Team Blue wins 10-5, despite grand-slam homer

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue beat Team White 10-5 today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game at Udall Park, despite a grand slam home run in the third inning by Reed Palmer -- his eighth home run of the season.

Palmer's big hit of course supplied most of the runs for Team White. Lloyd Barzell went 2 for 4 with a triple and knocked in the fifth run.

As for Team Blue, Ron Petersen and Bill Mishler went 4 for 4, while Tim Boyd and Tim Tolson each went 2 for 4. Pete Maldonado picked up the pitching victory and Barzell took the loss.

Palmer, who broke the TOTS' career home run record in 2017 with 21, is on pace for 32 home runs in 2018.

The TOTS will be back in action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photos: (top) Team White's Reed Palmer blasted his eighth home run of the season, while Ron Petersen (middle) and Bill Mishler (bottom photo) were a combined 8 for 8 to lead Team Blue to a 10-5 win over Palmer and Team White today at Udall Park.

Arizona takes 2 of 3 from Washington State

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


Washington State handed Arizona its first home loss 5-4 on Saturday, but the Wildcats responded with a 18-hit attack and a 9-2 win on Sunday to take two of the three games from the Cougars at Hi Corbett Field.

Arizona improves to 13-10 overall and 2-4 in the Pac-12 standings. The Wildcats are 11-1 at home.

Four starters are hitting over .300 for the Wildcats. Cesar Salazar leads the way at .373, Cameron Cannon at .356, Cal Stevenson at .329 and Alfonso Rivas at .315.

Daliege tosses shutout

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Bob Daliege tossed a shutout and Thunder Tim Tolson drove in two runs to lead Team White to a 3-0 win over Team Blue today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

All the runs were scored in the bottom of the first inning. John Misiaszek reached on an error to lead off the inning, Lloyd Barzell doubled and Tolson knocked in both runners to give Team White a 2-0 lead. Daliege helped his own cause with an RBI-single to complete the scoring.

It was a well played game the rest of the way as Team White turned four double plays, while Team Blue turned two.

Dennis Crowley pitched for Team Blue and was saddled with the loss. Doc Thompson went 3 for 3 for the losing team, while Brad Vermeer and Mike Dawson went 2 for 2.

The TOTS return to action at Udall on Monday. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photo: Bob Daliege, who tossed a 3-0 shutout today at Udall.

Team White prevails in back-to-back TOTS' games

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team White is on a roll this week in the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers league, walloping Team Blue on Monday 18-11 at Udall Park and again today, 10-6.

On Monday, Joe Opocensky was the big hitter for Team White with a 3 for 3 day, including two doubles and six RBI, while teammate Dave Byars went 2 for 4 and drove in four runs. Lloyd Barzell picked up the pitching victory and Ron Ryan was saddled with the loss.

Reed Palmer went 3 for 4 for Team Blue, while Ron Petersen went 1 for 3 and drove in three runs and Ryan contributed two hits in three trips to the plate.

In today's game,  Pete Maldonado was the winning pitcher and Petersen took the loss. Doc Thompson went 3 for 3 and drove in three runs for Team White, while winter-visitor Steve Tanaka tripled and knocked in three runs for Team Blue.

The TOTS return to action on Friday at Udall Park. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photos: (top photo) Joe Opocensky, who went 3 for 3 and drove in six runs for Team White on Monday; (bottom photo) winter-visitor Steve Tanaka belted a three-run triple in the 5th inning today for Team Blue.

Arizona remains perfect at home

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats  (11-9) remain perfect at home after a 14-0 win last night over New Mexico State inside the friendly confines of Hi Corbett Field. The Wildcats are 9-0 at home and 2-9 on the road.

Juan Aquilera (3-0) hurled the first six innings to pick up his third win of the season.

Arizona returns to Pac-12 play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Hi Corbett with a three-game series against Washington State.

Wildcats drop 3 games at Washington

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats found the going rough in Seattle over the weekend, losing all three games to the Washington Huskies, 7-1, 1-0 and 3-2. Arizona drops to 10-9 overall and 0-3 in the Pac-12 Conference.

The Wildcats host New Mexico State on Tuesday at Hi Corbett Field in a non-conference game. The game gets underway at 6 p.m.

Team Blue gets back-to-back wins at Udall

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue won back-to-back games at Udall Park this week with a 18-5 win on Wednesday and a 11-5 win today. Team White won on Monday 11-2.

In Wednesday's game, John Mathews went 5 for 5, scored four runs and knocked in four runs, while Dave Byars went 4 for 4 with two RBI to lead Team Blue to the win. Reed Palmer homered for Team White -- his seventh of the season. Palmer has homered in three consecutive games.

Pete Maldonado picked up the pitching victory on Wednesday, while lefty Ron Petersen was saddled with the loss.

Today, Bob Daliege picked up the win and Doc Thompson took the loss. Lloyd  Barzell went 4 for 4 for Team Blue and Jerry Hamelin went 3 for 4 for Team White.

Palmer failed to homer today, after hitting home runs in three consecutive games.

The TOTS will be back in action on Monday. Game time 10 a.m.

Arizona blown out of the NCAA Tournament

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


The fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats were outplayed, out gunned and out hustled by a team called the Bulls, a 13th-seeded team from Buffalo tonight in Boise, Idaho, in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament.

Never mind all that...never mind all the turmoil off the court this season, the Arizona Wildcats are one and done. Well, not even one as Buffalo rolls to a 89-68 victory to send Arizona (27-8) home.

Never mind that Arizona had on its roster the best player in the country. Deandre Ayton added his 24th double-double tonight as the 7-1 Arizona center scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.  Dusan Ristic finished with 16 points, but both "big men" for the Wildcats should have done more.

In the end, it was the inability of Arizona's guards to score and play defense. Parker Jackson-Cartwright went 3 of 9 from the field and scored seven points, Rawle Alkins went 4 of 9 from the field and scored eight points, while Allonzo Trier finished four of 15 from the field and scored 10 points.

Arizona was a dismal 2 of 18 from beyond the arc, while Buffalo canned 15 of 30 3-pointers.

With those kind of stats, it's easy to see why Arizona lost tonight.

In the end, Arizona was simply beaten by a better team tonight -- a team that gave their all from tip-off to the buzzer. Much like teams from Arizona have done in the past.

Arizona beats Sun Devils, 6-2

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


The Arizona Wildcats (10-6) beat ASU 6-2 last night in Phoenix. The win counts in the overall standings, but not as far as the Pac-12 standings go. The conference schedule officially begins with a three-game series in Washington on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Reliever Preston Price (1-1) picked up the win. Price relieved starter Avery Weems in the fifth inning.

The Wildcats have a modest five-game winning streak.

Arizona ranked 12th in the AP College Basketball Poll

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


It doesn't matter much, but Arizona is ranked 12th this week in the AP College Basketball Poll.

Buffalo, the first-round opponent for the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament is not ranked. The second-round opponent for Arizona in Boise, Idaho, is expected to be Kentucky, ranked No. 18 this week in the poll, and looming beyond that is top-ranked Virginia, sixth-ranked Cincinnati and 13th-ranked Tennessee.

The top 5 seeds in the NCAA South Region:

1.  Virginia  (31-2)

2. Cincinnati  (30-4)

3. Tennessee    (25-8)

4. Arizona  (27-7)

5. Kentucky  (24-10)

Palmer blasts 6th homer

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Reed Palmer hit his 6th home run of the season, Ron Petersen went 3 for 3 and Joe Dinich collected three hits in three trips to the plate as Team White walloped Team Blue 11-2 today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Thunder Tim Tolson hit his first home run of the year and knocked in both runs for Team Blue, while Doc Thompson, Bob Daliege and Ron Carlson went 2 for 3.

Lloyd Barzell picked up the pitching victory and Daliege took the loss.

The TOTS return to action at Udall on Wednesday. Game time: 10 a,m.

Photos: (top photo) Reed Palmer, who continues to belt home runs at a record pace, hit his 6th homer of 2018 today. Palmer broke a club record for homers in 2017 with 21. (bottom photo) Tim Tolson ripped his first homer of 2018 today.

Wildcats stay unbeaten at Hi Corbett

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


Chalk up another three wins at home for the Arizona Wildcats.

Arizona (9-6) makes it a clean sweep of North Dakota State at Hi Corbett Field over the weekend with a 13-3 win in the opener on Friday, a 9-4 win on Saturday and capped off the three-game series today with a 11-2 win.

Alfonso Rivas has played in all 15 games and leads the team in home runs with two, in hits with 21 and RBI with 21.

NCAA Tournament selection: Arizona grabs 4th seed in South Region

NCAA Basketball Tournament

Arizoma Wildcats


The Arizona Wildcats (27-7) selected as a 4th seed out of the South Region for the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The Wildcats will face Buffalo (26-8) on Thursday in the first round in Boise, Idaho.

Way to go, Wildcats!

Wildcats win!

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Deandre Ayton scored 32 points for a second straight night and grabbed 18 rebounds as Arizona rolled in the second half for a 75-61 win over USC to win the Pac-12 Tournament Championship tonight in Las Vegas.

Time and time again the Wildcats fed Ayton underneath the rim and over the rim. The 7-1 center delivered, hitting 14 of 20 from the field. And if that wasn't enough, Dusan Ristic added another 16 points on 8 of 13 from the field. Arizona owned the glass, out rebounding the Trojans, 42-19.

Arizona's point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright also finished in double figures with 10 points, including two key three-point shots as the 15th-ranked Wildcats improved to 27-7 on the season and head into the NCAA Tournament playing their best basketball.

Way to go, Wildcats!

Deandre Ayton -- a man among boys

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Deandre Ayton, Arizona's 7-1 center, scored 32 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out three assists to lead the Wildcats to a 78-67 overtime win over UCLA tonight in Las Vegas to advance to the Pac-12 Tournament final on Saturday.

Ayton, who played 40 out of the 45 minutes, scored seven of the 11 points for the 15th-ranked Wildcats in the overtime period. With the game tied at 67-67 at the end of regulation, Arizona (26-7) held the Bruins scoreless in overtime and made sure the ball was in the hands of its big man down the stretch.

Rawle Alkins finished the game with 15 points and Parker Jackson-Cartwright ended up in double figures with 11 points and a team-high four assists.

The Wildcats face the winner of the late game tonight between Oregon and USC.

Way to go, Wildcats.

Another slugfest at Udall

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

It was another slugfest at Udall Park this morning.

Team White rolled to a 18-8 win over Team Blue thanks to the hitting of Lloyd Barzell (4 for 4, 3 doubles), Bob Daliege (2 for 3, 2 triples and 4 RBI), Doc Thompson (2 for 4, a double and a triple),
Mike Steele (3 for 4 and 3 RBI) and Jesse Ochoa (3 for 3, 2 RBI).

Thompson picked up the win and Pete Maldonado was saddled with the loss.

Team Blue's Reed Palmer homered off Team White's reliever Dennis Crowley. Palmer now has five home runs and the TOTS are just 2 1/2 months into the 2018 season.

The TOTS return to action at Udall on Monday. Game time: 10 a.m.

Trier, Ristic lead Wildcats into semfinals at Pac-12 tourney

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Allonzo Trier pumped in 22 points and Dusan Ristic picked up a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead Arizona into the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals with a convincing 83-67 win over Colorado tonight in Las Vegas.

Arizona will take on the winner of the quarterfinal game later tonight between Stanford and UCLA on Friday night and need just one more win to reach the tourney final.

All five starters scored in double figures for Arizona as Parker Jackson-Cartwright netted 14, Rawle Alkins added 12 and Deandre Ayton, who fouled out with three minutes left in the game, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Arizona, ranked 15th in the country, improves to 25-7 on the season.

A close one at Udall

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Tim Tolson went 2 for 3 with a double and Dave Rhoades went 2 for 3 and knocked in a run to lead Team White to a 4-3 win over Team Blue at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Reed Palmer went the distance for Team White and picked up the win, while John Mathews took the loss. Doc Thompson went 2 for 3 and drove in two runs for the losing team.

The TOTS return to action on Friday at Udall. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photo: Dave Rhoades

It's nice to be home

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


It's nice to be home.

The Arizona Wildcats remained unbeaten at home with a 13-4 win over San Diego State last night at Hi Corbett Field and improved to 6-6 on the season. Alfonso Rivas had three hits for the Wildcats with a home run and four RBI.

The Wildcats are 1-6 away from home and 5-0 at home.

Arizona 15th in AP Poll

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Arizona (24-7) improves to No. 15 this week in the AP College Basketball Poll.

Virginia (28-2) stays at No. 1.

2018 Tucson Old Timers team photo

TOTS 50th anniversary

Front row, L to R: Dave Rhoades, Bob Daliege, Dennis Crowley, Danny Boxberger, Ron Petersen, Danny Price, Joe Aparicio, Lloyd Barzell, Billy Heiny, Dick Ducklow and Bob Royer.

Middle row: Denny Heath, Miguel Urtaza, Pete Peters, Denny Leonard, Bob Stofft, Rob Morse, John Miaiaszek, Brad Vermeer, Ron Carlson, Bob Katz, Jesse Ochoa and Jerry Smarik.

Back row: Reed Palmer, Floyd Lance, Dave Byars, Tim Tolson, Ray Garcia, Pete Maldonado, Jerry Hamelin and DeLon "Doc" Thompson.

Not pictured: Ted Davis, who took the photo.

Arizona to host San Diego State

Arizona Wildcats Baseball


Arizona (5-6), after losing three one-run games at the Pac12/Big 10 Challenge over the weekend in Minneapolis, MN., return home to face San Diego State on Tuesday at Hi Corbett Field.

Game time 6 p.m.

The Wildcats lost in Minneapolis to Minnesota (3-2), Illinois (4-3) and Michigan State (3-2). Alfonso Rivas leads the team in hits after 11 games with 12 and RBI with 11. Arizona, suffering through a hitting slump, will take a .208 team batting average into Tuesday's game against the Aztecs.

Ayton's 21st double-double lifts Wildcats to win in regular-season finale

Arizona Wildcats Basketball


Deandre Ayton scored 26 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead the Arizona Wildcats to a 66-54 win over California tonight at McKale Center.

A lackluster performance over the last-place Golden Bears by the Wildcats, but a win is a win as Arizona captures the Pac-12 Conference title to finish 14-4 in the conference and 24-7 overall.

Give the Wildcats a break. They deserve it after a solid week of turmoil.

The Wildcats shoot 38.8 percent from the field, but allowed the Golden Bears to score just 19 points in the second half.

Rawle Alkins finished in double figures with 15 points, while Allonzo Trier scored just two points, but dished out seven assists. And by the way reserve Talbott Denny made a free throw at the end of the game -- his first point of the season.

Okay, Wildcats. Take a deep breath and rest up for the Pac-12 Tournament.

Thompson led all TOTS' hitters in February with .808 batting average

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

DeLon "Doc" Thompson, 75, has found his groove.

On the baseball diamond at Udall Park, that is. Or, to be more specific, in the batter's box.

Thompson led all hitters on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers during the month of February with 21 hits in 26 at bats -- a blistering .808 batting average.

He played in nine games. He walked four times, tied for first in doubles with seven and finished second in RBI with 10. The closest member in batting average to Thompson was Mike Taylor, who had an exceptional month as well with 11 hits in 15 trips to the plate, a healthy .733 batting average in five games.

Dave Byars, 70, led the club in RBI with 17. Reed Palmer, 61, led the club in home runs for the month with two and has four round-trippers on the season.

Other top hitters for the month included: Tim Tolson (9 for 17 in 6 games with 7 doubles and a .529 average), Palmer (10 for 21, a .475 average in 8 games) and George Staas (11 for 19, a .579 average in 6 games).

The short month was cut even shorter by three rainouts. Thirty-eight players saw action in February.

Photo: Thompson (at the plate)

A big win for Arizona at McKale

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Bear down Arizona!

And the Wildcats did just that.

Arizona beats Stanford at McKale Center 75-67 tonight as the Wildcats turned to the steady Dusan Ristic, who scored 15 points in the first half and finished with 21 points, while Allonzo Trier returned to action with 18 points and four assists.

Deandre Ayton, in foul trouble for most of the game, picked up his 20th double-double of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Arizona improves to 23-7 and 13-4 in the Pac-12 and now own a share of the conference title and can win the title outright with a win over California on Saturday at McKale.

Ristic, who went 10 of 15 from the field tonight and grabbed five rebounds, now owns the Wildcat record for the most career wins in school history with 111 wins.

Congrats to Dusan and congrats to coach Sean Miller and all the Wildcats for surviving the storm this past week. It was a tough week for the Arizona program, the fans and the players.

It should be a fun night at McKale on Saturday night!