On April 26, 1940, Arizona right-hander Kenny Heist struck out 21 New Mexico Lobo hitters in an 8-0 victory at Tucson’s old Municipal Park. It is believed to be the UA strikeout record for one game — by an individual or a staff — until the Wildcats struck out 29 West Virginia batters in a 16-inning road victory Friday. Former Rincon High and MLB pitcher Dan Schneider struck out 20 batters for the Wildcats in 1962.
Heist, who struck out a school-record 16 batters a month earlier in 1940, was a top pro prospect but blew out his arm in the minor leagues in 1941. His baseball career ended. In 2004, his son, Ken Heist Jr., told me that his father went on to become a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, serving from World War II to 1978, when he retired. There’s more: his wife, LaBruce, was a finalist in the Miss America pageant in 1940. Kenny died in 2004 at 82.
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– Even though he is now 59, former Sahuaro High School quarterback Rodney Peete, who was an NFL quarterback for 15 seasons after a college career at USC, got plenty of time on ESPN last week. Peete was attending the Los Angeles Dodgers-Chicago Cubs season opener in Tokyo, sitting near the third base dugout. When a foul pop-up was hit by the Dodger dugout, Peete stood and caught the ball a foot or two from Dodger third baseman Max Muncy’s glove. Some may forget that while at Sahuaro, Peete pitched the Cougars to the 1982 state championship and played third base at USC for two seasons. He was in Tokyo because his son, RJ Peete, has been a Dodger clubhouse attendant since 2016.
– Could this be the best overall year in the 53-year history of Pima College sports? Dave Cosgrove’s Aztecs’ men’s soccer team went 20-1-1 and finished third in the NJCAA championships. Pima’s No. 1-ranked men’s basketball team was 34-1 entering Saturday’s third-place game in the NJCAA finals, and Todd Holthaus’ women’s basketball team was 29-5 entering Saturday’s NJCAA championship game. There seems to be more to come. Rebekah Quiroz’s Pima softball team, ranked No. 4 nationally, was 31-1 entering a Saturday doubleheader against Chandler-Gilbert College. And don’t discount Ken Jacome‘s Pima baseball team, ranked No. 15 nationally, 28-8, entering Saturday’s game against Glendale Community College. How do you top that group?
