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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Tuesday, March 15, 1999
Eagles unarmed against Pirates
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
SNYDER, Mar. 15 -- Five games in three days was apparently
one too many for the Pecos Eagles' pitching staff to handle
over the weekend.
But for Eagle fans braving the cold and wind at Moffett
Field in Snyder on Saturday, Pecos' fifth game pitching
problems at least gave Mason Abila a chance to bat.
The freshman, a late-game substitution, provided some
consolation by homering in his first varsity at-bat, just to
the right of the 376 foot sign in center field, off Lubbock
Cooper pitcher Matt Daniel. But by the time his shot cleared
the fence the game was long gone, as the Pirates routed
Pecos, 23-7 in the third place game of the Snyder
Tournament.
Abila was one of several junior varsity players brought up
for the three-day tournament. On Friday, sophomore Pifi
Montoya allowed just five hits and one earned run in his
first varsity start, as the Eagles defeated the West Trojans
by a 10-5 final score. However on Saturday, senior Louis
Valencia continued his early season struggles on the mound,
but had to relief the reliever in the fourth inning, after
freshman Capi Magana was knocked around by the Pirates in
his first varsity game.
"We just ran out of pitching. When you've got to put a
freshman in to pitch and get the senior out you're in bad
shape," said Williams, who had used Montoya, Oscar Rodriguez
and Joshua Casillas each in two of Pecos' first three
tournament games.
Casillas picked up two wins on the opening day of the
tournament and Montoya got his first victory while striking
out nine against West on Friday. But it's Valencia's
problems and the Eagles continued struggles on defense that
are Williams' main concerns coming out of the tournament.
Four of West's five runs off Montoya were unearned, though
the Trojans had even more problems on defense than the
Eagles did Friday. But on Saturday, 18 of the 23 runs Pecos
allowed were unearned, eight in the second inning after the
Eagles had taken a 2-0 lead.
Oscar Luna scored on a wild pitch and Casillas hit his
fifth homer of the tournament, and sixth overall, to give
Pecos their lead before the roof fell in. Dustin Welch
doubled to open the inning and Gabriel Martinez walked.
Russell Madison then hit a double play ball to shortstop
Luis Salgado, but after stepping on second, he threw the
ball past Casillas at first base, allowing Welch to score.
Kory Schaffner grounded out to first for the second out,
but the Eagles then blew their last chance to get out of
trouble, when Casillas and catcher Mark Abila nearly
collided and missed a foul ball by Josh Ridener. Given a
second chance, Ridener doubled off the center field wall,
and Kyle Wiley and Patrick Henderson also followed with
doubles for a 4-2 lead.
Bradley Wuensche singled home Henderson and Valencia then
walked Lynney Tucker before hitting Welch and Martinez.
Madison would clear the bases with a double to make it 9-2
before Valencia struck out Schaffner to retire the side.
Magana came on in the third and allowed eight more runs,
four earned, on seven hits, two Eagle errors and another hit
batter, before Valencia returned and allowed five runs, all
unearned, in the fourth inning.
The Class 3A Pirates, who played one less game than Pecos
in the tournament, didn't get a great pitching effort out of
Matt Daniel, but it was more than good enough to win. He
almost allowed Casillas' second homer of the game in the
third, as he doubled home two runs after leadoff hits by
Luna and Kevin Bates, and then surrendered the two-run shot
in the fourth to Abila, who came in the game after Luna
sprained his wrist making one of his many throws from the
outfield after chasing down Cooper's extra-base hits.
A more serious injury occurred late in Friday's win over
West, when Jeffrey Martinez dislocated his shoulder again
while sliding back into second base. It was popped back into
place by the Snyder trainer, but Martinez didn't suit up for
Saturday's game.
"We'll just have to wait and see. Right now, it looks like
he'll be out for about a week or so," Williams said.
Pecos took a 5-0 lead without the benefit of a base hit in
their victory over West, then added three runs in the fifth
inning, after West cut a 7-0 Pecos lead to 7-4.
A dropped fly ball, two errors at third base and a passed
ball scored the Eagles' first five runs off starter Ryan
Poteet in the first inning, while a two-run homer by
Casillas in the second gave the Eagles' their 7-0 lead. Todd
Ivy's solo homer off Montoya in the third was West's only
earned run, as they got a run off two errors in the third,
and two more on an Albert Crowle double, after a pair of two
out errors in the fourth.
Pecos' final runs came after John Gutierrez reach on an
error and Bates and Ricky Herrera walked to load the bases.
Two runs scored on a single by Salgado and an error by Ivy
at shortstop, and another throwing error after Salgado was
picked off first base brought Herrera home with the final
run.
The Eagles finished with a 3-1-1 record at the tournament
and are 6-3-1 on the season, going into Tuesday's 5 p.m.
game in Fort Stockton against the Panthers, who were beaten
by El Paso Ysleta in their final tournament game on
Saturday. Pecos then faces Abilene Wylie in the first round
of the Midland Greenwood Tournament on Thursday. Wylie won
the Browwood Tournament on Saturday with a 7-0 victory over
the host Lions.
Pecos routs Fabens to stay atop district
PECOS, Mar. 15 -- The Pecos Eagles continued their run
through the District 2-4A portion of their girls' softball
schedule Saturday afternoon in Fabens, as they improved to
3-0 with a five-inning, 23-1 thumping of the Wildcats.
Alexa Marquez tossed a no-hitter while Katrina Quiroz and
Ashley Salcido had home runs for the Eagles, who are 6-4
overall on the season.
"Alexa only allowed baserunners in the fourth inning," coach
Tammy Walls said. "She walked the first two batters, and
then they scored when Ashley turned a double play."
"Alexa's controlling her pitches and has got her change up
working real well right now," Walls added.
Fabens' run was the first allowed by the Eagles in district
play, after shut out wins over El Paso Mountain View and
Canutillo in their other 2-4A games. Meanwhile, the Eagles
have scored 42 runs so far in those three games, and had 23
hits in Saturday's victory.
"They all hit the ball well, and everybody got to play,"
Walls said.
Pecos' next district game is at home this Saturday against
the Clint Lions, who defeated San Elizario on Friday to stay
tied with the Eagles for first in the 2-4A standings.
However, before then, Walls said Pecos will play a
non-district game at home Tuesday afternoon against
Monahans. The Loboes beat the Eagles in Monahans by a 8-1
score two weeks ago.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, 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 1999 by Pecos Enterprise
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