Saturday, June 1, 1996

Season comes down to today for Cougars

By LANCE FLEMING
Staff Writer

MIDLAND - For two teams who have combined to play 71 games and win 59 of them, the season has come down to one game.

Win it and move on to next week's state baseball tournament in Austin. Lose it and spend the summer remembering the one that got away.

For Lubbock Monterey and Cooper there is no in between.

The winner of today's Region I-5A championship game will join three other teams next week in Austin while the loser will call it quits.

No matter which team wins, the other will walk away bitterly disappointed.

Monterey is 33-3 on the season, has been ranked in the state's top 10 all season and is playing for a state-record 12th appearance in the state tournament.

Cooper, meanwhile, is 26-9, champion of District 4-5A and trying to reach the state tournament for the fifth time in school history.

"This is another big game for us," Cooper head coach Jim Mavroulis said. "The excitement has hit that this game is the one that will get us to Austin. But we can't look forward to another team; we've got to focus on Monterey."

And that's a lot to focus on.

The Plainsmen, who won their 31st district title this season, are a heavy-hitting team that features an outstanding pitcher in senior left-hander Mark Martinez.

Martinez is 14-0 on the season with a 1.38 ERA. He has 154 strikeouts in 862/3 innings, which is slightly less than two strikeouts per inning. He's got an above-average fastball, but his best pitch is a curveball.

However, Mavroulis said he's not that worried about the breaking pitch.

"He's got to throw it over the plate, so that doesn't worry me," he said. "He can't throw the curveball on every pitch, and even if it does bend a little bit we've still got to be able to hit it."

Martinez will be the third straight undefeated pitcher the Cougars will have faced in the postseason. They beat Abilene High's John Dallies (10-0) in the regional quarterfinals, then knocked off Arlington Martin's Kevin Smith (11-0) in last weekend's regional semifinals.

And now comes Martinez at 14-0.

If Martinez gets into trouble in the one-game playoff, Monterey head coach Bobby Moegle can go to Alex Garcia, who is 10-1 with a 2.41 ERA. Monterey's team ERA is a sparkling 2.13.

But Moegle knows that his pitchers will have to be on top of their game to combat a Cooper team that is sizzling at the plate.

In five playoff games the Cougars have scored 58 runs and banged out 54 hits.

"I know Cooper has a very good offensive club," Moegle said, "and I'm very concerned about how much offense they do have. I know they have some left-handed hitters that hit the ball extremely well. They've got a reputation around the state of having a fine offensive outfit."

Leading the Cougars in the playoffs have been centerfielder Miles Durham (.500, 2 HR, 10 RBI), shortstop Craft Hughes (.444, 6 RBI, 3 doubles), first baseman Michael Anderson (.421, 6 RBI, 12 runs scored), designated hitter Cory Aldridge (.316, 1 HR, 12 RBI) and catcher John David Estes (.385, 8 RBI).

Senior left-hander Darin Janssen (8-3, 3.84 ERA on the season) will get the start for the Cougars.
The lineup he'll face boasts four players hitting better than .400 on the season and a team that has hit .317 with 27 home runs.

Leading the Plainsmen is first baseman Ryan Schmidt, who is hitting .438 with six home runs and 55 RBI on the season. Shortstop Dusty Hart (.434, 1 HR, 51 RBI), second baseman Robert Castilleja (.429, 6 HR, 36 RBI) and catcher Joe O'Jibway (.417, 5 HR, 27 RBI) are also over the .400 mark.

If Janssen does get into trouble, Mavroulis can go to a hot pitcher in the bullpen.

Senior right-hander Kristian Allen has been the workhorse of the staff in the playoffs having thrown a pair of complete games to earn victories and pitching the final 21/3 innings last Friday to earn the save in Cooper's wild 14-13 win over Arlington Martin. And less than 24 hours after picking up the save, Allen went seven complete innings to beat Martin, 9-3, in the series- clinching win.

In those 91/3 innings, Allen threw 135 pitches, allowed just 10 hits and struck out seven Warriors.
Cooper vs. Lubbock Monterey
* What: Region I-5A final
* When: noon
* Where: Christensen Stadium, Midland
* Records: Cooper 26-9; Lubbock Monterey 33-3
* Last week: Cooper swept Arlington Martin in the regional semifinals; Lubbock Monterey swept Fort Worth Western Hills in the regional semifinals.
* Radio: KNTS 1470 AM and SportsRadio 1340 AM
* Directions to Christensen Stadium: Take I-20 west to Midland, then take the first Midland exit. Go west on Business 80 until you reach the first traffic light. Take a right on Fairgrounds Blvd. and go north approximately 5 miles until you run into Loop 250. Take a left on the loop and you will see the stadium almost immediately to the left.