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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Sports

Monday, March 30, 1998

Eagles routed by Mustangs


By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Mar. 30 -- Through two games of the District 4-4A
baseball season, the Pecos Eagles have done far more to beat
themselves than anything anyone else has done to them.

Last Tuesday, they allowed seven unearned runs in a 13-9
loss to Sweetwater. But that was just a prelude to Friday
night, when senior Jason Abila may have pitched the best
game in Eagles history while allowing 17 runs.

That's how many runs the Andrews Mustangs racked up on
Pecos, even while Abila was striking out 13 Mustang batters.
They got the runs thanks to seven errors, six passed balls,
four wild pitches and a balk, which led to 13 unearned runs
and a 17-4 victory.

"In district ballgames we just haven't played defense," said
Eagles' coach Bubba Williams. "Our defense is just not
there."

Unlike recent years, when Andrews' lineup was able to
overpower Pecos, on Friday that Mustangs just had to avoid
doing too many things wrong to get their win, which they did
from the fourth inning on.

The Mustangs' run in the first off Abila was earned, even
though Shaud Williams scored on an error. He singled and
stole second, coming home when Oscar Luna's throw bounced
off his helmet and in-between outfielders Eric Aguilar and
Cisco Rodriguez. Two more singles and a walk then loaded the
bases, but Abila was able to stroke out August Lewis and
Adrian DelaCruz to get out of the jam.

Andrews then gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the
first, when Gerald Bueno threw the ball past first base
trying for a double play on Richard Gutierrez. It scored
Aaron Roman, running for Luna, after he and Abila led off
with singles against P.J. Lewis.

"He (Lewis) wasn't overpowering, it was just our errors that
made the difference," Williams said.

Pecos got two more unearned runs off Lewis in the third,
when Eric Muniz reached on Brandon Lang's one out error at
first, and Abila then followed with a two out home run to
center field, his third of the season.

But the lead lasted only half an inning, as Andrews scored
six runs in the fourth, all of them unearned.

"The double play is what killed us," said Williams,
referring to an August Lewis grounder to Gutierrez at
shortstop. It came after Luis Salgado was late throwing to
first on a Lang infield grounder, but Gutierrez' throw to
second sailed past Muniz and into right field. Abila then
hit DelaCruz with a pitch, and after getting Hector Garcia
to ground into a force at home, Jeremy Pitkin walked to
force home a run.

Abila then fanned Williams, but a wild pitch scored DelaCruz
to tie the game, and Bueno singled to left, giving Andrews a
5-3 lead. Emiliano followed with a double, and the final two
runs came home on two passed balls by Luna.

Andrews got another run in sixth, which was earned, but just
barely. Pitkin walked again and scored on Bueno's short
sacrifice fly to left-center, when Aguilar and Rodriguez got
their signals crossed and Aguilar had to make a running
one-handed catch while moving away from home plate.

Down 8-3, the Eagles had one last chance before the roof
fell in. Abila doubled, Gutierrez singled him home and then
Joseph Contreras singled to open the bottom of the sixth and
chasing Lewis from the mound. But Andrews coach Joe Halsey
brought Robert Bolding on to pitch, and the curveballer
proceeded to get Rodriguez on a first pitch fly to right,
then got Steve Harrison to force Gutierrez at third and Luis
Salgado on a fly to left, to retire the side.

Andrews' nine run inning began when Abila hit Lang. He went
to second on a passed ball and scored on August Lewis'
ground rule double, before the errors really began. The
Eagles had five in the seventh, two on throwing errors, one
on a missed pickoff throw and two more on misplayed fly
balls. Andrews did get three hits during the span, but after
Lewis scored, the Mustang' last seven runs were unearned.

The win gave Andrews a 2-0 record in district and a 12-3
overall mark, while Pecos fell to 0-2 and 8-5 going into
their Tuesday afternoon game at San Angelo Lake View, 16-6
winners over Fort Stockton on Saturday.

Friday afternoon's high winds led to the postponement of the
Eagles' softball game at Maxey Park against first place Big
Spring. They'll make that game up on Thursday, after they go
to Andrews on Tuesday afternoon, and also will host Fort
Stockton this Friday.

Golfers in 3rd, 6th after first district rounds


PECOS, Mar. 30 -- The Pecos Eagle girls are up among the
leaders after the first round of the District 4-4A golf
tournament in Big Spring on Saturday, while Pecos' boys are
a few strokes further back, but still within range of one of
the two regional berths, following first round play at the
Reeves County Golf Course.

The boys are in sixth place after shooting 313 on Saturday.
That's 20 strokes in back of first place Andrews and 14
behind second place San Angelo Lake View -- far better than
in recent years, though making up the difference will be
tough, with the final two rounds set for Andrews and San
Angelo.

"They're playing golf anyway, and that's what I wanted them
to do," said Eagles' coach Kim Anderson, who is hoping that
even if the Eagles can't make up ground, Casey Love might
have a shot at a regional berth.

A rule change this season gives the junior a chance, even
though he currently is tied for fifth in the medalist
standings, after a round of 73 on Saturday.

"They changed it so the winning teams will go as a team, and
it gives more people a chance," Anderson said. Individuals
can go if they place among the top six medalists, and at
least four others are on the two regional qualifying teams.

Jason Salcido is just outside the Top 10, after shooting a
77 on Saturday. Behind him for Pecos are Chris Ryan with an
80, Lee Lyles at 83 and Dallas Jarrett at 85.

Andrews Ben Gully leads individually with a 70 score, while
Andrews B golfer Coy Ellison is next at 71, though under UIL
rules, he could be switched to the A team this week for the
second round of the tournament. The Mustangs' B team is in
third, at 301, two shots in back of Lake View.

Fort Stockton is fourth at 307, followed by Sweetwater at
312 and the Eagles a stroke behind. Big Spring A is seventh,
at 318.

Pecos' B team is 12th, after a 350 round. Kenneth Friar led
that group with an 84, and is followed by Cortney Freeman at
87, Michael O'Callahan at 89, Tye Edwards at 90, and John
Granado at 95. The Eagles' other two golfers, Fernando Orona
and Randal Reynolds, shot 111 and 120 rounds.

Over in Big Spring, junior Alva Alvarez put herself in
position for a medalist spot, but the Eagles also have a
shot at sending the whole team to regionals, after a round
of 346 on Saturday. It left Pecos four strokes in back of
second place Andrews and just eight behind the host Steers.

Alvarez is tied with Big Spring's Ashlea Simmons for first
in the individual standings, after both shot 82s at the Big
Spring Municipal Course. Amanda Stickels and Sarah Armstrong
are also among the Top 10, in a five-way tie for ninth after
rounds of 87. Kim Clark shot a 90 and Amanda Hernandez a 99
for Pecos' other A team scores.

The B team is seventh, with a 394 total Candace Roach led
Pecos with a 93, and was followed by Ceneca Sanders at 95,
Cindy Mauldin at 99, Brandi Bradley with a 101 and Lyndall
Elkins at 129.

Kentucky seeking `three-peat' against Utah


By STEVE WILSTEIN
AP Sports Writer
SAN ANTONIO, Mar. 30 -- This maddest of March Madness
tournaments deserves a fitting climax.

Triple overtime with an 80-foot basket at the buzzer would
do it when Kentucky and Utah meet tonight for the NCAA
championship.

From first round to Final Four, this tournament has been
special, one of the greatest ever, filled with overtime
games, buzzer beaters and surprises from the likes of
Valparaiso and Rhode Island, Stanford and Utah.

Like a big dish of Texas fried ice cream, all it needs now
is whipped cream and a cherry on top to make it perfect.

And with two teams that know each other well, one with a
grudge to settle, the other with a reputation to uphold, the
chances are good for combustible chemistry.

Utah and Kentucky have played each other in the NCAA
tournament the last two seasons, and both times the Wildcats
won. The stakes have grown each year, and Utah would dearly
love some payback this time.

Two years ago, Kentucky crushed Utah 101-70 in the second
round on the way to its sixth national championship. Last
season, the Wildcats beat the Utes 72-59 in the regional
semifinal before falling in overtime in the title game to
Arizona.

``The main thing I remember about those two games is that we
lost. That's about all you need to know,'' Utah senior
center Michael Doleac said of the recent postseason history
with Kentucky. ``Sophomore year it was more like we were
just watching Kentucky play instead of being in the game.
... Last year it was a lot different. We could play with
those guys and we did play with them until they had that
spurt at the end when we fouled.

``It's always a bad memory getting knocked out of the
tournament. This year we are a different team and a lot
better defensively and a great rebounding team.''

Utah's 65-59 upset of top-ranked North Carolina on Saturday
might have been an even bigger surprise than its 25-point
laugher over No. 1 seed Arizona in the West Regional final a
week before. But the common thread was excellent defense;
the Utes lead the nation in lowest field-goal percentage
allowed at 38 percent.

``We look to go out and keep teams under 60 points, and if
we can do that we have a great chance of winning the game,''
Utah junior guard Andre Miller said.

Even though this is Kentucky's third straight championship
game -- the first team to do that since Duke from 1990-92 --
the Wildcats (34-4) might have changed more than the Utes
(30-3).

Gone to the NBA are Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, Tony Delk
and Derek Anderson. Even with the loss of All-American Keith
Van Horn, the Utah roster with Doleac, Miller and sophomore
forward Hanno Mottola might have more future NBA players
than Kentucky. And the Wildcats, who beat Stanford 86-85 in
overtime Saturday, have a new coach in Tubby Smith, a former
assistant to Rick Pitino.

``There was no doubt in my mind we could back to the Final
Four because I know how hard our guys work,'' Kentucky
junior center Nazr Mohammed said.

And the work got even harder when Smith started making
changes to Pitino's style of pressure defense and 3-point
shooting. The Wildcats still do those things, but not at the
same level, although they did use the tactics to come back
from a 17-point second-half deficit against Duke.



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