Sunday, August 17, 1997

Former leading hitter no longer around

By MARK WILSON

Staff Writer

Mark off another casualty on the list of batting leaders in the Texas-Louisiana League.

Lubbock's J.D. Ramirez, who is fourth in the hitting race with a .371 average, is no longer in the league.

Lubbock manager Glenn Sullivan said before Saturday's game against the Prairie Dogs that Ramirez left the Crickets nine games ago. Ramirez got a job in Phoenix as a high school teacher and baseball coach.

That leaves only Abilene's Jason McClure and Rio Grande Valley's Bryan Warner as active players among the top four in the batting race with the minimum of 213 plate appearances.

With his 3 for 4 performance in Friday night's 7-5 win over the Crickets, McClure moved his average up to .392 - just one percentage point below Jorge Alvarez, who was with Amarillo but left the team for personal reasons.

While the Prairie Dogs were racking up 25 hits in wins over Lubbock Thursday and Friday, McClure raised his batting average 10 points, from .382.

With the second half of play winding down, Warner has a chance to become the only triple crown winner in T-L League history. He leads the league in runs batted in with 82, and is one behind Tyler's Chris Cassels in home runs, with 24.

McClure and Warner will be going "head to head" as the Prairie Dogs play their final four games of the season against Rio Grande Valley, today through Tuesday.

Cassel's 25th home run, which he hit Friday night in Alexandria, tied the league record for home runs in a season. Alexandria's John O'Brien hit 25 homers last season.

Prairie Dog puzzle

In his rookie season as a manager, the one thing Glenn Sullivan of Lubbock never quite figured out was why his team struggled against the Prairie Dogs.

Friday night's second straight loss to the Dogs was Lubbock's 11th defeat in 17 games against Abilene this season.

"You guys match up against us pretty well," said Sullivan, who was a first baseman in the Chicago Cubs' organization for six years after playing baseball and football at Oklahoma. "Every year, there's always one team you struggle with, and it's Abilene for us. I don't know what it is.

"We're 10-8 against Amarillo (which won the first half). It's just the game of baseball and the way it is. When you look at it on paper it looks like we should beat (Abilene)."

The Crickets entered Saturday's game just one game ahead of the Prairie Dogs,seven games under .500.

"We haven't been as successful as much as I would like, but I feel like I got a lot out of my players," said Sullivan, a native of Irving. "We had some injuries and some guys left the team, like J.D., and that hurt us. But the guys that are here, I got all I can out of my players and that's what you want to do as a manager."

They're so dizzy

In an event that would make 1960s pop singer Tommy ("I'm so Dizzy") Roe proud, today's Prairie Dog promotion is being billed as "The World's Largest Dizzy Bat Race."

The race will be held between games of today's doubleheader at Scott Field. The first game is scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m.

A total of 35 winners of Prairie Dog dizzy bat races this season are expected to compete in the event, which will be video taped for a possible entry into the Guiness Book of World Records.

The winner of the race will earn a trip for two to Cancun, Mexico provided by SuperTravel.

Starting pitchers

The probable starting pitchers for the Prairie Dogs in today's doubleheader against the WhiteWings are Royal Thomas (2-8, 6.51 earned run average) in the first game and Hank Lott (0-3, 8.63 ERA) in the nightcap.

Tonight's giveaway

Prairie Dog lunch bags will be given to those attending today's game, but only while supplies last. The promotion is sponsored by Wendy's.