Monday, September 16, 1996

Prairie Dogs win T-L pennant
By AL PICKETT
Sports Editor

Abilene has a champion.

The Prairie Dogs put an exclamation mark on the best season in Texas-Louisiana League history Sunday by outslugging the defending champion Lubbock Crickets, 12-8, before 1,209 fans at Scott Field in Game 3 of the league championship series.

Abilene, which won a league-record 67 games during the regular season, took two straight games from the Amarillo Dillas in the first round and then swept the Crickets in three straight games to claim the first title in Prairie Dogs' franchise history.

It is the first professional baseball league championship by an Abilene team since the Blue Sox won the West Texas-New Mexico League title in 1951.

The wild finale featured five home runs - three by the Prairie Dogs.

"That game was so untypical of games in this park," Abilene manager Phil Stephenson said. "That's the first time the wind has blow out to left all year. It was just incredible. They did great. They battled back when they had to battle back."

In a game of "you score, I'll answer," Barry Jones, Eric Gonzalez, Troy Dean Conkle, Ken Winkle and the rest of the Abilene Prairie Dogs had the final answer.

Jones belted a two-run homer over the rightfield fence in the sixth inning to put Abilene ahead to stay, 10-8.

And Gonzalez added insurance with a two-run blast to right in the eighth inning.

"You don't know how important that was to get two extra runs," Stephenson said.

Those were just two more responses on a night when the two teams spent the night answering each other's challenges.

Conkle hurled 21/3 innings of shutout relief to pick up the victory. Winkle, who set a league record with 27 saves this season, hurled the ninth, ending the game with a Gonzalez to Scott Bethea to Rod Brewer second-to- short-to-first double play.

Abilene exploded for five runs in the third inning to seemingly take command of the game. Eric Gonzalez started the rally with a one-out walk. Jones singled and Brewer walked to load the bases.

Paul Coleman brought in a run with a bloop single to right to finish off starting pitcher Steve Duda.

But reliever Rick Forney couldn't squash the rally. He walked Paul Gonzalez to force in the tying run. Manny Gagliano then rapped a single up the middle to drive in a pair and put the Dogs in front 7-5.

Jack Johnson kept the inning going with an infield single to reload the bases. With two outs, Forney hit Darryl Monroe with a pitch to force in the fifth run of the inning and make it 8-5.

The Crickets scored three runs in the fifth inning, however, to tie the game, 8-8. Glenn Sullivan had an RBI single and a Derek Vaughn a two-run single in the rally.

Lubbock jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning off Schuermann, who came into the game with a 13-0 record. David Lowery led off with a bloop single that went off second baseman Eric Gonzalez' glove in shallow right field. Lowery stole second and advanced to third when catcher Johnson's throw sailed into center field.

Frank Bolick drove in Lowery with a single that skipped past Gagliano at third base. And Roberto Ramirez follow with a two-run homer over the leftfield fence.

Abilene came right back with three of its own in the bottom of the first, however. Monroe and Eric Gonzalez led off with back-to-back singles. And Brewer then cranked a three-run homer over the rightfield fence to tie the game.

Paul Petrulis put the Crickets back on top 5-3 in the second inning with a two-run homer, but the lead was short-lived until the Prairie Dogs' third-inning outburst.

Jones and Gagliano were named co-MVPs of the championship series. Jones was 6 for 21 with two home runs and two game-winning RBI. Gagliano was 7 for 22 with seven runs batted-in.