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Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Friday, July 7, 2006
Kimbrough to be named PHS volleyball coach
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
Former Odessa Permian head volleyball coach Helen Kimbrough has accepted the job as head coach for the Pecos Eagles, Pecos-Barstow-Toyah athletic director Chris Henson said on Thursday.
Kimbrough fills the vacancy left when Debbie Garcia was moved from head volleyball coach to head basketball coach. Garcia had been named head volleyball coach just prior to the start of pre-season workouts last year, after the Pecos was unable to find an outside replacement for Becky Granado, who resigned the position at the end of the 2004-05 school year.
“We’re really excited about getting her. It adds a lot to us,” said Henson. “She turned Permian around and took that program in the right direction, and we hope she’ll do the same thing for ours.”
Pecos has missed the playoffs in volleyball the past two seasons, after making eight straight post-season appearances and 18 trips to the playoffs in the past 25 seasons. Kimbrough was named District 4-5A Coach of the Year in 1997 in her second year at Permian, after taking the Panthers from last to first in the standings.
“She will compliment our staff, not only in athletics, but in the classroom. I think she’ll be a real asset for us,” Henson said.
The Eagles coach said the hiring is pending approval of the P-B-T ISD school board, which will meet on July 13. He added that two junior high coaching spots on the girls’ side also have been filled, pending board approval.
“We’ve filled everything up, except for one spot. We’re still looking at an elementary PE teacher and junior high swim coach,” Henson said. Preseason workouts for fall sports will start on Aug. 7.
Eagles 7-on-7 grid squad goes 1-2 in final contests
The Pecos Eagles 7-on-7 football team completed its four-week summer program on June 29 in Kermit, going 1-2 in games against the host Yellowjackets, Alpine Bucks and Crane Golden Cranes.
Pecos won a 35-34 overtime game against Alpine, while losing by a touchdown to Kermit and by 21 points to Crane, Eagles head football coach Chris Henson said.
“We only took eight kids to this, with the rodeo and other things going on, and the lineman’s challenge in Andrews was cancelled,” Henson said. He added that the overtime win over the Bucks was the first for the Eagles in the 7-on-7 summer games this season.
The first official workouts for Pecos for the 2006 season will be one month from today, while the regular season will start against Alpine, in a Saturday afternoon game on Labor Day weekend at Ratliff Stadium in Odessa.
Henson said while the 7-on-7 and linemen’s challenges are over, the Pecos High School weight room remains open weekdays from 9 a.m. until 12 noon and from 5 to 8 p.m.
Little Leaguers close in on 11-12 district title
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
The Pecos 11-12 year old Little League All-Stars moved within a game of their second straight District 37 Little League title on Tuesday night, and were scheduled to face the same team again on Thursday for the right to advance to the Section 1 Tournament in Odessa next week.
Pecos improved its tournament record to 3-0 with a 9-3 Fourth of July win over Fort Stockton, which remained alive in the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday with a 4-2 win over Monahans. That put the two teams into a 7 p.m. match-up on Thursday at Chano Preito Field. A win by Fort Stockton would force a deciding game, also at 7 p.m., on Friday.
Pecos had defeated Greenwood, 11-0 and Monahans by a 5-1 score in their first two tournament games. The top of the batting order had done the most damage those nights, but against Fort Stockton it was the middle and the bottom of the order that helped the Little Leaguers get out to a lead on starter Dominique Gonzales.
“From the top to the bottom of the order, we’re doing all right,” said manage Rene Rayos, who is looking for his second straight trip to regionals with the 11-12 year olds, while most of his players are seeking their second straight trip to state, having advanced in the 10-11 year old division last season. “We did a good job and hit the ball well.”
Gonzales retired Pecos in order in the first inning, but opened the second by allowing singles to Jesus Salgado and Brandon Garnto. Geronimo Ornelas then reached when Adrian Martinez couldn’t handle his grounder to shortstop. Gonzales would get C.J. Gomez to bounce into a fielder’s choice at home, but Zack Rayos followed with a single to center to score Garnto for a 1-0 lead. Pecos would then make it 2-0 when Brandon Lujan dropped Mark Quintana’s two out pop up to second base.
Fort Stockton would get a run back in the bottom of the inning off starter Devante Jenkins, who allowed a Martinez single and then hit Gonzales with one away. A wild pitch moved both runners up, and Martinez scored on Lujan’s bounce out to second base.
But Pecos would add two more runs in the third for a 4-1 lead. Analee Rodriguez blooped a double to center to lead off, and after moving to third on a wild pitch, scored on Garnto’s one-out ground out to shortstop. Israel Espudo then reached on a bunt single and Gomez got on off another error by Martinez before Rayos collected his second RBI single to center field.
Quintana singled and went to third on a two-base error by outfielder Albert Garcia to open the fourth inning, before scoring on a single by Rodriguez. Fort Stockton made it 5-2 in their half of the inning when Adam Martinez reached on a Quintana error and came around on two wild pitched by Jenkins. But in the fifth, Pecos broke the game open with four more runs.
Kara Bustamantes got the first out of the inning, but she then hit Elias Ballard and walked Josh Hernandez before Quintana singled to make it 6-2. Jenkins then tripled to right field to score two more runs, and he came home on a single by Rodriguez that made it a 9-2 game. Jenkins then retired the side in the fifth, before allowing one final run in the sixth inning.
Adrian Martinez, Fort Stockton’s No. 1 pitcher, would come on to strike out the side in the top of the sixth, and came back the following day to beat Monahans and advance his team to Thursday’s rematch against Pecos. Little League rules prevent him from pitching on Thursday, while Rayos said Pecos would go with Salgado, who couldn’t pitch on Tuesday after winning his first tournament game last Sunday against Monahans.
“We’ve still got Jesus, and we still have Brandon. All we have to do is hit the ball,” said Rayos. “Their other guy looks pretty good, and he throws it hard, but that’s what we like to see.”
While the 11-12 year olds try to wrap up their section berth at home on Thursday or Friday, Pecos’ 15-16 year old Big League All-Star team will be looking to do the same at home on Saturday, when they take on Stanton in a best-of-three series. The first two games will be played at the Pecos High School baseball field starting at 1 p.m., with a third game, if needed on Sunday.
Pecos and Stanton are the only two District 37 members fielding teams in the oldest of the five Little League baseball divisions. The winner will advance to play a team from the Lubbock area next Wednesday in the Section 1 tournament at San Angelo.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 432-445-5475, FAX 432-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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Copyright 2003-04 by Pecos Enterprise
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