|
Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Wednesday, April 5, 2000
Pecos sending four golf teams to regionals
PECOS, Apr. 5, 2000 -- The Pecos Eagles’ golf teams will be sending both
their varsity and junior varsity squads to the Region I-4A Tournament for
the second year in a row, following the final round of the 36-hole District
2-4A tourney at Emerald Springs Golf Course in El Paso.
The boys’ varsity shot a 345 for the second day in a row to win with
a 690 score, while the JV Eagles improved by 13 strokes, to 363, and finished
at 739, beating out Clint by 69 shots for the runner-up regional berth.
The girls cut 30 strokes off their score on the varsity level Tuesday,
shooting a 338 to finish at 706 for the tournament. Pecos’ JV lowered their
score by 28 strokes from the first round at Vista Hills, shooting a 391
to finish at 810, which was 258 shots up on Fabens, the only other 2-4A
school to qualify for a team tournament score.
“The weather was cold Monday, and the course was different. The girls
liked the second course a lot better than they liked the first,” said coach
Tina Hendrick.
Amanda Stickels won medallist honors, shooting an 88-83-171 for 36 holes,
while Salem Mitchell lost out in a playoff to Canutillo’s Maggie Jimenez
for second, after shooting 94-86-180 over the two days. Candace Hilliard
shot a 91-90-181 and Lauren Martinez had a 95-86-191 to tie for fourth,
while Cassie Foster shot a 102-83-185 to finish sixth overall.
The JV team was led by Brandi Bradley, who shot a 99-94-193 for seventh
in the medallist race. Dena Dutchover was next with a 105-97-202, followed
by Kattie Davis at 106-97-203, Brandi North at 109-103-212 and Kelsey Riley
at 117-113-230.
Both the boys and girls varsity teams ended up placing one of their
medallist golfers in the Top 10. For the girls, Amanda Armstrong shot a
112-93-205 to finish in 10th place. Jacqueline Marquez and Vanessa Hernandez,
the Eagles’ other medallist competitors, shot 118-110-228 and 129-112-241
for the tournament.
On the boys’ side, Jake McKinney played as an individual medallist and
ended up in fourth place, with an 88-84-182 score. He trailed teammates
Michael Baca (88-79-167) and Tye Edwards (82-86-168) and Clint’s Clinton
Moore, who won medallist honors with an 80-78-158 score.
“Baca shot a 79, and had it only one over about the 13th or 14th hole,
said coach Kim Anderson. “I thought he was going to come in with a 71 or
a 72, but he ran into trouble down the stretch.”
“All of the team hit the ball well,” said Anderson, who had eight of
the 10 medallists for the tournament. Cortney Freeman shot an 86-89-175
and John Granado an 89-91-180 for the varsity, while the JV was led by
Jack Stickels, who also shot an 89-91-180. JVers Austin Alvarez and Casey
Breiten also were in the Top 10, with 93-89-182 and 96-89-185 scores.
“I’ll probably switch them around at regionals,” said Anderson. “I’ll
probably move Jake up all the way to the varsity for that.”
Clay McKinney shot a 94-98-192 for the other varsity score, while David
Bradley shot a 98-94-192 for the JV and Trey Perkins had a 110-98-210.
Eight teams competed on the boys’ side, but Fabens’ JV was one golfer
short for Tuesday’s second round Trailing Clint’s 808 score were Fabens’
varsity at 838, Canutillo at 851, El Paso Mountain View at 874 and Clint
B at 952.
The regional tournament will be held on April 23-24 in San Angelo. The
boys will play their 36-hole tournament at Bentwood Country Club, while
the girls’ tournament will be at the Riverside Golf Course.
Netters send one team to regionals
PECOS, Apr. 5, 2000 -- The Pecos Eagles doubles team of Teresa Minjarez
and Rebecca Wein earned a berth at the Region I-4A Tournament in San Angelo
later this month, though they had to beat out their own teammates to do
it.
Minjarez and Wein won a playback over Rachel Pharoah and Brenda Fuentes
to finish second in girls doubles at the District 2-4A Tournament in San
Elizario on Tuesday. They were the only Eagles to advance to regionals,
set for Bentwood Country Club the week of April 23.
“They were seeded No. 1 going in, but lost to the No. 2 team in the
finals (Fabens’ Angie Gutierrez and Amy Ramos),” said coach Bernadette
Ornelas. The two lost in the finals by a 6-4, 6-3 score, then had to play
Pharoah and Fuentes, after they beat Rachel Ramirez and Kathy Ono of El
Paso Mountain View for third, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Pharoah and Fuentes earlier had lost to Gutierrez and Ramos, 7-5, 6-3
and in the second place playoff, fell by a 6-4, 6-1 score.
“There was nothing I could do about that match. I couldn’t root for
anyone, so all I told them was to go out there and play your best,” Ornelas
said.
It was the first time Wein and Minjarez had played together in a tournament
this spring. They were teamed during the fall, when Pecos placed second
to Clint in district, but Wein spent most of this spring at catcher with
the Eagles’ softball team.
The two doubles teams ended up the only ones to post wins during the
two-day tournament, though singles player Jayson Hinojoz did win his first
round match by default over San Elizario’s Jesse Avita. He then lost to
eventual division winner Martin Renteria of Clint, 6-0, 6-0, and fell to
Mountain View’s Gabriel Morales in the third place game, 6-1, 6-0.
In girls’ singles, Tiffany Jarrett lost to Mountain View’s Cynthia Falcon,
6-4, 6-3, and Kristina Dominguez was beaten by Cindy Cordero of Fabens,
6-3, 6-2. In doubles on the boys’ side, Bobby Sotelo and Orlando Mendoza
were beaten by Patton and Baca of Clint, 6-0, 6-3, and Jay Dannelley and
Michael Tremble lost to Nunez and Morales of Clint, 6-3, 6-0.
“In a lot of matches our kids went in with a lot of nervousness,” said
Ornelas. “In the girls’ singles we were eliminated in the first round.
We played some close matches, but we weren’t able to come back.”
“A lot of this is due to having such a young team, but we only lose
one girl next, year, so I look forward to us being a lot stronger in the
fall and next spring,” Ornelas said.
Marquez gets no-hitter in 17-1 win
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Apr. 5, 2000 -- The Pecos Eagles' softball team again got a
lot of runs with only a few hits Tuesday at Martinez Field. But unlike
their three previous district games, the Eagles didn't have much of a choice
in the early going, since the Fabens Wildcats pitchers wouldn't give them
anything to swing at.
The Eagles scored nine runs on two hits in the first two innings, thanks
to eight walks, three with the bases loaded, and seven passed balls and
wild pitches that either scored or set up six second inning runs. Pecos
ended up with six hits on the day, three in the fourth inning, when they
scored five more times before closing out the Wildcats with a 17-1 victory.
"We hit the ball better. When the pitches were there we started coming
around on them," said Eagles' coach Tammy Walls, whose team has scored
49 runs on 19 hits in their four district home games this season.
Lost amid all the walks, passed balls and wild pitches was Alex Marquez'
first no-hitter. The junior survived three two-out errors in the first
inning, and allowed just an unearned run in the third, while relying mostly
on second baseman Ashley Salcido to make the plays.
Salcido had a hand in seven of the first eight putouts in the game for
Pecos, including all three in the first inning, and closed out the streak
with a leaping catch of a Ruth Simental line drive in the third.
"Ashley made a lot of plays at second today. She did a really good job,"
said Walls.
Fabens threatened in the first, after first baseman Jessica Rodriguez
couldn't handle Salcido's throw on a Brenda Gonzales grounder, third baseman
Valerie Gonzales dropped a Simental pop up and shortstop Maricela Arenivas
couldn't handle a Naomi Roman grounder. Marquez then got Maria Hernandez
to hit into a fielder's choice grounder to Salcido to end the inning
The Wildcats got their only run after Salcido's leaping catch in the
third, when Gonzales couldn't handle a Roman grounder, and Arenivas threw
the ball past second base trying for Roman. She ended up on third and scored
on a wild pitch by Marquez moments later.
Corine Garcia, who started on the mound for Fabens, and Simental, who
came on in the second, had far more trouble with their control than Marquez
did. After allowing a leadoff hit to Jessica Rodriguez in the first inning,
Garcia saw Katrina Quiroz reach first on catcher's interference, then walked
Salcido, Gonzales and Evelyn Galindo to force home two runs.
Nicole Payne then scored Salcido on an error by Simental at short, and
Gonzales scored when first baseman Melissa Carrasco let the ball roll away.
Arenivas then hit a grounder to Brenda Gonzales, who threw the ball over
catcher Cathy Casillas' head trying for Galindo at home plate.
Garcia finally got out of trouble after that, but Kathy Maldonado then
opened the second inning with a single, and 20 of Garcia's next 22 pitches
were balls. Five batters walked, but only one run was forced in, while
four others came home on the passed balls and wild pitches, before Simental
replaced Garcia on the mound.
She allowed one more run to score on an Arenivas sacrifice fly, before
getting out of the innings. In the third, Simental would retire three Eagles
in order, but not before Maldonado it one in the gap in right-center field
that turned into an inside-the-park home run and a 12-1 Pecos lead.
Walls, who was already playing the game without starting catcher Rebecca
Wein, changed up her lineup some more in the fourth inning, when the Eagles
got their final five runs.
"Becka was gone to (district) tennis, so we made do," said Walls, who
moved Quiroz from shortstop to catcher and Arenivas into shortstop from
right field.
New outfielder Nadia Valenzuela was hit by a pitch to start things off
and scored one out later on a single by Arenivas. After a walk to Marquez,
Arenivas scored on Rodriguez' second single of the day and then after a
walk to Kim Olivas, Salcido collected a two-run single to centerfield,
with Olivas scoring on an error by Olga Portillo.
The win lifted the Eagles to 8-1 in district play and 13-5 on the season,
going into their final regular season game, at home next Tuesday against
Clint, 15-8 winners over San Elizario on Tuesday. The Lions also are 8-1
in district, so the winner of next week's game will earn the 2-4A title
and a first round playoff bye.
"We looked more relaxed and confident today," Walls said. "That's promising
going into playing Clint, because we'll need to play at this level to win."
Pecos escapes San Elizario with 4-4 tie
PECOS, Apr. 5, 2000 -- The Pecos Eagles lived to fight another day --April
23, to be exact -- but they had to pull off some nerve-wracking escapes
Tuesday afternoon in San Elizario to avoid suffering their second straight
road defeat.
The Eagles used a triple play to get out of one jam, and then survived
bases-loaded and two on, none out jams in the seventh and ninth innings
to escape San Elizario with a 4-4 tie, in a game called due to darkness.
The game will be resumed on April 23, when San Elizario comes to Pecos
to close out regular season play, if it has an effect on the final District
2-4A standings.
Luis Salgado's sacrifice fly with one out in the seventh scored Mason
Abila from third base and allowed Pecos to tie the game, after the Eagles
had rallied earlier from a 3-0 deficit. But San Elizario caught Alex Garcia
between second and third base for an inning-ending double play, and then
turned a double play to kill off another Pecos scoring attempt in the ninth
inning.
The game ended with Capi Magana on in relief of starter Pifi Montoya,
who lasted four innings plus two batters in the fifth. Magana allowed an
RBI single to Jose T. Herrera that gave the host Eagles a 5-4 lead, but
didn't allow another hit the rest of the way, though walks and errors almost
did Pecos in.
"Pifi didn't have his best stuff. His arm started hurting him," said
assistant coach Elias Payan. "Capi came in and threw strikes. When he got
into his rhythm they couldn't touch him."
San Elizario came into the game having allowed 48 runs in their previous
two contests and with a 1-11-1 mark. But after a 75-minute delay when the
umpires failed to show up, they played the Eagles even all the way, scoring
three times in the third inning off Montoya, who hit a batter with the
bases loaded, then allowed an RBI single to Herrera.
Pecos came back in their next at bat to score three times off Herrera
with two outs, after Garcia reached on an error and Salgado was hit by
a pitch. A passed ball and wild pitch scored one run, and after Herrera
walked Richard Rodriguez, he balked home Salgado and saw Rodriguez score
to tie the game on Orlando Lara's double to left.
Lara's error on Jerry Rojas' grounder in the fifth set up the next RBI
single by Herrera, who led the district in batting last season. Magana
then walked the next two batters before the Eagles took advantage of some
bad San Elizario base-runner to turn what should have been a home-to-first
double play into an inning-ending triple play to get out of the jam.
In the seventh, Magana struck out the first three batters he faced,
but a dropped third strike by catcher Mason Abila and a dropped throw to
first by Josh Casillas turned into another bases-loaded jam, which ended
when Bo Solis grounded out to Lara at second.
Payan said the long delay might have taken some of the edge off the
Eagles. "The kids had to sit around for a long time and got bored. When
the umpires showed up we were just flat. We had some baserunning mistakes
and we didn't hit the ball well. We popped the ball up and hit a lot of
dribblers.
The tie was the second for San Elizario in district. They opened with
an 8-8 deadlock against Mountain View, in a game that still has not been
completed.
The tie leaves Pecos with a 3-1-1 mark, 11-4-1 on the season. They're
a half-game up on Fabens in the battle for second place, after the Wildcats
beat Canutillo on Tuesday, 19-0. The Eagles are off this weekend, and resume
play by hosting Fabens next Tuesday.
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
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
|