TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)
60-and-over baseball
Team Blue 12 Team White 11
On paper it looked like Team Blue would have the upper hand in a Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game at Udall Park today.
After all, the heart of their batting order consisted of two left-handed power hitters -- Tim Tolson and Jeff Helzel, plus two hard-hitting right-handed batters in Dave Rhoades and Mike Steele.
It was 83-year old pitcher Billy Heiny's job to maneuver his way through those four hitters. If he was successful, then chances are Team White would have a shot at winning the game -- despite all the firepower of the "fearsome foursome."
Heiny took the mound in the bottom of the first with a 1-0 lead, thanks to an RBI single from Pigpen Price in the top of the inning, but the lead was short lived as Tolson sent a towering fly ball over the right field fence for a two-run homer and a 2-1 lead for Team Blue.
But then the momentum shifted back to Team White as the middle of their lineup, comprised of Lloyd Barzell, Chico Bigham, Pete Peters, Ron Carlson, Jesse Ochoa and Pigpen Price, ripped the offerings of right-hander Bob Royer for five runs in the third, four more in the fourth and a single run in the sixth.
Unfortunately for Team White, 11 runs wasn't enough to win this one.
The "fearsome foursome" just couldn't be stopped as Helzel, Tolson, Rhoades and Steele found ways to reach base and cause havoc. By the time Team Blue came to bat in the bottom of the sixth, they had closed the gap to 11-8.
Heiny and Team White needed three outs to preserve the win. Heiny faced the bottom of Team Blue's order, but got himself into trouble by allowing two runs to score, one on a hit by Jerry Hamelin and a bases-loaded walk to Rhoades.
That brought up Tolson with two out. The hard-hitting lefty drilled a shot off the glove of first baseman Floyd Lance and two runs scored, giving Team Blue a hard-fought 12-11 win.
It was certainly a good day for the hitters. Tolson ended up with a 3 for 4 day -- including his home run, while Helzel went 3 for 3 and Steele collected two hits in three trips to the plate -- including a triple.
For Team White, they didn't do too bad, either. Price, who has been battling a mini-slump for the most of July, went 3 for 3 and drove in three runs. Peters went 3 for 4, Bigham 2 for 3 and Ochoa drove in Team White's 11th run of the game with a double off the fence in left-center.
Joe Aparicio took over for Royer in the sixth inning and picked up the win in relief, while Heiny was saddled with a tough-luck loss.
The TOTS will be at it again next week.
Photos: The "fearsome foursome"...top to bottom, Tim Tolson, Jeff Helzel, Mike Steele and Dave Rhoades.
It was a fun game today--it looked like it was going to be a pretty long day for us when you were leading 10-2. But the bottom of our lineup really came through for us to give Tim the opportunity to take that last at bat!
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