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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Friday, July 7, 2000
Leaders remain unchanged at Rodeo
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 7, 2000 -- There were no changes in the leader
board Thursday, on the second night of the West of the Pecos Rodeo, but
there were a few changes in the top three positions in the riding events
following the second of four nights of competition.
The third rodeo performance is set for 8:30 p.m. tonight
at the Buck Jackson Rodeo Arena, with the final show for the 2000 rodeo
set for 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Finals in steer roping, calf roping, team
roping and steer wrestling will take place that night, with the Top 12
in each event following completion of the go-rounds tonight earning return
trips to Pecos.
Only four cowboys and one team moved into the Top 12 after
Thursday’s show, which began with a prayer for show producer Mack Altizer,
who was injured in a swimming pool accident at his motel following the
opening night performance.
In the riding events, which began later than the roping
and steer wrestling competitions, Stephenville cowboy Beau Mayo took over
the No. 2 spot in bareback riding, scoring 78 points on board “No Satisfaction.”
That’s three points in back of leader Jeffrey Collins, who took the lead
Wednesday with an 81-point ride on “Black Betty.”
Two Louisiana cowboys, Jared Lavergne of Ville Platte
and Chad Klein of Jackson, tied Mark Gomes for fifth place, with 76 point
scores, Lavergne on “Skoal’s After Midnight” and Klein riding “Pretty Woman.”
Third through seventh place changed in the saddle bronc
competition, while Rancy Bray and defending National Finals Rodeo champ
Billy Etbauer maintained the top two spots after 84- and 82-point rides
Wednesday.
Glenn O’Neil of Water Valley, Calif., took over third
with a 78-point effort on “White Lightning.” while Charlie Gardner and
college All-Around champ Jesse Bail tied for fourth, each with 77 point
scores on “Heart of Glass” and “Soul Man.” JJ Elshire of Black Forest Colo.
rode “Shake It Up” to a 76 point score and sixth place, and Mike Coon of
Stephenville took over seventh, with a 75-point ride on “Green Eyed Lady.”
Jason Legler tied for the No. 2 spot in bull riding, using
the same bull that helped Felipe Aragon take the lead during Tuesday’s
special bull riding session. Legler, of Loveland, Colo, posted an 86-point
score on “Tequila,” one point in back of Aragon. Rusty Burford also scored
86 points during Wednesday’s show.
The other new faces among the leaders are Yancy James
of Kerrville, who scored 82 points riding “Funky Cole Medina,” and Corey
Navarre of Weatherford, Okla., who did the same on “Wooly Bully.” They’re
tied for fourth with Garrett Frey, while Tracer Hand of West moved into
sixth place, scoring 80 points with his ride on “Warrior.”
In roping, Tommy Guy of Abilene took fourth place in the
second go-round of calf roping with a 9.5 second time, and moved into ninth
place in the average 22.1 seconds. Jeff Yates of Corsicana is tied for
seventh in the average at 21.6 seconds after Thursday’s show, while Charley
Russell continues to lead at 19.7 seconds and Blair Burk holds the lead
in the second go-round at 9.2 seconds.
In steer wrestling, Clay Gaines of Taylorsville, Ga.,
tied for seventh place in the second go-round with a 4.9 second time on
Wednesday, while all the other leaders remained the same. Byron Walker
leads in the average at 9.7 seconds and John Schuenemann leads in the second
go at 4.3 seconds.
Turtle Powell of Alpine and Wayne Fowler of Lubbock moved
into fourth place in the second go-round of team roping with an 8.0 effort,
and are sixth overall at 15.5 seconds. David Motes and Mickey Gomez lead
in both the second go and average, at 6.3 and 15.1 seconds, with the only
other newcomers Johnnie Philipp of Washington, Tx., and Nick Rowland of
Antlers, Okla., who are 11th in the average at 21.2 seconds.
In the steer roping, Steve White of Throckmorton managed
to take over the No. 12 spot in the average at 53.1 second after his Thursday
performance. Defending NFR champ Guy Allen leads at 36.4 seconds and David
Felton of Weatherford leads in the third go-round, at 11.0 seconds.
Phyllys Newton of Carlsbad, N.M. continues to lead in
the ladies’ barrel race, at 17.5 seconds. Taking over seventh place on
Thursday was Gail Hillman of Waller, with a 17.75 time, and Ember Stewart
moved into the No. 8 spot, at 17.92 seconds.
Tonight’s show will feature National Finals Rodeo qualifiers
Scott Drennan and Kelly Waddell in bareback riding, with Waddell matched
up with his NFR horse “YMCA”; Rod Warren and Toby Adams in the saddle bronc
riding; and Rusty Patrick in bull riding against top 1996 NFR bull “Copenhagen’s
Wild Thing".
Timed events will include local cowboys Jimbo and Joe
Martinez in team roping, past Pecos Rodeo champions Cody Ohl and Brent
Lewis in calf roping, and Mark Belcher in steer wrestling, and two-time
barrel racing champion Sue Miller. Fort Davis cowgirl Sara Baldwin will
also ride tonight, while Ohl will compete in steer roping as well as calf
roping.
LL blanks Crane behind Vela's no-hitter
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 7, 2000 -- Every defensive play the Pecos
Little League All-Stars had to make Thursday evening was a tough one. But
in this case, "every play" totaled just two, because pitcher Eddie Vela
took care of all the other Crane battersf.
Vela tossed a no-hitter, getting 13 of his 15 outs by
strikeout, as Pecos opened District 4 Tournament play in the 11-12 year
old division with a 14-0 victory at Chano Prieto Field. It moved them into
an 11:30 a.m. game on Saturday against Ballinger, 5-1 winners over Winters
in their tournament opener on Thursday.
Things were a lot closer for Pecos' 9-10 year old All-Star
team in Crane on Thursday, but they were also able to come out on top in
their District 4 opener, by a 4-3 final score. They'll play again on the
road Saturday at 3 p.m., against either Winters or Ballinger.
Vela faced only two batters over the minimum due to walks,
and the closest Crane came to a hit was in the first inning following one
of those walked, when Jeff Whitworth laid down a two-out bunt to the right
of the mound. Both Vela and first baseman Jonathan Garcia went for the
ball leaving the base open for a moment, but Edward Valencia was able to
come over from his second base position to take Vela's throw before Whitworth
could reach the bag.
The second good defensive play didn't preserve Vela's
no-hitter, but did come right after the other walk Crane got in the game.
John Paul Salcido was able to glove a foul fly ball by Stephen Galindo
in the third inning just before hitting the fence down the right field
line.
Vela then retired the final seven batters by strikeout,
as Pecos ended the game in the fifth inning under the 10-run rule.
"That was just the usual Eddie Vela," said manager Vaughn
Garnto. "During the regular season he had a perfect game where he faced
12 batters and struck out all of them."
Only coach Fred Paz had any problems with Vela _ he was
hit by a line drive off Vela's bat during Pecos' six-run fifth inning.
The Little Leaguers only had a few solid shots off starter
Ben Sutherland before the fifth, though that didn't stop them from scoring
nine times in their first four at bats. Both Vela and Isaiah Rayos sent
singles back through the pitcher's legs in the first inning, and combined
with hits by Valencia and Carlos Vela they helped Pecos take a quick 4-0
lead.
Sutherland got through the second without problems, but
in the third inning Pecos scored again, after two more singles by the Velas.
Right fielder David Sanchez made a running catch of a Jonathan Garcia fly
ball into the gap, but Eddie Vela was able to tag up and score all the
way from second base on the play.
In the fourth Sutherland walked the first two batters
he faced, while two errors by Galindo at third base and one by catcher
Avery Rigg made it 7-0. Vela then walked on a wild pitch, which scored
Salcido, and Valencia came in from second base when the throw by Rigg to
home plate got past Sutherland. Vela ended up on third base, where he scored
on Lee Roy Rodriguez' double.
Rigg replaced Sutherland in the fifth after a one-out
triple by Rocky Lozoya and a double by Cody Hernandez, but he had even
more problems finding home plate, wild pitching two runs home. Sutherland
didn't fare any better after moving out into center field, dropping one
fly ball for an run-scoring error and bobbling another, allowing Pecos
to get its final run of the night.
"We didn't hit the ball as well as we can," said Garnto.
"A lot of them went up there with butterflies, especially Lee Roy. But
he lost them when he ripped that one out into the gap."
Garnto said he wasn't sure who his pitcher would be for
Saturday's game, which will be played prior to the elimination round game
between Crane and Winters at Carlsbad, located 15 miles northwest of San
Angelo on U.S. 87.
While the 11-12 year olds are playing north of Carlsbad
Saturday morning, the 13-14 year old Junior Leaguers will begin play at
Nathan Donsky Field in San Angelo against either Ballinger or North Concho
at 11 a.m. A win would move them into a 5 p.m. tournament quarterfinal
round matchup.
"I'll probably go with Hilario Bustamantes," on the mound,
coach Lee Serrano said on Tuesday, after a scrimmage against Pecos' high
school players. "He looked pretty good out there today against those guys.
"If we win Saturday at 11, we'll go with Rigo Ramirez
in the next game," Serrano said.
"We've got some good hitters, but we've still got a lot
of work to do on defense," he added. "We've got four good pitchers that
cane get the job done if we play a little defense behind them and hit the
ball."
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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