Monday, August 18, 1997

Abilene wins doubleheader

By LANCE FLEMING

Staff Writer

The Abilene Prairie Dogs stole a page from Earl Weaver's old manager's guide, and it helped them to a sweep of a doubleheader against Rio Grande Valley.

The Dogs hit three three-run homers in Sunday night's first game - including two by Darryl Monroe - to take a 9-4 win over the WhiteWings in front of 1,241 fans at Scott Field. Abilene won the nightcap, 8-7, on an RBI single by Shawn Hughes in the seventh.

In the second game, Abilene jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Jason Keith two-run single, only to see Rio Grande Valley tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the third inning.

But Abilene answered in the bottom of the fourth with four runs, thanks in part to a two-run single by Jeff Motes. Rio Grande Valley contributed to the Abilene cause in the fourth by committing three errors.

Rio Grande, however, countered with three runs in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 6-5. Abilene went up 7-5, only to see the WhiteWings score runs in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game.

In the six, Abilene closer Jeff Matulevich came on with the bases loaded and one out and struck out Jarred McAlvain. During Pat Koerner's at-bat, though, Matulevich threw a wild pitch that scored Matt Hobbie to cut the lead to 7-6.

Then in the top of the seventh, Bryan Warner slapped a two-out, two-strike single to left that scored Derek Vaughn to make it a 7-7 game.

Then as Abilene was getting ready to bat in the bottom of the seventh, three banks of lights went out at the stadium, causing a 20-minute delay.

Abilene then loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and with two outs Hughes singled to left to drive in Jay Andrews with the game-winning run.

In the first game, the Dogs got all of their runs off the play favored by Baltimore's famed manager. Weaver's philosophy was that the best offense was the three-run home run, and that's how the Prairie Dogs got it done Sunday night.

In the first inning, Scott Bethea and Jeff Motes reached in front of Monroe, who drilled a 1-0 pitch from Michael Fox deep over the leftfield wall for an early 3-0 lead.

Then in third, Efrain Contreras drew a two-out walk to give the Dogs runners at first and third for Hughes. The Abilene catcher then deposited the first pitch he saw from Fox over the wall in rightfield for a 6-0 Abilene advantage.

Rio Grande Valley cut the lead to 6-3 in the fourth, thanks in part to a Warner solo homer, but Abilene answered in the bottom of the fourth.

Bethea and Motes again reached base in front of Monroe, who drilled a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left for a 9-3 lead. Monroe came up again in the fifth with the bases loaded, but hit into an inning-ending double play, leaving him with six RBI in the game, one short of the Texas-Louisiana league single-game record.

"You never go into a game thinking you'll come up with that kind of performance," Monroe said. "You just hope you hit the ball hard. You never go into a game looking for something like that.

"I came up with runners on base both times, and I think the pitchers worry more about them than the hitter," Monroe said. "That leads the pitcher to leave something out over the plate, and that's what happened to me."

The three home runs made a winner out of Royal Thomas, who went the distance to improve to 3-8 and break a personal six-game losing streak. He gave up 13 hits, but didn't walk a batter and struck out five WhiteWings.