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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Thursday, April 8, 2004
Eagles battle Blue Devils for 1st place
The Pecos Eagles hit bottom a year ago in District 4-3A play after their first meeting with the Presidio Blue Devils. Tonight, they’ll try to end the first half of 4-3A play alone atop the district standings, when they travel to Presidio for a 7 p.m. game against the Blue Devils.
The Eagles, who were one of the favorites to take last year’s district title, eventually did make the playoffs, but closed out the first half of the 4-3A schedule by blowing a 5-1 lead at home and losing to Presidio by an 8-5 final score. Coming after Pecos had squandered a 9-0 lead in losing to Greenwood, it left them with a 1-4 record in district play.
This time around, when the Eagles were expected to struggle in district after a 3-12 start, Pecos has swept its first four district contests, the latest a 6-2 win over Greenwood on Tuesday.
“The key thing I stressed on the kids is we’re now two games up on anybody behind us,” said Eagles’ coach Elias Payan, after Josh Anchondo tossed a two hitter to earn Tuesday’s victory, his third in the Eagles’ four district games.
Jose Reyes has the other, a four-hit, 13 strikeout win at Fort Stockton last Friday, 2-1. Tonight, he’ll face a Presidio team that was favored going in to win the 4-3A title and who are ranked sixth in the latest Class 3A baseball poll.
“I have all the confidence in Jose and the kids do too,” said Payan. “Hopefully, we’ll go down there, play hard and come back 5-0.”
While the Eagles face a 160-mile drive to Presidio, they’ll be the more rested team. The Blue Devils upped their record to 4-0 in district on Wednesday with a 14-1 win at Kermit, in a game delayed from its original Tuesday date.
Last Friday, Presidio beat Greenwood in extra innings, 5-3. Hector Rodriguez went seven innings on the mound, with Herman Saucedo getting the save in the eighth. Rodriguez figures to be the starter again tonight for the Blue Devils, who beat Reyes and the Eagles, 7-0 back in March at the Sandhills Tournament in Monahans.
Eagle track teams in Stockton for last pre-district meet
The Pecos Eagles track teams will be getting in their final pre-district competition today in Fort Stockton, as they compete in a pre-district meet at Panther Stadium.
District competition is next Thursday and Friday in Kermit, and the Eagles will be looking to get their relays set this week, while trying to improve in several other spots before the 4-3A meet, which Pecos’ boys won last year, while the girls came in second.
The Eagles have been second for most of the season on the boys’ side to Monahans, while the girls finished 10th last week at the Permian Basin Relays in Kermit, but were minus distance runner Jennifer Martinez, who will be one of the favorites in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs at district.
Stephanie Herrera won the discus and the shot put last week in Kermit, and coach Roxie Chavez said with the rescheduling of today’s softball game against Kermit to April 23, “I should have all my girls out for Fort Stockton.”
Chavez said she’s also hoping senior Leslie Rodriguez can improve in the 300 meter hurdles, which she ran for the first time last week. “She didn’t do too bad for her first competition,” the Eagles’ coach said.
Boys coach Jerry Parent said, “I’m going to run everybody I’ve got,” at the Stockton meet, as opposed to last year, when he held several people out of the final meet, because the district competition was held the following Tuesday and Thursday.
Rashad Terry won the 100 and 200 meter dashes and the high jump in Kermit a week ago, while Chad Evans took the shot put for his first gold medal of the season.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
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 by Pecos Enterprise
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