Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)
60-and--over baseball
Team White's hitters didn't let a little thing like a solar eclipse bother them today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers baseball game at Udall Park.
Shortstop Lloyd Barzell went 3 for 4 and scored three runs, while starting pitcher Ron Petersen went the distance and helped his own cause with three hits as well as Team White rolled to an 11-4 win over Team Blue.
Team Blue couldn't get anything going in the early innings and actually waited for the eclipse at 10:39 a.m to do its thing in the desert sky before rallying in the sixth inning with a two-run single from first baseman Dave Byars.
In the meantime, things were happening in the dugout as 88-year-old Billy Heiny went "old school" with a tripod, a pair of binoculars (see photos below) and some white paper to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse, which started at 9:16 AM and ended, as far as Tucson sky watchers were concerned, at 12:03 PM.
By noon, all the TOTS had packed up the their gear and had left the premises at Udall Park.
NASA had put out an estimated time of 10:36 AM when 59 percent of the sun would be obstructed by the moon (for most of Arizona, that is).
That was about the time Team Blue woke up and started scoring runs. Unfortunately, it was a little too late as Petersen allowed just one run in the seventh inning and went on to pick up the pitching victory. John Mathews and Tim Boyd shared pitching duties for Team Blue.
For the players, they noticed only a coolness in the air as the moon made its journey in front of the sun.
Nothing seems to bother the TOTS when it comes to playing baseball -- not wind, or rain or a solar eclipse.
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