Monday, May 13, 1946

                 W  L  Pct GB
Salem ......... 14  4 .778 —
Yakima ........ 10  8 .558 4
Tacoma ......... 9  8 .529 4½
Wenatchee ..... 10  9 .526 4½
Spokane ....... 10  9 .526 4½
Bremerton ...... 7 10 .472 6½
Vancouver ...... 7 12 .368 7½
Victoria ....... 6 13 .316 8½

VICTORIA [Colonist, May 14]—With “Chief” Levi McCormack, hard-hitting outfielder leading the attack, the big bats of the Spokane Indians boomed out 17 stinging base hits and a 10-2 victory over the Victoria Athletics last night at Royal Athletic Park, at the two Western International Baseball League clubs opened their seven-game series.
Returning home after dropping all but one of their games on the road with Yakima, A’s found the Indians just a little too tough and as a consequence they dropped another ball game and fell into the cellar berth,
The clubs will battle again tonight with Bob “Cannonball” Jensen slated to parade to the hillock for the A\s. The speedball artist has won two starts and is confident in checking in with his third at the expense of the Spokane ball team. Ken Myers will do the catching for the A’s. Game time will be 8 p.m.
Taking a liking to the righthanded offerings of Tony Ferrara and turning in a smart display of clutch hitting, Spokane made their base knocks count for important runs. They broke through into the scoring with a pair of markers in the fourth frame to move ahead of the A’s and finally romped to decisive victory,
Indians bunched their base hits in the fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth sessions, scoring runs in each stanza.
Athletics pushed over a single run in the first frame and held their advantage until the Indians scored in the fourth. They added another marker in the last of the ninth.
Ferrara worked well for the first six innings, but when the Indians moved too far ahead the big righthander was not so effective.
Dick Powers, on the mound for the Indians, held the Athletics to nine scattered base hits, and was very effective in the clutches. He fanned five.
“Chief” Levi McCormack, with four for five, was the top sticker for the Indians, while Les Mulcahy, A’s catcher, paced the Athletic attempt with three singles.
“Casey” Jones, former Vancouver player, turned out at the initial sack for the A’s and plugged an apparent weakness in the club. He handled 15 chances and played a steady game throughout. Dangerous with the willow, Jones should prove a bigger asset still when the starts to find his hitting range.
[WILfan notes: Ed Murphy doubled in the first and scored on Mulcahy’s single. Frank Cirimele singled in Cherry in the ninth for Victoria’s other run … McCormack only needed a homer for the cycle. He batted in five runs … Jack Lohrke had three hits and brought in two runs.]
Spokane ........... 000 202 213—10 17 5
Victoria ............ 100 000 001— 2  9 2
Powers and Paulson; Ferrara and Mulcahy.

VANCOUVER, [Keith Matthews, Vancr. Sun, May 14, 1946]—The Vancouver Capilanos finally found a cure to their pet plague, “first-inningitis,” last night at Cap Stadium, and the newly discovered potient [sic] came into town bug and baggage with those highly-placed Wenatchee Chiefs.
The cure (in person, that is) was Glen Stetter, the Chiefs keystoner, who personally saw to it that Jim Hedgecock gained a glossy 5-3 call over Wenatchee in one of the season’s better games.
The Caps were behind the eight-ball, 3-2 (mainly due to a three-run Wenatchee first inning) going into chapter eight last night. They were finding going a mite rugged against the lean and bespectacled Chieftain who was serving his Monday best, Joe Vivalda.
Reggie Clarkson, a bit of a hero for the night, it might be noted, led off the eighth with the Caps fourth base blow. Al Kretchmar, acting manager in Syl Johnson’s absence, tried a sacrifice which third baseman Kurt Schmidt threw too high to the keystone as all hands parked safely.
STOPPED TO THINK
Ever dangerous Frank Mullens was passed purposely to fill the sacks, after Jimmy Estrada had bunted his mates along [with] a sack. Dick Zender came in then to hit for Sid Van Sinderen. Zender rapped a hopper to second baseman Stetter, and Glen kindly waited for Clarkson to cross pay-dirt before deciding to toss Zender out at first.
That wasn’t all, however. Art Bonnell, sighting a weak link in the Chief chain, drove one hard to Stetter’s right. Again, Glen mussed things up, though this time he did it in spades. The ball shot on into the outfield as Kretchmar and Mullens tallied the winners.
It was a nice one for Hedgecock to win, but perhaps a shade morose for Vivalda to drop. Hedgecock rationed 5 wallops, Vivalda 4, but Joe didn’t have his high, hard one clicking like the Caps’ port-sided James, who whiffed nine Chiefs.
PALICA TO PITCH
There was a bit of a lark in the offering, too. In the sixth panel, after Ernie Bertalotti had walked, Eddie Fitzgerald grounded to Bonnell, who casually flipped to Kretchmar. After touching the base, Kretch’s toss for the twin-killing was blocked by Bertalotti’s shoulder and “his nibs” quickly said that all were safe, despite the wrath of sundry Capilanos.
Tonight the Caps seek to extend their latest win skein of one in a row. They will send their ace, Alex Palica, hillock-ward to turn the trick. Game time is 8 o’clock.
- - - -
VANCOUVER—Vancouver Capilanos edged out a 5-3 victory over Wenatchee Chiefs in the opening game of their series which featured a scarcity of hits and an abundance of miscues.
The teams divided eight bungles in all while Vancouver clouted five safeties off winning Pitcher Jim Hedgecock.
A double by Dick Adams and a single by Jim Warner accounted for all three Wenatchee runs in the first frame. From then on Hedgecock allowed only two hits.
Wenatchee ...... 300 000 000—3 5 4
Vancouver ...... 110 000 03x—5 4 5
Vivalda and Fitzgerald; Hedgecock and Spurgeon.

(only games scheduled)

CAP BATTING (20 times at bat)
Reg Clarkson, .357; Ray Spurgeon, .340; Art Bonnell, .269; Cleve Ramsey, .256; Frank Mullens, .253; Dick Zender, .217; Al Kretchmar, .206, Sid Van Sinderen, .195; Jimmy Estrada, .192; Earl Silverthorn, .169
CAP PITCHING
Hunk Anderson, 1-0; Jim Hedgecock, 2-1; Alex Palica, 2-2; Ronnie Bryant, 2-2; Bob Snyder, 0-3; Doug Ford, 0-4.

ON THE SUNBEAM
By ALF COTTRELL, Sports Editor
[Vancouver Sun, May 14, 1946]
One of Them Bound to Weaken

No lover of a good, clean fight to be finish can fail to observe with interest the stirring fight that Vancouver Capilanos and Victoria Athletics are waging for last place in the current Western International League baseball chase.
Honors now rest with one club, now the other in this ding-dong struggle. However, it would be wise, I think, to insert a word of caution. In any such hectic struggle one club or the other is bound to crack and start winning.
With that in mind, your truly took a good luck at Salem Senators as they engaged Spokane Indians at Spokane on Saturday night, for obviously should our Caps be the ones to start climbing there will be an immediate demand for information as to how the other half lives, so to speak.
My advice on such matters is known to be worth a fortune, in fact I would never sell it for less than 20 cents ordinarily, but today I so love the world that I am releasing it for the straight retail price of this great family newspaper, one nickel.
It is now history, plus a questionable degree of geography, that Salem Senators, playing a longish home stand to start the season, immediately began to cut loose in the general direction of the North Pole. They won 13 games in a row before they finally missed when attempting a difficulty three-cushion bank into the side pocket.
The Senators rode into Spokane with a record of 13 wins and but one loss. At Spokane, where the, fans appear surprisingly patriotic about their ball club, it was openly mooted about the halls (of learning, dance, pool, etc.) that the Spokes were going to make Christians out of the Salems or perish in the attempt.
Salem Seems to Have a Weak Side
I wasn't on hand Friday night when the Indians gave the league leaders the initial treatment, but judging by the score in favor of the Spokane outfit it must have been a competent job of work. For the Saturday night game Salem exhibited their leading grenader, a lanky tall boy by the name of Steve Gerkin. Spokane countered with one of their pitching aces, Bob Kinnaman.
I had already been tipped off by my friend Carl Gunnarson, a Salem southpaw who is a refugee from Portland’s Coast League cave dwellers, that the left side of Salem’s infield is something less than a great artistic success. I was hardly prepared for what I saw, however.
In the first inning Salem’s shortstop, a nickel-sized lad named Ray Malgradi, allowed a rather nicely behaved ground ball to pass through his legs. On the next pitch the Salem catcher batted a curved strike over toward the stand with his glove and the runner advanced to second. Disconcerted momentarily for some strange reason, pitcher Gerkin allowed a clean hit and Spokane led, 1-0.
Occasionally thereafter Salem’s third-sacker, a loose-jointed gent named Dick Wenner, would get Gerkin into a tough spot by permitting grounders to go right on through, but Steve, with as much nerve as the late Mr. Brodie, would pull through.
Spokane went to bat in the last of the eighth trailing, 3-2, Gerkin having successfully forced the Indians to hit to the right side of the Salem infield when not striking Chief McCormack and Co. out.
Frisco Doesn’t Lack the Nerve
In the eighth, after one man had grounded to second, Gerkin appeared to lose control. At least he allowed several Spokes to hit to the weak side, down third base way. When the dust and Salem manager Frisco Edwards had settled the Indians had collected five runs and the ball game, 7-3.
Frankly, and I know Mr. Edwards would wish me to speak frankly, Salem figures to have trouble now that quarterbacks have spotted the holes and are starting to run their plays right through them.
The Senators apparently have a nice curving corps, and plenty of hitting. In George Vico they also have one of those rangy, slugging naturals at first base.
Frisco, a brash character who would walk right up to St. Peter and ask for two on the aisle, will in all likelihood demand that Portland, the parent club, plug those infield sluice gates for him. Until such time as they do that, one can expect those infielders to kick runs away faster than the rest of the gang can make them. We, and the Caps if they start winning, will watch Salem’s future with considerable interest.