2026 Milwaukee Pilots Comeback to Overcome Blues for 70+ Division Title at Rock Baseball League
Milwaukee Rock League, 70+ Division
Milwaukee Pilots 7, Blues 5
Submitted by Bill Windler, manager
The (Milwaukee) Pilots enjoyed a great season of fun and competition in the 70+ division of Rock League baseball at the quality quadplex in nearby Franklin, Wisconsin.
The fact that we won the championship made it that much sweeter. The 70+ designation is a bit of a misnomer because we let 69-year-old rookies play, too, as the league grows. The Pilots also won the inaugural title in 2024.
The competition was both fierce and friendly, just what you’d want, with the Racine Blues, Brewers, and Lugnuts pushing us all season long.
We finished the regular season 11-1, with our only loss coming at the hands of the defending champion Blues in the regular-season finale. The Pilots bounced back to beat the Lugnuts, 11-1, in the semifinals and came from behind twice to beat the Blues, 7-5, in the title game. We had trailed 2-1 and 5-3 after five innings versus a very strong opponent.
Tom Rogina scattered four hits across the final four scoreless innings for the pitching victory. Marty Schramm had two hits, Terry Teske knocked in the go-ahead run, and both Bill Tschanz and Ace Vollmer executed textbook slides at the plate for much-needed runs.
The first element you’d notice about the Pilots is our see-to-believe shortstop Bob Heiderscheit, an outstanding all-around player with a tremendous arm.
Rogina (8-0, 2.20 ERA), Terry Kieffer (1-0, 2.10 ERA), and John Arnold (3-1, 3.03 ERA) led our pitching staff, with Schramm and Joel “Lefty” Zich helping out. Kieffer pitched 20 innings without walking a hitter. Zich, 86 years old, served as our opener in three games, not allowing a run in three innings. With Bob Bezzi, 79, behind the plate, we sported a 165-year-old battery.
Besides Bezzi, we were blessed with catchers Bob Friday and Frank McCann. The infield featured the incomparable Randy Rautenberg at third, Heiderscheit at short, Schramm at second, and Teske at first.
In the outfield were Paul Melotik, Mike Overland, Bill Wood, Vollmer, and Leon Voelz. Pete Holzwart and Tschanz were the superb swingmen every 70+ team needs. Gary Schultz was the dangerous designated hitter, and Arnold anchored the middle of our lineup.
Legendary Al Alt battled back from a knee replacement to contribute mightily down the stretch. Coaching help came from Rogina, Bezzi, Pat Hudec, and Tim Urban, who was sidelined after two knee replacements.
With a .396 team batting average, .905 OPS and .449 slug, every Pilot could hit. Wood had a great season (.586/1.278/.683) and a team-leading 15 runs. Schramm led the Pilots with 15 RBI.
They were a joy to manage!