Palmer hits No. 6

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Reed Palmer hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Team White went on to a 11-4 win over Team Blue today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game at Udall Park. Palmer's blast was his third home run this month and sixth of the season.

Palmer, the club leader in home runs the past three seasons, is making up for lost time as the TOTS spent 2 1/2 months away from the ball field due to the coronavirus. Palmer has his home run trot back and is looking for more.

It's okay with pitcher Mike Dawson, who benefited from Palmer's 4 for 4 performance today, which included a single and two doubles to go along with the first-inning homer over the right field fence. Dawson kept pace with Palmer as he also went 4 for 4 and drove in four runs. First baseman John Mathews contributed three hits and catcher Mike Steele added to Team White's hitting attack with another three hits as Team White scattered 19 hits around the confines of Udall Park.

Meanwhile, Dawson breezed through seven innings of work, while Team Blue's Pete Maldonado was saddled with the loss. Roger Beebe, the leadoff batter for Team Blue, went 3 for 4 and Joe Opocensky collected two hits and drove in two of his team's four runs.

The TOTS will continue with their 8:30 a.m. starting time on Friday as they try to beat the heat. The temperature is expected to reach 107 by mid-afternoon. Hopefully, the TOTS' seven-inning game will be in the books by 11:00 a.m.

Today's boxscore:

Team White  11  Team Blue  4

Opocensky shines in 10-1 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team White's Joe Opocensky, 70, is a meat cutter at Albertsons, but today he was at Udall Park on the mound as he carved up Team Blue 10-1 in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

The Big "O" was slicin' and a dicin' for seven innings as he blew through the "meat" of the Team Blue batting order, which included power hitters Tim Tolson and John Mathews and contact hitters Ken Nebesny and Ron Petersen. Only Opocensky's counterpart on the mound, Ernie Escala, had a good day at the plate with three hits in three trips to the batter's box.

Escala gave up seven runs in four innings of work and gave way to Petersen in the fifth. Petersen allowed three runs as Team White banged out four extra-base hits, while Opocensky received plenty of support defensively with four double plays behind him.

Team White's leadoff batter Roger Beebe went 3 for 4, while Reed Palmer, Mike Steele and Opocensky contributed two hits apiece. Both of  Palmer's  hits were doubles, while Pigpen Price and Beebe also doubled.

Team Blue's catcher Bill Mishler, who went 3 for 3 and a walk last Friday, singled and walked today, to keep his "hot streak" alive. Rob Morse knocked in the only run for Team Blue with an RBI-single in the fifth as the fleet-footed Dennis Crowley scampered home to avoid the shutout.

Photo: Opocensky

Today's boxscore:

Team White  10  Team Blue  1

Maldonado, Beebe, Mishler lead Team White to TOTS win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Leadoff hitter Roger Beebe, catcher Bill Mishler and pitcher Pete Maldonado combined forces to lead Team White to a 12-3 win over Team Blue at Udall Park this morning in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Maldonado gave up two homers -- both solo shots-- to Reed Palmer and 82-year-old Denny Leonard picked up an RBI and that was all the scoring for Team Blue, while eight players hit safely for Team White -- including a 3 for 3 day and three RBI for Mishler and a 3 for 4 performance at the plate from Beebe.

Lefty Ron Petersen was saddled with the loss. As for Reed, he hit his fourth and fifth home runs this season and both were no doubters -- high and deep. His first homer may still be rolling up Sabino Canyon Road.

As for Maldonado, who hails from da Bronx, he felt right at home on the mound at Udall as he mixed an assortment of pitches en route to an easy win.

Photo: "Mr. Cool" Bill Mishler, who caught today for Team White, went 3 for 3, walked once and knocked in three runs.

Today's boxscore:

Team White  12  Team Blue  3

Aces continue to dominate south-side teams

The Tucson Aces

60-and-over baseball

Due to the coronavirus, the 60-and-over Tucson Aces and their on-going battles with the south-side teams had come to a screeching halt. In fact, the last battle with the Old Pueblo Club occurred back on February 18 when the Aces rolled to a 13-1 win -- the Aces ninth victory in a row over the two south-side teams, Old Pueblo Club and the Arizona Rattlers.

Well, nothing has changed.

Today at Udall Park, the Aces jumped out to a 5-1 lead and held on for a 10-8 win over the Old Pueblo Club as the two clubs got together for a hot and dusty seven-inning contest.

Mike Dawson hurled the first five innings for the Aces and Randy Livingston came on in relief in the sixth and picked up the save. The Aces hit the ball well with Reed Palmer, Ron Petersen, Lloyd Barzell, Ken Nebesny and Dawson contributed two hits apiece. Livingston turned out to be the "top gun" with a single and a triple, while driving in three runs.

Old Pueblo, down 7-3 in the middle innings, went to their ace right-hander Glenn Vann in the late innings. Vann, one of the top pitchers in the 65-and-over division every year at the annual MSBL World Series in Phoenix,  struck out the side in his first inning of work, but the Aces were able to add a couple of insurance runs off Vann down the stretch to ice the game away.

Way to go, Aces!

Photo: Mike Dawson, today's winning pitcher.

Late-game strategy leads to 6-5 TOTS win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning at Udall Park today, Team Blue's pitcher Bob Daliege and catcher Mike Steele needed to strategize.

Team White had already cut into Team Blue's 6-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth by plating three runs to pull within two runs and now Daliege was just one out away from a win, but back-to-back singles from Pete Peters and Ken Nebesny changed matters considerably. To make the situation even worse, Ron Petersen walked to load the bases.

That brought up the club's home run king, Reed Palmer, and Big John Mathews was waiting on deck. Daliege wasn't about to let  Palmer beat him. So, Daliege kept the ball away from the big fella and Palmer, after six pitches trotted to first base, allowing Peters to walk home and bring Team White to within one run.

Still, the bases were loaded as Mathews stepped into the batter's box. Mathews battled and found the pitch he wanted and ripped a shot to third, but Team Blue's Joe Opocensky gloved the ball and stepped on third for the final out.

Steele had a good day behind the plate and at bat as he went 3 for 3. Daliege, who allowed just four hits during the first five innings, escaped with a well-deserved win. Palmer pitched all seven innings for Team White and was saddled with the loss.

The TOTS return to action on Friday and plan for an 8:30 a.m. start, instead of the customary 9 a.m. start. The summer heat is on us and no relief until October.

No worries. The TOTS are glad to be back on the ball field.

Photos: Daliege and Steele.

Wooly Bully

I was out toolin' around in my Mustang this morning. Sometimes I take a right turn off Tanque Verde Road and take a spin through Woodland Road. It's like instantly leaving the City of Tucson and finding yourself in the midst of a Zoo, but a Zoo with huge acreages, beautiful Magnolia trees, elegant homes and yes plenty of animals to view, up close and personal.

So, as I slowly made my way east on Woodland, I came upon what I assume was a Texas Longhorn sunbathing against the fence, just a few feet from the road. What a bunch of BULL! I mean the horns on this baby were the length of my Mustang and then some.

I had my car radio on and appropriately the song Wooly Bully roared through my speakers. Suddenly, the 2,000-pound plus specimen was up on all fours and ready to dance. No, not really. The beautiful animal strolled away slowly, sorta like John Wayne used to do en route to a showdown with a gunslinger.

As I moseyed on down the road, I thought of the great  Harry Caray and the two words he popularized while announcing games for the Chicago Cubs. "Holy cow!"

Photos: The friend I met this morning during my travels.

TOTS stats: Palmer edges Tolson in hits, batting average in May

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The coronavirus has played havoc with the Tucson Old Timers as far as the organization's schedule for the month of March, April and almost three weeks into May.

But, the TOTS are back in action and finished the month of May with a flurry of games -- six in all.

The top hitters for the TOTS for the month were the usual two suspects -- Tim Tolson and Reed Palmer. It was down to the wire for the duo as Palmer edged Tolson in batting average .789 to .778. Palmer went 15 for 19 with seven doubles, 13 runs scored and a home run, while Tolson ended up with 14 hits in 18 trips to the plate, including one home run.

Doc Thompson, who batted .632 for the month (12 for 19), ended up the RBI leader with 15, while Palmer finished with 11 RBI and John Mathews was third with 10 runs-batted-in.

Other top hitters for the month included Mike Dawson and  Joe Opocensky. Dawson went 13 for 19, a .684 batting average and Opocensky went 10 for 15, a .667 average.

It was a good turnout, as far as total players were concerned, with 31 members with plate appearances for the month.

Six pitchers saw action in May with Thompson posting the best won and loss record at 2-0, Daliege ended up 1-2, Dawson 0-2, Opocensky 1-1, Palmer 1-1 and Ernie Escala 1-0. Thompson collected the most strike outs with nine, while Dawson and Palmer fanned eight batters apiece. Daliege had seven strike outs and pitched the most innings (21).

The TOTS were back in action this morning, the first of June, with Team White rolling to a 10-0 win over Team Blue. It was an easy win for Dawson, who went the distance and picked up the pitching victory. A good start to the month for Dawson (1-0).

The TOTS have games scheduled for Wednesday and Friday at Udall Park. Warmups at 8 a.m. and the first pitch for both games slated for 9 a.m.

May statistics: