|
Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Eagles fall to Prowlers, miss playoffs
The Pecos Eagles fell behind early, came back twice, but in the end were
unable to come up with the big hit in the final inning against the Fort
Stockton Prowlers on Tuesday and ended up seeing their playoff hopes and
their 2003 softball season ended by the Prowlers.
Fort Stockton scored once in the first inning, then matched the Eagles
with single runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings after Pecos
tied the game at 1-1 and 2-2, and for the second game in a row, the Eagles
would strand the tying run on second base in the final inning and lost to
the Prowlers by a 3-2 final score on Roxie Ramirez' sacrifice fly in the
bottom of the sixth inning.
The win allowed Fort Stockton to clinch the third and final District 4-3A
playoff berth with a 6-4 record. Pecos ended up the season with a 5-5 mark.
"We battled. It was kind of like the same situation we had at home. We
made a few mistakes and tried to fight back and came up short, but I was
proud of them," said Eagles' coach Tammy Walls, whose team had lost last
Friday at home to Midland Greenwood by a 3-2 score.
Both teams had chances to get more runs than they did. Pecos had runners
thrown out at home plate to end both the fourth and sixth innings and had
two other runners caught stealing at second base, while Fort Stockton put
runners on third base three times with less than two outs in the game and
failed to score.
The two teams also had far more defensive problems than in their earlier
district game, a 2-0 win by Pecos. That game was decided by an error in
the sixth inning, but this one was plagued by errors throughout the game,
in part due to problems with Tuesday's high winds that swept across West
Texas.
"In the outfield the wind did play a factor in some of the fly balls,"
said Walls, though she added that some mental mistakes hurt Pecos as well.
Ruby Bernal reached on an error and scored in the first inning on another
one to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. That held up until the fifth, when
Kelsey Flores scored on an error to tie the game. But the Panthers would
regain the lead in their next at-bat on another unearned run before Pecos
tied the score in the sixth, when Stephanie Herrera tripled home Bre'Ann
Windham with two away
But Herrera was thrown out trying to sneak home to end the inning, and
in the fourth inning Winhdam had been thrown out at home trying to score
on a double by Herrera.
"On that one, we felt like Bre'Ann could score. They had to make two
perfect relay throws home and they were able to do that," Walls said.
Both Herrera and Jessica Flores had two hits for the Eagles, while Brittany
Lobstein also had a hit for the Eagles off pitcher Lilly Alcala, who struck
out 10 Eagle batters, including getting pinch-hitter Katie Lee for the final
out of the game after Flores had singled and Danielle Garcia reached on
a two out error to put the tying run at second base.
The loss ends the Eagles' season with an 11-12 record, and keeps them
out of post-season play for the first time since 1998, when they went winless
in district in their first year of varsity softball.
"This is one of the toughest districts in the state, so I feel good about
what we accomplished," Walls said. "A loss is a difficult thing - you always
want to win, but that's not going to negate the fact we greatly improved,"
said Walls, who loses only two starters, outfielders Erica Franco and Neftali
Salgado, for next season.
"We competed this season, and we kept our composure when we made mistakes,
unlike what happened last year against Lake View (in the Class 4A playoffs),"
she said. "We competed well, so I certainly have high expectations for next
season."
Pecos gets 2nd in Monahans junior golf
The Pecos Eagle boys moved up in the second round of the area junior
high golf tournament this past Saturday at Monahans, but remain in fourth
place overall in the standings through 36 holes of the 90-hole tournament..
Pecos' boys cut 17 strokes off their opening round effort at home on
April 5, shooting a 393 at the Ward County Golf Course on Saturday for a
36-hole total of 803. They were second on the day to Andrews, which shot
a 363, and finished seven shots up on Monahans and 14 ahead of Andrews 'B',
the current second and third place teams.
For the tournament, the Mustangs hold a wide lead with a 713 score, while
Monahans is next at 789. Andrews 'B' is two strokes up on Pecos, with an
801 score.
Individually, coach Ronnie Daniel said Drake Bradley shot an 87 and is
in second place in the medallist race with a two-round total of 168, four
shots behind Andrews' Dylan Dockery. Joseph Tarin, who didn't play the opening
round, shot an 88, while Zack Morton shot a 108 and is at 208 overall, Danel
Daniel had a 110 and is at 219, and Jesse Preito shot a 120 and is at 240
for 36 holes.
Pecos also had a 'B' team for the first time this week, and they shot
a 501. Michael Lee shot a 118 and is at 250 overall, Desi Alvarez shot a
128 and is at 260, while the Eagles' other two golfers, R.J. Guerra and
Joe Gabladon, Jr., were playing their first round of the tournament, and
shot 123 and 132 respectively on Saturday.
After Pecos in the team standings, Kermit 'A' is at 823 after shooting
a 409, Fort Stockton 'A' is at 830 after a round of 419, Monahans 'B' is
at 944 after shooting a 462 and Fort Stockton 'B' is at 982 after shooting
a 490. Kermit 'B' played its first round of the tournament on Saturday,
and shot a 437.
Eagles-Loboes blown back to Saturday by high winds
The Pecos Eagles' game against the Monahans Loboes Tuesday night was
delayed once, and then postponed until Saturday afternoon due to the high
winds that swept through West Texas.
The Eagles and Loboes were scheduled to play at 7 p.m. at Eagle Field,
but due to the wind the game was pushed back first two a 7:30 p.m. start,
and then called off by the umpires after talking with both coaches and Pecos-Barstow-Toyah
athletic director Bubba Williams.
The teams will make up the game at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Eagle Field.
Neither team is playing on Friday because of the Good Friday holiday, but
both will be in action on Thursday, with the Eagles going to Fort Stockton
while the Loboes host Kermit.
Monahans is 5-1 in district, with their only loss by an 11-10 score to
Kermit. They defeated Pecos in the first half of 3-4A play by a 9-8 score,
as they staked starter Noah Miles to an 8-0 lead and then held on for the
victory.
Miles was scheduled to start Tuesday night, while Pecos was going to
go with Barney Rodriguez, who defeated the Loboes back in February on a
four-hitter. But with a 2-4 district record, coach Elias Payan said he didn't
know if he would hold Rodriguez for Saturday's game or pitch him against
Fort Stockton, who Rodriguez beat three weeks ago by a 2-0 final score.
"We can't worry about Monahans right now. We have to worry about winning
every night," Payan said. "I might change, but the next game we play is
the most important. If we lose to Fort Stockton, then Saturday's game is
meaningless."
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 2003 by Pecos Enterprise
|