Big O at it again

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Joe Opocensky, 69, keeps on taking the mound for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

The more he pitches, the better he gets.

Today at Udall Park, Opocensky threw nothing but strikes for seven strong innings and came away with a 8-4 pitching victory. He had plenty of help from his teammates, especially in the bottom of the first inning when John Mathews singled in two runs and Reed Palmer blasted an RBI-single off the right field fence to give Opocensky and Team White a 3-0 lead.

Team White scored another three runs in the third to build their lead to 6-0 and then held off Team Blue down the stretch. Shortstop Lloyd Barzell batted lead-off and went 3 for 3, while scoring all three times he was on base to help Team White maintain their lead throughout the game.

Team Blue scored a run in the top of the seventh to close to within four runs, but  Team White turned a 4-6-5 double play to end the game. Team Blue's hard-hitting Doc Thompson drilled a grounder to second baseman Pigpen Price, who made the toss to Barzell at second base for a force out. Barzell then turned and threw to Mathews at third base and caught the runner, Bob Daliege, off base for the final out.

It was a comfortable 74 degrees at game time, a far cry from the hot temperatures the TOTS have endured all summer long.  The TOTS will close out the week at Udall on Wednesday and Friday. Due to the beautiful weather, the TOTS will return to seven-inning games for the rest of the 2019 season. The TOTS continue with a 9 a.m. starting time for all games.