had the same
style of glove, while the Roadrunner players all had different styles. I’m thinking this is due to the Aggies’
Mizuno sponsorship. The visiting team
got in a lot of cheering from their dugout for both games, so they’re a
spirited bunch. I noticed between
innings entire team came out to play catch with the outfielders in front of
dugout. All these softball teams seem to
have different routines and traditions.
The Aggies had plenty of motivation to win this weekend
beyond just being competitive. They’re
in a close race for winning the conference, but more than that, coach Kathy
Rudolph was going for win #400 with the program. This being the case, Aggie took care of that
business in Game 1, winning 12-1 in a 5 inning run-rule game. They started off fired up. The girls were loud enough cheering and
singing from their dugout in the 1st, that I couldn’t hear the radio
call in my earpiece. The game recap is
simply that the Aggie bats pounded the Roadrunner pitching, while Aggie
pitching kept them down. I can tell you
that 5 of the 12 runs came from runners who didn’t hit their way on base, but
I’m not sure that entirely mattered. Once
the Aggies got the merry-go-round going in the third with 8 runs, it was
over. That’s when Ron started singing
the Aggie fight song.
The home plate ump seemed to be squeezing the strike zone,
but the Aggies were winning big enough that the fans didn’t bother with their
usual cat calls. I will mention two
plays here during the game. #9 Tatum
Reedy, senior catcher, made a great catch of a sky-high popup behind home plate
in the third, right next to the screen.
In the fifth with the game well in hand, freshman #2 Alexis Maynez came
into catch. She’s the girlfriend of a
former co-worker. Sitting behind Tatum,
he doubted she’d get much playing time, so he must have happy to see her in. Being a local girl, hopefully her family was
there. Once again, the first batter hit
another popup behind the plate. It came
out of her glove briefly, but Alexis managed to stay with it and hold on for
the out. If she can hit, the Aggies may
be set for catcher next season.
Players of the game?
With three players hitting 3-run home runs (#34 Corrin Green, #12
Kennedy Johnson, and #9 Tatum Reedy), let’s just call them all winners. #21 Karysta Donisthrope did not disappoint in
her final home start in five innings with 4 strikeouts and 1 unearned run. For the Roadrunners, not to be patronizing,
but I felt like giving #25 Lyndsay Klimenko and #8 Alyssa Stockton hugs and ice
cream after the game. They did not have
a good day in the circle. The only
comfort I can offer them is that the Aggies are a really good hitting team.
On to Game 2.
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