'Jacks fall on road, but open at Driller tonight
From special reports

For many of the Pump Jacks, East Texas has been home for just a few days. Still, the team is looking forward to a little home cooking.

The East Texas Pump Jacks dropped their second game to open the season, falling to the McKinney Marshals on Wednesday night, 7-1. The Jacks lost the season opener to McKinney, 1-0, on Tuesday evening.

The Pump Jacks expect a reversal of venue will result in a reversal of fortune come tonight and Friday. The teams will face each other the next two nights at Driller Park, beginning with the Pump Jacks' inaugural season home opener tonight. The gates will open at 6 p.m. for the historic event. Traditional full roster introductions will begin at about 6:45 p.m., with opening pitch slated for 7:05 p.m.

East Texas will host the Marshals again on Friday night for the first Fireworks Fridays of the season. Following the game, fans will be treated to a spectacular fireworks show, complete with a unique soundtrack.

There wasn't much music-playing for the Pump Jacks on Wednesday evening. For the second straight game, the East Texas offense posted three hits, two from the bat of Adam de la Garza.

The Jacks did push across the first run in team history in the sixth inning. Jared Wondra led off with a walk, followed by a de la Garza single to left. A Ryan Mooney double play grounder erased de la Garza but moved Wondra to third. Wondra then scampered home on a wild pitch by McKinney pitcher Del Howell.

Mooney also registered a single in the first inning.

Pump Jacks starting pitcher Justin Fowler (0-1) scuffled through four in- nings, allowing five hits and seven runs, four of them earned. The Texarkana College freshman, who was drafted last week by the Atlanta Braves, walked two and struck out two.

Texas A&M sophomore Steven Martin came on for Fowler to start the fifth and immediately made an impact. Flashing mid-90's heat, Martin registered five of his seven outs by strikeout, allowing only one hit. He also posted five walks, but the transfer from Seminole State College escaped his 2 1/3 innings unscathed.

Matt Shelton struck out two and walked one in 1 2/3 scoreless innings to close out the contest.

The Pump Jacks will send Chad Sherman to the hill on Thursday night for historic affair. Sherman, a Bullard native who spent the last two years at Panola College, is headed to Texas A&M in the fall. He pitched last summer for the Staunton Braves, where he was named one of the Valley League's top prospects.

Tickets for Thursday's opener and Fireworks Friday, plus the remainder of the Jacks' inaugural season schedule, are on sale now. Fans may purchase tickets at the Pump Jacks office at 1100 Stone Road, Suite 120, in Kilgore, or over the phone at (903) 218-GO ET. Tickets may also be purchased online - and printed at home on any home printer - by visiting pumpjacksbaseball.com.

Single-game tickets start at $5 each, or $4 for children and seniors, for grandstand general admission tickets. Upper Box seats are $8 each, and Lower Box seats, which feature in-your-seat wait service, are only $10 per ticket.