Sunday, August 24, 1997

Dogs close out season with loss

AMARILLO - A crowd of 6,388 fans were on hand to cheer for the Amarillo Dillas Saturday night as they closed out the Texas-Louisiana League's regular season with a 13-3 victory over the Abilene Prairie Dogs at Memorial Stadium.

The Prairie Dogs finished the second half of their third season with a record of 18-26 and on a three-game losing streak. The T-LL's defending regular season and playoff champions' overall record of 32-56 was the worst in the league.

Prairie Dog starting pitcher John Baack (3-7) took the loss for Abilene, pitching five innings and allowing four runs, all of which were earned. In all, Amarillo collected 14 hits off four Abilene pitchers.

Former Prairie Dog Rod Brewer was one of three Dillas, along with Jerry Goff and Junior Braddy, to homer for Amarillo in the blowout victory.

The Dillas concluded the season with a record of 55-33, tops in the league. Amarillo claimed the first-half league crown, and will take on the Alexandria Aces, the second-half champs, in the best-of-five championship series beginning Tuesday in Alexandria.

The Aces won the second-half title by virtue of their 8-4 victory Saturday night over the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings. Alexandria held off Amarillo by one game in the second half of the season.

Abilene infielder Scott Bethea missed the final three games of the season because of his involvement in a brawl during Thursday night's game against the Dillas.