TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)
60-and-over baseball
The 60-and-over Tucson Aces faced a variety of pitchers in an inter-city baseball game with the Arizona Rattlers this morning at Mission Manor Park.
The Aces saw everything from fastballs, to off-speed pitches, to curve balls and even knuckle balls, but none of the pitches seem to bother them as they collected 18 hits en route to a 14-6 victory over the south-side Rattlers.
The Rattlers sent four pitchers to the mound in the seven-inning game, while the Aces stayed with their starter, 74-year-old Chico Bigham.
The Aces treated Bigham to a five-run lead in the top of the first inning, added one more run in the fourth, a three-spot in the fifth and another five runs in the sixth to put the Rattlers away. The Rattlers did make things interesting when they closed the gap to 6-5 in the bottom of the fourth inning, but in the top of the fifth a decision to walk Aces' power hitter Tim Tolson to load the bases would lead to their downfall.
Needing a force out to end the inning, the Ratters decided to pitch to Ron Petersen. With Dennis Crowley on third, Lloyd Barzell on second and Tolson on first, Petersen drilled a shot to deep right-center. By the time the Rattlers retrieved the ball, the bases had been cleared and Petersen was all smiles, standing on second base.
The Rattlers picked their poison and guessed wrong.
Now leading 9-5, the Aces cruised the rest of the way as they put up the five-spot in their next at bat. The Rattlers added a run in their final at bat in the seventh, but by then the game was all but over.
Barzell led all the Aces' hitters with a 4 for 4 performance. He scored three times and drove in a run.
Tolson finished the day with two hits and three RBI.
Petersen finished with two hits and knocked in five runs.
And it didn't end there.
Leadoff hitter Dennis Crowley walked twice and scored two runs, Ted Davis went 3 for 4, scored twice and knocked in a run, Bob Daliege went 2 for 3 with an RBI, Dohrman Sinclair collected two hits, Pete Peters had a single and two RBI, Pigpen Price doubled and knocked in a run, Mike Steele reached base twice and 83-year-old Billy Heiny singled and scored a run.
As for Bigham, he bent a little but did not break and picked up the complete-game victory.
Aces manager Jerry Hamelin was a happy camper with how well his team performed today. "We did good, today!"
The Aces are three months away from the Men's Senior Baseball League/Men's Amateur Baseball League (MSBL/MABL) World Series in Phoenix. It'll be the first senior World Series for the Aces' team, which is comprised mostly of members from the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS), the senior citizen baseball club which plays three days a week at Udall Park.
The Aces hope their hot hitting continues all the way through October.
The 60-and-over division at the MSBL World Series is scheduled for Oct. 28 - Nov. 3.
Photo: Top, Ron Petersen, middle, Chico Bigham, bottom, Lloyd Barzell
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