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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Tuesday, July 21, 1998
Juniors capture title with wild 4-3 finish
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 21 -- Rory Weatherford forgot how many outs
there were in the fifth inning, but that didn't hurt the San
Angelo Northern pitcher. However, when catcher Eric Rivas
forgot in the bottom of the seventh inning, it was fatal for
Northern, but gave the Pecos Junior League All-Stars the
District 4 Tournament title for the second year in a row.
Weatherford rolled the ball back to the mound after catching
Joey Ortega's one out pop up with Barney Rodriguez on second
base in the fifth inning. But Rodriguez was unable to move
up to third base before shortstop Matthew Rainey scrambled
to get the ball, and Weatherford then got Freddie Torres on
a bouncer to shortstop to retire the side.
But in the seventh, after Pecos had rallied from a 3-1
deficit to tie the score on a wild pitch with two away,
Rivas forgot the out count as Tony Aguilar struck out on a
curve ball that bounced past the catcher and towards the
backstop.
Aguilar was late getting out of the batter's box, and when
Rivas retrieved the ball, he still had a chance at throwing
him out at first. But with Torres heading down the line from
third base to home plate, Rivas threw there, surprising
Weatherford, who was 15 feet away from the plate and
expecting a throw to first.
The ball bounded towards the left of the pitcher's mound as
Torres came home and Levario reached first, giving Pecos a
4-3 victory.
"Whoever wants it the most was going to win," said coach
Timmy Garcia. "We played hard, but we just didn't hit the
ball like we can most of the night."
It was the second game in a row the Junior Leaguers saw a
one-run lead disappear in the top of the seventh inning,
only to come back to win it in their last at bat. On Friday,
San Angelo Western tied the game at 3-all with a two out
bloop single, only to see a Barney Rodriguez single and
three wild pitches give Pecos a 4-3 win.
This time, Pecos not only lost a 1-0 lead in the seventh,
they fell behind 3-1 when Jimmy Rivas doubled to
right-center field off reliever Matthew Levario, after
Rainey's one out single off starter Robbie Ontiveros tied
the game at 1-1.
Rivas' double was the first extra-base hit of the game, but
in the bottom of the seventh Ontiveros changed that,
doubling over the head of left fielder Luke Horton with one
out.
Horton then made a running catch of Levario's foul fly ball,
but Rodriguez followed by hitting another one over Horton's
head, this one a ground rule double that cut the lead to
3-2. Ortega then moved Rodriguez to third base with a ground
out to second, and Weatherford's first pitch to Torres
bounced past Rivas to the fence, allowing Rodriguez to score.
Weatherford would them hit Torres with a 3-2 pitch, and he
would steal second and go to third on a wild pitch, before
the third strike passed ball and the bizarre finish.
Pecos' first run, in the third inning, was also a little
different. After singles by Ontiveros and Levario put
runners on the corners with none out, Levario broke for
second base as Weatherford tried to pick Ontiveros off
third. Andrew Contreras threw to second trying for Levario
as Ontiveros broke for home, beating the throw from Jimmy
Rivas to Eric Rivas.
However, even with that run, the inning was one of several
with missed scoring chances for Pecos. Rodriguez was hit by
a pitch after the double-steal, but Ortega then managed to
have the ball hit his bat twice while ducking out of the way
of pitches. Rivas caught the second, just behind home plate,
then threw out Levario trying to steal third.
Pecos had runners in scoring position in every inning but
the sixth, while San Angelo also blew several chances before
the seventh inning. Their best opportunity came in the fifth
when a single by Horton and an error by Levario at shortstop
put runners on second and third with none out. But Ontiveros
came back to strike out Contreras and Simon Alejandro, then
got Rainey to bounce to Aguilar at third base, retiring the
side.
"Defensively, we did a good job," Garcia said. "We got out
of a lot of jams with our defense and he (Ornelas) helped us
out, then when they went on top, 3-1, we never gave up."
The win sends Pecos into the sub-sectional tournament,
starting on Friday. It was originally announced for Midland,
but will actually be at the Roy Anderson Sports Complex in
Big Spring starting on Thursday. The Junior Leaguers drew a
first round bye and will face the winner of Thursday's game,
at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
The members of this year's Junior League squad finished
second in District 4 play as Little Leaguers a year ago.
This year's Little League team won twice at San Angelo
Northern over the weekend to advance to the sub-sectional
tournament, beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday against the
Amarillo-area (District 1) representative at the Wadley Ave.
Little League complex in Midland.
Meanwhile, Pecos' 9-10 year old team, which advanced to the
Lubbock sub-sectionals on Friday, will also face the
District 1 representative in their first game, set for 8
p.m. Wednesday.
Guidelines issued to Eagles' gridders
PECOS, July 21 -- The Pecos Eagles will have a new head
coach and will be in a new district when the 1998 football
season opens in September, and coach Dan Swaim on Monday
released a new list of rules for players on the 1998
varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams.
Two-a-day practices will begin for the Eagles at 7 a.m. on
Wednesday, Aug. 5, with the varsity players reporting to the
Pecos High School field house while freshman and JV players
go to the old PHS gym.
Swaim, who served as an assistant coach to Mike Belew the
past two seasons, was named the new head coach last January,
and sent out a 12-item list of rules for the players this
season. Along with being on time, maintaining passing grades
and keeping locker room facilities clean, they also inform
players that those who miss one practice prior to a game
will not start, and those who miss two will not suit up
and/or travel to games.
Pecos has had problems in recent years with players cutting
practice, and the list urges this year's group to be
dedicated and committed to the program. A third of the
varsity Eagle squad skipped workouts prior to last season's
District 4-4A opener, and Pecos saw a 4-1 start turn into a
4-6 finish.
Players were also told no piercings of any kind or tape to
cover them will be allowed. They should do nothing to
embarrass the Pecos Eagle football program and will be held
accountable for their actions.
Other items include:
-- Respect coaches, teammates and teachers;
-- Wear school-issued equipment;
-- All equipment stays at school;
After 18 years as a member of the old District 4-4A, the
Eagles will play in District 2-4A this season, swapping
Andrews, Sweetwater, Big Spring, San Angelo Lake View and
Fort Stockton for El Paso Mountain View, Clint, Fabens,
Canutillo and San Elizario. Pecos plays their first
scrimmage game on Aug. 20 against Monahans, and open regular
season play on Sept. 5 against Denver City at Ratliff
Stadium in Odessa.
Yankees split `tripleheader' with Tigers
By BEN WALKER
AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK, July 21 -- The schedule called for a
doubleheader. Still, the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees
felt like they'd played a tripleheader.
It took 26 innings, 770 pitches and more than nine hours
from start to finish Monday night. And when it was all done,
the Tigers and Yankees were all even.
They split, with Detroit winning the opener 4-3 in 17
innings and New York coming back for a 4-3 victory in a
second game that truly was a nightcap.
``We should get a good night's sleep after this one,'' said
Yankees outfielder Paul O'Neill, who played every inning.
The final out came at 12:17 a.m. CDT, long after games at
Los Angeles and San Francisco had ended. Because the Tigers
were making their final trip to Yankee Stadium, the AL
curfew of 1 a.m. was waived.
``It would've been nice to have dealt with that first game a
little longer,'' Tigers manager Buddy Bell said. ``But you
move on. It's a long season.''
Playing on a muggy night with a temperature in the 80s, Joe
Randa's RBI single with two outs in the 17th ended the
longest game for both teams since 1988. It took 5 hours, 50
minutes and was the lengthiest game in the majors this
season, one more minute than Toronto and Baltimore took on
June 19.
The second game was played in a relatively brisk 2:45. Then
again, the whole evening lasted too long for Tigers leadoff
man Brian Hunter.
Hunter went 0-for-13 in the two games, making the first and
last outs of the marathon session. He broke the major league
mark for most at-bats without a hit in a doubleheader --
Washington's Bob Saverine was the last to go 12 back in
1966.
In the only other AL game, Cleveland beat Chicago 5-4.
Only a few thousand fans were in the stands when the
doubleheader began at 4:06 p.m. Many fans from the announced
crowd of 36,285 were already gone by the time the second
game started at 10:32 p.m.
Not since Sept. 11, 1988, when the Yankees beat Detroit 5-4
in 18 innings, had either club played so long. This game
matched the longest in innings this year in the majors --
Toronto and Florida needed 17 innings on June 8 and San
Francisco and St. Louis took 17 on May 24.
The Yankees had plenty of chances, leaving 22 runners on
base. They left the bases loaded in the eighth, 10th, 12th
and 15th, and were hitless in their last 16 at-bats with
runners in scoring position.
``How many guys did we leave on base, 326?'' Yankees manager
Joe Torre said.
Both teams ran through their entire bullpens. Detroit
employed 20 players overall and the Yankees used 18.
``I told the guys that if the game lasted until midnight,
they were all eligible again,'' Torre said. ``A couple of
them bit on it.''
Toward the end of that marathon, even the stadium staff
seemed fatigued. When A.J. Sager relieved for Detroit in the
16th, the scoreboard flashed ``Now Pitching -- Armando
Benitez'' -- a mistaken reference to the Baltimore pitcher.
Yankees relievers had retired 15 straight batters before
Luis Gonzalez singled with one out in the 17th. Paul Bako
singled with two outs and Randa singled to center.
Sager (3-1), the eighth Tigers pitcher, was the winner a day
after being called back up from the minors.
``Sag was just going to go forever, no matter how long it
lasted,'' Bell said.
Bako, a rookie, took over at catcher in the fifth inning
when Raul Casanova injured his hamstring. Bako wound up
catching 21 innings.
``Maybe he was just going on fumes,'' Bell said. ``The kid
showed everybody something tonight.''
Darren Holmes (0-3), the seventh Yankees pitcher, took the
loss.
In the second game, Hideki Irabu (9-3) beat the
Tigers for the third time this season. He left after Bobby
Higginson's two-run homer into the upper deck in right in
the eighth inning, and Mariano Rivera got his 25th save.
Derek Jeter hit an RBI single in the third off Bryce Florie
(5-4) and the Yankees scored three times in the fourth.
``We just had one bad inning. That's not bad out of
20-whatever,'' Bell said.
Jeter went 6-for-12 for the day and rookie Homer Bush had a
career-high three hits in the second game.
O'Brien has good time at Goodwill Games
UNIONDALE, N.Y., July 21 (AP) -- Don't mess with Dan
O'Brien's all-around skills. And don't mess with Marion
Jones' psyche.
O'Brien, competing in the decathlon for the first time
since winning the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics, showed
he's still the world's greatest athlete, winning the
two-day, 10-event competition Monday night in the Goodwill
Games.
Jones, motivated by trash-talking by fellow sprinters, ran
away with the women's 200 meters in 21.80 seconds, the
fastest time in the world this year and a Games' record.
Sunday night, she won the 100 in 10.90, also a meet record.
O'Brien finished with 8,755 points, a meet record and the
best score in the world this year. He was on world record
pace going into the final event, the 1,500. He needed to run
4:45.92 to break his mark of 8,891 points, but after
competing in hot, humid and windy conditions, he ran
5:08.77.
``I haven't done quite enough work in that event,'' O'Brien
said. ``I had the wind in the 1,500, I didn't have the legs.
If I can improve on the 1,500, I can break the world record.
``I would like to go out in style in the 2000 Olympics with
the record.''
Still, coming off the long injury enforced layoff, the
32-year-old O'Brien was sensational. If not for running into
the wind in the 100 and tiring in the 400 Sunday, and
running his usual methodical race in the 1,500 -- an event
he despises -- his score would have been considerably
higher.
``I was impressed with the way Dan has come back after two
years,'' said Dwight Stones, the former American
record-holder in the high jump who is now a television
commentator. ``If he can come back from this layoff, he
still has a world record in his future.
``Dan O'Brien is far from dead.''
Jones, meanwhile, has been extremely sharp.
The 200 was her 24th final this year in six events -- the
100, 200, 400, 400 relay, the long jump and the indoor 60 --
and her 24th victory.
She was in such command coming down the stretch that she
was able to ease up. Still, she won by six meters.
``I was tired,'' Jones said. ``I didn't consciously shut
down.''
Pecos Enterprise
Mac McKinnon, 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
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Copyright 1998 by Pecos Enterprise
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