Aces let one get away

TOTS Senior Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over Aces


The 60-and-over Aces let one get away this morning at Tucson Santa Rita Park.

The Aces came out firing on all cylinders with a five-run first inning and by the fifth inning they owned a commanding 11-5 lead over the host team, the Old Pueblo Club.

The Aces found the gaps in left-center and right-center at Santa Rita to their liking as Tim Tolson, Ted Davis and Lloyd Barzell had the OP Club outfielders on their heals as the trio rattled the fences with their "tweeners", unfortunately for the Aces, the bats cooled off in the final two innings and the OP Club fought back.

A hand full of errors in the fifth and sixth didn't help matters, either, and suddenly Old Pueblo had trimmed the Aces lead to 11-10. In the bottom of the seventh, a shot to left, an infield hit and a double to right field sealed the 12-11 win for the Old Pueblo Club.

"We let this one get away, said manager Jerry Hamelin, following the game. "Too many mistakes in the middle innings. We let 'em back in the game."

 Hamelin went with three pitchers today in hopes of getting all three some much-needed work in preparation for next month's MSBL World Series, which will be held in Phoenix, Oct. 28 thru Nov. 2.
Lefty Dennis Crowley pitched the first two innings and allowed two runs. Danny "Pigpen" Price pitched the third and fourth and allowed three runs. Barzell finished up and was saddled with the loss.

But Hamelin made it clear, after the game, that it wasn't the pitching or the lack of hitting in the final innings that allowed the OP Club to get the upper hand.

"There were a few plays we didn't make and we made a couple of bad decisions that cost us." (In other words, there were a few senior moments).

It was the Aces first loss to a south-side team (the other team, the Arizona Rattlers) in over two months.

This one got away...but there's always next time.