A slugfest at Udall

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

There were plenty of hits at Udall Park this morning as the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers opened their August schedule with a real slugfest. With the temperature already in the mid-90s and the humidity hovering around 50 percent, Team Blue outlasted Team White, 12-10.

Team White had four hits and four RBI from hard-hitting lefty Reed Palmer. In his first at bat of the game Palmer belted a three-run homer -- his club-leading 13th round tripper of the season. Teammates Ken Nebesny collected three hits in four trips to the plate, while Pigpen Price also went 3 for 4. Nebesny and Price drove in two runs apiece, but in the end, it just wasn't enough to get Team White over the hump as Team Blue used the hot hitting of Thunder Tim Tolson and Ron Ryan to get the job done.

Tolson and Ryan were a thorne in the side of Team White's starter Doc Thompson and Palmer, who ended up relieving Thompson in the fifth inning and was saddled with the loss. Tolson and Ryan combined for seven hits and seven RBI.

It looked like Team White was on its way to a win with a five-run fifth inning to take an 8-7 lead, but in the sixth Team Blue regained the lead with a five-run rally of their own. In Team White's final at bat in the bottom of the sixth, Nebesny, Palmer and Price combined for three hits and two runs, but Pete Maldonado, the winning pitcher for Team Blue, got the final two batters of the game, Rob Morse and Joe Aparicio, to ground out to end the game.

Photos: 1) Maldonado, who picked up the pitching victory today at Udall Park and 2) Reed Palmer, who belted his club-leading 13th home run of the season today -- a three-run shot in the first inning over the right field fence.