The long at bat

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Sometimes a batter can frustrate a pitcher.

It happens in the Big Leagues. There are times when a batter will foul off pitch after pitch, until he gets that one offering which results in a hit and helps change the outcome of a game.

With the old-timers it works the same way.

Today at Udall Park, Team White's John Misiaszek fouled off close to a dozen pitches in the last inning and then drilled the next pitch from Team Blue's Bob Daliege into the right field corner to load the bases.

Up to that point, Daliege and Team Blue enjoyed a 12-9 lead and Team White had one last gasp at the plate to turn things around. With two outs, Misiaszek's set the table with his opposite-field hit and before the dust had settled Team White had won the game 13-12, capped off by a two-run single to left field by Dave Byars.

Team Blue scored early and often and posted nine runs on the board after three innings of play, before Team White started to whittle away at the lead.

The game took two hours and 15 minutes to complete, but with the Arizona sun beating down on Udall Park, it was Misiaszek who added the precious few minutes to the game which allowed his team to muster up a big rally and post a come-from-behind win.

Nowadays, pitchers record "quality starts" on the mound in the Major Leagues. Five or six innings and the team lead is enough for a pitcher to gain his quality start. And so it goes with hitters. Sometimes it's a "quality at bat" that makes the difference.

Today, Misiaszek had his.

Photo: John Misiaszek "quality at bat" led to a 13-12 win for Team White at Udall Park today.