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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Monday, April 14, 2003
Errors cost Pecos in loss to Greenwood
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
Two outfield errors was all it took for the Greenwood Rangerettes to clinch
a playoff spot on Friday, and put the Pecos Eagles into a playoff-like situation
for their final regular season game, in Fort Stockton on Tuesday.
Greenwood's Kim Smith circled the bases on a single and three-base error
in the fifth inning, and the Rangerettes' Megan Chase did the same, this
time on an RBI triple and an error in the outfield in the sixth inning,
and Greenwood then survived a seventh inning rally by Pecos to score a 3-2
win at Martinez Field.
Combined with Monahans' 6-0 victory over Fort Stockton on Friday, it
clinched a playoff spot for Greenwood and left the Eagles and Prowlers tied
for third going into Tuesday's game. The winner will advance to the Class
3A playoffs while the loser's season will be over.
"That was a difficult game to lose," said coach Tammy Walls. "They have
a couple of strong hitters, and they took advantage of our mistakes, and
they didn't make any."
Both Eagles' pitcher Stephanie Herrera and Chase, who started on the
mound for Greenwood, survived leadoff hits in the first inning, as the Rangerettes'
Stephanie Adams was caught stealing after her single and Pecos' Brittany
Lobstein was doubled off first when Chase caught Kristy Contreras' bunt
attempt after she opened with a hit.
Herrera got out of a jam in the fourth inning, when Savannah Neely tripled
over the head of right fielder Katie Lee to open the inning. Courtney Awalt
and Chase both popped up and Alexis Vejil grounded back to the mound to
end the threat, and Walls then replaced Lee with Vanessa Valeriano in right
field in the fifth inning.
But Smith opened the fifth with a hard single that went through Valeriano's
legs for a three-base error and a 1-0 Greenwood lead. Then with two outs
in the sixth Awalt blooped a single just behind Contreras at shortstop,
and Chase followed with a triple down the line in left that outfielder Bre'Ann
Windham couldn't field cleanly, allowing her to score.
Meanwhile, the Eagles were getting a few runners on base, but none of
their leadoff hitters against Chase until the seventh, when Herrera singled
off Neely's glove at shortstop, and Chase then walked Jessica Flores. She
got Neftali Salgado to pop to second base, but Danielle Garcia then single
to center to score Herrera, and after Chase hit Kelsey Flores, she was replaced
on the mound by Sara Heidleburg.
Le re-entered the game batting for Valeriano and scored Flores on a fielder's
choice ground out, and Pecos then got the tying run to second base when
Heidleberg walked Lobstein on a 3-2 pitch, but she came back to get a called
third strike on Contreras, to end the game.
The loss left Pecos with a 5-4 district record and 11-11 overall, while
Greenwood improved to 6-3 in district play going into their final regular-season
game, on Tuesday against Kermit. The worst the Rangerettes can end up is
in a two-way tie for third with the winner of Tuesday's game between the
Eagles and Prowlers.
"We've got our work cut out for us. It's tough to win in Fort Stockton,"
said Walls, whose team has won two of three games with the Prowlers this
season, including the teams' district meeting in Pecos by a 2-0 score. "We're
going to have to go out and perform on Tuesday."
Eagles survive bad start, stay in playoff race
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
The Pecos Eagles came up with an effective solution to the problems they
have been having recently with teams in the sixth inning: Don't play the
sixth inning.
The Eagles, who saw Greenwood beat them with a seven-run sixth inning
on April 1 and Presidio beat them with a six-run sixth inning three days
later, never let the Kermit Yellowjackets get to the sixth inning on Friday
night, as they rallied from early 4-0 and 5-1 deficits to beat Kermit, 15-5,
in a game that ended in the fifth inning under the 10-run rule.
"I couldn't ask for a better win than tonight," said coach Elias Payan,
who was to speak following the game at the candlelight vigil for Johnny
Mata at Eagle Stadium. "The kids said it would be all right, and they just
came out and put it to them.."
With a 1-4 record in District 4-3A play entering Friday's game, the Eagles
faced a must-win situation against the Jackets, who survived their own sixth
inning problems against Pecos last month to beat the Eagles, 7-6 in the
teams' district opener. In that game, Kermit used a home run to help jump
out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, and the exact same thing happened
on Friday, this time with starter Jose Reyes as the victim.
Hunter Hardaway hit the home run this time, a two-run shot after Reyes
didn't get a two-strike call from the home plate umpire and ended up walking
leadoff hitter Lupe Munoz. Reyes would have more problems with his control
and the Eagles would have more problems with the home plate umpire after
that. The pitcher walked Chris Bennett and Erbay Saucedo and then hit Milo
Valenzuela to load the bases, and the Eagles then lost an argument on having
Bennett ejected from the game when he failed to slide on a fielder's choice
force out at home plate, and ran into catcher Ruvel Carrasco after he had
taken a throw from third baseman Oscar Parada.
Reyes lasted just one more batter. He walked Ben Madrid to force home
a run, and Payan brought Jose Anchondo in to pitch. He surrendered a bloop
single by Jesus Aranda that made it 4-0, but struck out Jay Bennett and
got Madrid to ground to Parada to retire the side.
"I went out there and told Jose he can't worry about the umpire. He just
has to go out there and make them swing the bat, but tonight he didn't,"
said Payan, who saw Anchondo allow only three hits and one run over the
final 4 2/3 innings of play.
"Josh has done a good job all year long," Payan said. "He's just a freshman
and he's made some mistakes, but he's matured as the season's gone on and
knows what he has to do out there."
Valenzuela started on the mound for Kermit, and Elkins sent his first
pitch over the fence in right-center field to make it a 4-1 game. But Valenzuela
came back to get the next three batters and then made it 5-1 in the top
of the second, doubled home Saucedo, who had walked with two away.
That's the way things looked like they were going to stay going into the
third inning, as Valenzuela got two outs around a walk to Matthew Levario.
But Javier Ramirez then came up with an RBI single and after that Valenzuela
lost sight of home plate, walking Carrasco, Elkins and Reyes to force home
a run. Rigo Ramirez then dropped a two-run single into left-center field
to tie the game, and Pecos went ahead when Munoz missed the throw home on
the play. Ramirez went to third on the error and then scored on a passed
ball to make it 7-5.
Anchondo survived hitting Madrid to lead off the third inning, a leadoff
walk to Hardaway in the fourth and a single by Valenzuela to open the fifth
without allowing Kermit any more runs. Meanwhile, Munoz moved from catcher
to pitcher to close out the second inning and got through the third unharmed,
but surrendered two more runs in the fourth to make it a 9-5 game.
Rigo Ramirez singled home Elkins, who opened with a walk, and after he
was forced at second base by Parada, Barney Rodriguez doubled to left-center
to give Pecos a four-run lead. That hasn't been a safe margin for the Eagles
in recent games, but the Eagles made sure Kermit wouldn't stage any late
rallies by scoring six more times in the fifth to end the game.
Singles by Javier Ramirez and Carrasco and an error by Aranda in right
field made it 10-5, and after a walk to Elkins Reye doubled home two runs
for a 12-5 lead. That brought Aranda into pitch and he then saw Rigo Ramirez
reach and Elkins score when Saucedo threw low to Aranda covering first on
a grounder to the right side. Parada then followed with an RBI double to
make it 14-5, and the game ended when Jay Bennett threw the ball over Saucedo's
head at first base trying for a double play on Levario, which scored Parada
with the winning run.
The win gave Pecos a 2-4 district record, while Kermit fell to 3-3 in
district, but are still tied for third in the district standings with Presidio,
which lost to Monahans on Friday. Greenwood defeated Fort Stockton in Friday's
other game and are 4-2, a game behind Monahans, who'll be in Pecos to face
the Eagles at 7 p.m. on 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
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Copyright 2003 by Pecos Enterprise
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