Barzell tosses 4-hit shutout

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Thunder Tim Tolson hit an RBI-single in the third inning and Doc Thompson picked up an insurance run with an RBI-single in the fifth, while right-hander Lloyd Barzell tossed a 4-hit shutout as Team White beat Team Blue 2-0 at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Team Blue couldn't get anything started in this one. They loaded the bases in the third inning but failed to score.  Team Blue's John Mathews used his assortment of knuckle balls to keep Team White at bay for most of the game, but Tolson and Thompson provided all the firepower needed for Team White as Barzell cruised through all six innings.

The TOTS return to action on Monday at Udall. Game time: 8:30 a.m.

Photo: Barzell, who tossed a 4-hit shutout today.

3-run 6th lifts Team Blue to 7-5 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

As far as Pigpen Price is concerned, it's been a pain in the neck for most of the 2019 season.

The doctors say Price, who turns 74 next Tuesday, is an old man with an old neck, complete with plenty of bone spurs taking up residence along his spinal cord. In order for Price to suit up and play baseball for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, he must first use a contraption daily. The apparatus includes a pulley, a bag with seven pounds of water, a harness and chin strap and a rope -- all of which attaches to the top of a door. A 15 to 20 minute stretching exercise ensues.

"Over time it is supposed to help relieve the pain so I can swing freely and get the bat on the ball," says Price, who is finally seeing some benefit from using the contraption. "I almost hung myself the first day I tried it."

Today at Udall Park, Price went 2 for 2 -- including a double and a sacrifice fly, while driving in three runs to lead Team Blue to a come-from-behind 7-5 win over Team White. Teammate Doc Thompson went 3 for 3 and drove in two runs as Team Blue turned a 5-4 deficit into a win with a three-run sixth inning.

Ken Nebesny was the hitting star for Team White with a 3 for 3 day and two runs batted in. Reed Palmer went the distance for Team Blue and picked up the pitching victory, while Joe Opocensky was saddled with the loss.

A hot and dusty win for Daliege

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers try to beat the heat during the summer by starting their games one hour earlier then normal.

Still, the heat usually wins out.

Today at Udall Park, 71-year-old Bob Daliege took the mound for Team Blue, while Team White countered with its young stud, 64-year-old Mike Dawson. Despite the heat, both pitchers went the distance as Daliege and Team Blue edged Dawson and Team White, 8-7.

The game was played in less than two hours, but by the end of the game at 11 o'clock the temperature had risen to a sizzling ninety-five degrees.

Team White had the edge early and jumped out to a 7-3 lead after three innings of play, but the next four innings belonged to Team Blue. John Mathews went 3 for 3 and knocked in two runs to lead Team Blue, while Doc Thompson was the big gun for Team White with two hits and three RBI.

The catch of the day came from Team White's left fielder Ken Nebesny, who made a running catch in the third inning to snuff out a Team Blue rally. The throw of the day came in the fifth inning with two outs when Team Blue's centerfielder Reed Palmer threw out a runner at home. Daliege was helped out by two double plays - both of which were initiated by Mathews at third base, who twice tagged the runner going from second to third and then unleashed throws to nip the runner at first base.

The TOTS will be back in action at Udall on Wednesday. Game time: 9 a.m.

It'll be another hot and dusty day, but the TOTS will be there on time and will do their best to beat the heat.

Photo: John Mathews who had three hits today and turned two double plays in 8-7 win for Team Blue.

TOTS tangle with Horseshoe Meadow Hotshots

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers played a doubleheader at Udall Park this morning -- the first game was a regular scheduled game as Team White edged Team Blue 9-8, while the second game was a three-inning exhibition matchup between 10 TOTS regulars and the Horseshoe Meadow  Hotshot fire crew out of Fresno, California.

The Hotshots range in age from 21 to 52 and they had some time to kill at Udall this morning. By the time the dust had settled the Hotshots had earned a 3-2 win over the TOTS, thanks to two key hits in the top of the third inning by firefighters Austin Barry and Dustin Hallam.

The three-inning game was surprisingly competitive as the Hotshots sent two flamethrowers to the mound to counter the TOTS' pitchers -- Lloyd Barzell, who hurled the first inning, and Mike Dawson, who pitched the final two innings.

The Hotshots crew is stationed at Pinehurst Work Center, approximately 60 miles east of Fresno and are in town this week, doing staging operations in and around the Tucson area.

"It was great watching and playing baseball today with the TOTS," said Hotshot David Baumgardner. "Impressive! A great bunch of players."

The TOTS were also impressed with the Hotshots. "It was a fun game and we appreciate what they do," said Dawson, the TOTS' manager. "We got three innings in. We would have loved to have played more."

So for a short period of time the Hotshots took some time off to unwind and play America's Pastime, right along with the 60-and-over oldtimers.

Thanks Hotshots for all you do.

Photo: The Horseshoe Meadow Hotshots at work.

Tolson's doubles highlight TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Thunder Tim Tolson doubled in two runs in the fourth inning and followed with another 2-run double in the fifth to lead Team Blue to a 9-5 win over Team White today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Bob Daliege picked up the win, while Reed Palmer went the distance for Team White and was saddled with the loss. Pete Peters collected a couple of hits for the winners, while John Mathews, Ken Nebesny and Lloyd Barzell banged out two hits apiece for Team White.

With one game in the books this week, the TOTS return to action on Wednesday and Friday at Udall. Game times: 9 a.m.

Today's winners (Team Blue) c- Bill Mishler p- Bob Daliege 1b- Ernesto Escala 2b- Pigpen Price  3b- Tim Tolson ss- Mike Dawson lf- Phil Gordon  cf- Pete Peters  rf- Joe Aparcio.

Palmer hits 9th homer of the season

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Reed Palmer hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning and right-hander Lloyd Barzell went the distance as Team White held on down the stretch for a 9-5 win over Team Blue today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game at Udall Park.

Palmer's blast was his club-leading ninth homer of the season.

Lefty Ron Petersen went the distance for Team Blue and was saddled with the loss.

Thunder Tim Tolson collected a couple of hits and drove in three runs for the winners, while Team Blue's  Tim Boyd and John Mathews picked up two hits apiece off of Barzell.

The TOTS close out the week with a game at Udall on Friday. Game time: 9 a.m.

Revisiting an oldie but goodie

Baseball is a young man's game. No doubt about it.

Oh, we -- the senior, over 60 player -- kid ourselves into thinking we're young, but deep down we  know the clock is ticking and our skills are leaving us, wavering...ready to blow away in the wind.

Yet, we still step to the plate and await the next pitch. For some of us on the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) -- the oldest organized baseball team in the country, we try desperately to make every play, throw out every player at first base, run down every fly ball in the outfield and cradle the catch with a smile on our face.

We do this three days a week, 52 weeks out of the year and some of us add a few more games to our yearly total by competing in the MABL/MSBL World Series in Phoenix, every October -- a diehard TOT can play 175 games a year and step to the plate over 600 times.

Those are major league numbers, although the players in the majors gain their totals in seven months, we do ours in 12.

Of course, being retired helps get those numbers up. Some members of the TOTS, the players between 60 and 65, are still working...still bringing home the dough, while the bulk of the players sit back and get used to the fixed income.

If I didn't play ball and pound away on the computer with my daily writings, I'm not sure what I'd do with myself. I've left the fast-paced world behind. I leave all that hustle and bustle to my 40-something sons, who battle daily with mortgages, home repairs, college tuition...and the daily routine of getting up every morning and going to work.

I turn 69 in less than a month, just a year away from 70! There is no longer a race against time. The clock on the night stand no longer rattles at four in the morning. Instead, I awake every morning, read the paper and begin my day. I'm no longer a bowling ball, rolling down the interstate -- heading for an eight, or nine...or ten-hour shift, instead: I'm more like a bunch of drifting leaves, bouncing around...looking to fill up all the hours in a day.

Being retired takes some getting used to, but as the years fly by, you get the hang of it and you find ways to fill up the day. In my case, and for most of my fellow teammates on the TOTS, we have baseball. My life started with baseball as a six-year-old and the jury is still out on how long I will play the game. Will it be deep into my 70s, or 80s...or 90s?

Like those drifting leaves, I, along with my teammates, will bounce our way to the ball park and play for the "love of the game". We will continue to do so until the wind decides not to blow and the leaves lose their steam.

Until then, "batter up!"

Note: I blogged the above five years ago...it still rings true today...the TOTS keep on swinging.

Palmer, Tolson, Dawson finish atop the TOTS' hitting chart in May

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

A trio of 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers topped the hitting charts during the month of May at Udall Park. Reed Palmer batted .760 (19 for 25), Tim Tolson hit .545 (18 for 33) and Mike Dawson collected 18 hits in 26 at bats for a healthy .692 average.

Palmer hit three home runs in May, while Tolson hit two round-trippers. Palmer outdistanced everyone in the RBI department with 19. Tolson finished second with 11 runs-batted-in.

Other top hitters for the month included Ron Ryan (16 for 22), while John Mathews (14 for 21), Mike Steele (14 for 27) and Ron Petersen (14 for 24) ended up with 14 hits apiece.

Eight pitchers took the mound in May with Joe Opocensky leading the way with three wins and one loss.

The TOTS played just nine games in May and 38 players collected at bats. The TOTS are off and running in June with a game in the books today, won by Team Blue over Team White, 14-3. The TOTS will close the first week of June with games on Wednesday and Friday at Udall. Game times: 9 a.m.

The ageless groundout

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

In the second inning of today's 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game at Udall Park a play occurred involving two ageless wonders -- 89-year-old second baseman Billy "Doc" Heiny and 93-year-old Pretty Boy Floyd Lance.

Lance, who turns 94 in September, stepped to the plate to face Team White's Mike Dawson. Heiny, who turns 90 in August, positioned himself at second. Lance drilled a two-hopper to Heiny and the former dentist clamped down on the grounder and made the throw to first, just in time to nip the TOTS' oldest player for a 4-3 putout.

Now any baseball fan would have to search far and wide to find a game where two players with a combined age of 182 were involved in such a play. In fact, chances are such a play will only occur when it involves the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, one of the oldest, if not the oldest amateur baseball team in the country. A 4-3 putout by a couple of old-timers can be considered a normal "happening" at Udall Park.

In today's game Lance's team, Team Blue,  rolled to a 14-3 win over Team White. Lance out hit his buddy, Billy, today with a sharp single in his next at bat in the fourth inning. Billy went hitless, at least on this day.

There were still plenty of hits in this one as Ron Petersen went 4 for 4, while Arnie White and John Mathews were a combined 6 for 6 to lead Team Blue to an easy win. On the mound for Team Blue was Joe Opocensky, who tossed a three-hit shutout in to the seventh inning.

Team White managed to ruin Opocensky's shutout in the bottom of the seventh when they put together a three-run rally with four straight hits. Opocensky settled down and got out of the inning without any further damage. He finished the game with four strike outs and just one walk.

The TOTS return to action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 9 a.m.

Heiny, Lance and the rest of the TOTS will be another 48 hours older on Wednesday and ready to play ball again. There are plenty of outs left out there and the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers will do their best to make the play...again...and again and again.

Photos: Heiny (top photo), Lance (bottom).

Wildcats head home from College World Series

Arizona Wildcats Softball


They played their hearts out.

The Wildcats went on a great run but finished the season with its second loss at the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City yesterday, losing a hard-fought game with Alabama, 2-0.

After a 3-1 win in the opener over Pac-12 nemesis Washington, the Wildcats lose to another Pac-12 foe in UCLA, 6-2, in their second game of the College World Series and then waited late yesterday to face Alabama.

No key hits in this one for our Wildcats.

Arizona finishes the season 48-14. A very good year. Way to go, Wildcats!

Jessie Harper finished the season with 29 home runs and 70 RBI to top the Wildcats in the power-hitting department. Reyna Carranco (74 for 178) and Alyssa Palomino (76 for 197) finished 1-2 in hitting. Carranco with a .417 average and Palomino with a .386 average. The Wildcats hit for a .318 batting average in 62 games.