60-and-over Tucson Aces wallop Rattlers, 11-3

TOTS Baseball Network (TSBN)

60-and-over baseball


The Tucson Aces had their hitting shoes on at Mission Manor Park this morning as nine players hit safely and six players knocked in runs en route to an 11-3 win over the Arizona Rattlers.

The Aces came up big defensively as well -- turning four double plays, as 72-year-old right hander Arnie White went the distance to pick up the win. The Rattlers sent their top four pitchers -- Jerry Wessels, George Gafner, Ernie Hernandez and Tom Barrow -- to the mound today, but the Aces banged out 18 hits -- including three hits apiece by Dick Ducklow, Jim Sears and Dennis Crowley.

Chico Bigham, Lloyd Barzell and Tim Tolson added two hits apiece to the Aces' onslaught, while Pigpen Price, Pete Peters and White singled. Defensively, Price turned three double plays and Tolson added another double play the hard way when he backhanded a ground ball, tagged first base and then threw a strike to Barzell to nip the runner at second base.

The Aces received outstanding plays from their outfielders as well. Peters threw a runner out at second base in the third inning and Sears, the fastest of all the Aces, flagged down three hard hit fly balls on the run and also threw out a runner at second base in the seventh inning.

It was the first Aces game of the year against the Rattlers, a south side team with a roster of players in their  60s and early 70s. The oldest player on the field today was the Aces' 84-year-old catcher Billy Heiny.

"We hit the ball well today," said manager Jerry Hamelin. "We really played well defensively. The four  double plays were huge."

Way to go, Aces. Keep it up!