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.