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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Monday, April 17, 2000
Eagles' new lineup gets win over Lobos
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
EL PASO, Apr. 17, 2000 -- You couldn't ask for more changes in a lineup
than Pecos Eagles' coach Bubba Williams came up with on Friday -- nine
different players in the nine positions on defense than started the previous
Tuesday's loss to the Fabens Wildcats. But on offense, it was the 10th
change in the lineup that provided the biggest benefit against the El Paso
Mountain View Lobos.
Freshman Barney Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with five RBI in his varsity
debut at designated hitter, and senior Josh Casillas picked up his first
win in three weeks, striking out 10 Mountain View batters in a five-inning,
11-1 win over the Lobos.
"I was really happy with the way Barney swung the bat," said Williams.
"With five RBIs he did a good job out there."
Rodriguez had a three-run triple in Pecos' seven-run second inning off
pitcher Rafael Carrasco, then missed out on a pair of doubles in his next
two at-bats. He fell down between first and second and had to settle for
an RBI single to the fence in right-center field in the fourth, then lost
a base and a sixth RBI when Orlando Lara was called out for not touching
home plate on a bases-loaded hit that bounced off the third base bag and
over Luis Avila's head in the fifth inning.
Aside from Rodriguez making his first start, Ivan Guebara, started for
the first time at catcher, had RBI singles in his first two at- bats, driving
in the game's first run in the first inning and another in Pecos' seven-run
second inning. The other freshman making his varsity debut, Matthew Levario,
got the seven-run second inning started with a one-out double down the
right field line.
He scored after Joey Garcia reached on an infield hit, when first baseman
Jose Trejo threw the ball past third base trying to get Levario. Kevin
Bates then reached base when his hard grounder went off the ankle of shortstop
Santiago Vasquez, allowing Garcia to score, and after an intentional walk
to Casillas, Guebara singled to left to score Bates.
After Richard Rodriguez walked on four pitches, Barney Rodriguez followed
with a shot in-between Trejo and the first base bag that rolled to the
350 sign in the right field corner. That made it 7-0 and Rodriguez would
score moments later when Jerry Trujillo singled to center.
Williams still had several players, including Casillas, who were in
last Tuesday's starting lineup, but all were playing in different spots
on Friday. That included swapping positions for Richard Rodriguez and Luis
Salgado between outfield and shortstop, and moving Bates back into the
outfield for the first time in three games, after he served as designated
hitter on Tuesday due to a sprained ankle.
"I just wanted to see Richard at shortstop," said Williams, who had
Salgado in left field in place of Mason Abila, who missed the game due
to illness. Williams had planned to move Abila back to the outfield, where
he played a year ago, to get Guebara into the starting lineup.
Rodriguez had one error at shortstop in the game, on a low throw to
first in the second inning, but bailed Casillas out of his one major jam
a few minutes later. After Mountain View loaded the bases with a pair of
one out walks, Casillas struck out Cesar Sanchez before leadoff hitter
Edgar Jurado hit one to third base that bounced off Levario's glove. Rodriguez
was able to field it and throw to second baseman Capi Magana in time to
force Avila at second, ending the inning.
While Casillas fanned 10 batters and allowed only three hits, he ran
the count full a number of times in his first start since suffering tendonitis
of the elbow, and had to rely more on off-speed pitches than his fastball
to fool the Lobos' hitters.
"I don't know if Josh is going to pick up the velocity he had last year.
He might if he gets some rest after the season's over, but right now we
can't afford to rest him," Williams said.
A couple of Casillas' change-ups also fooled Guebara and allowed Mountain
View to get their only run in the third inning, after Carrasco reached
on an infield hit. He stole second and would score on a couple of passed
balls by Guebara.
The win lifted Pecos back into sole possession of second place in the
District 2-4A standings, thanks to Clint's 15-2 win over Fabens on Friday.
But with Clint coming to Pecos on Tuesday, Williams said, "We're still
not at the level of play we need to be. Maybe this will give them the motivation
to get out there and play on Tuesday."
Clint, with a 7-0 record to Pecos' 4-2-1 mark, can clinch the District
2-4A title with a win over the Eagles on Tuesday. The Lions used a pair
of three-run innings earlier this month to break a 3-3 tie and beat the
Eagles in Clint by a 10-3 final score.
Cowboys' draft focus on replacing Deion
By JOHN MARSHALL
Associated Press Writer
IRVING, Texas, Apr. 17, 2000 - The Dallas Cowboys got cornered and
came out drafting.
With one starter on the way out and two others who have been prone to
injuries, Dallas needed cornerbacks. The Cowboys filled that requirement
this weekend at the NFL Draft, using three of their five picks on corners.
"We grabbed the need by the throat," said team owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas entered the draft with needs at cornerback, linebacker, wide
receiver and offensive line. The Cowboys picked up no offensive linemen,
a wide receiver who had played running back and an undersized linebacker.
With its first pick, the 49th overall, Dallas took Tennessee's Dwayne
Goodrich. A projected first-rounder after his junior season, Goodrich's
stock dropped last year after a preseason back injury slowed him down.
Dallas went with a cornerback on its next pick as well, taking West
Texas A&M's Kareem Larrimore in the fourth round with the 109th overall
pick. The 5-11, 191-pound Larrimore comes from a small college and has
not faced a high level of competition, but his speed and athletic ability
have impressed Jones and coach Dave Campo.
After taking Ohio State running back Michael Wiley in the fifth round,
Dallas cornered another corner, this time taking Florida State's Mario
Edwards. Edwards (6-0, 191) is a bump-and-run specialist who should fit
right into the Cowboys' occasional man-to-man scheme.
The imminent departure of Deion Sanders caused the Cowboys to spend
most of their time looking at filling in holes at the cornerback
slot.
"We kind of focused on the secondary," Campo said. "That's an area where
we felt we did a good job of homework and of studying players. We feel
very good about this group right here."
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 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
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