Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)
60-and-over baseball
Game of the Week
There's never a dull moment at a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game. Today's game at Udall Park was no exception.
Two hard-throwing right-handers went at it again today -- Larry "Wild Thing" Abramson, who turns 69 on August 2nd, for Team Blue and 70-year-old Ernesto "The Ninja" Escala for Team White.
It was also youngins' day at the ball park with each team sporting a young baseball player -- Team Blue with Sebastian Maldonado, 36, and Team White with a 29-year old from Tampa, Florida named Jason Wilton.
Team Blue scored three runs in the top of the first inning, thanks to consecutive hits from Roger Beebe, John Cooke, Tim Tolson and Randy Livingston, but Team White answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch, allowing Sam Dean to score, and then plated four more runs in the second, thanks to hits from Rick Bitzer, John Mathews, Mike Dawson and Dean for a 5-3 lead.
Team Blue fought back with a run in the top of the third on singles by Livingston and Abramson. In the top of the fifth, Team Blue took a short-lived 6-5 lead, highlighted by a walk to Cooke and Livingston's third hit of the game as Cooke scored and Livingston scampered home with a go-ahead run.
That brought on the bottom of the fifth inning inning as Team White threatened to run away with the game with a five-run frame with walks to Dawson and Mark Rupert, while Escala, Bitzer and Maldonado drilled base hits to complete the rally and a 10-6 advantage.
Team Blue cut the lead in half in the top of the sixth, thanks to a double from Tolson and Livingston's fourth hit of the game, but once again Team White came out firing in the bottom of the inning as John Mathews singled and reached second base when Dawson reached first base on an infield error.
That brought up the hard-hitting Escala, who laced a one-hopper down third. Pigpen Price, 77, moved to his right, back-handed the ball, tagged the bag and threw to first to nip the hard-running Escala for the second out. Tolson, Team Blue's first sacker, threw back to third and Price tagged the hard-charging Dawson for the third out -- and a triple play.
Triple plays happen rarely with the TOTS, but today was a shocker as the oldest player on the field kept his heart in check and somehow made the play.
"That's why us old dudes keep playing the game," a smiling Price said. "For a chance at a play just like that. For a moment in time when you feel young again!"
The game was still up for grabs as Team White still maintained its 10-8 lead as a shocked Team Blue headed for the dugout to be begin the top of the seventh -- the final inning of the game.
With two out, Team Blue's Frank Garcia picked up his first hit with a single to right-center off Escala and that brought up the special invitee for today's game -- 29-year-old Jason Wilton, who brought plenty of credentials with him -- including a .364 average and five home runs as a high school player in Florida.
Wilton, who already had two hits in the game, took Escala deep with a two-run homer over the left-center field fence to tie the game. Beebe followed with a single, reached second on a wild pitch and was suddenly the go-ahead run. That brought up Cooke, who had singled, walked and scored twice in the game. Cooke hit a popup behind first base and Team White's Bill Mishler backtracked and made the catch falling down, for the final out in the top of the seventh.
The game still wasn't over as the "wild thing" from Albuquerque, New Mexico -- Larry Abramson -- needed to shutdown Team White in the bottom of the seventh for not a win, or a loss, but for a hard-fought kiss-your-sister game.
Brack Whitaker was Abramson's first victim as he coaxed Brack into a ground ball to Livingston at short. The sure-handed Livingston, who made six assists in the game, threw out Whitaker for the first out. That brought up Bitzer, who had been a thorn in the side of the "wild thing" all morning with a couple of hits and two runs-batted-in.
Bitzer found a pitch to his liking, but hit a hard come-backer to Abramson, who turned and underhanded the ball to Tolson at first base for the second out. That brought up the youngster Maldonado, 36, who drilled a pitch to left field, but right into the glove of Cooke for the final out of the game.
It was certainly the game of the week...and maybe the month.
So ends the July schedule for the TOTS -- the best 60-and-over amateur baseball team in the country...or maybe the southwest, anyway.
Today's winners: Everyone!
Team Blue -- Roger Beebe (1 for 4, 2 runs scored), John Cooke (1 for 4, 2 runs scored), Tim Tolson (2 for 4, a run scored, 2 RBI), Randy Livingston (4 for 4, 2 runs scored, 3 RBI), Larry Abramson (1 for 3, 1 run knocked in), David Byars (0 for 3, 1 run knocked in), Jesse Ochoa (1 for 3, 1 run batted in), Pigpen Price (0 fo 4), Frank Garcia (1 for 3, 1 run scored) and Jason Wilton (3 for 4, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI).
Team White -- Mark Rupert (0 for 3, 2 runs scored), Sam Dean (1 for 4, 2 runs scored and 1 run batted in), Reed Palmer (1 for 2, 1 run scored, 3 RBI), John Mathews (2 for 3, 1 run batted in), Mike Dawson (1 for 3, 1 run scored, 2 RBI), Ernesto Escala (1 for 4, 1 run scored), Brack Whitaker (0 for 4), Rick Bitzer (2 for 4, 1 run scored, 2 RBI), Sebastian Maldonado (1 for 4, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI) and Bill Mishler (DNB, 0-0-0).
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