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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Reeves County, Trans-Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Sports

Monday, February 23, 1998

Eagles stopped by Bucks in softball debut

By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Feb. 23 -- So long as the Pecos Eagles made the Alpine Bucks hit
the ball to get on base, they stayed in their first-ever girls softball
game. But once the Eagles started giving the Bucks free passes on base,
things went downhill quickly for Pecos.

The Eagles trailed Alpine by only a 6-4 score after 2½ innings of their
debut game in Alpine Friday night, but never made it into the fourth
inning. The Bucks used eight walks and some Pecos errors to score 13
times in the bottom of the third and won, 19-4, under the 15-run mercy
rule.

"I was happy with the way we hit the ball. Just about everybody in put
in hit the ball," said Eagles' coach Tammy Walls, as despite the big
victory margin, both teams wound up with six hits in three innings of
play.

Alpine looked like they would take control from the outset, after
pitcher Libby Magnum survived a walk and error that put Pecos runners on
second and third with one out in the first. Magnum retired the side, and
leadoff batter Ashley Batista then scored on a four-base error, when
center fielder Dee Dee Molinar couldn't handle her fly ball.

Things went better on the next two batters, even though Magnum followed
with the first of her two triples on the night. She was thrown out
trying to score, and pitcher Alexa Marquez the snared Amanda Molina's
line drive back to the mound.

But the Eagles' first-year problems came out after that. Nicole Patillo
reached on a tap down the first base line, Corina Monclova got on off
Gabi Bafidis' error behind second base, and then, when Audrey Garcia
grounded back to the mound Marquez opted to throw home instead of to
first base, and the ball got past catcher Tammy Perkins, allowing two
more runs to score.

Down 3-0, Katrina Quiroz led off the second by getting the Eagles'
first- ever base hit, a single to center, and after a wild pitch,
Bafidis got Pecos' first run batted in, scoring Quiroz on another single
to center. She went to second when Garcia bobbled the ball in center,
and was able to score from there on Valerie Gonzales ground out to
second base.

Alpine got three more runs in their half of the second, off a walk, two
errors and Magnum's second triple of the night, before the Eagles
answered with another two run inning. Singles by Erica Orona and Heather
Uptergrove and another error by Garcia in center got on run in, and
Uptergrove scored on Quiroz' second hit of the night.

Walls change pitchers in the third, replacing her freshman with senior
Annette Marquez. But she had control problems right from the start, and
later complained about a sore arm.

"They got tired," said Walls of both Marquezes, who has had her pitchers
throwing often in the first two weeks of practice, to try and improve on
their speed. "They're going to need to get a couple of days off, because
I've been working them hard this week trying to get the right muscle
movement."

Annette Marquez walked five of the six hitters she faced before Walls
put Alexa Marquez back in. She got Molina to ground to second, but the
ball got past Orona and all three runs scored giving Alpine a 12-4 lead.
Alexa Marquez then began having control problems of her own, walking
four batters while allowing two bloop singles to right field.

The Bucks also stole three bases in the inning, with Payne stealing home
after getting caught in a rundown and Magnum scoring on a double-steal
with Molina, Alpine's 19th run, which ended the game.

"We've still got a lot of work to do, but I'm very pleased with where we
are now," said Walls, whose team will stay on the road this week, going
to Fort Stockton on Tuesday then competing in the Midland Softball
Tournament on Thursday through Saturday.

PECOS ALPINE

ab r h bi ab r h
bi Al.Mrqz p 1 0 0 0 Batista c 3 3
0 0
An.Mrqz p 0 0 0 0 Magnum p 2 3 2
2
Orona 2b 2 1 1 0 Molina 1b 2 1 0
0
Cabllro 2b 0 0 0 0 Portillo ss 1 2 1
0
Uptrgrve 1b 2 1 1 0 Mnclva 3b 3 2 1
0
Bell 1b 0 0 0 0 Garcia cf 2 1 0
1
Perkins c 1 0 0 0 C.Payne cf 3 2 2
2
Molinar cf 1 0 0 0 McGraw 2b 0 3 0
0
Domnguz cf 1 0 0 0 Williams rf 1 2 0
0
Salgado cf 0 0 0 0
N.Payne cf 0 0 0 0
Quiroz 3b 2 1 2 1
Bafidis ss 2 1 1 1
Gonzales lf 1 0 0 0
Meza lf 0 0 0 0
Arenivas rf 1 0 0 0
Chabarria rf 0 0 0 0
Lujan dh 1 0 0 0

Totals 15 4 6 3 Totals 17 19 6
5

Pecos 0 2 |2-|4
Alpine 3 3 13-19
Two out when game ended under 15-run rule

E - C. Payne, Molinar, Bafidis 4, Perkins, Garcia 2, Portillo,
Dominguez, Orona. LOB - Pecos 4, Alpine 3. 3B - Magnum 2. SB - Batista,
C. Payne, Molina, Magnum.

IP H R ER BB KO
Pecos
Al.Marquez L, 0-1 2 2-3 6 13 3 7 1
An.Marquez 0 1 6 6 5 0
Alpine
Magnum W, 1-0 3 6 4 2 2 3
Balk - A. Marquez.
WP - Magnum 2, Al. Marquez 3, An Marquez 2.
PB - Perkins 4, Batista.

Field events carry Pecos at Comanche

By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Feb. 23 -- The emphasis was definitely on the `field' in the
Pecos Eagles' 1998 track and field opener Friday and Saturday in Fort
Stockton.

The boys collected three gold medals and three silver medals on Friday
in the field events at the Comanche Relays, sweeping the top spots in
the shot put, discus and long jump. Pecos' girls, meanwhile, picked up a
pair of gold medals and one bronze in Friday's field events, but on
Saturday, the girls struggled in the running competition while the boys
fared better, winning one gold but falling to second overall to San
Angelo Lake View in the final standings.

"I'm real excited about the way we did," said Eagles' coach Mike
Ferrell. "I think our field events will be strong in Monahans (this
Saturday). Whatever we scored in this week, I think we'll be strong in
every week."

The Eagles won the 1600 meter relay, edging Lake View by a 3:34.3 to
3:35.0 time, which allowed them to place ahead of the host Panthers with
134 points to Fort Stockton's 126. Lake View won the meet, finishing
with 191 points.

"The 1600 was real exciting," Ferrell said. "Orlando Matta had about a
10 meter lead out of the well, but that evaporated by the first turn.
(Lake View's) Justin Daniel took the lead and had about a 5-10 meter
lead on the backstretch, but when they came into the final straightaway
Orlando sucked it up and caught him with about 10 meters left."

San Angelo also won the girls' division with 224 points, with Pecos
placing fifth with 38 points, most of that coming on Friday.

"We weren't physically ready for competition. After the prelims, almost
all of them had pulled (muscles)," said coach Lily Talamantez. "I think
that woke the girls up. I think they now know they need to get out and
practice harder and take their warm-ups more seriously."

While pulled muscles hampered the runners, Senior Penny Armstrong won
both the high jump and discus, and freshman Philonicus Fobbs took third
in the triple jump. Armstrong won with a 5-foot jump and a 110-foot-11
throw, while Fobbs earned her medal with a 14-foot-4 effort.

Pecos' other 10 points came from sophomore Katrina Quiroz, fourth in the
shot put on Friday, and from a fifth place fro Linsey Hathorn in the 100
meter dash, a fifth from the 400 meter relay team and a sixth from the
1600 meter squad on Saturday.

"We didn't even practice much on the field events last week, but we're
really going to hit on them this week," Talamantez said.

Yvette Barreno, Alexa Marquez, Maricela Arenivas and Becky Villanueva
were on the 1600 team, Barreno, Crystal Garcia, Valerie Lara and Hathorn
were the 400 team, while Barreno, Marquez, Arenivas and Erica Orona ran
in the 800 meter relay. "We didn't even go with the ones we were
planning on due to all the pulls," Talamantez said.

One place where the Eagles didn't have any muscle pulls on Saturday was
in the distance races - because they didn't have any runners. Senior
Marisol Arenivas became sick on Friday and missed the 1600 and 3200
meter runs, while junior Liz Parent was at a swim meet in Midland and
freshman Jenny Alvarez missed the meet due to a family emergency.

On the boys' side, Seniors Jeff Brownlee and Jake Fowler placed first
and second in both the shot put and discus, and sophomore Roy Marta and
senior Chris Reyes took the top spots in the pole vault. Sophomore Len
Carson placed fourth there, but later won a silver medal for finishing
second in the 800 meter run, and was part of the Eagles' first place
mile relay squad.

Brownlee threw 52-foot-7 and 151-11 in his events, while Fowler had 48-1
and 130-1 tosses to claim second. Marta cleared 11-foot-6 and Reyes 11-0
in the pole vault, while Carson lost out for third to Josh LeFevebre of
El Paso Americas High School. In the 800, his 2:10.47 time was three
seconds behind first place finisher Lake View's Justin Daniel.

Earning thirds in their running events were 3200 meter runner Billy
Rodriguez, 1600 runner Oscar Medrano and 400 meter runner Matta, along
with Pecos' 400 and 800 meter relay teams.

Marta, Rodriguez and Carson joined Matta on the mile relay team. "Roy
qualified in the 200, but we scratched him so we would have a better
chance in the 1600," said Ferrell, who added he may change things up
this week, with the addition of sophomore Jacob Esparza and junior Lucio
Florez.

Matta and Marta also ran in the 400 relay, along with freshmen Trent
Riley and Daniel Terrazas, and those two, along with Rodriguez and
Reyes, were on the 800 relay squad. Medrano was also fifth in the 3200
meters, Marta was fifth in the long jump and Jomar Gallego was sixth
both in that event and the high jump.

Sweetwater course tests Eagles

PECOS, Feb. 23 -- The Pecos Eagles' girls golf team played shorthanded
over the weekend, but still wound up in fifth place out of 14 teams on
Saturday at the Sweetwater Invitational.

The Eagles shot a 376-388-764 for 36 holes, finishing just behind Fort
Stockton, which shot a 758. Andrews moved up sharply from their first
two weeks of play and won the tournament with a 699 score, to 727 for
Odessa Permian.

Pecos played without golfers Amanda Stickels and Jennifer Armstrong, who
were in band competition this weekend. Alva Alvarez shot 90s both days,
while Amanda Hernandez shot a 92-99-191, Kim Clark had a 101-91-192,
Candace Roach had a 97-108-205 and Cindy Mauldin shot a 97-109-206.

"The first day we had pretty weather, but the second day it got cold and
windy," said Eagles' coach Tina Hendrick. "Kim just blew up the first
day, but the second she came back and played real well. For the others,
it was a very difficult course, and it was the first time they've ever
seen it, and that made a difference."

"But I was real proud of the girls. They worked hard, and just had a
little out-of-bounds problems and a little water (hazard) problems,"
Hendrick said.

Along with Andrews and Fort Stockton, Sweetwater and San Angelo Lake
View were also at the tournament, and Hendrick said all five, plus Big
Spring, will be in Fort Stockton for the Blue Ribbon Invitational this
weekend.

"I'm going to take everybody, JV and varsity," said Hendrick. Meanwhile,
Pecos' boys are off until March 6-7, when they compete in the Andrews
Invitational.

Eagles host Loboes in baseball opener

PECOS, Feb. 23 -- There will be far fewer substitutes on the field
tonight for the Pecos Eagles baseball team than there were on Saturday,
coach Bubba Williams said today.

The Eagles open their 1998 baseball season at home tonight at 7 p.m.
against the Monahans Loboes, and Williams said he'll probably with
pitcher Moses Martinez, who started the Eagles' Saturday afternoon
scrimmage at Midland High.

The Eagles gave Martinez an early 3-0 lead, but Pecos fell behind 6-3
after five innings. The Bulldogs then racked up 18 runs against Pecos'
reserves for a 24-3 victory in the final preseason scrimmage for both
teams.

"Basically, I put everybody in there to play and it kind of went
haywire," Williams said. "But that's the thing about a scrimmage, it's a
chance for you to get a look at everybody.

"But now we're going to go all out. I'm going to put 9-10 guys out
there, and the others are just going to have to play their roles and
contribute when they have to," he added.

Martinez was the last of the Eagles' pitchers to get a scrimmage test,
after just getting out of basketball last week. "We made a lot of
errors, and that hurt. Moses looked good. He made then put it in play,
but we didn't make the plays," Williams said. "He got two out in the
first, and then we misplayed a couple of fly balls in the outfield and
that hurt."

Williams said Eric Muniz also pitched well, while Midland got most of
their runs off Louis Valencia and Jason Aguilar in the late innings.

"Louis' arm started hurting him, and they started hitting him, and Bird
(Aguilar) couldn't get it over the plate," Williams said.

Along with Martinez tonight, Williams said he plans to start Richard
Gutierrez and Jason Abila at third and shortstop, while Muniz will play
second and John Gutierrez will start at first.

Oscar Luna will be at catcher, while Cisco Rodriguez, who also worked at
catcher in pre-season, will be in center field. Williams said Eric
Aguilar and Jason Aguilar will be in the other outfield spots against
the Loboes tonight.

Pecos began last season with a 15-5 victory in Monahans. Martinez
allowed five runs six innings while getting the victory that night, and
Abila had a home run in the Eagles' 10-run second inning.

Tonight's game will start after the Eagles' junior varsity begins their
season at 5 p.m. against the Loboes. Pecos' freshman won't open play
until Thursday, in the first round of the Pecos JV Tournament.

Czechs continue celebration after Olympics end

By TIM DAHLBERG
AP Sports Writer
NAGANO, Japan, Feb. 23 - Bjorn Dahlie sprawled face first in the snow,
the exhausted owner of an even dozen medals. Czech hockey players danced
on the ice in celebration under their flag.

Then, amid the glow of 50,000 handheld lanterns, the Japanese said
``Arigato gozaimashita,'' thanking the world once again for
participating in their games.

The Nagano Games ended Sunday with three indelible images, culminating a
weather-ravaged two weeks of competition that drew praise not as the
best games ever, but as the best organized.

They ended with Dahlie, the Norwegian cross-country skier, winning his
12th medal in three Olympics. They ended with the Czech Republic riding
the goalkeeping of the ``Dominator'' to a hockey gold medal over Russia
that sent Prague into a frenzy of celebration.

Then, they officially ended with a closing ceremony illuminated by
fireworks over the city, the orange flames of traditional bonfires and
lanterns held aloft.

``Congratulations, Nagano and Japan,'' IOC president Juan Antonio
Samaranch said in his speech at the closing ceremony. ``You have
presented to the world the best organization in the history of the
Olympic Winter Games.''

Though the final day of competition was abbreviated, it was memorable
for its two winners, both of whom had already made plenty of noise in
the games.

First was Dahlie, collapsing in the snow after crossing the finish line
in the 50-kilometer cross-country race. It was his fourth medal in
Nagano - three golds and a silver - and he is the most successful Winter
Games athlete ever.

It was also a medal he didn't expect, after expending most of his energy
in earlier races.

``Before the race, I didn't believe in a medal at all,'' said Dahlie.
``Mentally, I was finished with these Olympics.''

Then there was the Czech Republic hockey team, behind Dominik Hasek, who
cemented his reputation as the best goaltender in the world.

Hasek was again at his best as a Czech team featuring only 11 NHL
players - half as many as other teams - needed to score only once to
beat Russia 1-0 for the gold medal.

It was the first hockey gold ever for the Czechs, and the country
expected 1.5 million people would attend a celebration when the team
returns home. They flew by private jet for a celebration today before
the NHL players leave for their pro teams.

``When I saw the flag go up, I saw my whole career flash before my eyes,
from the first time my parents took me to a hockey game until now,''
said Hasek, who allowed only six goals in six Olympic games.

Dahlie's medals helped Norway to the second-best total in Nagano - 25
over 16 days (10 gold, 10 silver, five bronze). The leader was Germany
with 29 (12-9-8), while Russia (9-6-3) was third with 18.

The United States, meanwhile, equaled its total of 13 medals won in
Lillehammer, though many had predicted the team would do much better.

Of the 13 medals, eight were won by women, including the final two
medals Friday night in figure skating by teen-agers Tara Lipinski and
Michelle Kwan.

While the U.S. men's team of NHL all-stars was a bust, eliminated before
even getting in medal contention, the women hockey players won the gold
medal and will be featured on cereal boxes.

``I know I'm going to drive into a gas station, and somebody is going to
say, `Hey, you're on the Wheaties box!' '' forward Karyn Bye said. ``And
I'm going to say, ``I know it. Do you believe it?''

Believe it they must, and for that they have Nagano to thank.

Or, as the Japanese would say, ``Arigato gozaimashita.''




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