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February 24, 1997

Errors hurt, then help Eagles in split on Saturday


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By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Feb. 24 -- When your error total in a game surpasses your hit
total, you usually don't win.

That formula worked both for and against the Pecos Eagles on Saturday,
in a pair of home games against El Paso Burges and Kermit.

Jason Abila allowed Burges only one earned run in seven innings, but a
pair of errors with two out allowed four unearned runs, and four errors
let in a fifth run. Meanwhile a pair of Mustang pitchers were holding
the Eagles to just two hits overall, as Burges scored a 6-2 victory.

Moses Martinez gave up a few more hits than that to Kermit - six in all
- but the Eagles cut their error total to two in their second game
Saturday while the Yellowjackets made seven, and that led to four
unearned Pecos runs in a 6-1 victory.

"In the first game, our defense just fell apart," Eagles' coach Bubba
Williams said of his team's seven-error performance. "I think it may
have just been because they were a 5A school that we were a little
wide-eyed, and we made some physical errors and some mental ones."

Williams was happier with the pitching of his two juniors, even though
Abila lost in his first outing of the season. "We've got two kids
pitching pretty good right now. We've just got to get them some hits."

Martinez was pitching on three days rest, after going six innings in
Pecos' 15-5 victory at Monahans to open the season. He allowed four
extra base hits on Tuesday, but this time all of Kermit's hits were
singles and the lefthander struck out five while walking only two.

"Moses is coming along. He's got more confidence in himself and he's
throwing strikes. We've just got to play defense behind him," Williams
said.

Unlike the opener, Pecos' survived their second game errors.

Oscar Luna dropped a short fly by J.J. Chavez after a long run to the
right field line in the second inning, but Chavez was immediately thrown
out by Mark Abila trying to steal second. One inning later, Jason Abila
misplayed Eric Castillo's two out grounder to shortstop. It would have
loaded the bases, but Abila was able to recover and throw to third base,
where Ismael Muniz had rounded the bag too far and was tagged out by
Richard Gutierrez.

Pecos got two unearned runs in the first off starter Kenny Howard.
Castillo booted a one out grounder by Eric Abila, who then made it to
second despite being picked off first by Howard. After a walk to
Gutierrez, Jason Abila singled Eric Abila home, and after Jason Aguilar
walked, Cisco Rodriguez brought Gutierrez in with a sacrifice fly.

The Eagles' run in the second inning was earned, but they still got a
little help from Ivor Ramirez, who missed the cutoff man on his throw
from left on Joseph Strain's leadoff double. It let Strain got to third,
from where he scored on Nestor Mendoza's ground out.

Pecos then got single runs in each of their three innings against
reliever Hector Berjarno, who come on in the fourth.

Eric Abila doubled with two out in the fourth and scored when Muniz
misplayed Gutierrez' grounder. The Eagles earned their fifth inning run,
as Rodriguez doubled and Strain singled him home, and in the sixth Eric
Abila scored again, reaching base when Chavez dropped his fly ball to
right, then scoring on another Jason Abila single.

Martinez shut out Kermit for five innings, until singles by Ramirez and
Castillo and a sacrifice fly by Eric Gallardo spoiled the shut out in
the sixth. A walk to Jeff Richardson and a passed ball third strike by
Mark Abila let Chavez reach to load the bases with two out, but Martinez
was able to strike out Jack Keen, the potential tying run, to end the
threat.

In the opener the Eagles were able to score before the sixth inning,
but didn't have a hit until back-to-back singles by Eric Abila and
Gutierrez off reliever Albert Montes to open the sixth. After Jason
Abila grounded into a fielder's choice, Rodriguez walked to load the
bases, but the Eagles could manage just a Jason Aguilar sacrifice fly,
as Montes retired the final five hitters he faced.

Pecos had their chances against starter Nick Alvarez, despite being
held hitless in his four innings of work.

Luna walked to open the first, but was doubled off base on a fly out by
Eric Abila. Rodriguez walked to open the second and got as far as third
base, but was thrown out at home trying to score on Mark Abila's
grounder to shortstop.

Pecos did get a run in the third, when Alvarez opened by hitting
Mendoza with a pitch and walking Luna. Both runners moved up on a
sacrifice bunt by Eric Abila, and Mendoza scored on Gutierrez' ground
out. But after Jason Abila walked, pinch-runner Eric Aguilar was picked
off first, and Luna ended up being tagged out at home trying to score
while Aguilar was in a run-down.

Burges' first five runs all came with two out. In the first inning, a
bloop single by Omar Quintanilla and an error by shortstop John Paul
Vasquez on Alvarez' bouncer started the trouble, and after a walk, both
scored when Strain couldn't handle Bernie Minjarez hard shot to first
base.

The Mustangs' earned run came in the third, when Alvarez doubled with
two outs, and after an infield hit, pinch-runner Cesar Porras scored on
a single to left by Minjarez. In the fifth, Montes and Minjarez singled
with one out, and then with two away, Vasquez bounced his throw to first
on Alonzo Ruelas' grounder as both runners scored when Strain couldn't
scoop up the ball.

Porras ran for Montes in the seventh after he reached on an error by
new shortstop Eric Muniz. He then stole second, went to third when Mark
Abila's throw sailed into center, got to third when Luna's throw went
past Gutierrez, and scored when Gutierrez' throw home bounced by Abila.

Aside from eliminating the errors, Williams said the Eagles need to hit
better with runners on second and third. "We've got to be able to get
those runners in scoring position in. We'll work on our baserunning and
correct what we need to, but for us to win we've got to be able to hit
with men on base and two out."

In-between Pecos' games with Burges and Kermit, the Mustangs defeated
the Yellowjackets by a 6-3 final score. Errors hurt Kermit in that game,
as Minjarez got the victory while Ramirez took the loss.

The Eagles-Burges game was added after El Paso's games at the Best of
the West Classic in San Angelo were rained out. Pecos could see Kermit
again this Saturday, at the Monahans Sandhills Tournament. Both teams
are entered, though the Eagles will open up at 10:45 a.m. Friday against
the winner of Thursday's Greenwood-El Paso Parkland game. Greenwood
downed the Eagles' District 4-4A rival Big Spring on Saturday by an 8-5
score.

Saturday
EP SOCORRO PECOS

ab r h bi ab r h bi
Levine lf 3 0 0 0 Luna cf 2 0 0 0
Licon ph 1 0 0 0 E.Abila rf 2 1 1 0
Soto rf 3 0 0 0 R.Gtrrz 3b 3 0 1 1
Quntnlla ss 4 1 1 0 J.Abila p 2 0 0 0
Alvrz p-1b 4 0 1 0 E.Aguila pr 0 0 0 0
Porras pr 0 2 0 0 Rdrguez lf 1 0 0 0
Mntes 1b-p 3 1 2 0 Strain 1b 2 0 0 0
Porras pr 0 1 0 0 Mrtnez 1b 0 0 0 0
Mnjrez 3b 3 1 2 1 J.Aguilr ph 0 0 0 1
DeBelles 2b 0 0 0 0 M.Abila c 3 0 0 0
Reyes dh 3 0 0 0 Vasquez ss 2 0 0 0
Routas c 4 0 1 0 Muniz ss 1 0 0 0
Lara cf 3 0 0 0 Mendoza 2b 1 1 0 0
J.Gtrrz ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 31 6 7 1 Totals 20 2 2 2

EP Socorro 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 -|6
Pecos 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 -|2

E - Vasquez 2, Strain, DeBelles, Quintinella, Muniz, M. Abila, Luna, R.
Gutierez. DP - El Paso 2. LOB - El Paso 7, Pecos 5. 2B - Alvarez. S - E.
Abila. SF - J. Aguilar. SB - Rodriguez, E. Aguilar, Minjarez, J. Abila,
Porras. CS - Luna.

IP H R ER BB KO
EP Socorro
Alvarez W, 1-0 4 0 1 1 4 |2
Montes (Save 1) 3 2 1 1 1 |5
Pecos
J.Abila L, 0-1 7 7 6 1 3 10

HBP - Mendoza by Alvarez.

WP - J. Abila, Alvarez. PB - M. Abila.

T - 2:13.

KERMIT PECOS

ab r h bi ab r h bi
Navarro cf 3 0 1 0 Luna rf 4 0 1 0
Ramirez lf 4 1 2 0 E.Abila cf 4 3 1 0
Castillo 3b 3 0 1 0 R.Gtrrz 3b 2 1 0 0
Gallrdo c 2 0 0 1 J.Abila ss 4 0 2 2
Rchrdsn ss 2 0 0 0 Martinez p 0 0 0 0
Chavez rf 3 0 0 0 J.Aguilr dh 3 0 0 0
Keen 1b 3 0 0 0 Rdrguez lf 2 1 1 1
Howard p 1 0 0 0 M. Abila c 3 0 0 0
Bjrano p 1 0 0 0 E.Aguilr pr 0 0 0 0
Thmpsn ph 1 0 1 0 Strain 1b 3 1 2 1
Muniz 2b 2 0 1 0 Mendoza 3b 3 0 0 0
Green ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 26 1 6 1 Totals 28 7 6 5

Kermit 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -|1
Pecos 2 1 0 1 1 1 x -|6

E - Castillo, Ramirez 2, Luna, J. Abila, Richardson 2, Muniz, Chavez. DP
- Kermit 1, Pecos 1. LOB - Kermit 7, Pecos 8. 2B - Strain, Rodriguez, E.
Abila SF - Rodriguez, Gallardo. SB - E. Abila 2. CS - Chavez (by M.
Abila), Strain (by Gallardo).

IP H R ER BB KO
Kermit
Howard L, 0-1 3 3 3 1 2 |4
Bejarano 3 4 3 1 1 |1
Pecos
Martinez W, 2-0 7 6 1 1 2 |9
WP - Martinez, Bejarano. PB - Gallardo 2, M. Abila.
T - 2:17.

Eagles finish 4th, 6th at Comanche


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PECOS, Feb. 24 -- A pair of new school records by Bryan Brownlee, and a
pair of gold medals to go along with them, were the highlights of the
season-opening Comanche Relays for the Pecos Eagles in Fort Stockton
over the weekend.

The senior set both marks on Friday, winning the shot put with a
57-foot-1 throw, and taking the discus with a 163-foot-4 toss.

That accounted for 20 of Pecos' 28 points on the opening day, with six
others coming from freshman pole vaulter Roy Marta, who took third place
in his first varsity meet.

But the Eagles had a shortage of runners in the sprints on Saturday, and
ended up with 56 points, though they did pick up four more medals in the
distance races.

The Eagles ended up seven points behind this place Andrews, and coach
Mike Ferrell said, "We had Andrews beat, but we didn't enter a 4-by-4
(1,600 meter relay) team." Crane was next in the standings, with 52
points.

While the boys wound up fourth overall, Pecos' girls took sixth with 33
points, earning a pair of third place finishes on Friday, and two silver
medals on Saturday.

Odessa Permian won the boys division with 166 points to 163 by San
Angelo Lake View, while Odessa High took the girls title by a 164-119
margin over Lake View.

Brownlee won the shot put by nearly three feet, and by seven feet over
his nearest District 4-4A rival. In the discus, his throw was 21 feet
better than runner-up Tim Proctor of San Angelo Lake View.

"Right now Bryan his head-and-shoulders ahead of everybody else in the
region," Ferrell said.

Mauricio Villescas and Billy Rodriguez also picked up two medals apiece
for the Eagles, though Villescas was upset in the 3,200 by Lake View's
Justin Haby, who beat out the senior by a 10:31.32 to 10:34.82 time.

Later, it was Rodriguez edging Villescas for second in the 1,600, with a
4:50.84 time to 4:51.20 for his teammate. In the race Rodriguez fared
the best in before a season-ending injury last year, he placed third
behind two other district runners in the 800, with a 2:05.74 time.

"Mauricio and Billy looked good," Ferrell said. "We haven't done any
real strong workouts yet. As Mauricio said, `The days of the easy jogs
are over'."

Richard Gutierrez and Jeff Brownlee, with sixths in the pole vault and
shot put, got Pecos its other points on Friday.

On the girls' side, Marisol Arenivas was the other double-medal winner
for Pecos. She placed third on Friday in the 3,200 meter run with a
13:15 time, then took second Saturday in the 1,600 at just over six
minutes. Penny Armstrong also earned a third in the high jump on Friday,
and the other silver medal came from Monica Carrasco, in the long jump
Saturday morning.

"We competed well," said coach Becky Granado. "I just hope Monica, Erica
(Orona) and Annette (Marquez) get well."

She said Carrasco "was fixing to pull a hamstring," while Orona and
Marquez were also hampered by injuries, which forced the Eagles to
scratch their 1,600 meter relay team.

Arenivas was beaten out for second in the two mile by Lake View's
Crystal Watson, but the junior came back to place ahead of her in the
mile run the next day.

"Marisol got tired at the end," Granado said. "Crystal started kicking
at 300 meters ad caught her at 150 and Marisol just couldn't stay up
with her. But she said `It's all right, she can beat me in all the
meets, but she's not going to win at the one that counts (district)'."

Carrasco also beat out a Lake View competitor for second on Saturday.
Her 14-foot-5 leap edged out Kristie Carr, while Armstrong won a medal
for the third time in as many trips to the Comanche, with a 5-foot
effort. Fort Stockton's Elisa Espino got second, clearing the 5-foot-2
mark.

The Eagles boys and girls will both be going to Crane this Saturday, for
the golden Crane Relays.

Pecos girls place fourth in Stockton golf tourney


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PECOS, Feb. 24 -- The Pecos Eagle girls cut their second day score by
24 strokes and finished fourth over the weekend at the Fort Stockton
Girls Invitational.

The host Prowlers ran away with the tournament title, shooting a
332-330-662, while El Paso Hanks was second, at 369-35-728. Andrews was
next with a 736 score, but the Eagles did beat out the Mustangs by one
stroke over the final 18 holes on Saturday.

"I was real proud of the girls. We know we can compete if we just
buckle down and play," said coach Tina Hendrick.

Andrews has dominated District 4-4A play for years, but with the last
of the three rounds of the tournament in Pecos this season, Hendrick is
hoping her team can get past the Mustangs by April and earn a regional
berth.

"We're getting more confident every time we go out," she said. "Fort
Stockton is going to win district if the don't blow up. They have four
seniors ... but Andrews and Big Spring are the ones I think we can beat
out," she said.

Alva Alvarez had the low round for Pecos, shooting a 91-86-177, while
Lindley Workman shot a 98-87-185, Kim Clark had a 98-97-195, Sarah
Armstrong a 102-95-197, and Belinda Heard shot a 108-98-208 for the `A'
team.

The `B' team had a tougher time on Saturday, as they slipped from a 414
to a 446 and tied Fort Stockton `B' for eighth with an 860 score.

Anica Garcia's 106-105-211 led the `B' group. She was followed by
Amanda Stickels at 101-112-213; Kristen Evans at 102-116-218, Candace
Roach at 105-116-221; and Amanda Hernandez at 112-113-225.

Playing individually, Elvisa Morales shot a 104-101 for the Eagles.

The Eagles' varsity will have another two-day tournament this weekend
in Midland, while the JV will travel to Alpine for their next
tournament, a one-day event on March 3.
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State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times


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