Tuesday, June 4, 1996

Gonzalez standing tall for PDogs

By AL PICKETT
Sports Editor

Eric Gonzalez may be only 5-4, but he's been standing tall this season for the Abilene Prairie Dogs.

The switch-hitting Abilene second baseman hit his first home run of the season Saturday night to help fuel the Prairie Dogs in a come-from-behind 6-5 victory. Then Sunday, he made a sensational diving stop with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, scrambled to his feet and threw out a runner at first to squash an Alexandria scoring threat and preserve Abilene's 2-1 victory.

The win was the Prairie Dogs' ninth in their last 11 outings.

"I feel comfortable," he said. "I'm confident and everything is falling in place."

Gonzalez, who is nicknamed "Little E" for his small stature, may have shocked the 2,000-plus fans at Scott Field Saturday with his home run over the right-field fence.

But he shouldn't have. Gonzalez has put up powerful numbers throughout his career.

The Robstown High School product led the league with 13 home runs during his sophomore year at Texas Southmost Junior College in Brownsville. He then transferred to Texas A&M where he started in left field in 1992 as a teammate of Abilenians Jason Marshall and Jay Estes.

The next season Gonzalez started at second base, hitting .320 with eight home runs, 50 RBI and 50 runs scored as the Aggies advanced to the College World Series.

But despite those impressive numbers in junior college and at A&M, he was never drafted by a major league team.

"At first, people said I didn't do this or that, but it all came down to the fact I was too small," Gonzalez said. "My numbers were just as good as other people. Now that I think back on it, it upsets me."

After graduating with a degree in sports management that spring from Texas A&M, he played for the Corpus Christi Barracudas in the inaugural season of the Texas-Louisiana League in 1994 and then took at coaching job in his hometown of Robstown.

Gonzalez didn't play baseball last summer and returned to A&M last fall to begin work on his master's degree in education administration. But he didn't quite have baseball out of his system.

"My coach (Mark Johnson) at A&M said there's always time to work," Gonzalez said. "Baseball sooner or later ends. He said play until you're sure you're finished."

So Gonzalez went to a tryout camp this spring for the Tyler Wildcatters, but Tyler had already signed a second baseman with AA experience. Tyler manager Dave Hilton, however, told new Abilene skipper Phil Stephenson about Gonzalez, and Stephenson called Gonzalez.

"He didn't assure me of anything," Gonzalez said. "But he gave me a chance."
Obviously, it's paid off.

Gonzalez is currently hitting .275 with 11 hits, two doubles, a homer and seven runs batted-in in 13 games. He's walked five times for an on-base percentage of .340 and he's also played a solid second base with just three errors so far this season.

"It was a curve ball," Gonzalez said of the pitch he hit for his first home run. "It hung up a little. I saw it and hit it. I don't know how far it went, but I know it went over the fence. I hit seven home runs at Corpus Christi, but this park's a little harder.

"I've always been proud of my hitting. I can relax now that I've got that first one out of the way."
And what about his game-saving stop Sunday in the hole between first and second?

"I knew I had a chance at it," he said. "You never sure you'll catch the ball on a dive, but I kept my eye on it and came up with it clean."

Gonzalez said the caliber of play in the Texas-Louisiana League has improved greatly since he last played in it two years ago.

"The experience-level is tremendous," he said. "There are so many guys with AA and AAA experience. I'm honored to play with these guys. When they say something, I listen."

But after his performance so far this season, it's his Abilene teammates who are now looking up to Gonzalez. Homestand continues

The Prairie Dogs, who are 6-2 in their current 14-game homestand, begin a three-game series with the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings tonight. Game time is 7:05 p.m. at Scott Field.

TCI Cablevision is sponsoring free collector photos to the first 500 fans at tonight's game. Fans will also have a chance to win two tickets to anywhere American Airlines flies.

Jared Baker (2-1 with a 7.53 earned run average) is expected to start on the mound tonight for the Prairie Dogs.

The Abilene-Rio Grande Valley series means a reunion of three members of Cooper's back-to-back state championship baseball teams in 1987 and '88. Jason Satre (1-1 in four starts with a 3.29 ERA) is expected to start Thursday's game for the WhiteWings.

He'll be facing former Cooper teammates Scott Malone and Kyle Heller, who are playing for the Prairie Dogs.

Abilene has moved into second place in the Texas-Louisiana League standings, 21/2 games behind Amarillo. But the Prairie Dogs currently lead the league in both batting average (.296) and earned run average (3.54).