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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
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Sports

Wednesday, February 17, 1999

Wildcats have too many `horses' for Bears


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Feb. 15 -- "Out-athleted" was the term Balmorhea
Bears' coach Ennis Erickson came up with to describe
Tuesday's 85-30 loss to the Wink Wildcats, and that pretty
much explained it.

Wink had too much horsepower, especially at the post and
forward spots, for the Bears to slow down during their
bi-district playoff game Tuesday at the Pecos High School
gym. The Wildcats scored the first eight points of the game,
had 31 by the end of the first quarter and held the Bears
without a field goal for the first 14:15 of the game.

"They just had more athletic ability than we had," Erickson
said. "A lot of times when one team is real tall you can
offset somebody else's height with quickness, but we're not
really that quick a team, and when you don't have quickness,
you are in trouble."

The Bears defense focused on stopped senior post Jess Ann
Fernandes in the first half, and while she did score 19
points, most of that was in the second half. However,
Fernandes was helped out inside by Jennifer Hawkins, who
scored several times off passes from Fernandes as well as on
second- or third-chance efforts and finished with a
game-high 26 points.

Wink's full-court press also created a lot of easy baskets
in the opening period. "We had too many turnovers," Erickson
said. "After a while you're just fighting an uphill battle.
We'd get the ball back and then just turn it over. We were
not taking care of the ball the way we should."

The Bears had a couple of highlights in the game. Sophomore
Terri Hernandez had Balmorhea's only two points of the first
period from the foul line, and finished 10-for-10 on free
throws as part of a 12-point night. Amanda Lozano got the
Bears' first basket of the game, a 3-pointer with 1:45 left
in the half, then hit three quick baskets to open the third
period and finished with nine points.

The Bears trailed 31-2 after the opening period but did
better in the final periods when Wink pulled back from the
full court press. The Bears were outscored 14-8 and 20-10 in
the third and fourth periods.

The Bears' first playoff game in three years ended their
season with a 10-11 record, while Wink improved to 20-4
going into their area round game against Garden City on
Friday night.

Balmorhea's boys, meanwhile, will play their bi-district
game next Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Alpine against District 2-A
runner-up Fort Hancock. Erickson said the Bears may have a
pre-playoff practice game this Friday against Comstock, if a
site can be located.

WINK (85)
Fernandes 9 1-1 19; Harbin 1 0-0 2; Slaughter 6 0-0 12;
Tinkler 2 0-0 4; Hawkins 10 6-8 26; Abila 1 0-1 2; Thomas 3
0-0 6; Wolf 2 1-2 5; Bryan 3 4-4 10. Totals 37 12-16 85.

BALMORHEA (30)
Dutchover 0 1-2 1; Lozano 4 0-2 9; Hernandez 1 10-10 12;
Rodriguez 0 1-4 1; A. Garcia 1 1-4 3; R. Arredondo 1 0-0 2;
Dominguez 1 0-0 2; Gomez 0 0-0 0; Carrasco 0 0-0 0; Apodaca
0 0-0 0; A. Arredondo 0 0-0 0; C. Garcia 0 0-0 0; Quinonez 0
0-0 0. Totals 8 13-22 30.

Wink 31 14 20 20 --85
Balmorhea 2 8 10 10 --30

Three-point goals: Balmorhea 1 (Lozano). Fouled out:
Balmolrhea, A. Garica. Total fouls: Wink 17, Balmorhea
15.

Eagles' hitters zipped by Jackets


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Feb. 15 -- There were some things the Pecos Eagles
softball team did in the opening game of their second
varsity season, that they never could have done a year ago.

But there were some other things the Eagles did in their
opening game against the Kermit Yellowjackets that were a
lot like last year, and the result was a four-inning, 13-0
victory by the Jackets over the Eagles at Martinez Field
Tuesday afternoon.

Amanda Soltero no-hit Pecos in the four-inning game,
allowing just one baserunner, while Pecos allowed 10
unearned runs due to errors, though the defense was actually
much better than in their inaugural season in 1998.

"We didn't get a hit, so we've got some work to do on our
hitting," said Eagles' coach Tammy Walls. Soltero allowed
just a second inning walk to Alexa Marquez, then saved her
no hitter by spearing Katrina Quiroz' line drive back to the
mound to end the game.

Still, while the errors were there, the Eagles had a better
grasp of the game, something that was a problem for most of
last season.

"I saw some positive things. Katrina did a good job at
shortstop, but we had three errors at first base that cost
us four runs," Walls said.

Amy Chabarria dropped a throw from catcher Rebecca Wein on
a passed ball strikeout of Amanda Fierro to lead off the
game. Quiroz threw out Kim Roberts on a grounder to short,
but after a walk to Lesa Monroe, Arelena Saucedo singled to
left to score Fierro for a 1-0 lead. Quiroz then threw
Soltero out on another grounder to short, but Saucedo went
from first to third on the play and scored when Valerie
Gonzales couldn't handle a high throw to third.

In the second, Rachel Warnick tripled to open the inning
and scored when Marquez threw away a grounder back to the
mound by Sue Winkler. Gonzales threw out Isabel Muniz on a
grounder, but Winkler came home on the play, and Kermit
would added two more runs in the inning off singles by
Monroe and Saucedo and an error by Gonzales on a Roberts
grounder.

In-between, the Eagles did throw Roberts out at home trying
to score on a double-steal, and she would get caught again
in the fourth by Wein trying to steal third.

Marquez worked the first two innings on the mound, then was
replaced by Ashley Salcido, who allowed three runs in the
third, all unearned on a walk, two singles and two errors.
Kermit got their final runs in the fourth when Salcido
walked the bases loaded with none out. Marquez came on and
retired the side, but not before the final runs scored off a
wild pitch, a grounder back to the mound and a double steal
of second and home.

"Rebecca did a great job at catcher. She would have throw a
couple more people out but Katrina was slow getting over,"
Walls said. "Alexa did a good job with only four days of
practice. She doesn't have much speed right now, but she's
accurate."

Walls said Kermit also won Tuesday's junior varsity season
opener, by a 12-3 final score. Pecos has another home game
this week, on Friday when they host Lamesa in a 4 p.m. start.

KERMIT PECOS

ab r h bi ab r h bi
Fierro lf 4 3 2 1 Payen cf 1 0 0 0
Roberts c 3 0 0 0 Uptrgrve rf 1 0 0 0
Monroe 2b 2 2 1 1 Chabria 1b 1 0 0 0
Saucedo cf 3 1 2 2 Lujan 1b 1 0 0 0
Am.Sltro p 3 0 1 0 Gnzales 3b 2 0 0 0
Looney ss 1 2 0 0 Quiroz ss 2 0 0 0
Warnick 3b 2 1 1 0 Wein c 1 0 0 0
Winkler 1b 1 2 0 1 Marquez p 0 0 0 0
Gallegos 1b 0 1 0 0 Salcido p 0 0 0 0
Munoz rf 2 1 1 1 Archulta 2b 1 0 0 0
Ad.Sltro rf 1 0 0 0 Rodrguez lf 0 0 0 0
Mdrno lf-2b 1 0 0 0
Mldndo rf-cf 1 0 0 0
Totals 22 13 8 6 Totals 12 0 0 0

Kermit 3 4 3 3 --13
Pecos 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Game ended in fourth under 10-run rule
E -- Chabarria, Gonzales 2, Medrano, Lujan. LOB -- Kermit 4,
Pecos 1. 3B -- Warnick SB -- Fierro, Monroe, Roberts 2,
Marquez, Warnick, Gallegos. CS -- Roberts 2.

IP H R ER BB KO
Kermit
Am. Soltero W, 1-0 4 0 0 0 1 4
Pecos
Marquez, L 0-1 2 6 7 1 1 1
Salcido 1 2 6 4 0 4
Marquez 1 0 0 0 2 1
Salcido pitched to three batters in the fourth. Marquez
returned to pitcher in the fourth.
WP -- Marquez, Salicdo 2.
PB -- Wein.
T -- 1:02.

Eagles' offense ends season too soon


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Feb. 15 -- The timing was a little different Tuesday
night, but the problem was the same for the Pecos Eagles, in
their final game of the 1998-99 basketball season.

Pecos offense shut down in the second half of their game
with the Canutillo Eagles, turning what was a 20-19 halftime
deficit into a 48-33 loss at the Pecos High School gym.

Last month, the Eagles trailed 20-19 after 1½ quarters in
Canutillo, but could manage just 18 points the rest of the
way in a 54-37 defeat. Tuesday night, Pecos still had a
chance as the fourth quarter began, when Fernando Navarette
hit a lay-up that cut the lead to 31-28. However, the next
basket for Pecos wouldn't come until Frank Perea had a
3-pointer with 54 seconds to go, and by then Canutillo had
scored 15 straight points to clinch the victory.

"Those streaks are ever coach's worst enemy. When you only
score 33 points, it's real hard to win ballgames," said
Eagles' coach Mike Sadler.

Scoring has been a season-long problem for Pecos and got
worse after the Eagles lost guard Oscar Luna two games into
the district schedule. On Tuesday, the Eagles stayed close
until post Mark Marquez lost his shooting touch in the
second half, leaving the double-teamed Navarette as the
Eagles' lone offensive weapon on the court.

"Mark couldn't buy a basket and Frank's shot hasn't been
falling for the last couple of games," Sadler said. "Then
they double-teamed Fern and that was the result."

Pecos did a better job defensively on Canutillo's Chris
Grant, holding him without a 3-point basket. But Grant had
six of his eight points in the visiting Eagles' 15-0 run,
and guard Rene Nunez took up the slack in the third period
with a series of short jumpers, after two foul shots by
Navarette to open the quarter gave Pecos its last lead, at
21-20.

Pecos wouldn't score again for five minutes, until a
3-pointer by Hector Garcia, but the Eagles held Canutillo to
just eight points in that period, and a basket by Navarette
followed, cutting the lead back to two.

In the first half, the teams traded baskets. Marquez gave
Pecos an early 2-0 lead with a lay-up, and had two more to
open the second quarter, giving the Eagles another two-point
lead, at 12-10. Nunez and Richard Gutierrez would combine to
give Canutillo a 20-15 lead late in the half, before a foul
shot by Marquez and a 3-pointer by Julian Orona cut the lead
back to 20-19.

Navarette led Pecos with 14 while Marquez had seven for the
Eagles, all in the first half. Nunez had 10 points and Grant
and Cuevas added eight apiece for Canutillo. The loss kept
Pecos from tying Canutillo for fourth in the final District
2-4A standings. They finished with a 2-8 record, 10-19 on
the season, while Canutillo ended up 4-6 and 10-15 overall.

Canutillo also won Tuesday's season-ending junior varsity
game over Pecos, by a 62-54 final score.

CANUTILLO (48)
DeAnda 0 0-1 0; Nunez 5 0-0 10; Cuevas 2 3-6 8; Grant 4 0-0
8; Re. Gutierrez 1 0-0 2; Ruvacalva 1 0-0 2; Ri. Gutierrez 3
0-0 6; Villalobos 0 2-4 2; Ortega 1 1-2 3; Castanon 1 0-0 2.
Totals 20 7-17 48.

PECOS (33)
H. Garcia 1 0-0 3; Herrera 0 0-0 0; Perea 2 0-0 6; Weidner 0
0-0 0; Navarette 6 2-3 14; Marquez 3 1-6 7; Matta 0 0-0 0;
S. Garcia 0 0-0 0; A. Garcia 0 0-0 0; Natividad 0 0-0 0;
Orona 1 0-0 3. Totals 13 3-9 33.

Canutillo 12 8 11 17 --48
Pecos 10 9 7 7 --33
Three-point goals: Canutillo 1 (Cuevas), Pecos 4 (Perea 2,
Orona, H. Garcia). Fouled out: None. Total fouls: Canutillo
11, Pecos 12.

Shorthanded Eagles 7th at Burges tourney


PECOS, Feb. 15 -- The Pecos Eagles' tennis team played a
different format for their first tournament of the 199
Spring season, but without several of their players this
past weekend in El Paso they had some problems at the Burges
Pro-Team Tennis Tournament.

The Eagles finished seventh out of the eight teams entered
at the tournament, but coach Bernadette Ornelas "We were
playing with only half a team. Most of my boys were out due
to other commitments,"

Anthony Casillas and Sonny Celaya were the only boys to
make the trip, and the tournament format required at least
three players on each side. As a result, the Eagles had to
forfeit a boys doubles match in each of their seven games.

"They played pro-set in boys and girls singles and doubles
and mixed doubles, and whoever won three of the five matches
won overall," Ornelas said.

Pecos went 1-6 in the tournament, beating only El Paso
Bowie, but were beaten by El Paso Socorro and Yelsta due to
the forfeited match, and fell by 4-1 scores to Fort
Stockton, which won the tournament title, El Paso Burges and
District 2-4A rivals Clint and Mountain View.

While the boys have provided the bulk of Pecos' wins this
season, the Eagle girls had more victories overall in the
tournament.

Lorrie Minjarez won her singles match against Bowie, while
Vanessa Miranda and Rachel Pharoah won in doubles, and
Teresa Minjarez and Celaya won the mixed doubles match. The
two also won their match in the 3-2 loss to Socorro, while
Pharoah and Tiffany Jarrett won in girls doubles, and ther
same two teams also won against Ysleta.

In the 4-1 losses, Teresa Minjarez got the only victory, in
girls singles play, against Burges and Fort Stockton, while
Lorrie Minjarez and Miranda won in doubles play against
Mountain View and Casillas got the boys' only singles'
victory, in the loss to Clint.

Despite the losses, Ornelas was happy with the tournament.
"We played each team for about two hours. It was a pretty
neat setup."

With the end of the Fall-Winter sports season this week,
Ornelas will get most of her players out by the end of this
week. However, she said other UIL extracurricular conflicts
may keep the Eagles shorthanded for their next tournament,
on Feb. 26-27 at the Odessa Invitational.

Jeter gets first player arbitration win


NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (AP) -- Derek Jeter's surprising
arbitration case is barely over, and already baseball people
are looking ahead.

After just three more seasons, he'll be eligible for free
agency. Presumably, the Yankees would like to sign the
All-Star shortstop to a multiyear deal.

``The ball's in their court,'' Jeter's agent, Casey Close,
said Tuesday after his client won a $5 million salary.
``It's an organization that has the resources and the
opportunity to do something special for a special player.
They've rolled those dice before and found out what happened
with Bernie.''

Before this week, Bernie Williams was the last Yankee to go
to arbitration, winning his case for a $3 million salary in
1996. Williams rejected several multiyear offers that he
deemed too low, went year by year and became a free agent
last fall.

He nearly signed with the Boston Red Sox, citing the way he
felt the Yankees treated him, and stayed with New York only
after owner George Steinbrenner, in the final hours of
talks, increased his offer from $50 million for five years
to $87.5 million for seven.

Jeter, eligible for arbitration for the first time, made
$750,000 last year and turned down the Yankees' offer to
settle for $3.5 million, $300,000 above their arbitration
figure.

He can become a free agent after the 2001 season, but the
Yankees haven't made any proposals for a long-term deal
since he rejected a $31 million, five-year offer last year.
Owners won the first five hearings this year, defeating
Montreal infielder Shane Andrews, Boston outfielder Midre
Cummings, Kansas City outfielder Johnny Damon, Los Angeles
shortstop Mark Grudzielanek and Detroit outfielder Brian
Hunter.

New York Mets reliever Armando Benitez, scheduled for a
hearing Tuesday, instead settled for a one-year contract
worth $1,987,500.



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Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
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324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
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