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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Pecos closes out boys basketball play
seeking first district road win since '99
Four days after being eliminated from the District 4-3A playoff race, the Pecos Eagles will try to close out their 2003-04 basketball season by doing something no Eagle team has managed in five years - win a district game on the road - when they end their season in Fort Stockton tonight against the Panthers.
The Eagles and Panthers will meet at 7:30 p.m. tonight, with Fort Stockton looking to avoid a winless district season while Pecos tries to get a district win on the road for the first time since January 1999, when they went to Fabens and defeated the Wildcats while a member of District 2-4A.
Along with that, it's been nine seasons since Pecos won as many as three games in one district season. That came way back in the 1994-95 season, when the Eagles lost out in a playoff with Big Spring for the second place playoff berth in district.
Now, three teams make the playoffs out of each district, and Pecos was trying to remain in contention for the third and final post-season berth on Saturday, but lost to Monahans by a 72-62 score. It left the Eagles with a 2-7 record in district and 9-19 mark overall.
Their first district victory came last month at home against Fort Stockton. The Eagles allowed Fort Stockton to rally late in regulation, then came back to tie the game at the end of the fourth quarter, and again in the first overtime, before winning in the second OT period, 56-51. Oscar Parada and Victor Reyes had 19 points apiece, while Zach Howard led the Panthers with 15 points.
"We're going to go over there and get after it. We're not going to treat this game any different from the others," said Eagles' coach Joe Flores.
Tonight's game will also be the final one for four of Pecos' five starters. Along with Parada and Reyes, Jose Reyes and Justin Lara, along with reserve Daniel Medina, are the other seniors on the Eagles' varsity squad.
Pecos girls hosting Alpine, Crane today
in first softball games at new HS field
The Pecos Eagles will officially open up their new softball field today, at the same time as they officially begin their 2004 season. But before the Eagles take the field this afternoon, four other teams will have played their first games on the field, as part of a six-team round-robin to start off the season.
The Eagles will face the Alpine Bucks at 5 p.m., in the third of six games that will start with the Crane Golden Cranes taking on Pecos' District 4-3A rival, Presidio, at 3 p.m. The other District 4-3A team who'll be in Pecos today, Kermit, will face Marfa at 4 p.m., while the other games will match Presidio against Marfa, the Eagles against the Cranes and Alpine against Kermit, at 6, 7 and 8 p.m.
"Sylvia Sadler will throw out the first pitch," said Eagles' coach Tammy Walls. Opening ceremonies will take place before the 5 p.m. game, including the first pitch by Sadler, the longtime Pecos Kindergarten teacher who has been undergoing treatments for cancer.
Walls will have six starters from last year back in 2004, as the Eagles try to improve on their fourth place finish from a year ago. A pair of 3-2 losses to Greenwood and Fort Stockton to close out last season kept Pecos from making their fifth straight trip to the playoffs.
Last week, the Eagles beat Kermit and Sweetwater in scrimmage games at the new field. Stephanie Herrera pitched all but one inning of those two games, though for tonight, Walls said, "I'll look at Amalie (Herrera) and Hillary (Hinojos), and I'll probably make a couple of other changes as well. I'll probably start Amalie at pitcher against Alpine and see how things work from there."
The younger Herrera is one of several freshman who will be seeing playing time today, while Hinojos pitched a little last season as a ninth grader. Meanwhile, Walls said Stephanie Herrera will see some time at shortstop, where she played as a freshman, and Brittany Lobstein will be back at catcher, where she moved a year ago after starting at shortstop as a sophomore.
"Katie Lee is going to be gone for ag," Walls said. Lee, who was tried at catcher last season before Lobstein took the job, played behind the plate in both games of last week's scrimmage.
"I'm going to look at several combinations to see what's best for us," Walls said, adding that she'll also be switching around several of the other infield and outfield spots during the two games.
While today's scrimmage is set up so that none of the three District 4-3A teams face each other, the Eagles will get their first game against a district opponent on Friday, when they take on the Greenwood Rangerettes to start off the Andrews Invitational Tournament. Pecos will face Greenwood in a morning pool game, and could face the Rangers again later that afternoon, in their second game in bracket play.
Balmorhea facing Grandfalls
in bi-district playoff in Pecos
The Balmorhea Bears will take on the Grandfalls-Royalty Cowgirls in Pecos tonight, in the bi-district round of the Class A playoffs.
The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at the Pecos High School gym, with the Bears seeking their first bi-district victory since 2001, which was also the last season they advanced to the Class A-Division II playoffs.
The Bears qualified for post-season play by beating out Dell City for the runner-up playoff berth out of District 9-A behind Fort Davis, after losing out to the Cougars last season in a second place playoff. Grandfalls is making their first playoff appearance in a decade, after capturing the District 10-A title this season. The Cowgirls come into the game with a 15-9 record, while the Bears are 16-8 overall this season.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 432-445-5475, FAX 432-445-4321
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 2003 by Pecos Enterprise
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