NMSU Aggies vs Utah Valley Wolverines Baseball 4-16-16

I shouldn’t have gone.  In the morning, I’d heard the wind and went outside to gauge it.  It didn’t seem to be too bad.  Of course, what I didn’t gauge was that I was standing and walking around, not sitting down.  Also, the sun was out.  Over the course of the ballgame, it went from sunny to partly cloudy to cloudy.  The temperature dropped accordingly.  The wind got stronger, strong enough to kick up dust off the mound.  While I’ve gotten cold and a bit sunburned at the ballpark this year, it’s been pleasant when the game started.  This was the first time I’d gone when it was a bit questionable to begin with.  By halfway through the game, I was sniffling, my nose dripping, and my left eye was crying as the wind was blowing across it.  If the game had been better and the Aggies had won, I’d still have preferred to have just heard it over the radio. 

The road straight to the stadium was again blocked as Carrie Underwood was having a concert at the nearby Pan-Am center.  Aggie football was simultaneously having a spring game at the stadium.  From the baseball stadium, I could see people moving around the pressbox on top of the football stadium and a brave cameraman exposed to the wind outside.  All of this may have reduced the ball game’s attendance. 

I’d noticed Friday night’s game was over 700 fans.  That’s about  three-quarters full.  It was colder and still windy.  They got to see a 7-4 Aggie win.  This game’s attendance was over 400, less than half.  I got to see a 7-4 game too, but the result was not to my liking.  There wasn’t the usual crowd of attractive women at the game.  Even the regular fashion girl was dressed in a practical sweatshirt.  There was a guy wearing shorts and flip flops seated below me, but as the game got colder he had his jacket hood pulled over his head.  Also below me was an old cowboy-looking fellow, who was head down over his smart phone for most of the game.  A few adorable kids were there running after foul balls.  A butterfly fluttered around the backstop for an inning to watch the game.  He got tired of cold wind and left shortly thereafter. 

It seemed like an unofficial “Bring your dog to the park” day.  I saw four dogs there.  There was a little dog, dressed in an Aggie t-shirt.  There was a pointer, energetically pointing.  Leaving, I saw a handsome Rottweiler at the gate.  An attractive woman sat just below me and brought a beautiful husky, who I desperately wanted to pet.  Almost immediately after she sat down, a cute little girl came over with the same idea.  The dog was extremely frisky and enjoyed the attention.  The little girl peppered the owner with a steady stream of questions about the pet.  It was just precious.  Unfortunately, the hyper dog needed to be walked to calm down shortly thereafter and the woman then went to another seat.  True love lost (the dog, not the woman).    

Adam Young and Nolan Fox provided the game call over the radio.  Frankly, it really enhances the game, especially if you’re there by yourself.  Adam was pretty excited that Under Armor had become NMSU’s uniform sponsor for the next school year.  New uniforms to look forward to in all the team sports.   In the 3^rd, they were joined by former Aggie pitcher, Matt Stein.  He provided some good perspective from a recent player.  He said he missed playing every day, but his body didn’t. 

I almost gave up keeping a scorecard on Monday.  Listening to the Aggies playing Grand Canyon University on the radio, I heard a triple play.  I’ve said I’ll give it up when I record one, but I was at work at the time.  The play was against the Aggies, but they won anyway, so that was okay.   

The Aggies just seemed lethargic today, except for their defensive work in the field.  With high winds going out, you expect either lots of walks from pitchers trying to avoid contact, which tends to drag out a game.  That didn’t really happen here, nor were there a lot of runs scored.  The Aggies went down in order in several innings.  The Wolverines got a man on in every inning, except for the 9^th.  That’ll do it.  Three and a half hours did not fly by.  Aggie fans were pretty lethargic too and didn’t have much to cheer about.  The Wolverines in the dugout and their small contingent of fans punctuated the grim proceedings with a surprising amount of noise whenever they scored.  I’d never heard of Utah Valley before, but program has had a 32 game win streak when they were unaligned with a conference, including victories against ranked teams. 

   

The back-breaker of the game was a two-run homer by the Wolverines in the 7^th.  While the Aggies would rally in the bottom of the frame for two, the score became 7-2 after the home run.  #36 Andy Frakes then plunked the next batter and was immediately ejected from the game.  It’s debatable whether he meant to or not.  The announcers were shocked, saying that normally there’s a warning before such an action.  Frakes left with a stream of expletives loud enough for me to hear them in the stands.  Manager Brian Green rushed out to save him from further penalties and was then ejected himself. 

This theater might have helped motivate the Aggies the next inning with a couple of runs to bring the score within three.  Aggie relief pitching would stop the bleeding for the rest of the game, but Aggie hitting would not threaten again until the 9^th.  After over 130 pitches, Utah Valley starter #20 Danny Beddes finally came out of the game, leaving with two on.  The tying run came to the plate in the form of #7 Daniel Johnson against the Wolverines’ closer.   It was a good battle over several pitches, but finally ended in a swinging strikeout.  Utah Valley wins 7-4.  Given the way the Aggies had played, it was kind of surprising they were even in a position to tie it at the end.  Ultimately, I’d dressed for the cold, instead of wearing my lucky Aggie shirt.  I take full responsibility for this defeat.        

My players of the game for Utah Valley are #24 Justin Erlandson going 3 for 5 with 3 RBI’s and #20 Danny Beddes for nearly throwing a complete game.  The broadcast said that one of Utah Valley’s strengths was their bullpen, so their coach must have really liked his performance.    Honestly, my standout Aggie was #30 Tyler Erwin.  He came into the game angry in the 9^th and got two strikeouts to start.  He had the Aggies’ only shutdown inning.  The Aggie defense also had some good moments.  In the 2^nd with men on first and third, the runner on first was caught stealing.  In the run down, the runner on third broke for home and was cut down.  The Aggies really showed some poise there in a potential comedic situation.  #44 Dan Hetzel was particularly challenged in Right Field with the strong wind blowing that way.  I even saw a popup get caught in a jet stream and nearly go out.  Hetzel made a couple of really good catches near the wall to limit some of the damage.

My eyes are still watering and I’m fighting a cold as I write this six hours later.  What have we learned?  Sorry Aggies, I’m staying home unless the weather’s good.  It could have been worse.  Because of the concert for some reason, armed guards were stationed outside the ballpark bathrooms, not allowing anyone to use the facilities.  I don’t make the connection either, I’m just glad I went in the 7^th.  I wouldn’t have made it home to the bathroom.