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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
March 26, 2001
Fewer mistakes on defense help Eagles trap Lions, 8-5
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 26, 2001 - The Pecos Eagles had one shaky inning on defense
Friday. The Clint Lions had three, and that was enough to help the Eagles
come away with an 8-5 victory over the Lions, in the District 2-4A baseball
opener for both teams.
Pitcher Angel Villalobos wasn't overpowering, but kept the Lions off-balance
enough to pick up his second victory in three decisions this season, striking
out four while allowing five hits.
"He didn't walk a lot out there. He threw strikes and got the first
hitter. When you get the first hitter that makes a lot of difference,"
said Eagles' coach Bubba Williams.
The only Clint batters who got to the senior were Bobby Morales and
Ray Martinez, who collected all of the Lions' hits on the night. That included
Morales' including a lead-off single in the fourth inning that began a
four-run rally by Clint, after Pecos had take a 4-0 lead in the first off
starter Fernie Lopez.
Morales' own error at first base was the big play of that inning, as
he allowed Rudy Magana's grounder to go through his legs, scoring two runs.
Pecos already had taken a 1-0 lead on a double by Alex Garcia, a single
by Mason Abila and a wild pitch, while Morales' error came after Villalobos
walked and stole second, after being picked off first by Lopez. Magana
later scored on David Elkins' bloop single.
Clint's runs came thanks to a pair of errors after Morales' single and
a walk to Lopez. Magana and second baseman Richard Rodriguez misplayed
a potential double play grounder to shortstop into a run-scoring error,
and two more runs scored when Matthew Levario threw away Jonathan Baeza's
grounder to third. Martinez then tied the score on a single to left field
before Villalobos finally got out of the inning.
Lopez lasted just one batter into the bottom of the inning. He was replaced
by Morales after giving up an infield hit to Rigo Ramirez then falling
behind 2-0 on the count to Elkins. Morales then walked both Elkins and
Levario, before Rodriguez broke the tie with a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Eagles then got another run on the play when Patrick Estrada took the
throw from the outfield and tried to catch Levario off first base, but
threw the ball down the left field line. Levario would then come home on
Alex Garcia's bloop single to right-center field.
Up by three, the Eagles made sure Morales' third hit of the night didn't
hurt them in the fifth, as Rodriguez turned a double play on Lopez' one-out
grounder to second base. Then in the bottom of the inning the Eagles got
another unearned run, when Lopez threw low to first on a Villalobos grounder,
allowing him to reach base, from where he scored on a bloop single to left-center
field by Elkins.
Clint threatened once more in the seventh, as Baeza led off with a walk
and Morales singled. Frank Salais then laid down a bunt on the first base
line that Villalobos fielded and threw to Rodriguez, who was just able
to get over to first in time to beat the runner to the bag. Royce Hickman
scored Baeza was a sacrifice fly, but Villalobos then came back to get
Morales on a foul out to Levario at third base, ending the game.
Salais' bunt came after the Eagles missed a series of bunt attempts
in the fifth and sixth innings while trying to add to their lead, which
was one problem Williams mentioned after the game.
"We missed those bunts plus we had runners in scoring position and didn't
come through. When you've got runners on second and third with one out,
you've got to come through," he said.
Clint, which played the toughest pre-district schedule of any 2-4A team,
fell to 1-12-1 with their loss, while the Eagles improved to 10-5 on the
season, going into their 5 p.m. game on Tuesday at Fabens. The Wildcats
won their district opener over Canutillo, 12-3, while San Elizario routed
El Paso Mountain View, 17-0, in Friday's other 2-4A opener.
Herrera's 14 Ks keeps Pecos' defense idle in 15-0 win
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 26, 2001 - Only four of the Pecos Eagles nine players on
defense had much of anything to do Friday, during the Eagles' 15-0 win
over the Canutillo Golden Eagles.
Shortstop Ashley Salcido caught a pop-up, first baseman Jessica Rodriguez
caught a couple of throws from catcher Becca Wein, and she caught pitcher
Stephanie Herrera in her one-hit 14-strikeout performance against Canutillo,
which allowed the Eagles to take sole possession of first place in the
District 2-4A standings.
Herrera who relieved Alex Marquez in the Eagles' comeback victories
over Clint and Fabens to open 2-4A play, ended up getting her third district
win in just under 90 minutes, as Pecos was able to end the game in the
fifth inning under the 10-run rule.
"I didn't make up my mind until right before the game who would start,"
said coach Tammy Walls. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to start Stephanie against
San Elizario and Clint, and I just wanted them to get comfortable with
their defensive positions."
They change meant Salcido moving from second base to shortstop, where
she only had one play Friday, an inning-ending pop up by Gracie Borjas
in the third, while Marquez moved to second base, where her only real action
was coving the bag in the fifth inning, when Dadia Narcia stole second
without a throw, after a two out walk by Herrera.
By then, Marquez, Herrera and Wein were the only starters remaining
in the game, after four run first and second innings had given Pecos a
big early lead and allowed Walls to clear her bench.
"They all had good games. Everybody got a chance to play and my subs
came in and hit the ball, so it was a good game for us," Walls said.
The Eagles still aren't pounding the ball _ the only really good shot
off Canutillo's Cassandra Cisneros was a two-run triple to left-center
field by Marquez in the second inning _ but overall Pecos' hitters did
make better contact on Friday than in their first two district games.
Salcido had a two-run single to center in the first, after two walks,
two errors and a bloop hit by Marquez had given Pecos a 2-0 lead. In the
second, two wild pitches scored runs for the Eagles before and after Marquez'
triple, while a throwing error on Borjas at catcher and Cisneros' failure
to cover home plate led to two more runs in the third inning.
Borjas was overly aggressive trying to pick off runners at third base,
and had three throwing errors that helped the Eagles score five of their
15 runs. That included the least run of the game in the fourth, after RBI
singles by Victoria Gomez and Evelyn Galindo and an RBI grounder by Wein,
who ended up reaching on an error.
Aside from the pitching change, Walls also dropped three of her four
leadoff hitters from Pecos' first two games down to the bottom of the batting
order. "I flipped it (the lineup) because we'd been struggling with out
batting and I wanted to make some changes. I'll probably make some more
changes, because I want to get to see everybody in different parts of the
lineup."
The win improved the Eagles to 6-9 on the season and 3-0 in district,
and coupled with Fabens' 4-3 win over San Elizario, leaves the Eagles alone
in first place going into their 4 p.m. game at home on Tuesday against
El Paso Mountain View. The Lobos were the only team to beat Pecos in district
play a year ago, but fell to 0-3 so far this season in 2-4A games after
a 19-10 loss on Friday to Clint.
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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