Monday 17 March 2008

Saturday, June 27, 1953

W L Pct GB
Salem ....... 36 21 .632 --
Lewiston .... 35 21 .625 ½
Edmonton .... 38 26 .594 1½
Vancouver ... 32 26 .552 4½
Wenatchee ... 28 32 .467 8½
Victoria .... 27 32 .458 9
Tri-City .... 25 32 .439 11
Calgary ..... 25 33 .431 11½
Spokane ..... 25 34 .424 12
Yakima ...... 25 39 .391 14½

SALEM — Salem made it 11 in a row as it edged Tri-City 7-6 in a 10-inning Western International League baseball game here Saturday night.
The winning run was scored when Gene Tanselli, Salem shortstop, connected with a long fly which Indian rookie Rod Cowapoo dropped. Cowapoo picked up the ball and tried to get Tanselli going into second. But he threw wild, over the second baseman's head, and Tanselli kept right on going to score.
Tri-City had tied the score in the ninth with five runs. They came on three walks, singles by Vic Buccola, Ken Michelson and Ernie Hockaday, a double by Nick Pesut and a force play by Edo Vanni which scored the fifth run.
Tri-City ......... 001 000 005 0—6 14 2
Salem ............. 000 130 200 1—7 15 2
Hedgecock, Bloom (8), Tanner (9) and Pesut; Dahle, Borst (9), Nicholas (9) and Masterson.

EDMONTON — Edmonton Eskimos stayed in the thick of the Western International League pennant race Saturday night by completing a sweep of a four-game tussle with Vancouver Capilanos with a 2-1 victory.
It was the seventh consecutive win for the Esks and was pitcher John Conant's 13th victory against five losses. Edmonton took the day part of the doubleheader 7-2.
Conant gave up only four hits and fanned eight, meeting his only trouble from Frank Mascaro who hit three for four in the nightcap.
(First Game)
Vancouver ......... 000 010 100—2 4 2
Edmonton .......... 100 000 06x—7 10 1
Hernandez, Roberts (8) and Lundberg; Widner and Morgan.
(Second Game)
Vancouver .......... 000 100 000—1 4 1
Edmonton ........... 101 000 00x —2 7 0
Guldborg and Leavitt; Conant and Morgan.

YAKIMA — Wenatchee drove Don Carter from the mound in his starting appearance for Yakima Saturday night and clubbed two other pitchers for a total of 14 hits and an 10-4 Western International Baseball League win.
Carter was traded Friday to Yakima by Lewiston, which got Bud Hjelmaa. He gave up nine hits and six earned run in 4 1-3 innings. Two of the runs came when Ross McCormack homered in the third with one man on. Yakima's Bob Wellman homered in the sixth inning.
Wenatchee .......... 032 032 001—11 14 3
Yakima ................ 000 102 100— 4 8 4
DeCarolis and Bartolomei; Carter, Young (5), Rial (7) and Weatherwax.

LEWISTON, Idaho — Artie Wilson's two-run single in the eighth inning brought the Lewiston Broncos a 4-3 victory over Spokane Saturday night in a Western International League baseball game.
The Broncs, however, remained a half game behind first place Salem in the red hot WIL pennant race. The Senators also won.
George New, the Spokane pitcher contributed to his own downfall, after Larry Barton singled to open the Lewiston eighth. New threw Richardson's bunt into centerfield. Then he walked Williams to load the bases and Wilson came through with his single.
Spokane ....... 020 000 010—3 10 1
Lewiston ...... 001 001 02x—4 8 0
New, Osborn (8) and Ogle; Perez and Cameron.

CALGARY — The Victoria Tyees downed the Calgary Stampeders 11-8 in seven innings of a game here Saturday night to make clean sweep of their Western International League doubleheader. They took the afternoon game 9-6.
The Stampeders gained a 4-0 lead in the second inning but Victoria tied the count on Granny Gladstone's bases-loaded homer—his second of the day—in the third.
Gene Lillard homered for Stamps as did Don Hunter. It was Hunter's 16th of the season and extended his lead.
(First Game)
Victoria ...... 000 010 620—9 14 0
Calgary ....... 010 110 003—5 11 5
Bottler, Hodges (7), Dollins (9) and Martin; Stites and Bricker.
(Second Game)
Victoria ..... 004 031 3—11 10 3
Calgary ...... 042 001 1— 8 10 0
Prior, Hodges (3), Dollins (5), Younie (6), Walker (7) and Harford; Orrell, Schulte (5), Hittner (7), Stites (7) and Lillard.

IT BEATS ME
By Jim Tang

[from Victoria Colonist, June 28, 1953]
Victoria’s hopes for a second successive WIL pennant now rest on the chance that the Tyees will improve in the second half. The defending champions were never in contention in the first half after a good start—and their recent play has hardly indicated they are likely to be a second-half threat.
The Tyees’ lack of success this year again points out that pitching is the key to baseball success. The 1953 club has no less than 11 of the players who were with the club in 1952 and there is virtually no change in catching, infield or outfield. But no longer is there the consistent pitching of last season. There have been no replacements to make up for the loss of Bent (24-7) Lorino, Jehosie (20-12) Heard or Cal (13-4) McIrvin. Last year, the trio appeared in 105 of the Tyees’ 150 games and pitched 58 of the amazing total of 81 complete games turned in by the Victoria staff.
Able to rely on good pitching in at least three out of four games, manager Cec Garriott was able to play running, chance-taking baseball, secure in his knowledge that if strategy should fail, his pitching would keep him close enough to try it again. It’s been different this season. Too many chances have been lost by taking too many chances and the forcing baseball which worked last season isn’t working this because the Tyees can’t afford to gamble.
But it would hardly be fair to put all the blame on pitching. The 1953 club has neither hitting nor fielding in championship style and, worst of all, it lacks the dash and spark which featured the club’s play last season. Without Jim Clark at shortstop at every game, the infield is only fair at best and the early failure of Bob Moniz and Granny Gladstone to approximate last season’s brilliant play has hurt. And it is obvious this season that Garriott is feeling the weight of his years. No longer is the prim little skipper able to drive himself as he did a year ago and there has been no one else to provide the spark.
There is still a chance in the second half—if Clark can get into every game, if Garriott, Moniz and Gladstone hit as they did in 1952 and if the Tyees can regain the spirit that did so much for them in their championship season.

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