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The first five batters in the order for Pecos collected all 10 of their
hits, while Sweetwater's No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters were the only ones to
get hits off Abila. However, five Sweetwater errors helped Pecos get
four unearned runs, and two mid-game double plays by the Eagles helped
keep the Mustangs off the board after the first inning, as the Eagles
scored a 6-2 victory at a cold Mustang Field, tying them for second in
the District 4-4A standings.
Abila went the distance, striking out nine and allowing just two hits
after the first inning, when Sweetwater scored both of their runs. But
he did walk five batters, and coach Bubba Williams said the junior
righthander wasn't at his best Saturday.
"Jason's feeling weak his last couple of games," Williams said. "He's
throwing all right, but his velocity is not there like it has been."
The Eagles had scored 54 runs for Abila in his four previous starts, all
wins, though they had to forfeit their 12-3 victory over Sweetwater on
March 25 after center fielder Oscar Luna accepted a $5 prize for playing
on the third place team in a National Honor Society 3-on-3 basketball
tournament.
On Saturday, it seemed as though they would be headed for a big day
again, scoring twice in the first inning off Maxwell.
After Luna flew out to open the inning, Cisco Rodriguez singled to left,
and Abila's high pop got caught in the wind and fell for a single behind
first base. Rodriguez was thrown out at home by Justin Gee trying to
score on Eric Abila's single to center, but both he and Jason Abila then
came home when Mark Abila blooped a hit into right-center field and
outfielder Andy Hall threw the ball into the dugout trying for Eric
Abila at third base.
Sweetwater scored early off Abila in Pecos three weeks ago, and jumped
on him again in the bottom of the first Saturday. He walked Gee after
getting ahead 0-2, then allowed a single to Marty Smith that sent Gee to
third. Abila helped himself, picking Smith off first base, but Jarrod
Shelton then laced an RBI double into left-center.
A Brandon Hefner ground out moved him to third, and he scored to tie the
game when Mark Abila's pickoff attempt from home plate sailed past Jason
Chabarria. It was the only error of the day for Pecos, while four more
errors would hurt Sweetwater the rest of the way.
In the third, after Jason Abila led off with a single, Henfer threw away
Eric Abila's bunt single to third base, allowing Jason Abila to take an
extra base, and later score on Mark Abila's RBI ground out.
In the fifth, Maxwell hurt himself, throwing away Rodriguez' hard
comebacker to the mound to lead off the inning. Rodriguez went to second
on Jason Abila's ground out, then stole third and scored on Eric Abila's
third hit of the day, a single to left field.
Mark Abila followed with another single, and then on a hit-and-run
Hefner bobbled Joseph Strain's grounder and was run over by Eric Abila
as he went after the loose ball. That loaded the bases, and the Eagles
were able to scratch out another run when pinch-hitter Lucio Florez
walked on a 3-2 pitch with two out.
Pecos' final run came on a hard-luck error by Gee, who ran a long way
into right-center field only to drop Jason Abila's fly ball. It scored
Luna, who singled and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Rodriguez.
With team-leading hitter Richard Gutierrez and his brother, designated
hitter John Gutierrez, both at a wedding on Saturday, Williams shuffled
his lineup, moving Luna up to the leadoff spot while Eric Abila was
dropped to clean-up hitter. And for at least one day, it paid off. The
pair were a combined 5-for-9 on the day, after going 0-for-6 in
Thursday's 5-1 loss at Big Spring.
"Eric hit the ball a lot better. That's the best he's hit in district,"
Williams said. "Plus, when he gets on base, he makes things happen."
Luna also contributed on defense in the third, hauling in Smith's long
fly ball to center, then doubling Gee off first base, after he drew
another walk from Abila. But the key defensive play for the Eagles came
by accident in the fourth inning, and sparked a brief protest from
Sweetwater coach Tony Heredia.
Down by one, Shelton and Hefner singled to open the inning. Jason Gomez
then tried and failed to put down a sacrifice bunt, eventually striking
out, and the next batter, Curt Alexander, tried the same thing.
His attempt popped in the air on the left side of the mound. Abila came
over to make the catch, but the ball spun out of his glove and onto the
ground.
That could have loaded the bases with one out, but instead Abila kept
his composure and threw to Chabarria at third base to force Shelton, and
he threw to second baseman Nestor Mendoza, forcing Hefner to end the
inning. Heredia argued to no avail the infield fly rule should have been
called, which would have left Alexander out but kept the two runners on
base.
The game was played with temperatures in the low 40s and a wind chill
factor in the low 20s - the third straight bad weather game for the
Eagles, who also saw two attempts to play in Big Spring the previous
week canceled due to weather.
Saturday's win, combined with Andrews' 15-2 victory over Fort Stockton
and San Angelo Lake View's 11-0 blanking of the Steers, leaves the
Eagles, Panthers and Chiefs tied for second in the District 4-4A
standings, all at 3-3. The Eagles are 12-7 overall, while Sweetwater
fell to 1-5 and 5-16, with their lone district win being the forfeit
over Pecos.
Lake View goes to Fort Stockton on Tuesday, while the Eagles will be at
home to face Andrews, which at 6-0 in district would clinch a playoff
spot with a victory.
..........PECOS.................. SWEETWATER
........... ...ab...r...h...bi..... ...ab...r...h...bi
Luna cf...5...1...2...0............Gee cf...1...1...0...0
Rodrguz lf...3...1...1...0.......Smith 2b...3...0...1...0
J.Abila p...4...2...2...0........Shelton 1b...2...1...2...1
E.Abila rf...4...2...3...1........Hefner 3b...3...0...1...0
M.Abila c...3...0...2...2........J.Gomez lf...3...0...0...0
E.Aguilr cr...0...0...0...0.....Hall rf...1...0...0...0
Strain 1b...4...0...0...0........Alexndr rf...2...0...0...0
Mendoza 2b...2...0...0...0.....M.Gmez ph...0...0...0...0
J.Aguilr ph...1...0...0...0.......Boil c...1...0...0...0
Vasquez ss...1...0...0...0.....M.Gomez cr...0...0...0...0
Florez ph...0...0...0...1........Campos ph...1...0...0...0
Chabrria 3b...3...0...0...0....Maxwell p...1...0...0...0
Martinez ph...1...0...0...0.....Weyman ph...1...0...0...0
Totals.........31...6...10...4......Totals.....21...2...4...1
Pecos............. 2 0 1...0 2 1...0...-|6
Sweetwater.... 2 0 0...0 0 0...0...-|1
E - Hall, M. Abila, Hefner 2, Maxwell, Gee. DP - Pecos 2. LOB - Pecos
10, Sweetwater 4. 2B - Shelton, Luna. S - Maxwell, Rodriguez, Vasquez.
SB - E. Abila, Rodriguez, Luna, J. Abila 2, E. Aguilar. CS - Smith.
..........................IP H R ER BB KO
Pecos
J. Abila W, 6-2........ 7 4 2 1 5 |9
Sweetwater
Maxwell L, 1-3.........7 10 6 2 3 |5
HBP - M. Abila by Maxwell.
T - 2:00.
The host Mustangs caught Sweetwater on the back stretch of the 1600
meter relay to win the race and win the boys division title by one point
over favored San Angelo Lake View, 127-126 while Big Spring's girls ran
away with that division's title, 236-133 over Lake View.
Pecos' girls wound up fourth, with 53 points, while the boys were fifth,
scoring 75 points on the day.
Bryan Brownlee remained undefeated in the discus and shot put for the
season, while his brother Jeff picked up second in both events for the
first time this year to claim the other spot in San Angelo on April
25-26. It's the second trip to regional for Bryan, who placed second in
the shot last year.
Going again as well is junior Marisol Arenivas, as she placed second for
the second straight year in the 3,200 meter run, while teammate Penny
Armstrong won a jump-off for second with Big Spring's Erica Espino to
claim a regional spot in the high jump.
"I'm pleased with the way the young men performed this year," said coach
Mike Ferrell. "I asked a lot out of them, and I may not have always been
the easiest coach to be around, but I think what we've done will be good
for this team in the future."
However, the Eagles did have some disappointments, Arenivas was hoping
to claim the district title, but was beaten out by Lake View's Crystal
Watson in the 30-degree and 30 mph wind conditions at Andrews on Friday,
while on the boys side, Mauricio Villescas wound up eighth in the 3,200,
after winning the race last year and placing second in 1995.
"I was worried about Marisol this morning. The wind does not favor her
because of her weight," coach Becky Granado said. "She was a little
scared before the race, but she said she feels good right now."
Tellez ran a 12:46.56, while Watson finished in 12:38.04 and Big
Spring's Bridgett Wilson was third, in 12:50.77.
Armstrong and the other jumpers were also hampered by the cold and wind.
None could clear higher than 4-foot-10, with the Steers' Dell Hill
taking first based on fewer misses. Andrews' Jessie Matthews also
cleared the 4-10 mark to take fourth.
"Penny didn't do as well as she has done, but it was good, because
making regionals was her goal," Granado said.
Villescas and Jose Perez both ran well over their best times in the
3200, won by Lake View's Justin Haby in a slow 10:42.07.
"Mauricio has had an outstanding career and I feel for him," said
Ferrell.
In slightly warmer temperatures later in the day - though still 25
degrees colder than Friday afternoon in Pecos - Villescas placed fourth
in the 1600 meter run, while junior Billy Rodriguez was just edged by
Lake View's Haby for second, 4:48.17 to 4:48.81.
Earlier, Rodriguez had struggled in the 800, running his slowest time of
the year, a 2:09.1, to place sixth.
"I still feel Billy is the best miler in the district and deserved to go
to regionals, but he's going to be back next year. We're still a young
team," Ferrell said.
Forty-eight of Pecos' 75 points came in the field events, and the Eagles
led the meet at the midway point, but were once again hurt by the lack
of speed in the sprints.
"For us to score 75 points was quite satisfying," said Ferrell, who
jokingly added, "Maybe next year we can get them to stop the meet after
the field events.
Of those 48 points, two hurt Lake View's district hopes as much as any.
Jeff Brownlee got them, coming up with his best throw of the year in the
finals of the shot put to beat out Lake View's Cody Crill for second and
join his brother Bryan in qualifying for regionals. He threw 50-foot-9
while Crill had a 49-2¼.
Brownlee also had his best throw of the year by far in the discus, going
160-11. His brother won with a 171-5, while going 56-4 to take the shot
put. Mikel Parent also placed in that event, throwing 45-5 to take fifth.
The Eagles also picked up a medal in the pole vault, where freshman Len
Carson cleared 10-foot-6, and freshman Roy Marta was fourth, with a
10-foot effort. They just missed out on one other medal, in the 300
meter hurdles, where Lucio Florez was nipped at the finish for third by
Sweetwater's Brad Barnes, 41.92 seconds to 42.04.
The other points came from a fourth place finish in the 400 meter relay
and a fifth in the 1600 meter relay.
Along with their seconds in the 3200 and discus, Arenivas and Armstrong
also scored points in the 800 meters and discus.
Armstrong was fourth in the discus, throwing 111-foot-6, while Lori
Marquez was fifth, with a 106-foot-4 effort. In the 800, Arenivas was
fifth, just edging teammate Liz Parent, 2:40.1 to 2:40.6. Parent later
placed fifth in the 1600, with a 6:14.65 time.
The girls' other medal came from Eric Orona, Annette Marquez, Lori
Marquez and Armstrong in the 800 meter relay. They placed third with a
1:57.17 time, while Big Spring ran 1:48.27 and Lake View had a 1:52.32.
The Eagles also placed fourth in the 1600 meter relay, and were sixth in
the 400 relay.
Pecos' other points came from Carrasco, who was fifth in the 400 meter
dash and sixth in the 200 meters, and from Jennifer Barrera, who placed
sixth in the shot put.
"Overall, I was proud of the girls. We had some tough things happen, but
we're still young, and I just have to be patient with them," said
Granado, who'll lose only Carrasco to graduation this year.
Andrews was third in the girls' division, with 97 points, while Fort
Stockton was fifth with 51 and Sweetwater sixth with 15. On the boys'
side, Big Spring was third with 102 points, Sweetwater fourth with 100
and Fort Stockton sixth with 23 points.
For the Eagles, that meant a 347 score and a fourth place finish in the
final standings with a 1,084 total for 54 holes. Fort Stockton shot a
323 to end Andrews' long reign as district girls golf champion with a
1,014 total, while the Mustangs took the other regional tournament
berth, shooting 337 to finish at 1,042.
The weather wasn't as `nice' in Big Spring, but Pecos' boys also shot
their best round in district play, closing with a 335 round to end up
seventh, with a 1,025 score.
The girls improved by 26 strokes playing on their home course, though
they were unable to catch Big Spring for third, as the Steers improved
by 34 strokes over Round 2 in San Angelo on April 3 to finish with a
339-1,060 score.
"With the group that's coming back, hopefully, we'll finish a little
higher this year," said coach Tina Hendrick, who does lose her only
all-district golfer, Lindley Workman.
The senior shot an 81 on Saturday to finish tied for 10th, with a 262
score. Alva Alvarez was two shots behind both on the day and overall, as
her 83 gave her a 264 and finished 12th overall.
"I was real pleased with Lindley, and I was real pleased with the team
overall," Hendrick said. "Not only the varsity, but the JV as well."
Pecos' JV broke 400 for the first time on Saturday, shooting a 378 to
finish seventh out of 11 teams, with a 1,191 total. The `B' team beat
out both San Angelo Lake View's and Sweetwater's `A' squads this season.
Among the other `A' scores, Anica Garcia shot a 90-289; Kim Clark had a
93-294 and Sara Armstrong shot a 94 and finished at 274.
The `B' team was led by Belinda Heard, who shot a 90 to finish at 290.
Elvisa Morales shot a 91-288; Amanda Stickels had a 95-301; Candace
Roach shot a 102-312 and Amanda Hernandez had a 104-337.
Pecos' two other golfers, Kristen Evans and Ceneca Sanders, shot 97 and
108 respectively. Evans didn't play the first round of the 4-4A tourney,
while Sanders finished at 369.
On the boys' side, the Eagles `A' and `B' teams were the only ones to
shoot their low tournament rounds in Big Spring, though their score for
the day was still seventh overall. Andrews won with a 315-938, while
Fort Stockton edged San Angelo by one stroke for second. The Panthers
shot 322-951 and the Chiefs 321-952.
"I'm still a little disappointed, but It was our best district round of
the year," said coach Joe Wheeler, who added the temperature was 24
degrees at tee-off time at Comanche Trails on Saturday. "We had four
scores in the 80s, which is not bad, but I'd like to see a couple in the
70s."
Casey Love shot his second straight 81 to finish at 245 overall, while
Lee Lyles cut 10 strokes off his score, firing an 80 to finish at 258.
Jason Salcido and Chris Ryan both finished at 260 after round of 88 and
86, while Robert Cravey shot a 90 and finished at 268.
The `B' team got everyone under 100 for the first time this season, and
shot a 380 overall. Erik Machuca shot a 90 to finish at 290; Dallas
Jarrett had a 97-286; John Granado had a 99-300 and Michael O'Callahan
shot a 94-313.
"I hoped we would finish higher, but we've improved a whole lot this
season, and we're mostly sophomores," said Wheeler, who added the
district tournament may go to four rounds next season, and at least one
will be held for the boys in Pecos.
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