Monday, August 26, 1996

Second half race for Prairie Dogs is nip and tuck

By LANCE FLEMING
Staff Writer

The only thing certain about the second half race in the Texas-Louisiana League is that one team will win it.

That's about the only certainty in a race that has been nip-and-tuck between Abilene and Lubbock since the second half started July 12.

Neither team has been able to pull away from the other, and it's made for a tight, exciting race for the second-half flag.

As most everyone knows, if Abilene wins the second half to go along with its first-half title, it will receive a first-round playoff bye and automatically advance into the league championship series. The Prairie Dogs, the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, would play the winner of the first-round series between the teams with the second- and third-best overall records (right now Lubbock and Rio Grande Valley) in a best-of-five series.

The Prairie Dogs could be forced to play in the first round of the playoffs if they lose the second half championship.

But right now the weather has everything on hold as far as determining what might happen the rest of the way.

Going into today's games, the Prairie Dogs and Crickets each have 11 games left to play after both had doubleheaders rained out Sunday, Abilene at home and Lubbock at Rio Grande Valley.

Those rainouts, as well as the two rainouts the Prairie Dogs suffered last week and another one suffered by the Crickets, have thrown the last eight days of the season into a free-for-all for the title.
Both teams will play every day from here on out, and there might have to be an extra day or two of play as well.

Lubbock is scheduled to make up its doubleheader against Rio Grande Valley in Harlingen on Sept. 3, the day after the regular season is scheduled to end. Meanwhile, Abilene will make up its rainout of a couple of weeks ago in Amarillo on Friday when it takes on the Dillas.

The Prairie Dogs will then turn around and make up Sunday's doubleheader against Amarillo in Abilene on Sept. 3. If the two teams are tied after the end of those doubleheaders on Sept. 3, there would be a coin flip to determine the site and Abilene and Lubbock would play a one-game playoff on Sept. 4 to determine the second half champion. The playoffs would then start the next day.

"You can bet those games (doubleheader on Sept. 3) are going to have an effect on the standings," Abilene general manager Byron Pierce said. "One team has to be up on the other one by quite a good margin, and I don't see that happening."

The Abilene Prairie Dogs have already set, or are on the verge of setting, several Texas-Louisiana League records.

The Dogs have tied the league record for shutouts in a season with seven. One more would break the record set by last year's Amarillo pitching staff.

On July 21 against Rio Grande Valley, Abilene set a new single-game league record for runs in a game with 22. The old mark of 19 was set last year by Amarillo.

Abilene reliever Ken Winkle needs just one more save to tie the league record of 24 set last year by Corpus Christi's Jerry Santos. And David Haas is already among the league's all-time leaders with three shutouts in a season. One more would put him alone at the top.

Rod Brewer also set the league record with three homers in a game on July 28, and he needs just 15 RBI to break the league record of 95 set last year by Amarillo's Kevin Tahan.

David Haas (11-4, 2.67 ERA) will get the start today for the Prairie Dogs in the first game of a four-game series against Rio Grande Valley.

Tonight's promotion is Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems Baseball Card Night at the ballpark. The cards are free to the first 500 kids 12 and under who enter the ballpark.