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!