Sparky on fire at the plate

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Back in his younger days, Mark Rupert's teammates called him Sparky.

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers have discovered recently why he was awarded such a moniker. During the month of May, Sparky was on fire at the plate and finished with the most hits (24), scored the most runs (14) and had the best batting average at .632 (24 for 38).

Rupert, 69, has found his way to the lead-off position and he has definitely showed his teammates that he can light up a scoreboard. He provides the spark that ignites the rest of the players in the lineup.

Not too far behind Sparky with 17 hits apiece were John Cooke (17 for 34, a .500 average) and Ken Nebesny (17 for 33, a .515 average). Joe Opocensky played in just eight of the 11 games, but led the pack in RBI with 19 and batted .577 (15 for 26), while Thunder Tim Tolson filled the stat sheet as usual with 16 hits in 41 at bats (a .390 average). Tolson was third in RBI with 12, while Sam Dean was second with 13 runs-batted-in.

With 10 hits or more were Mike Steele (13 for 26, a .500 average), Roger Beebe (12 for 35, a .343 average), Jimmy Kinion (12 for 27, a .444 average), while Dennis Crowley went 10 for 23, a .435 average, Ron Ryan (10 for 17, a .588 average) and Dean (10 for 22, a .455 average). 

In the 75-and-over group, Danny "Pigpen" Price struggled with a back injury and played in just seven of the 11 games and batted .176 (3 for 17) with two runs scored and four RBI.

Forty-one players saw action during the month of May and 11 pitchers toed the rubber. Larry Abramson led the way with a 3-2 record and pitched the most innings (40), recorded the most strike outs (16) and allowed the most walks (11). Pete Maldonado finished 2-0 for the month, while Opocensky ended up 2-2 for the month and was second in innings pitched (27). 

Way to go, TOTS!

The Road to Omaha

Arizona Wildcats Baseball

The road to Omaha and the 2022 CWS

Arizona has pretty much seen it all. With 60 games in the books, the Wildcats take a 37-23 record to Coral Gables, Florida. All season the Wildcats have relied on the "Big 3" to lead them toward another College World Series appearance. The trio of Daniel Susac, Tanner O'Tremba and Chase Davis have combined for 243 hits, 151 runs scored, 50 doubles, seven triples, 38 home runs and 164 RBI.

The Wildcats are almost there. The Arizona women's softball team has already punched their ticket to the College World Series and begin play Thursday in Oklahoma City. The Arizona baseball team has a couple of stops before they can be penciled in as one of the eight teams to play in Omaha.

They must take down Ole Miss in the Coral Gables Regional, then beat the region's top seed Miami next, assuming the No. 6 overall seed, Miami, takes down the fourth-seeded team in the regional, Canisius. 

The Wildcats have faced the best teams in the Pac-12 Conference this season -- including the likes of Stanford, Oregon State, Oregon and UCLA, all of which have been selected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona will have to hit its way to the region title and then move on to the Super Regionals in Miami, Florida. And guess who is looming there? It is  LSU (38-20) and former Wildcat head coach, Jay Johnson, along with former Wildcat star third baseman Jacob Berry.

What a story that would be!

But first things first.

Arizona and LSU have a few tough assignments ahead of them. In Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the Tigers and Mr. Johnson must dispose of overall 11th-seed Southern Mississippi, Army and Kennesaw State. 

As for the Arizona Wildcats, the pitching staff has an ERA of 4.81 and their top two pitchers --TJ Nichols and Garrett Irvin -- have a combined won-loss record of 10-8.

As I said, the Wildcats will have to hit their way to the College World Series in Omaha.

Note: Game time for Arizona/Ole Miss scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday -- June 3, 2022. (weather may cause a delay) 

Arizona Baseball: Wildcats head for Coral Gables

Arizona Wildcats Baseball

NCAA Tournament

First round: Wildcats to face Ole Miss in Coral Gables, Florida

Date: Friday -- June 3     11 a.m.

Foes: Ole Miss (32-22), Miami (39-18) and Canisius (29-23)

Arizona (37-23) will play a familiar foe to open the NCAA College Baseball Tournament.

Ole Miss, the team the Wildcats beat in 2021 at the Super Regionals at Hi Corbett Field last June, will be Arizona's first round game on Friday in Coral Gables, Florida.

Go, Wildcats!

TOTS' Memorial Day game a walk-off win for Team White

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

TOTS' Memorial Day game goes down to the wire at Udall Park 
today

After close to two hours of play, the game was deadlocked at 8-8 as the two teams headed into the seventh inning.

First up: Team Blue in the top of the seventh.

With two outs and runners on first and second, John Cooke, who had tripled in the fifth inning off Team White's right-hander Larry Abramson, stepped into the batter's box.

Cooke, 65, was looking for one of Abramson's patented sliders, similar to a pitch he saw back in the fifth. Another triple and a two-run lead would be nice. Instead, Cooke swung at a Abramson fastball up and in and popped out to Team White's shortstop Tim Tolson for the final out.

Team White came to bat looking for a walk-off win.

They got just that, but it wasn't a walk-off hit that got the job done.

Ken Nebesny, 65, singled off Team Blue's Randy Livingston to get things started in the bottom of the seventh. Nebesny, who had four hits on the day, reached third, thanks to two force out plays, and then  scampered home with the winning run when Livingston tried to pick off Tolson, the runner at first base. The ball got by first baseman Carl Schwanbeck and Team White won the game, 9-8.

A strange ending to a hard-fought contest.

Twenty three players played in the game and it looked like Team Blue would have the upper hand in this one with three runs in the first inning and three more in the third for a 6-1 lead, but Team White battled back with two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and two more in the sixth.

Team White ended up with 17 hits on the day. Ron Ryan, 64, was a perfect 3 for 3, while Reed Palmer,  Sam Dean and Abramson contributed two hits apiece. Rob Morse and Jimmy Kinion also singled for Team White.

Team Blue finished with 13 hits with Mike Steele, Phil Ahern and Livingston contributing two hits apiece.

Photo: Nebesny goes 4 for 4 to lead Team White to 9-8 win at Udall today. 

Arizona softball alive and well

Arizona Softball

Arizona softball is heading back to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series for the 25th time in school history.

The Wildcats (38-20) struggled at times during the 2022 regular season, but not in the postseason as they rolled over Illinois and Missouri at Columbia, Missouri last week and then traveled to Starkville, Mississippi this week and knocked off Mississippi State 3-2 in the opening round and won 7-1 today to close out the best-of-three at the Super Regional, two games to none, to punch their ticket to Oklahoma City.

This is after finishing in a tie for last place in the Pac-12 Conference!

Talk about peaking at the right time!

Two big reasons for the Wildcats' postseason success -- pitchers Hanah Bowen and Devyn Netz (#34, shown in photo above). Bowen is 13-10, and Netz, who pitched a complete-game for the win over Mississippi State today, is 15-7.

Way to go, Wildcats!

Cardinal takes down Wildcats twice (15-8, 5-4) at Pac-12 Tourney

Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Pac-12 Conference Tournament

Scottsdale, Arizona

Arizona (37-23) knocked off Oregon 8-6 and Arizona State 8-6 at the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Baseball Tournament in Scottsdale -- besting the Ducks in the tourney opener on Thursday and on  Saturday the Wildcats took care of the Sun Devils.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats found themselves in the same bracket as the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal.

The result: Arizona lost 15-8 on Friday and lost 5-4 in the semi-finals today.

Arizona was outgunned in Game 1 with the Cardinal, but in the second meeting this morning, the Wildcats had their chances. Early on, Arizona lost the services of its cleanup hitter Chase Davis when he banged into the left field wall after making a running catch in the first inning.

The loss of Davis proved costly through out the game, but especially in the ninth inning when Arizona had battled back from a 5-2 deficit to close to 5-4. Tyler Casagrande, who went 1 for 3 in place of Davis and  had played well in left field for seven innings, popped out to third in the ninth to end the game.

Davis never saw an at bat.

Hopefully, Davis will be ready for the NCAA Tournament next week.

If Davis, who leads the club with 16 home runs, is able to play then the Wildcats should still make some noise in the postseason, along with Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State and UCLA.

Photo: Chase Davis, who leads Arizona with 16 home runs, injured his shoulder today at the Pac-12 Tournament in Scottsdale in the first inning against Stanford.

Tombstone Kid goes 3 for 4 in TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Roger Beebe, 68, the pride of the Tombstone High School Yellowjackets some 50 years ago, hails from the town too tough to die. In fact, Beebe is the only player from Tombstone, Arizona on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers' roster.

Unlike Marshall Wyatt Earp in the 1880s, Beebe doesn't do his talking with a couple of six shooters on his hip. Instead, Beebe (left photo) plays old-time baseball and steps into the batter's box at Udall Park with a  Louisville Slugger in his hands.

Today, Beebe was swinging a hot wood bat (let's say aluminum, to be more accurate) as the Tombstone Kid went 3 for 4 to lead Team White to a 10-9 win over Team Blue.

Beebe, a member of the TOTS since 2016, was the leadoff hitter for Team White this morning and was a thorn in the side of Team Blue's pitcher Larry Abramson for the better part of two hours.

And that was okay as far as Team White's starter Reed Palmer, 66, was concerned.

Palmer, back in action after nursing a back injury for a month, found his way to the mound this morning and was the winning pitcher with seven solid innings of work. He struck out two, walked three and allowed 12 hits. Palmer helped his on cause with a hit, a walk and three RBI. Sam Dean also knocked in three runs for Team White, while teammate Bob Long chipped in two hits and knocked in a run.

Thunder Tim Tolson and newcomer Phil Ahern knocked in three runs apiece for Team Blue. John Cooke had two hits for the losing team -- including a double.

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

Note: Remember games will start at 8:30 a.m. beginning June 1.

Susac belts 2 homers to lift Wildcats to 8-6 win over Oregon

Pac 12 Baseball Tournament

Scottsdale, Arizona

Arizona  8  Oregon  6

Catcher Daniel Susac hit two home runs at Scottsdale Stadium today as the 5th-seeded Arizona Wildcats beat the 4th-seeded Oregon Ducks 8-6 in the opening round of the inaugural Pac 12 Conference Baseball Tournament.

Sucac (photo left) hit a solo home run in the third inning and drilled a two-run shot  in the ninth inning. He scored three times and finished his day 3 for 4, while Chase Davis and Garen Caulfield contributed two hits apiece and a combined four RBI. Caulfield starting the scoring in the top of the second inning with a two-run homer  over the left field fence--his second round-tripper of the year for Arizona.

Arizona (36-21) will face either top-seeded Stanford or eighth-seeded Arizona State on Thursday in the second round of the tourney. Game time: 4:45 p.m.

23-hit attack leads Team Blue to 15-9 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Anytime the first eight batters in a baseball lineup can combine for 23 hits then chances are that team will put a "W" on the scoreboard.

That's exactly what happened at Udall Park this morning as Team Blue rolled to a 15-9 win over Team White in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

The hot-hitting newcomer from Albuquerque Mark Rupert, the leadoff batter for Team Blue, went 3 for 5 and scored four runs, while the second hitter in the lineup, Dennis Crowley, went 4 for 4, walked once and scored twice. 

And that's just for starters.

Thunder Tim Tolson, batting third in the lineup, went 3 for 5, scored a run and knocked in two runs, while cleanup hitter Reed Palmer scored twice and knocked in four runs with a 3 for 5 performance at the plate. Ernesto Escala followed with four hits, scored four runs and knocked in a run, while Greg Seader, Sam Dean and Ron Ryan added two hits apiece to complete the onslaught at the plate by Team Blue.

In the meantime, Team White's lineup wasn't too shabby as Roger Beebe, Mike Steele, Joe Opocensky, John Cooke and Larry Abramson were a combined 12 for 18 and combined for seven of the nine runs scored.

Opocensky was saddled with the loss today, striking out three and walking four, while Pete Maldonado picked up the win, allowing nine runs and 14 hits. Maldonado struck out three and walked two.

Team White battled through out the game and actually led 9-8 after five innings of play, but Team Blue scored three runs in the sixth and added four insurance runs in the seventh inning to send Team White home with a loss.

The TOTS are back in action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 9 AM.

Photo: Dennis Crowley, a lefty who can spray the ball to all fields, was perfect at the plate today for Team Blue with four hits and a walk. 

Ducks out pitched, out hit Wildcats in Eugene

Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Regular season ends, tourney time in Scottsdale next

The Arizona Wildcats (35-21 overall, 16-14 Pac-12) were out hit and out pitched in Eugene, Oregon -- losing their final regular season games to the Ducks 10-4 on Thursday, 4-3 on Friday and 5-3 today.

The Wildcats head for the Pac-12 Conference Tournament next Wednesday as the fifth seed and will play the No. 4 seed (you guessed it) the Oregon Ducks (35-21, 18-12)  at 9 AM at Scottsdale Stadium in the tourney opener.

It's tough to beat a baseball team four games in a row. Let's hope that scenario rings true.

Arizona needs to get back on the winning track.

The postseason begins first with an eight-team field in the Scottsdale tourney -- including Stanford, the top seed, Oregon State, the No. 2 seed, and the third-seeded Bruins from UCLA. Washington, California and Arizona State round out the eight.

Go, Wildcats! 

Rupert 8 for 8 in last 3 TOTS' games

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue  9  Team White  5

Mark Rupert, 69, has been on fire at the plate in his last three games with the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) -- including a 3 for 3 day along with three RBI at Udall Park today -- as he led Team Blue to a 9-5 win over Team White.

Rupert  (photo left) is 8 for 8 in his last three games and is suddenly becoming one of the club's most consistent hitters. During that three-game stretch, Rupert has scored five runs, knocked in four runs, walked once, hit a sacrifice fly and was hit by a pitch.

Today, Rupert batted leadoff and his teammates followed his lead with another nine hits as lefty Dennis Crowley went the distance for the win. Rick Bitzer, Brack Whitaker and Jimmy Kinion chipped in two hits apiece, while Mike Steele, John Cooke and Crowley also hit safely.

Brad Vermeer pitched six innings for Team White and was saddled with the loss. Team White did have 12 hits as well with Roger Beebe leading the way with three hits. Ken Nebesny, John Mathews and Ron Ryan collected two hits apiece, while Mike Dawson, Bill Mishler and Chuck Sabalos also hit safely.

Team White led 3-1 after one inning of play, but Team Blue added three runs in the second, a run in the fourth, another run in the fifth and three insurance runs in the top of the sixth. Team White plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth to complete the scoring.

The TOTS will finish out the week with a a game at Udall on Friday. Game time: 9 AM.  

TOTS' right-hander tosses 2-hitter and loses

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue right-hander Joe Opocensky allowed just two hits at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game. 

That kind of pitching will normally get you a win, but not today.

With runners at second and third in the bottom of the sixth inning, Opocensky and his team held a 5-4 lead, but a passed ball tied the game at 5-all and Team White's hard-hitting lefty Thunder Tim Tolson was still at the plate. Tolson then lined out to shortstop Jimmy Kinion for the second out and Opocensky needed one more out for a kiss-your-sister ending to this one.

David Byars stepped into the box and hit a popup behind second base, Kinion moved to his left and tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch, but the ball bounced out of his glove and Pete Peters raced home for the walk-off win for Team White.

Peters hit a double today and scored three times from his leadoff spot, while Dennis Crowley, who batted second for Team White, collected the only other hit off Opocensky. Crowley and Tolson knocked in four of the six runs today.

In the meantime, newcomer Larry Abramson picked up his second pitching victory in four days with six innings of work as well, despite allowing 11 hits --  two hits each by Mark Rupert, John Cooke, Steve Foster and Opocensky.

Abramson had the support behind him all day as the Team White defenders played close to errorless ball and turned two double plays. On the other hand, Team Blue committed four costly errors and Opocensky was saddled with the loss, instead of a pitching gem.

Abramson struck out five and walked two batters, while Opocensky struck out four and walked three.

The TOTS are back in action at Udall on Wednesday. Game time: 9 AM.

Note: Due to the hot weather, today's game was shortened to six innings.

Arizona's Bingham, Davis homer in 10-5 win over Oregon State

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Mac Bingham hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and Chase Davis drilled a two-run shot in the sixth -- his 15th of the season -- to lead Arizona to a 10-5 win over Oregon State today at Hi Corbett Field to capture the three-game series from the 2nd-ranked Beavers, two games to one.

Arizona improves to 35-18 and 16-11 in Pac-12 conference play, while Oregon State falls to 40-11 overall and 19-8 in the conference.

Photo: Chase Davis batting in the first inning today at Hi Corbett Field. Davis walked, but in the sixth inning hit a two-run homer to help the Wildcats beat Oregon State in the rubber game this afternoon, 10-5. 

High Noon Showdown: Oregon State (40-10, 19-7) at Arizona (34-18, 15-11)

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Each team has scored 14 runs and banged out 20 hits in two games at Hi Corbett Field.

Each team owns a win -- Arizona with a 5-2 win yesterday and Oregon State, a 12-9 winner on Friday in the opener.

Today, it's a High Noon showdown at Hi Corbett as the Beavers, ranked No. 2 in the country, hope to take the three-game series with a win over the Wildcats and solidify their hold on first place in the Pac- 12 Conference race.

The Beavers will send right-hander Jake Pfennings (2-0) to the mound and he certainly has the credentials to get the job done with an earned-run average of 0.48. The Wildcats will counter with Anthony Susac (4-1).

It'll by up to Arizona's top guns -- Tanner O'Tremba, Daniel Susac, and Chase Davis, along with Noah Turley, who has homered in both games of the series, to carry the Wildcats to a victory over a team favored to win it all at the College World Series in Omaha in June.

Go, Wildcats!

Rock and roll pitcher gets first win with TOTS

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Rock and Roll doctor joins Tucson Old Timers

Abramson, 68, leads his team to 12-7 win at Udall Park today

Doctor Larry Abramson, the latest addition to the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He sat up practice in internal medicine there, back in 2012, but it wasn't long before he made the switch, opened up his own clinic and began to help patients who were suffering from opioid addiction.

Now, Abramson is retired, on the move and is focusing on his guitar, rock and roll music and some baseball. His buddy, Mark Rupert, a former Albuquerque neighbor and a current member of the TOTS, had a hand in getting Abramson to move to Tucson.

After all, if you are a senior citizen, live in the Southwest and love to play the game of baseball, chances are the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, an amateur baseball club that's been around since 1968, is an option you can't ignore.

If being a doctor and a life-long baseball player isn't enough, Abramson is also into rock and roll music, loves playing the guitar (see above photo) and, over the years had used his love for music at his clinic in Albuquerque to help patients.

Fast Forward to 2022 and we now find Abramson in Tucson where he will continue to work on his music and play some baseball.

Today, it was baseball as he pitched all seven innings for Team White en route to a 12-7 win over Team Blue. He struck out one and walked one. Abramson also went 1 for 3 at the plate and knocked in two of the 12 runs.

Team White scored at least one run in each of their six innings of work as Team Blue's right-hander Bob Daliege was saddled with the loss. All nine batters hit safely for Team White with Rupert leading the way with a 3 for 3 day, two runs scored and a run batted in. John Mathews and Ron Ryan had two hits, while Joe Opocensky knocked in three runs for the winners.

Thunder Tim Tolson led Team Blue with a 2 for 5 day, including two doubles and three RBI, while Daliege went 3 for 4 in a losing cause.

The TOTS return to action on Monday at Udall. Game time: 9 AM. 

MLB NL West teams all over .500

Major League Baseball

NL West Division

The good news is the Arizona Diamondback are over .500 for the first time this year at 15-14.

The bad news: The Diamondbacks are still in last place despite exceptional pitching and a won-loss record of 7-3 in their past 10 games.

The LA Dodgers remain on top in the division at 19-7 and the San Diego Padres are in second at 19-10. That leaves the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants tied at 16-12.

Way to go, Diamondbacks!

The Florida Marlins are in in town for a a three-game series, starting tonight at Chase Field. The Chicago Cubs are in town next weekend for a three-games series. The Diamondbacks head for  LA and a four-games series with the Dodgers, May 16-18.

Wildcats lose 2 of 3 to USC

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

USC put a damper on Arizona's chances to win the Pac-12 Conference title, winning 2 of 3 games over the weekend --  including an 8-5 win in the finale in LA today. The Trojans are in last place in the conference, but they sure didn't act like it after winning the opener on Friday 6-1 before suffering a 3-2 loss to the Wildcats in a hard-fought matchup on Saturday.

The two losses dropped Arizona to 14-10 in the conference and even a sweep of first-place Oregon State next weekend at Hi Corbett Field would leave the Wildcats behind the Beavers (38-9, 18-6).

The Wildcats, 33-17 overall, are under the gun now and need to not only sweep the Beavers, but sweep the Ducks in Oregon the following week (May 19-21) to close out the regular Pac-12 schedule.

Wildcats need to focus on remaining nine Pac-12 games

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Grand Canyon  11   Arizona  7

The Arizona Wildcats (32-15, 13-8) need to focus on the remaining Pac-12 schedule, beginning with a three-game series at USC on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Stinging from a 11-7 loss last night at Hi Corbett Field to Grand Canyon (31-15), Arizona's pitching needs to settle in and take care of business against the Trojans, a team struggling in last place in the conference. What follows are games at home against Oregon State and a three-game series at Oregon to close out the regular season. 

The Beavers (15-6, top team in the Pac-12) and the Ducks (13-8, tied with the Wildcats) are in the thick of things with a chance to win the conference.

The Pac-12 tournament will follow at the end of May with eight teams doing battle for the title on May 25-29 in Phoenix at Scottsdale Stadium.

Last night at Hi Corbett, it looked like Arizona had Grand Canyon right where they wanted them as the Wildcats came from behind to tie the game at 7-7 with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and had their top reliever Trevor Long waiting in the wings to close out the Antelopes in the top of the ninth. Long would then turn over matters in the bottom of the ninth to the big fellas Daniel Susac and Chase Davis for a walkoff win.

Instead, Grand Canyon scores four runs off Long (5-1) and Arizona goes quietly in the bottom of the inning as the Antelopes prevail.

Wildcats take series from Nevada

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Arizona (32-14) take the four-game series with the Nevada Wolfpack (22-20) winning 3 of the 4 games, including a 8-2 win today at Hi Corbett Field in the finale.

The first three games were tight affairs with Arizona winning the first two games, 6-5, 7-6, and were shutout in Game 3 on Saturday by a score of 2-0 on a three-hit, complete game shutout by Wolfpack starter Cam Walty.

Today, the Wildcats' offense came alive.

Chase Davis (photo left) led the way with his 13th home run of the year, a two-run shot in the sixth inning. Davis had four hits on the day to up his season batting average to .295.

Anthony Susac started and went five innings for Arizona to improve his record to 4-1.

Arizona will host Grand Canyon (30-15) on Tuesday at Hi Corbett with a single game with the Antelopes.

Fathers-in-law top TOTS' April batting stats

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Okay so I'm going to invent a new term.

Fathers-in-law.

The truth is the Tolson-Opocensky clan, Tim on the left in photo, and Joe on the right, are Grandpas in the same family. There are enough family members between the two ballplayers to create a couple of ball teams.

Luckily, the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers are honored to have Tim and Joe, both hard-hitting left handers, as members of the organization -- Tim since 2012 and Joe since 2014.

Tim, is a Tucson boy and his dad, Brad, played for the TOTS from 1992-2012, while Joe hails from Virginia. Tim turns 70 in August/2022 and Joe turned 72 last February.

The two lefties are generally at the top, or near the top, of the monthly batting stat sheets, but in April of this year, the two were on fire at the plate.

Tim went 20 for 47 in 13 games, a .426 batting average, while Joe played in 11 games and went 19 for 39, a .487 average. Both players scored 12 runs with Joe getting the nod in RBI, 11-9.

Ernesto "Doc" Escala (photo below), who retired last month after many, many years as a dentist, has made his presence known as a full-time player and is taking a bite out of the TOTS' batters as well as he is letting it be known that he is en route to becoming one of the power hitters on the club.

 Escala led all pitchers during the month of April with a 4-1 record and the hard-hitting right-hander went 14 for 33 in 12 games, a .424 batting average. Escala led the TOTS with 13 RBI.

Other top hitters for the month of April included Jesse Ochoa, who went 17 for 35, a .486 average; Bob Daliege, who went 14 for 36, a .389 average; Mike Steele, who went 13 for 26, a .500 average, and Ken Nebesny, who went 13 for 34, a .382 average.

Newcomer Phil Ahern, the latest addition to the TOTS, went 16 for 29 in eight games, a .552 average, while the steady John Mathews went 12 for 29, a .414 average and tied for second in RBI with 11. Another newcomer, John Cooke, went 11 for 24, a .458 average.

Also finishing with a dozen hits for the month include Dennis Crowley (12 for 28), Mark Rupert (12 for 43) and Mike Dawson (12 for 24).

For the over-75 players, the trio of Dick Ducklow, Arnie White and Danny "Pigpen" Price battled it out for the most hits for the month. Ducklow went 6 for 27, Price went 6 for 31 and White went 4 for 15.

Forty-three players took their cuts at the plate during the month of April. All in all, 296 hits were scattered around Tucson Udall Park. Runs-scored for the month, 155, and the players knocked in the same with 155 RBI.

Way to go, TOTS!