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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Reeves County, Trans-Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Sports

Wednesday, March 4, 1998

Cold shooting finish ends Bears' season


PECOS, Mar. 4 -- The shots didn't fall for the Balmorhea
Bears at the outset of their game Tuesday night against the
Eden Bulldogs, but the Bears had time to correct that
problem.

But they ran out of time in the fourth quarter when the
shots refused to drop, and the Bulldogs were able to come
away with a 75-70 victory and a berth in the Region II-A
basketball tournament in Abilene this weekend.

Eden built a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of the
game, before a pressing defense led to four straight
turnovers in a 10-0 Balmorhea run that gave the Bears a
12-10 lead. The Bears would then hold the lead for almost
all of the middle periods, thanks in part to some hot
3-point shooting by Manny Mendoza and Kevin Castillo.

Mendoza started last Tuesday's bi-district game against
Rankin, but came off the bench on Friday against Valentine,
as coach Adolfo Garcia put Travis Woodruff in the starting
lineup. But with Woodruff having been lost for the playoffs
after being shot in the foot during a Saturday hunting
accident, Mendoza responded with 15 first half points,
including a pair of 3-pointers.

Castillo, who had struggled in the first half of the Bears'
opening playoff games, also came out hot, hitting two 3s as
part of an 11-point half, one which put the Bears up 24-18
in the first period.

But in each of the first three periods, Eden was able to
close the gap in the final minute of play. Caleb Waggoner
scored seven points late in the first quarter when Eden cut
the lead to 27-25, while a Manny Mendoza 3-pointer gave
Balmorhea a 35-29 lead in the second period, before Kendal
Castleberry sparked a comeback that narrowed the margin to
43-42 at halftime.

Debiasie Mendoza and Zane Rhyne picked up some of the
scoring for Balmorhea in the third period, as the Bears'
outside shooting cooled off. The two combined for seven
straight points off lay-ups and foul shots after Albert
Hernandez' 3-pointer tied the score at 46-all.

Again, Eden rallied just before the period ended, as
Castleberry, Waggoner and Justin Watkins led the Bulldogs
back to within one, at 58-57, as the quarter ended.

Watkins, who led Eden with 22 points, then put the Bulldogs
ahead with a pair of lay-ups, and was fouled by Arturo
Miranda on the second. His three-point left the Bears in a
62-58 hole, and Balmorhea was unable to take advantage of a
technical foul called on Hernandez moments later.

Balmorhea got just one point off the play, and Waggoner
responded with another 3-pointer to widen the lead to 67-61
midway through the final period.

The Bears also had problems with their lay-ups in the
fourth quarter, and were down nine, 72-63, with 1:18 left,
when they made one final run. Debiasie Mendoza scored and
was fouled, converting from the foul line to cut the lead to
six, and Rhyne then scored off a missed Castillo foul shot,
narrowing the gap to four with 50 seconds left.

But that was as close as the Bears would get. Castleberry
and Mendoza traded points, and then after an Eden free
throw, Mendoza missed a pair of shots with about 15 seconds
left, clinching the victory for the Bulldogs.

Debiasie Mendoza led the Bears with 22 points, as Balmorhea
ended its season with a 24-3 season record, while
Castleberry also hit the 20-point mark for Eden, finishing
with 21.

EDEN (75)
Watkins 9 4-5 22; Rodriguez 0 0-0 0; Rodgers 2 0-2 4;
Waggoner 5 4-4 18; Hernandez 1 0-0 3; Castleberry 10 1-2 21;
Marks 2 0-0 6; Esamilla 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 9-13 75.

BALMORHEA (70)
Miranda 4 0-0 9; M. Mendoza 5 3-3 15; D. Mendoza 8 6-8 22;
Castillo 5 0-1 13; Rhyne 4 3-6 11; Lozano 0 0-0 0; Rodriguez
0 0-0 0. Totals 26 12-18 70.

Eden 25 18 14 18 --75
Balmorhea 27 17 14 12 --70
Three-point goals: Eden 7 (Waggoner 4, Marks 2, Hernandez),
Balmorhea 6 (Castillo 3, M. Mendoza 2, Miranda). Technical
foul: Eden, Hernandez. Fouled out: Balmorhea, Miranda.
Total fouls: Eden 17, Balmorhea 16.

District approves weekend trips for Eagles


PECOS, March 4 -- Pecos-Barstow-Toyah school officials got
most of what they were hoping for from Monday's meeting in
Clint of members from the new District 2-4A, which means the
Pecos Eagles' athletic teams won't have to worry about many
mid-week trips to El Paso.

District administrators approved schedules that will send
Pecos to the El Paso area mostly on Fridays and Saturdays in
basketball, baseball, volleyball and softball, and also
agreed to allow Pecos' two district road football games in
October to start at 7:30 p.m. CDT, an hour earlier than
normal for El Paso-area schools.

P-B-T officials had sought the weekend road games so that
students participating in several extracirricular events
wouldn't be affected by state attendance rules, which allow
only 10 missed class days for school activities.

The only sports that will face long trips during the week
are softball and baseball, both of which already have long
mid-week trips under this year's District 4-4A schedules.
The girls' softball team will make one Tuesday trip next
season, to San Elizario, while the boys' baseball team will
travel twice on Tuesdays, to Canutillo and Fabens.

"Volleyball and basketball all got theirs on Friday but the
last part of it (the school year), softball and baseball,
didn't work out," said Pecos Eagles' athletic director Bubba
Williams, whose team will have back-to-back Tuesday trips to
Sweetwater and San Angelo Lake View later this month.

The Eagles' football team will play three of their five
2-4A games at home in 1998, starting with their Oct. 9
district opener against Fabens, whom the Eagles have played
for the past four seasons. Their two road games are an Oct.
16 trip to El Paso Mountain View and a visit to Canutillo on
Oct. 30. In-between, Pecos hosts Clint, and closes regular
season play against San Elizario.

Fabens is also the Eagles' home and district opener in
volleyball, on Sept. 22. Pecos will also keep the current
format of girls and boys playing at home or on the road the
same night for most of the 2-4A basketball season, with the
exception of the first two games of the girls' district
schedule and the final two of the season for the boys.

Girls' play opens at Mountain View on Jan. 8, and closes on
Feb. 9 at home against San Elizario. The boys host Fabens in
their 2-4A opener on Jan. 15, then end on Feb. 16 at Clint.

Eagles' softball opener moved to Thursday


PECOS, March 4 -- The Pecos Eagles' softball team will get
to play their first-ever home game this week after all,
coach Tammy Walls said Wednesday.

The Eagles had been scheduled to play their first home game
on Tuesday against the Fort Stockton Prowlers, but the game
was canceled due to TAAS testing. Walls said at the time the
Eagles' next game wouldn't be until next Tuesday, when Pecos
goes to Kermit, but that was later changed, and Pecos will
face Fort Stockton at 5 p.m. Thursday in junior varsity and
varsity games at the men's softball field in Maxey Park.

The Eagles were scheduled to play their home games this
season at Martinez Field, but Walls said since lights have
yet to be installed, the Eagles can't play both JV and
varsity games there before sunset.

The Pecos Little League will hold a meeting for coaches and
managers this Friday at 7 p.m. at the Texas-New Mexico Power
Co.'s Reddy Room on Stafford Boulevard, according to league
president Tony Aguilar.

All coaches and managers from 1997 must attend the meeting
in order to retain their teams, Aguilar said. Coaches also
are needed to fill vacancies in the `A', `B' and `C'
divisions, he added.

The league also needs volunteers to help with Saturday's
registration effort at the Wal-Mart parking lot. Boys and
girls ages 8-12 can sign up beginning at 11 a.m., and
hamburgers will also be sold to help raise funds for the
league.

Doby's wait for Hall of Fame spot finally over


TAMPA, Fla., March 4 (AP) -- Larry Doby did not want to be
disappointed again.

The last two years, he traveled to Tampa and sat in a nearby
hotel room as the Veterans Committee voted new members into
the baseball Hall of Fame, hoping and waiting for word that
never came.

So this time, he stayed away. In fact, he was far away in
Southern California, sipping a cup of tea with his wife
when, at last, Cooperstown came calling.

Doby, the first black player in the American League, and
former AL president Lee MacPhail were elected Tuesday, along
with Negro leagues star ``Bullet'' Joe Rogan and
turn-of-the-century shortstop ``Gorgeous'' George Davis.

``It's a feeling of struggle in the past. It's a feeling of
a certain amount of relief,'' Doby said. ``It's a great
feeling.''

The 13-man Veterans panel did not release its vote totals,
though one committee member said Doby was an easy choice.

Doby did not always have it so simple.

On July 5, 1947, just 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson broke
baseball's color barrier, Doby joined the Cleveland Indians.
Though he would go on to hit .283 with 253 home runs and 969
RBIs in a big league career that lasted through 1959, his
initial locker room reception was icy.

``Very tough,'' Doby recalled. ``I'd never faced any
circumstances like that. Teammates were lined up and some
would greet you and some wouldn't. You could deal with it,
but it was hard.''

Doby, a seven-time All-Star outfielder, later became the
second black manager in the majors, following Frank
Robinson. A few years ago, he was appointed a special
assistant to AL president Gene Budig.

``You look back 51 years ago and you never thought this type
of situation would come about,'' Doby said from the West
Coast, where he was visiting former Brooklyn pitcher Don
Newcombe.

Doby, 73 and undergoing chemotherapy for a cancerous kidney
that was removed in October, plans to be in Cooperstown,
N.Y., on July 26 for the induction weekend.

MacPhail, 80, remembered attending the Hall ceremonies in
1978 when his father, Larry, was enshrined. Now, the
MacPhails are the first father-son tandem to be so honored.

MacPhail was general manager of the New York Yankees and
Baltimore Orioles. He served as AL president from 1974-83,
creating his biggest controversy when he overruled the
umpires and allowed George Brett's ``pine-tar'' home run to
stand.

MacPhail's father was president of the Yankees and Dodgers.
His son, Andy, is president of the Chicago Cubs, and two
other sons were involved in the game. His grandson, also
named Lee, is scouting director for the Cleveland Indians --
making them a four-generation baseball clan.

``Baseball has been great to our entire family,'' the elder
MacPhail said from Delray Beach, Fla. ``Obviously, this is a
tremendous feeling. It's a culmination of a lot of years.''

Rogan, who died in 1967, pitched and played infield and
outfield for the Kansas City Monarchs from 1920 to 1938. He
had a 113-45 record as a pitcher and a .343 lifetime batting
average.

Davis, who died in 1940, played from 1890-1909 and batted
.295 with 2,667 hits and 1,435 RBIs. In the 1906 World
Series, he led the Chicago White Sox with six RBIs in 13
at-bats in their win over the Cubs.

Longtime Dodgers pitcher Don Sutton also will be enshrined
this summer after being elected by the Baseball Writers
Association of America in January.

Former manager Dick Williams, former commissioner Bowie Kuhn
and former players Bill Mazeroski, Dom DiMaggio and Orlando
Cepeda also were considered by the Veterans. Pee Wee Reese,
a member of the committee, did not attend the 4½-hour
meeting because of bad knees.

Williams, an adviser for the Yankees, was attending the
Indians-Tampa Bay exhibition game in nearby St. Petersburg
and was told the voting involving him and MacPhail was
tight.

``It was a close race, and in the end he beat me. I'm happy
for him. He's a great man ... certainly deserving,''
Williams said. ``But there's always next year. I hope.''

The Veterans panel could pick one person from each of four
categories -- former major leaguers, Negro leaguers, 19th
century players and a composite category of managers, Negro
leaguers, executives and umpires.

It took 75 percent for election, meaning at least 10 of 13
votes. Yogi Berra, a member of the panel along with Ted
Williams and Stan Musial, played against Doby and played
under MacPhail.

``Larry Doby could do everything -- hit, run, field and
throw,'' Berra said. ``Lee MacPhail was a tough man to do a
contract with.''



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Pecos Enterprise
Mac McKinnon, Publisher
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324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net

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Copyright 1998 by Pecos Enterprise