Panthers Get by Loboes in Extra Inning
     By Jessica Ray, Staff Writer ~~ The Monahans News, April 21, 2008

Monahans baseball suffered a difficult loss on Friday night in an extra inning to the Fort Stockton Panthers. The Loboes were able to make some magic in the seventh inning to tie score with Stockton, but the Panthers made some key hits to blow the game open in the top of the eighth.

It was the bottom of the seventh, and Monahans was behind by two runs. Monahans had two runners on base with walks, when Ricky Robledo doubled to bring in Chase Williams and Quincy Titus to tie the game at six, where the score remained tied through the seventh. The tie sent the game to an extra inning.

The Panthers were no strangers to extra innings, as they played 11 to beat Pecos on Tuesday.

n the Extra inning, Steven Valles struck out the first batter, then a hit up the middle brought in enough runs to put Stockton ahead 9-6. The next run came when catcher Ty Horton attempted a pick-off at second base. The tag was late, and the runner was safe on second. Meanwhile, the third-base runner went home, completing a double steal for the Panthers and widening the Panther lead, 10-6. After another base hit and Stockton run, the Lobo battery swapped places, putting Valles behind the plate to catch for Ty Horton.

The Panthers scored once more in the eighth to put the Loboes behind 6-12.

In the bottom of the eighth, Monahans loaded the bases with no outs. Quincy Titus came to bat, but his grounder was turned into a Stockton double play to out two Loboes. Titus did tally an RBI on the play, when Fabian Flores came in to score. It was Monahans' final run, and Stockton put away the final out at first base to end the game 7-12.

The Lobo district record for the 2008 season is now 4-4. The district is in a tight race for the playoffs, and Monahans needs to beat Pecos on Tuesday to keep playoff hopes alive. The game begins at 7:30 pm.

Keyed by Ashlen Horak Sr. '08