6B LAREDO MORNING TIMES

Sports

SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2013

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FUTURE TOROS PARTICIPATE IN SUMMER FOOTBALL CAMP

Courtesy photo

Cigarroa High Schools Elementary Football Camp 2013 was held at Marcos Aranda Field this week. Camp was instructed by the Cigarroa High School football staff and the Cigarroa Middle School staff.

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"We want to place that mentality on the community that Laredo runners should just not run local 5Ks and they should try to go out and do other events, let our people know that Laredo has a strong running community ." Madrigal was the workhorse for the team and anchored the mens open. When he got hold of the baton, the Fuego team was in 30th place. Madrigal, who recently signed with the Texas A&M International University cross-country team, had 3.5 miles to work with and he exhausted every part of his body by the time the race was over. He brought the team up to second place in the division. The Fuego team and the rest of the field had to deal with humid conditions which favored the team since they had run in those exact same conditions at the Beach to Bay Marathon Relay . "The course is different than what they are used to," Espinoza said. "It was the same as Beach to Bay . We were not caught off by surprise because we have ran in this type of weather." Now Fuego is looking to return to action in late July for another race but needs to work out the details.

Photo by Clara Sandoval | Laredo Morning Times

Alexanders E.J. Garcia, right, made several defensive plays in the outfield and pitched an inning with only one hit allowed Saturday in the THSBCA 4A-5A All-Star game.
as," Flores said. "I was a little nervous at first, but after the first at bat it went away so I just decided to go out there and have some fun." The South All-Stars started hot and jumped out to a 3-1 lead through three innings of play before the North All-Star bats found their rhythm in the last five innings to out-hit South 17-7 to take a 7-3 victory. Prior to the game, all the all-stars were presented at home base along with their high school coach and father. Garcia walked to home plate accompanied by his father Eddie and his high school coach Mario Garcia while Flores was accompanied by his father Jose Luis Jr. and his coach Rudy Rendon as each accepted a token of appreciation. "It was an honor to have him on my team," Rendon said. "He led by example and came around for us during the season. The kids at Cigarroa are really proud of him." Garcia is only the second Bulldog bestowed with the honor of playing in the all-star game. The first Alexander baseball player to play in the allstar game was Alex Cadena in 1999. "We are proud of him and it is an honor to play in this game," Mario Garcia said. "This only the second time that we have had an Alexander athlete represent Laredo and our school. I am very happy for him and his parents." Both athletes had their parents and relatives in the stands and gave their

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looking for his teammates. "I really dont know what to say about that, but I only respond to Pop and not Mr. Duncan," Ginobili said with a laugh. Ginobilis teammates have seen him go through his shooting slumps and he has climbed out of them. "I have a lot of confidence in Manu," Tony Parker said. "He came through for us all those years and I just have confidence in him. You have to have faith hes going to have a big game. So me, I just trust him because Ive been playing with him for so long."

Photo by Clara Sandoval | Laredo Morning Times

Jose Luis Flores helped turn a 5-3 play to end the sixth inning Saturday in the THSBCA 4A-5A All-Star game.
fathers a Fathers Day weekend to remember. "This is the best Fathers Day for me," Flores Jr. said. "To come out here and watch my son play in the all-star game is memorable. We are very proud of him for all his accomplishments." Garcia and Flores did not start the game but entered in the second inning after the game was knotted up at 1-1. It didnt take long for Garcia too see some action in the outfield. After two outs, North hit a ball down centerfield that had some height as it sailed over Garcias head, but he utilized his speed to run down the ball for the final out of the inning to strand a runner on second base. Flores also entered the game in the second inning but did not see any action come his way as the North ripped the ball to the outfield to keep Garcia and the rest of the team busy. Garcia started out in centerfield before moving over to right field where a hard-hit ball dropped five feet in front of him in the third inning. He quickly scooped up the ball and made a close play at second base as the runner slid in just underneath the tag. He ended the night on the mound and only allowed one hit in an inning of work. Flores saw some action in the sixth inning as he turned a 5-3 play to end the inning. Garcia and Flores were not able to connect with the ball in their time at the plate.

Photo by Felipe Dana | AP

Mexicos Javier Hernandez controls the ball Saturday as he trains for an upcoming Confederations Cup match in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mexico at Confed Cup

By ANDREW DAMPF
ASSOCIATED PRESS

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behind Wichita (17-10) for the best record in the American Association. Meanwhile, El Paso (6-22) has now lost eight straight and 12 of their last 13. Rau started for the first time this season after he had only worked out of the bullpen in 2013. Theformer pitcher converted to an infielder came into the night with a 1-1 record out of the pen and a save while posting a 9.00 ERA. He had given up just one hit through his first 5.2 innings but had allowed eight runs in 2.1 innings his last two times out. In his first appearance on the mound to start a game, Rau (2-1, 5.40 ERA) threw 5.1 scoreless innings allowing just three hits. He also walked three and struck out two for his second win of the season. Second baseman Harrison Kain returned to the lineup for the first time since June 6 after suffering a quad injury against the Diablos. In his first atbat in the third inning, Kain hit his first home run of the season bringing home catcher Brian Peterson for a 2-0 lead. In the fifth inning, left fielder John Allen hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season after a walk to first baseman Mike Sheridan. The tworun blast put Laredo up four runs early . Rau walked one and allowed his third hit of the night with one out in the sixth before he was pulled for reliever Mark Haynes. After allowing just his second run of the season on Friday , Haynes got the next two outs to get out of the inning. Jameson Maj came in to pitch the seventh inning and allowed his first run of the season in his ninth appearance as El Paso cut the lead to 4-1. Chad Povich pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts to keep the lead at three. Closer Mike Benacka came into the ninth inning for his third save of the series. He had blown his last two opportunities before the El Paso series, recording three saves in three days. He lowered his ERA from 7.50 to 5.19 over that stretch. Laredo will look for the four-game sweep Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in the final game of the series against the Diablos. Follow @ZachDavisLMT on Twitter for the latest news on the Lemurs and other local sports.

RIO DE JANEIRO When Mexico opens its Confederations Cup campaign against Italy on Sunday at the Maracana stadium, it will be seeking relief from a dismal World Cup qualifying campaign. The Central American side has won just one of six qualifiers with three goals scored, and failed to find the target at all in its last two drawn matches against Panama and Costa Rica, putting coach Jose Manuel De la Torres job at risk. We know that we come from a difficult situation in qualifying but this is a different tournament, De la Torre said Saturday . We came here to enjoy it, do our best and aim for nothing less than winning it. Mexico has qualified for the last five World Cups and reached the semifinals at its last Confederations Cup appearance in 2005. You play differently in a qualifier then in a competition like the Confederations Cup, De la Torre said. I see the team much more relaxed here. Mexico is counting on its opponents using more open and offensive tactics compared to what it has faced in qualifying, but De la Torres side will face a serious challenge against Italy , which it has beaten just once in 11 meetings. When you play qualifiers teams close down and dont leave much space and

then if you press forward too much that opens up spaces behind and they can attack you, De la Torre said. Here it should be different. Mexico is desperately hoping to rekindle the form that took it to the gold medal at last years Olympics, with many of the young players who tasted success in London now members of the senior team. Its key player remains Manchester United striker Javier Chicharito Hernandez. Hernandez lost his starting position this season with United, but still scored 18 goals. He has 50 in three seasons in England and has scored 32 goals in 50 games with the national team. The team has quality across the board in all positions, De la Torre said. Its key to relax and find the harmony that we need. Mexico beat Italy for the first time in their last meeting, winning a pre-World Cup friendly 2-1 in Brussels in 2010. It also held Italy to 1-1 draws in the group phase of the 1994 and 2004 World Cups. However, 2010 marked a low point for Italy with a first-round exit from the World Cup as defending champion. Cesare Prandelli replaced Marcello Lippi after that tournament and guided the Azzurri to the final of last years European Championship. The axis of the Euro 2012 run goalkeeper Gianlui-

gi Buffon, midfielder Andrea Pirlo and forward Mario Balotelli remains in place. We need to be focused on getting them disconnected, De la Torre said, adding that Italy might not know his players too well since few of them are based in Europe. If that can be a weapon for us then yes lets take advantage of it, De la Torre said. Both sides will be motivated to play the first official match at the renovated Maracana. Its really emblematic to us all, De la Torre said. Wembley , Maracana for anyone involved in football these are wonderful places. A dream is becoming a reality and now that its remodeled even more so. Despite its lack of success in World Cup qualifying, Mexico still lies third in the CONCACAF standings, level with Costa Rica two points behind the United States. The top three finishers qualify directly for next years tournament in Brazil, while the fourthplace finisher will face New Zealand in an intercontinental playoff. For qualifying we still have some time but we need to concentrate on this tournament right now, De la Torre said. We need to take things one step at a time. The key thing here is to get the group working together so we can approach the final qualifiers in the right frame of mind.