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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Thursday, May 6, 2004
Eagles seek playoff win over Mules in area round
The 2004 Muleshoe Mules softball team is in about the same position the Pecos Eagles were in five years ago. And tonight in Andrews, the Eagles will try and keep things that way when they face the Mules in the area round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Pecos and Muleshoe will be playing for the right to meet the winner between Canyon and Monahans next week in the Region I-3A quarterfinals, when they meet at 7 p.m. this evening. It’s the second game in a week at Andrews for the Eagles, who defeated Lubbock Cooper, 4-3, in extra innings last Thursday in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
This is the fifth trip to the playoffs for Pecos. In their first, back in 1999, the Eagles were a second-year team in District 2-4A, but were playing against five other first- and second-year squads. Pecos took the district title and advanced to the area round, but were routed there by Pampa.
Muleshoe comes into tonight’s game as a first-year team that won its district title. But Eagles’ coach Tammy Walls said, “There are just three teams in the district and a three just started their programs this year.”
Deanne Cody has been the Mules’ main pitcher in their inaugural season, while Cecilia Reyna has been one of Muleshoe’s better hitters.
The Mules did struggle at times during pre-district play in 2004, but Walls said, “I told the kids not to take it lightly. We have to go out and play our ballgame and not give them anything.”
The Eagles struggled at the plate against Lubbock Cooper, collecting just four hits in 10 innings, but were able to take advantage of walks and errors to stay in the game. Cassandra Terrazas walked and scored on Brittany Lobstein’s grounder in the bottom of the 11th to win it, while Stephanie Herrera stole home with two outs in the 10th to tie the game, after Cooper used a double-steal in the top of the inning to take a 3-2 lead.
Herrera had 20 strikeouts while allowing seven hits in getting the win, and had two of Pecos’ four hits on the night.
Walls said in an effort to get a little more hitting into the line-up, she may start sophomore Jessica Florez at shortstop tonight. “Right now she’s hitting the ball better than Vanessa (Valeriano), so I might go with her,” Walls said.
The Eagles have never gotten past the area round of the playoffs in four tries. They came close twice, falling 9-8 to Hereford in 2000 and 2-0 in Andrews the following season. Walls said because Herrera has to compete in the Class 3A state discus finals in Austin next Friday, if Pecos wins tonight, their next playoff game would probably be next Tuesday.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 432-445-5475, FAX 432-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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Copyright 2003 by Pecos Enterprise
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