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On Thursday, Pecos got their runs without benefit of a hit, but saw Big
Spring rally in the seventh for a 3-2 victory. The Junior Leaguers came
back on Friday to rout Perryton, 9-3, and earn a rematch in the
double-elimination tournament, but this time, Big Spring got the runs
they needed without any hits, while Pecos could manage just one run off
reliever Steven Franco and lost, 9-5, in the finals of the 13-year-olds'
subsectional tournament at Moffett Field.
Pecos, which managed just one hit in Thursday's loss, doubled that total
after just two innings off starter Derrick Wilson, before chasing him
from the mound with three runs in the third. That brought on Franco, who
allowed just one run in the sixth inning, by which time Big Spring
already had a 7-4 lead.
They also had just one hit at that point off starter Richard Rodriguez
and relievers David Meline and Capi Magana, but walks and errors made up
for that.
Big Spring's lone hit off Rodriguez, a Ryan Gunn single in the first,
scored Franco with the game's first run. He walked, and moved to third
on a passed ball and wild pitch. Gunn was forced at second by Waylan
Kelso, but he would score off a wild pitch and an error by Chris
Natividad at shortstop.
Wilson had problems holding runners on base in his two-plus innings of
work. Mason Abila singled to open the second, stole second and moved to
third on a Natividad sacrifice, then was balked home. Meline followed
with a single, then was balked to second, but was left stranded.
Pecos tied the game in the third off a walk to Paul Juarez, a Magana
single and a bad throw by Kelso in right field. Willis Morrison then
dropped Rodriguez' pop up which cost Big Spring, as he would score on a
Meline ground out after a bunt single by Natividad brought home Magana.
However, Pecos' lead was short-lived. Franco walked and Gunn was hit by
a pitch to open the bottom of the inning, and both runners scored when
Rodriguez threw away Kelso's sacrifice bunt while trying for Franco at
third base. Kelso then tagged up and scored the go-ahead run after a
Manuel Holguin fly out, as Abel Lopez' throw from the outfield went by
third.
Rodriguez got through the fourth with little trouble, and got Kelso to
open the fifth. But after he walked Floyd, Meline came on to pitch and
had the same problem. He walked Holguin and Greathouse while hitting
Daniel Mata, forcing home Floyd, and then balked Holguin home with the
seventh run.
That brought on Magana, who had gone the distance in Thursday's game. He
got out of trouble in the fifth, but after Pecos cut the margin to 7-5,
Big Spring got their bats going in the sixth, adding two insurance runs.
While Big Spring -- Pecos' future District 4-4A high school rival --
scored two wins in three days over the Junior Leaguers, Pecos did the
same to Perryton, following up Rodriguez' 3-1 win with a six-run victory
behind Abila who allowed just three hits in the game.
Abila also started the Junior Leaguers' two-run second with a double,
then came in on Lopez' hit. Pecos would add two more runs in the third
before both teams put across single runs in the fourth and fifth. Three
runs by the Junior Leaguers in the sixth broke things open, and Abila was able to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh.
The annual listing by Dave Campbell's magazine listed Andrews and
Sweetwater at the teams who'll battle for the District 4-4A title this
fall, while San Angelo Lake View, last year's runner-up to Sweetwater,
is picked for third this time around.
The magazine has made a habit of not `picking' any positions below the
playoff qualifiers, but for the record, Pecos is listed last among the
six 4-4A teams, behind fourth place Fort Stockton and fifth place Big
Spring.
Sweetwater, which has missed the playoffs only once (1989) in the past
13 years, is given the nod over Andrews in the preseason rankings. The
Mustangs are No. 6 in Texas Football's Top 25 poll, while Andrews comes
in at No. 24 in the rankings. In Region I, Denison is the highest ranked
team, at No. 4, while Stephenville and Brownwood are ranked on either
side of Sweetwater, and Lubbock Estacado is 13th.
LaMarque, the Division II state champ in Class 4A last year, is ranked
No. 1 in the poll.
Balmorhea, which sees assistant Ennis Erickson move up to head coach
this year, is ranked No. 8 in the magazine's Top 10 poll for six-man
squads, in a year in which defending champ Gordon comes in again as the
preseason pick. The Bears, who'll be seeking their fourth straight
playoff appearance, are given a slight edge over Grandfalls, which beat
out Balmorhea for the District 8-A six man title in 1996.
The Bears won their last district title in 1994, reaching the six-man
semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Amherst. Balmorhea
lost in the area round the past two seasons, falling to Southland in
1996.
Among other area teams, Wink is ranked No. 4 in Class A, and Abilene
Cooper and Midland Lee are ranked No. 7 and 21 in Class 5A.
Among Pecos' non-district foes, Lamesa (1-9 in 1996) is listed at the
bottom of District 2-4A, while Monahans (10-1), Alpine (5-6) and Fabens
(6-4) are ranked 1-2-3 in District 3-3A and Kermit (2-8) is fifth in
District 4-3A. The Eagles defeated Alpine, Fabens, Kermit and Fort Stockton in going 4-6 in coach Mike Belew's inaugural season in 1996.
Until that moment, he had been a forgotten man.
Despite a U.S. Amateur title and two PGA Tour victories, the 25-year-old
Texan had never been tested in a major championship like Jesper Parnevik
at Turnberry in 1994.
And if Parnevik couldn't hold a two-stroke lead in the final round of
the British Open on Sunday, maybe Tiger Woods could top a 64 and make a
run from eight strokes behind.
Too far back? Fred Couples was only five strokes back, same as Leonard.
Even when Darren Clarke was trying to hang onto the lead in the third
round, a British broadcaster said at least the 28-year-old would not be
in awe of his playing partner -- Leonard, of course.
They can't help but notice Leonard now.
Leonard won the British Open with the kind of round required at Royal
Troon -- birdies on the front, survival on the back -- and a putting
stroke that wins major championships.
He shot a 65 for a 12-under-par 272, three strokes better than Parnevik
and Clarke. Jim Furyk was fourth at 5-under 279, while Padraig
Harrington and Stephen Ames were another stroke back.
``Just to be able to come through with the tournament on the line,
that's the kind of confidence I'll be able to take away from here,''
Leonard said.
The victory was a third straight by an American, and the fifth straight
time an American has won the British Open at Royal Troon, dating to
Arnold Palmer in 1962.
It also confirmed Leonard's place as one of the best young players in
the game. His win meant that along with Woods in the Masters and Ernie
Els in the U.S. Open, all three major championship winners this year
were in their 20s.
Asked whether players like Els and Woods had lifted his game, Leonard
replied, ``Maybe my expectations just a little bit.''
``Maybe coming in here, having seen Tiger do so well, having seen Ernie
do so well, maybe I thought it's OK to go out and win a tournament like
this,'' he said.
The way he worked himself around Royal Troon, tamed by only a trace of
breeze off the Firth of Clyde, was equally impressive.
``Justin is a great player,'' said Woods, who took a triple bogey on No.
8 and finished at 74, 12 strokes behind. ``He's a great putter. People
do not give him enough credit for that.''
While Couples made bogey twice from pot bunkers and Clarke fell out of
the picture when his tee shot on No. 2 bounded onto the shore of the
Irish Sea, Leonard made six birdies on the front nine to make it a
two-man race with Parnevik.
Despite the lead, Parnevik said he never felt comfortable about his
game. It wasn't long before it caught up with him.
``I have been riding a wave on just positive momentum all week, and
today I think the pressure was a little bit too much,'' he said. ``It
was a struggle all day. I had to scramble to save my life on every hole
it seemed like.''
His four-stroke lead through five holes was down to two when he made the
turn, and he lost another stroke when he made bogey on No. 13.
Leonard showed what it takes to win majors with three one-putts starting
on the 15th hole, where he faced a 12-foot putt for par and the prospect
of falling two shots back with three tough holes to play.
He pumped his arm out to the right when the putt fell, the first sign of
emotion all day.
``That was the tournament right there,'' he said.
He made up the stroke difference at the par-5 16th, where Leonard holed
a 15-footer for birdie and Parnevik missed a 5-foot birdie try when he
came through a hole later.
``I felt good over that one,'' Parnevik said. ``It felt like if I made
that one, I was going to win. Then all of a sudden, I came up to 17 and
watched his birdie. And then the air kind of went out of my sails for
good.''
Leonard's birdie was as memorable as the 40-foot birdie putt by Jack
Nicklaus in the 1975 Masters or Nick Price's 50-foot eagle at Turnberry
three years ago.
``I just knew from about 3 feet out that it was right in the center of
the hole,'' Leonard said. ``That's when the hair on the back of my neck
stood up.''
Parnevik now needed birdie at the 17th to catch Leonard, and wound up
with a bogey from the rough.
He lost the British Open to Price in 1994 by failing to look at the
leaderboard, taking a bogey on the 18th and allowing Price to catch him
with a birdie-eagle-par finish.
This time, it unfolded in front of him by a player few people even noticed.
AUSTIN, July 21 -- Welcome to Camp Aikman.
Troy Aikman is finally getting what he wanted from coach Barry Switzer
and owner Jerry Jones: a Dallas Cowboys camp free of distractions, dawn
to dusk hard work and a dedicated attitude.
Aikman first had a camp like that under coach Jimmy Johnson. After last
year's unhappy result in which the Cowboys were bounced out of the
playoffs by Carolina a game short of the NFC title game, Aikman hinted
retirement if Dallas didn't brush up its image.
``I haven't made a decision yet about my future,'' he said back in
February. ``Certain things need to be addressed.''
They were.
The Cowboys re-signed close buddy Daryl Johnston at fullback, hired
Calvin Hill to clean up the team's public image and promised a
no-frills, hard-working camp.
He also wasn't happy with a frantic preseason like last year's, when
the team played in two different countries, scrimmaged three different
teams and played one more preseason game than most clubs.
``There's a fine line between being 13-3 and 8-8,'' Aikman said. ``We
have to get the edge back.''
It wasn't 8-8 for the Cowboys, but it was 10-6, not a mark to which
Dallas is accustomed. Now Aikman is enthusiastic again, buoyed by the
appearance of Michael Irvin in camp and the signing of free agent
Anthony Miller to complement him at wide receiver.
``We could have the best corps of receivers we've ever had,'' Aikman
said. ``In Mike and Anthony we may have the best tandem in the league.
Certainly the best group of receivers since I've been here.''
Aikman likes the healthy return of tight end Eric Bjornson and praises
rookie first round draft pick David LaFleur, another tight end.
In fact, Aikman all but said Deion Sanders needn't worry about offense
when he finally reports from the Cincinnati Reds.
``Deion might be able to help, but it would hard because it (being a receiver) takes so much time,'' Aikman said.
The camp will take place between 9 a.m and 1 p.m. from Tuesday through
Friday at the new PHS gym. Those wanting to participate should bring a
snack or a bag lunch each day to the camp, Granado added.
Regular volleyball practice for seventh and eighth graders will begin
following the start of school in mid-August. Preseason workouts for
Pecos High School freshman, junior varsity and varsity volleyball
players will start the week before school gets underway.
Pecos Enterprise
Mac McKinnon, 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@bitstreet.com
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