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In fact, the Eagles didn't get a chance to take home the trophy until
early Sunday morning, despite needing only five innings to beat the
Alpine Bucks.
The Eagles won their second Monahans title in three years, 13-3 over the
Bucks, in a game called under the 10-run rule. It was also a game that
didn't get underway until 10:30 p.m., 2½ hours behind the scheduled
starting time.
When it did, the Bucks got to starter Jason Abila for two quick runs,
before the Eagles came back. They cut the lead in half in the bottom of
the first off starter Ricky Mata, then scored five runs in the second,
three more in the third, and finished things off with four runs in the
fourth.
The two-run comeback was small compared with the one Friday night
against Reagan County. Pecos spotted the Owls six runs in the top of the
first, before coming back to take the lead in the fifth, then held on
for a 9-8 victory.
"I like the way the kids came back after getting down in the first
inning," said Eagles' coach Bubba Williams. "They've got the attitude
they can come back and get the job done.
"Jason did a good job, but he isn't going to strike everybody out. They
got a couple of runs off him, and we started to chip away, and get one
run here, and one run there," Williams said.
The past few seasons, the Eagles have been the team blowing leads to the
Bucks, including a pair of games last year. This time, Alpine could
manage only an unearned run after the first inning, while leaving the
bases loaded in the fourth, when Abila got Adam Yanez on a grounder to
Joseph Strain at first base.
Abila did get 12 of his 15 outs Saturday by strikeout, in evening his
record at 1-1 on the season. But control problems got him in trouble in
the first.
He walked Bryan Ritchie and Yanez, wild pitched them into scoring
position, then gave up a two out, two-run single to Bryan Portillo.
Pecos got a run back in the first, when Ritchie misplayed Oscar Luna's
fly ball in right into a double, and he came around to score on a pair
of wild pitches by Mata.
Cisco Rodriguez didn't need any help in the second getting his double,
as he lined Mata's first pitch to the left-center field fence. But he
did get some help scoring, as Mata threw Strain's comebacker over Ervoy
Ramirez' head at first base, tying the game. Strain went to third on the
play, and scored on a passed ball by Marty Donet.
Nestor Mendoza scored Pecos' fourth run, as he walked, and scored on
Luna's sacrifice fly. Portillo then let Eric Abila's grounder go through
his legs for an error, and after Richard Gutierrez singled, Jason Abila
brought home a run on an infield single. Gutierrez then scored on Mark
Abila's double down the line in left.
Two Pecos errors got Alpine within 6-3 in their next at bat. Jason
Garcia reached base on catcher's interference, when Mark Abila's glove
hit his bat on a line drive to Luna in right. A bad pickoff throw by
Jason Abila sent him to third, from where he scored on Donet's single.
Patrick Scown replaced Mata on the mound in the third and had control
problems of his own. He walked three batters, while giving up three hits
to Mendoza, Eric Muniz and Mark Abila in the inning. Muniz's single was
on a hit-and-run to the vacant hole at short, while another hit-and-run
kept Pecos out of a double play, as Muniz reached second before Yanez on
Luna's grounder up the middle, turning it into an RBI ground out.
It scored Strain, who would do the same in the fourth after hitting his
first home run of the year, a shot to left-center after Rodriguez'
infield hit. Oscar Rodriguez then came on to pitch for Alpine, and gave
up the final two runs, off a fielder's choice by Luna and a double by
Eric Abila.
The Eagles had no extra base hits against Reagan County and only three
RBI, as the Owls' errors helped the Eagles overcome their big early
deficit.
Like Abila, early control problems plagued Jason Aguilar after he
relived Ruben Campos in the first inning. Campos left after two-thirds
of an inning, in which he allowed one walk and three singles to the
first five Reagan County batters.
It was still only 2-0 when Aguilar came in, and the Eagles almost got
out of the inning when Mark Abila picked Paul Jones off first base. But
the throw was dropped by Strain and Aguilar then wlaked the first three
runners he faced, bringing home two more runs. Junior Florez, who opened
the game by doubling to left-center off Campos, then got the second of
his four hits in the game, singling by Jason Abila at shortstop to score
two more runs.
Staked to a six-run lead, Owls starter T.J. Pena immediately hit Luna to
open the bottom of the first. Consecutive singles by Eric Abila,
Gutierrez and Jason Abila followed, in the middle of which the Eagles
got a run and lost Gutierrez when he twisted his ankle after running up
on Eric Abila at second base. Abila scored when first baseman Jerry
Ramirez tossed the ball by third base trying for the Eagle runner, and a
wild pitch, a stolen base and another throwing error, this one by
catcher Joel DelaGarza, cut the lead to 6-4.
Aguilar survived two more walks in the second, before Flores appeared to
give Reagan County an 8-4 lead in the third, homering to the 401-foot
mark in center after a walk to Neil Hallmark. But Hallmark failed to
touch home plate and was called out, and Pecos would tie the score with
three runs in their half of the third off Pena and reliever Adrian
Vargas.
He moved over from shortstop after Pena walked Strain and hit Mark Abila
and should have gotten out of the inning unscathed. But two passed balls
by DelaGarza scored one run, and the catcher then threw the ball into
center field on a double-steal, after John Gutierrez walked, making it
7-6. New shortstop Harvey Flores then let Luna's pop up drop just behind
him for a hit, tying the game.
Pop-ups to short were a problem for both teams. In the fifth, after
another walk to Hallmark and another Junior Flores hit, Jason Abila
dropped Pena's two-out pop up for an error, allowing the Owls to regain
the lead. But Reagan County gave two runs back moments later.
Strain walked, stole second as Mark Abila was striking out, and went to
third when DelaGarza's throw again went into center. Rodriguez walked,
and Mendoza then got the Eagles' lone solid hit off Vargas, an RBI
single to right. Vargas came back to get Jason Aguilar on an infield
out, but then threw one on the fly to the fence behind home plate,
scoring Rodriguez with the winning run.
Pecos had one final scare in the sixth, when Luna and Mendoza collided
on Jones' short fly to right field. Both were able to stay in the game
after being down for about two minutes, and Aguilar then struck out
Ramirez to clinch the victory.
Coming after Pecos' 9-1 opening game victory over Midland Greenwood, it
gave the Eagles a 5-1 season record going into this week's Greenwood
Tournament at Christensen Stadium in Midland. The tournament, a
double-elimination format this season, will open with the Eagles taking
on Seminole at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Pecos also won their own junior varsity tournament on Saturday, and came
in second as well. The JV, winners Thursday over Fort Stockton and
Andrews, scored a 10-5 victory over the Eagles' freshman team, which
defeated the JVs from Van Horn and Monahans in their half of the bracket
on Friday.
REAGAN COUNTY PECOS
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Name--ab r h bi -- Name-ab r h bi
J.Fls lf-2b 4 2 4 3 Luna rf 3 1 1 1
Pena p-lf 3 1 0 0 E.Abila cf 3 1 1 0
H.Fls 2b-ss 3 0 0 0 R.Gtrrz 3b 1 0 1 1
DelaGrza c 4 0 2 1 J.Chbra pr 0 1 0 0
Bonilla pr 0 1 0 0 Muniz 3b 2 0 0 0
DeLeon 3b 4 0 0 0 J.Abila ss 3 1 1 0
Jones rf 3 1 1 0 Strain 1b 1 2 0 0
Levario pr 0 0 0 0 M.Abila c 2 0 0 0
Ramirez 1b 2 1 0 0 Villnuva pr 0 1 0 0
Vargas ss-p 1 1 0 1 Rdrguez lf 2 1 1 0
Evans ph 1 0 0 0 Mendoza 2b 3 0 1 1
Hllmrk cf 0 1 0 1 Campos p 0 0 0 0
J.Aguilar p 1 0 0 0
J.Gtrrz dh 1 1 1 0
Totals 25 8 7 6 Totals 22 9 7 3
Reagan County 6 0 1 0 1 0 -8
Pecos 4 0 3 0 2 x -9
E - J.Abila 2, Strain 2, Ramirez, DelaGarza 3, Vargas. DP - Pecos 1.
LOB - Reagan County 5, Pecos 3. 2B - J. Flores. HR - J. Flores. SB - J.
Abila, Rodriguez, J. Gutierrez, Strain, Mendoza. CS - Luna (by
DelaGarza).
IP H R ER BB KO
Reagan County
Pena 2 5 6 4 1 2
Vargas (L) 3 2 3 1 3 2
Pecos
Campos 2/3 3 4 1 1 0
J.Aguilar W, 1-0 5 1/3 4 4 2 7 7
Pena pitched to two batters in the third
HBP - Luna, M. Abila by Pena.
WP - Campos, Pena, Vargas. PB - M. Abila, DelaGarza 2.
T - 2:06.
ALPINE---------------------------PECOS
Name--ab r h bi--- Name----ab r h bi
Ritchie rf 2 1 0 0 Luna rf 3 2 1 3
Garcia ss 1 1 0 0 E.Abila cf 2 1 1 1
Yanez ss 2 1 0 0 R.Gtrrz 3b 2 1 1 0
Donet c 3 0 1 1 J.Abila p 1 0 1 1
Portillo 3b 3 0 1 2 M.Abila c 3 0 2 2
Darwin lf 3 0 0 0 E.Aguilr pr 0 0 0 0
O'Tool 2b 0 0 0 0 C.Rdrguz lf 3 2 2 0
Ramirez 1b 3 0 1 0 Strain 1b 2 3 1 2
Mata p 0 0 0 0 Mendoza 2b 1 3 1 0
Scown p 0 0 0 0 Muniz ss 3 1 2 1
O.Rdrguz p 0 0 0 0
Stratton dh 3 0 0 0
Totals 18 3 3 3 Totals 20 13 12 10
Garcia awarded first on catcher's interference.
Alpine 2 0 1 0 0 - 3
Pecos 1 5 3 4 x -13
E - Mata, M. Abila, J. Abila, Rodriguez. LOB - Alpine 6, Pecos 4. 2B -
Luna, Rodriguez, M. Abila, E. Abila SF - Luna. SB - Mendoza. CS - Muniz,
E. Abila (by Donet).
IP H R ER BB KO
Alpine
Mata L 2 5 6 2 2 0
Scown 1 5 5 5 3 1
O.Rodriguez 1 2 1 2 1 0
Pecos
J. Abila W, 1-1 5 3 3 2 4 12
Scown pitched to two batters in the fifth
WP - J. Abila 3, Mata 2. PB - Donet 2.
T - 1:42.
The Pecos Eagles were long on points when it came to those things on
Saturday at the Crane Invitational. But it was the shorter races - the
sprints - where the Eagles were short on points, as both teams placed
third in their divisions.
The boys got another record-setting effort by senior Bryan Brownlee,
and picked up seven medals on the day. But aside from the 300 meter
hurdles, the Eagles were shut out of medals from 400 meters on down and
ended up with 89 points, to 103 for Reagan County and 134 for the host
Cranes.
"We wanted to bring home the championship trophy, but we came up a
little short," said Eagles' coach Mike Ferrell. "But they worked hard,
and as a coach, you can never fault a young man for working hard."
The story was the same for the girls. They did pick up a second place
medal in the 200 meter run by Monica Carrasco, but saw most of their
points come in the field events and in the mile and two-mile races, as
they scored 80 points, to 87 for Crane and 156½ for division winner
Greenwood.
"I told the kids `let's just try and double our points from last week',
and that's what they did," said coach Becky Granado, referring to the
Eagles' 33 point effort at the season-opening Comanche Relays.
"Monica ran (the 200) faster in the prelims. She had a 27.34" Granado
said. That was about a second faster than the finals, but it came after
Saturday's cold front blew through, dropping the temperatures from the
lower 60s to about 50 by late afternoon.
Marisol Arenivas earned golds in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs,
while Penny Armstrong won a four-way tiebreaker for first in the high
jump, as all cleared the 4-foot-10 mark, with Armstrong having the
fewest previous misses.
Arenivas' time of 5:58.54 was 1½ seconds better than her season-opening
effort at Fort Stockton, and her 13:06.14 in the 3,200 was nine seconds
faster.
Carrasco and Armstrong also scored points in the long jump, where they
placed fourth and sixth, while Crissy Lujan finished third and Lori
Marquez sixth in the discus.
The Eagles also got a third place finish from their 1,600 meter relay
team, a fourth from the 800 meter relay team, fourths from Helena
Pendleton in the 800 meter run and Liz Parent in the 1,600 meters, and a
pair of sixths from Veronica Carrasco in the 100 meter and 300 meter
hurdles.
"The mile relay ran a 4:33, and I still don't have the four kids who
normally run it out," said Granado, who was missing a couple of her
runners at Crane.
Before the cold and wind arrived, Brownlee broke his week-old record in
the discus, upping his 163-foot-4 toss at the Comanche Relays by nearly
6½ feet to 169-8 on Saturday. He was a little below his 57-foot-1 effort
at Fort Stockton in the shot put, but his 54-10 toss was still well
ahead of the rest of the field, including his brother Jeff, who placed
second with a 49-foot-3 effort.
Ferrell got another 1-2 effort in the 800 meter run, where Billy
Rodriguez and Mauricio Villescas had 2:06.38 and 2:09.56 times. Both
were running slightly out of their normal races on Saturday - Villescas
ran the 800 instead of the 3,200, while Rodriguez competed in the 400
meter dash instead of the 1,600 meter run.
"That's part of the design, to get them ready for the next step past
district," Ferrell said. "To be a truly great miler or 800 man, you have
to develop speed. You need to run races like the 800 and the 400 meter
dash to prepare you for the longer races."
Villescas placed third in the 1,600, while Rodriguez was fifth in the
400 after their 800 meter runs.
The Eagles' other running medal came from Orlando Matta, who was third
in the 300 meter hurdles. Lucio Florez was fourth in that race, and Roy
Marta was sixth in the 200 meter dash, after earning his second third
place medal in as many weeks in the pole vault.
Len Carson was fourth in that event, while Jeff Brownlee was fifth in
the discus, Jake Fowler fifth in the shot put and Jose Perez was fifth
in the 3,200 meters for the Eagles. Both the Eagles' 400 and 1,600 meter
relay teams finished sixth.
After competing at the same meets the first two weeks of the season,
the Eagles will split things up this weekend. The boys will go to the
West Texas Relays at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa on Friday and Saturday,
while the girls will head to Snyder on Saturday, for the Canyon Reef
Relays.
Pecos' boys, meanwhile, got in all 18 holes of play in Andrews on
Saturday, where they placed 22nd at the Andrews Classic.
The 36-hole Midland Tournament was cut to 27 holes by the front, which
blew in just after 1 p.m. It was also divided into two divisions, with
Abilene High taking the maroon division with a 529 score, while Monahans
edged Pecos for the Purple Division title, shooting a 588 to the Eagles'
591.
Senior Lindley Workman shot a 42 over nine holes in Saturday's final
round, after an opening 104 for a 146 score, while Alva Alvarez had the
overall low round, shooting a 97-45-144, fifth best in the Purple
Division. Sarah Armstrong and Belinda Heard, who also shot 104s on
Friday, had 48 and 53 respectively on Saturday, while Amanda Stickels
had a 100 on Friday and a 56 on Saturday and Anica Garcia shot a 98 for
her one round on Friday.
Overall, Pecos' 591 score was 12th best out of the 29 teams entered,
while their second place finish was one spot better than the opening
round on Friday, when the Eagles and Loboes trailed Abilene Cooper. The
Cougars finished with a 597 score. Two District 4-4A rivals at the
tournament, Fort Stockton and Andrews, competed in the Maroon Division,
where the Prowlers were fifth, with a 364-183-547, and the Mustangs
ninth, with a 400-181-581.
While the boys didn't place as high up in Andrews, their 350-349-699
score was lower than in recent years, and within range of their other
4-4A rivals. Odessa Permian won the tournament, beating out the host
Mustangs by three strokes with a 640 score. Fort Stockton tied Odessa
High for fourth with a 658, while Andrews `B' shot a 665, Big Spring a
666, Andrews `C' a 692 and Sweetwater shot a 768.
"It was beautiful weather until the last three or four holes," said
coach Joe Wheeler. "We had an early tee time, so we were able to get
through before it got bad."
Wheeler said Jason Salcido was "excellent," in shooting an 88-79-167,
while adding "John Granado (86-89-175) shot extremely well the first
day."
Casey Love had an 87-89-176, Lee Lyles shot an 89-82-181, and Dallas
Jarrett had a 90-92-182 for 36 holes of play.
Pecos' junior varsity golf teams were competing in Alpine today, while
the varsity teams will return to action this weekend with a pair of
200-mile trips, as the boys go east to San Angelo and the girls west to
El Paso.
State and Regional Sports Pages--San Angelo Standard-Times
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