Tuesday, June 4, 1946

              W  L  Pct GB
Salem ...... 26 15 .634 —
Spokane .... 25 16 .610 1
Wenatchee .. 25 18 .581 2
Tacoma ..... 22 16 .579 2½
Bremerton .. 21 19 .525 4½
Yakima ..... 19 20 .487 6
Vancouver .. 16 25 .390 10
Victoria .... 9 34 .209 18

WENATCHEE, June 3—Yakima Stars oppened their W.I.L. series against Wenatchee Tuesday night with a 4-2 win.
Lefty Al Yaylian limited the Chiefs to three hits, fanning 14 and walking but four while his mates collected seven safeties.
Yakima ........... 101 020 000—4 7 0
Wenatchee ..... 000 200 000—2 3 0
Yaylain and Gibb; Cronin, Orphan (9) and Fitzgerald.

SPOKANE, June 3—Grasping seven runs in a fairy-tale last inning, the Spokane Indians edged out the Tacoma Tigers, 11-10, in the stunning opener of their Western International League series Tuesday night.
Trailing 10-4 as they opened the last half of the ninth, the Braves suddenly pounced on two Tacoma errors and hit three doubles and two singles to snatch away a Tiger victory.
Tacoma ........ 300 310 021—10 15 5
Spokane ....... 000 110 207—11 9 1
Martin, Hansen (9) and Kemper; Hallbourg, Lyden (5) and Paulson.

VICTORIA [Colonist, June 5]—Ted Norbert’s home managerial debut last night with the cellar-dwelling Victoria Athletics could hardly be classed a success. Pounding out extra-base hits behind the brilliant clutch pitching of Vancouver’s Carl Gunnarson, the unsympathetic Salem Senators protected their first-place position by taking a clean-cut 12-1 decision before a large crowd at Royal Athletic Park.
Definitely looking like a better club than in previous appearances, Athletics had neither the hitting or pitching to match that of the loop leaders last night.
Bob Jensen, the one Victoria hurler who has consistently shown reasonably good form, opened for the home club, but was treated roughly in the two opening frames and finally retired under fire in the sixth when some questionable calls on balls and strikes by Umpire Smith had a large part in his trouble.
As in some many previous games, the extra-base power of the visiting club proved too much. Kubiak opened the game with a triple when his long fly ball bounced back into play as he ambled around the bases with an apparent home run. Crawford doubled and Dick Wenner drove out the first of two home runs to account for three runs.
George Vico’s rousing double, which took a wicked bounce off a post in left-centre field, followed Crawford’s second two-base clout and a fielder’s choice to count two more Salem runs in the second.
Jensen then settled down and escaped further trouble until the sixth when a single and three bases on balls caused an early shower for the big right-hander. Al Raimondi finally retired the side after two runs were in and allowed another in the seventh before leaving the game for a pinch-hitter.
Andy Adams, signed on after being released by Salem, pitched the last two frames and was reached for two runs in each. Wenner’s circuit blow followed a pass to Vico in the eighth and Vico tripled Crawford over in the ninth and later scored on a wild pitch.
Displaying a sneaky fast ball Guannarson was always able to pitch himself out of every spot. He lost his shutout in the ninth when he walked Buccola with the bags loaded. Singles by Dunn and Pinchhitter Walt Raimondi and a pass to Steele started the abortive Victoria rally.
The two clubs will resume their seven-game series tonight when they meet in the first double-header attracting of the season with the first time set for 7:30. Manager Norbert nominated Bass and Blankenship as the Victoria starters. Ed Kowalski, top Salem righthander, will work the second game for the Senators.
Salem ........ 320 002 122—12 13 2
Victoria ...... 000 000 001— 1 6 1
Gunnarson and Kerr; Jensen, Raimondi (5), Adams (8) and Clifford.

VANCOUVER [Clancy Loranger, News-Herald, June 4]—Jim Hedgecock is looking for a left-handed horseshoe.
The Vancouver Capilano southpaw has tried just about everything, including mumbo-jumbo, but despite the fact he’s been pitching great ball he just can’t win for Sylvester Johnson’s men.
Something is always collapsing behind him. Last night at Cap Stadium Jim himself fell apart, figuratively speaking, in the field to lose his own ball game, the opener of a seven-game stand against Bremerton Bluejackets. The score was 6-3.
Jim’s trouble started in the first frame when Fats Curtis, the second batter, laid a short one down towards third base. Hedgecock reached for the ball, but it sneaked past him, and by the time he had tracked it down Curtis was across first base.
Then Hooks DeVaurs dropped another to Jim, who was slow fielding the ball, and the speedy centre-fielder beat the throw. Bill Barisoff, the next hitter, sent still another to Jim, who took his time throwing to second base—and tossed the ball into centre field.
That was the last of Hedgecock’s miscues, but his mates took over then. Earl Silverthorn kicked around the ball that Jim threw to centre, and two runs came in.
Ray Orteig, playing third base for the Caps, opened the second frame by booting Frank Volpi’s blow, and Volpi came in later with the third Bremerton run.
Bremerton added three runs in the third, but these were legitimate. Barisoff powered one over the left field wall, then Danny Amaral popped another over the right field fence with one on.
The Blues got one more hit off the Colorado wrong-hander after that, a single in the fourth. But James’ efforts came too late, the Brownies picking up three scattered single runs off Johnny Pintar, two on home runs (one by Hedgecock, one by Orteig), and the other on a tremendous triple by Ray Spurgeon that sent Orteig across the dish.
* * *
CUFF NOTES—Manager Johnson plays a slight infield shakeup if and when he gets a first-sacker … he would move Jimmy Estrada to short, Al Kretchmar to second, and give Art Bonell, who is in a bad batting slump, a rest … Orteig will probably hold down the hot corner when he’s not pitching, and Lou Estes will be worked somewhere in the outer garden … Estes impressed with his easy batting style, and hit a couple of good ones … he’s a little slow, though, and was tossed out from right field on one play … You can look for another left-handed pitcher from Seattle, too … Glenn Elliott has been mentioned as a possibility … Ronnie Bryant will do the hurling for the locals tonight.
Bremerton ......... 213 000 000—6 6 0
Vancouver ........ 010 100 100—3 8 5
Pintar and Volpi; Hedgecock and Spurgeon.

Athletics Sign Two New Players And Release Trio
[Victoria Colonist, June 5, 1946]
Addition of two new players and the release of three others was announced last night by the Victoria Athletics, still striving to find a winning combination.
Cut loose from the roster were George Babich and Rudy Biale, pitchers, and catcher Ken Meyers, who was released while the club was in Spokane last week.
Additions to the club are Pee Wee Bass, former Spokane southpaw who defeated the Athletics here in the Spokane series, and Andy Adams, Portland chattel, released yesterday by the visiting Salem Senators.
Further player help for the local club is expected in the near future. A well-known Coast League catcher is expected to join the club this week while officials are counting on some badly-needed mound strength within the course of the next few days.
Meanwhile, Tony Ferrara and Ed Murphy will be lost to the club for several days. Murphy injured his hand at Spokane, while Ferrara was called to Chicago by the serious illness of a sister-in-law and will be out indefinitely.

Wednesday, May 1, 1946

               W L   Pct GB
Salem ........ 6 0 1.000 —
Tacoma ....... 4 2  .667 2
Wenatchee .... 4 2  .667 2
Spokane ...... 3 3  .500 3
Vancouver .... 3 3  .500 3
Bremerton .... 2 3  .400 3½
Victoria ..... 2 5  .286 4½
Yakima ....... 0 6  .000 6

SALEM—An unearned ninth inning run gave the Salem Senators a 10 to 9 victory over Spokane and kept the baby Beavers the unbeaten leader in the Western International league.
Spokane ......... 014 202 00x— 9 10 3
Salem ............ 210 011 041—10 12 6
Cadinha, Bass (8), Powers (8) and Clifford; Soderburg, Adams (4), Gerkin (9) and Daniels, Kerr (6), Salmon.

VANCOUVER [Clancy Loranger, News-Herald]—Manager Spencer Harris of Yakima used one player too many against out Capilanos at Capilano Stadium last night, and the locals came up with their second straight victory over the Stars, 3-1.
The lad the Stars could have done without was Jerry Bohnen, their starting pitcher. Sylvester Johnson’s crew got to the lanky right-hander for four hits in the second inning for all their runs, and that was the ball game. Earl [sic] Strait, who replaced Bohnen on the hill in the second, blanked the local Western International League entry the rest of the way with one hit.
PALICA WORKS WELL
Of course, the Brownies were getting a little pitching of their own. Alex Palica, the Lomita, Cal., youngster with the easy pitching motion, had the Yakima hitters well in hand, allowing just four hits.
Palica, whose starting effort in Spokane was spoiled by a bad first inning, had one bad frame last night, the fifth, when the Harris men got three of their hits and notched their only counter. A double by Bill McCloskey, the ex-Capilano, Strait’s single, another bingle by Bud Dawson which Sid Van Sinderen lost momentarily in left field, did the damage. Van Sinderen might have nipped McCloskey at the plate at that, but he apparently didn’t see the runner either.
Alex was in complete charge the rest of the way, setting down the Stars without a safety in seven of the nine stanzas, as the Caps won their third game in six starts.
Yakima’s Mr. Bohnen got safely past the first inning, but ever-dangerous Frank Mullens opened the second with a sharp single to right. Cleve Ramsey followed through with a single through shortstop and a walk to Art Bonnell loaded the bases.
GOSNEY COMES THROUGH
This was the cue for the much-maligned Frank Gosney, our first sacker who has been accused of not hitting, among other things. Big Frank slapped the ball solidly inside the right field foul line for two sacks, sending Mullens and Ramsey scampering home.
Manager Harris then decided to walk Ray Spurgeon to get to pitcher Palica, but he outsmarted himself as Alex, forgetting that pitchers aren’t supposed to hit, pounded the first ball through the middle to score Bonnell with out last run. Strait came in at this point, and Yakima promptly doubled Spurgeon off at home plate on Jimmy Estrada’s fly to right, after Gosney had been forced at home for the first out.
Strait had everything under control until there on until Gosney got his second hit of the night with two out.
* * *
CUFF NOTES—Al Kretchmar beaned in the opening game Tuesday, say out last night’s contest, which was well-played on both sides … Mullens, Bob Moore and Gene Thompson all pulled off more than standard catches in the outfield … Mullens also had the folks off their hands when he tossed McCloskey out at first base after a large rap to right …. Large Doug Ford will do the tossing for the Vancouver nine tonight, and Kretchmar will probably be back, too.
Yakima .......... 000 010 000—1 4 3
Vancouver ..... 030 000 00x—3 6 0
Bohnen, Strait (2) and Stagg; Palica and Spurgeon.

VICTORIA—Tacoma Tigers unleashed an 18-hit barrage off three Victoria pitchers as they swamped the Athletics 17-2 in a lopsided game. Victoria had scored a 10-inning 6-5 victory in an afternoon game.
The Tigers jumped on Bob “Cannonball” Jensen for four runs in the first inning of the opener, but Victoria got them back in the fourth on Ed Murphy's homer. Both teams exchanged runs before the Athletics won it in the tenth. Frank Cirimele, Walt Raimondi and Murphy singled to load the bases. Ian Lowe then hit a grounder to shorstop Roy Peterson, who bobbled the ball, and Cirimele raced over the plate to end the game.
Jensen, husky righthander, had control trouble after giving up three base hits and walking in a run in the two-thirds of an inning. He went to the showers in favour of Al Raimondi.
Displaying a good exhibition on the slab and giving the Tigers very few good pitches, Raimondi went the route, yielding only four scattered base knocks and a single run.
Jack Jimmink paraded to the mound for the Tigers and lasted three and two-thirds innings. The A’s attack in the fourth finished his pitching chores for the afternoon. He was nicked for seven safeties and four runs during his stay on the hillock.
Bob Hedington took over in the fourth and finished the game for the Tigers,. He was nicked for six base hits and two runs.
In addition to displaying plenty of power at the plate, Murphy pulled off the best fielding play of the game with a perfect throw to the plate in the eighth inning to cut off a run and check a Tacoma uprising.
Richie Colombo tossed a two-hitter in the nightcap, a single by Les Mulcahy and a triple by Bob Cherry.
Manager Laurel Harney paraded three hurlers—Ralph Bruno, Leo Jones and Rudy Biale—to the mound in an effort to halt the rampaging Tigers, but the Tacomas hit everything thrown their way.
Dick Kemper had four of the Tigers' 18 hits, including three doubles.
First game:
Tacoma ......... 400 000 001 0—5  8 4
Victoria ......... 000 400 010 1—6 13 3
Jimmink, Hedington (4) and Kuper; Jensen, A. Raimondi and Mulcahy.
Second game:
Tacoma ......... 001 070 531—17 18 0
Victoria ......... 020 000 000— 2  2 4
Colombo and Kemper; Bruno, Jones (5), Biale (5) and Mulcahy.

BREMERTON—Twenty-year-old Joe Vivalda walked into a tight spot and pitched his way out of it Wednesday night to lead Wenatchee to a 6 to 1 victory over Bremerton. Vivalda took over in the second with the sacks loaded, choked off the threat and tossed four-hit ball for the rest of the route to get credit for the win.
Wenatchee ......... 121 000 110—6 9 0
Bremerton .......... 010 000 000—1 4 3
Orphan, Vivalda (2) and Pesut; Kittle, Curran (7) and Volpi.

Babich Leaves Cal’s Capital For B.C’s
VICTORIA [May 2]—The Victoria A’s pitching staff was strengthened yesterday with the arrival of George Babich, former Sacramento southpaw, who started the season with the Spokane Indians. Babich played first base for the Athletics in yesterday’s twin bill, replacing the injured Hardy Mollath.

New Park Step Towards Coast League Ball Here
[Vancouver News-Herald, May 2, 1954]
First step towards Vancouver’s ultimate entry into the Pacific Coast Baseball League will be made sometime this year, when Sick’s Capilano Brewing Co. constructs a $350,000 seat stadium in the Little Mountain area.
With a population of approximately 400,000 now, Vancouver belongs in the Coast circuit. The new park, with a proposed seating capacity of 10,000, will be an asset when Vancouver makes another attempt to gain a berth in the triple A loop.
The stadium, designed along the lines of Hollywood’s Gilmore Field, will be situated at Riley Park, 33rd and Ontario. If materials are available, the park will be constructed in time for a grand opening before the current W.I.L. season ends in September.