Aces sweep Tucson south side teams

With a victory (14-5) earlier this month over the Arizona Rattlers, the Aces 60-and-over baseball team made it a sweep of the south side teams in February with a 12-2 win today at Tucson Udall Park over the Old Pueblo Club. Dennis Crowley pitched the first four innings for the Aces and Arnie White hurled the final three as the home team bested the three pitchers from the Old Pueblo Club -- Jose Rios, Doug Mullins and Frank Castillo.

The Aces led 4-1 after two innings, 8-1 after five and finished off Old Pueblo with four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Eighty-two-year-old Billy Heiny, the oldest player on the field today, provided a key hit in the sixth to help seal the deal. The game was a reunion in part for yours truly and three members of the Old Pueblo Club -- Vic Acuna, 66, Joe Banner (70) and Mullins (67). The four of us played together 15 years ago on the Desert Diamond Senior Olympic team, which won the 1997 baseball championship at Hi Corbett Field.

Desert Diamond knocked off a team from Delaware in the title game. Acuna hit a couple of shots today and scored one of the two runs for Old Pueblo, while Banner grounded into a double play to yours truly to end the game. Sorry, Joe!