San Luis controls second half in win

Sidewinders score 4 straight vs. Kings

Astros, Dusty Baker working on manager deal

HOUSTON — Dusty Baker is working to finalize an agreement to become manager of the Houston Astros, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been completed.

The 70-year-old Baker becomes the oldest manager in the big leagues. He takes over from AJ Hinch, who was fired Jan. 13 just an hour after he was suspended for the season by Major League Baseball for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.

San Luis’ Ian Topete is very dynamic and is regarded as one of the top goal scorers in the state of Arizona.

On Tuesday night at San Luis, the senior, once again, sparked an offensive onslaught for the 13th ranked Sidewinders in a 4-1 victory over the 9th ranked Kofa Kings. The victory gave San Luis their fifth consectuive win and they’ve outscored their opponents 31-2 over that span.

Topete, playing with a yellow card, reentered the game in the second half. He was cautious in making sure he didn’t pick up another card, but when he needed to strike, he delivered.

The Sidewinders (7-3 AIA, 1-1 region) goalkeeper, Martin Sanchez, made an incredible diving to stop in the 57th minute with the score knotted at one. Sanchez quickly bounced to his feet and launched a three-quarter length ball to Topete and he took care of the rest.

Topete maneuvered his way through the Kofa (4-31 AIA, 0-1-1 region) defense and rifled a missile into the back of the net to give San Luis a 2-1 lead in the 58th minute. He recorded his 18th goal of the season (10th in the state across all divisions), including his 11th in the previous four games.

“Kofa’s defense was great on Ian in the first half,” San Luis coach Jesus Rojas said. “He barely touched

SL: 7-3 AIA, 1-1 region KHS: 4-3-1 AIA, 0-1-1 region

the ball, but in the second half he got a little bit more movement. He just needed one chance to get one in.”

From there, the Sidewinders would tack on two more and ended the game on a 4-0 run after allowing the Kings to strike first.

In the 61st minute, Roberto Uribe knocked in a goal past the keeper to extend San Luis’ lead to two. Ricardo Famania joined in on the fun in the 77th minute as he received a pass from Alberto Esparza and chipped it past Kofa’s keeper and diminished any hope for a Kofa comeback.

“We let ourselves down in the second half,” Kofa coach Jamie Nicewan