Spokane ..... 26 16 .619 —
Salem ....... 21 15 .583 2
Yakima ...... 20 17 .541 3½
Vancouver ... 21 19 .521 4
Edmonton .... 18 18 .500 5
Lewiston .... 17 19 .472 6
Tri-City .... 17 21 .447 7
Victoria .... 17 22 .436 7½
Calgary ..... 16 21 .432 7½
Wenatchee ... 15 20 .429 7½
EDMONTON — John Conant hurled his 19th victory of the Western International Baseball League season as Edmonton Eskimos defeated the first-place Spokane Indians 7-2 Wednesday night.
A crowd of 1.549 paying fans saw Eskimos salvage one win in the three-game series. Spokane won Tuesday night's doubleheacler.
Conant, hurling against his former teammates, was in trouble only in the sixth when an outfield error caused most of his grief.
The losing pitcher was Ralph Romero.
Outfielder Vern Campbell and third baseman Sam Kanelos led the 10-hit Edmonton attack with an important pair of hits apiece.
Spokane .......... 000 002 000—2 6 3
Edmonton ....... 010 304 00x—7 10 1
Romero, New (4), Giovannini (7), Cordell (8) and Ogle; Conant and Morgan.
KENNEWICK — Keith Bowman tossed a five-hitter to lead Wenatchee to a 6-1 win over the tri-City Braves in WIL baseball here Wednesday night.
Wenatchee ...... 001 020 012—6 14 1
Tri-City ........... 000 010 000—1 5 0
Bowman and Bartolomei; Bloom, Hedgecock (5), Michelson (6) and Warren.
VANCOUVER — A ninth-inning rally by Vancouver Capilanos fell short Wednesday night as Victoria Tyees slipped home with a 4-3 Western International League baseball win.
Capilanos pushed across two runs in the ninth and had the tying run on second with two out when Jack Bukowatz ended the rally by grounding out to deep third.
Victoria got off to a fast start with two runs in the first frame and added singletons in the sixth and eighth. Caps scored their other run in the seventh.
- - -
VANCOUVER [News-Herald, Aug. 6]—This year’s biggest baseball crowd (excepting the exhibition against Seattle) watched the Capilanos run into a dead stymie Wednesday as Victoria put down a tense ninth inning rally and won 4-3.
Over 4000 jammed the grandstand on this “family night” at the ball yard, 1448 of which were paid but all of them mighty happy at everything that went on save probably the final score.
STOREY CRITICIZED
When it ended, the second guessers went to work and figure that had Harvey Storey played it differently the game might still be going. It was in the sixth inning with Don Pries on second and two out that Storey instructed Pete Hernandez to pitch to Charlie Abernathy. The situation suggested that Abernathy be walked, what with the open base at first and Abernathy’s prowess as a left-handed hitter against a righty pitching.
As it turned out, Abernathy singled and Pries scored. It wasn’t the fourth run, but in a ball game which is lost by one run every one of them is as important as the other. And so the second guessers had their fun.
Actually, Hernandez was not nearly at his peak as he went a’hunting for his No. 14 win and came up, instead, with his No. 5 loss.
SHOW SPUNK
He got behind too many hitters and made it awfully tough on himself.
At that, the Capilanos, who lately are showing a lot of spunk in their ability to come back, almost pulled it out for Peter.
Down 4-1 in the ninth, Nick Castras hit a chance of pace way down in the right field corner for a triple. Chuck Davis flied out for the second out but Hernandez doubled to score Castras. Chorlton then shot a single to score the Senor and Bob Drilling finally got out of it when Jack Bukowatz grounded out. It was a near thing, that Bukowatz grounder, but Price made a good stop on the ball and a better throw to get his man by half a whisker.
Apart from the final score, there was an interesting duel between Storey and Victoria pitcher Bob Drilling, who incidentally was winning his eighth straight game. Storey has hit Drilling at Capilano Stadium this year like a long-lost cousin.
Harv had nine for nine against Drilling when this game started and bumped that total to 10-for-10 before he flied out in the eighth.
DIAMOND DUST – Dick Kewpie Barrett arrived in time to coach the Caps from the third base side and he added a lot of color to the scene … The Kewp may yet wind up pitching a few games for the Caps before this season ends … The same clubs move on to Victoria now with Lonnie Myers going tonight and newcomer Clarence (Cuddles) Marshall making his bow in the WIL Friday.
Victoria ............ 200 001 010—4 10 0
Vancouver ....... 000 000 102—3 11 0
Drilling and Martin; Hernandez and Leavitt.
CALGARY — The Lewiston Broncs, powered by two home runs by Al Heist, defeated the Calgary Stampeders 7-2 in WIL baseball on Wednesday.
Heist drove in three runs in the second inning with his first circuit clout and socked his second with a mate aboard in the sixth.
Lewiston ....... 040 102 000—7 16 0
Calgary ......... 000 000 003—3 8 3
Butler and Garay; Stites, Francis (6) and Lillard.
SALEM — The power-hitting Yakima Bears climbed within three gameds of the top by thumping Salem's second-place Senators 15-7 in WIL baseball on Wednsday night.
Yakima ............ 002 222 070—15 18 2
Salem ............. 101 003 002— 7 10 4
Del Sarto and Albini, Novick (6); Roenspie, Hemphill (8), Borst (8) and Masterson.
But Listen!
Alf Cottrell
[Vancouver Province, August 6, 1953]
The gravel outside the Capilano Stadium office crunched as a yellow and black cab stopped. Paying the driver and grabbing armfuls of baggage, chubby Dick Barrett ambled toward the office.
In there before he arrived they had been talking about Kewpie Dick. How he had been with the Phillies, the Athletics and so on.
“He has the Coast League record for strikeouts yet,” [said GM Dewey Soriano…] probably never will break it.”
He had that good fast ball, they said. Along with a curve that was almost as quick as his fast one.
Soriano got up as Barrett came in and, sticking out his hand, said, “Hello Rich.”
“Thought you told me it didn’t get hot up here!” puffed the new Capilano pitching coach. Then he noticed manager Harvey Storey.
“Why, there’s big Harv,” he said.
They shook and Storey said, “Maybe you’re right, Dewey. Maybe we haven’t got a uniform wide enough for him.”
Lefty No Runner
Soriano asked Barrett if he could pitch batting practice right away.
“Not tonight I couldn’t,” said Kewpie. “I had to stand all the way from Bellingham on the bus. I’ll have to do a little running before I’m ready for anything.”
“We got the outfield for you to do it in,” Storey said. “Lots of room.”
Barrett said it was funny. Everybody agreed a pitcher had to run a lot. Everywhere in baseball pitchers ran and ran.
“But I’m on the same club with a fellow once, in the big league, and he didn’t run. Didn’t believe in it. But he won his 20 games most years, for a lot of years. Fellow called Lefty Moses Grove.
Barrett asked how many pitchers the club had.
“Ten counting the boss,” grinned Storey. “Eleven counting you.”
“Say I might pitch just so you don’t play left field. Remember the time you played left field? Every time you did catch a ball I would look out at your and you would say: “I fooled you this time.”
Long Fly Ball
Barrett slapped his thigh and his contagious grin widened as he recalled a night in San Diego. The game was in the tenth inning. Ad Liska was his pitching opponent.
“We got the bases loaded in the tenth and Bucky Harris says, ‘Just give me one guy who can hit that long fly ball.’ All we need is one run, of course.
“Big Harv is sitting on the bench, because Al Rosen is playing third for us. Same guy who is busting ‘em for Cleveland now. Well I remember that all through the game you keep saying this to me, ‘I could hit this Liska guy even if it’s midnight and they turn all the light out.’
“So I says to Bucky, ‘Big Harv is telling me all night how he can hit this Liska.’ So Bucky points his finger at you and says ‘You! Grab at bat and get in there.’
“I guess you could get orders to hit the first pitch, or something, because it seems to come in high and outside. But you hit it. You hit the long fly ball all right. Only it keeps going out of the park for four runs.”
Alf Cottrell
[Vancouver Province, August 6, 1953]
The gravel outside the Capilano Stadium office crunched as a yellow and black cab stopped. Paying the driver and grabbing armfuls of baggage, chubby Dick Barrett ambled toward the office.
In there before he arrived they had been talking about Kewpie Dick. How he had been with the Phillies, the Athletics and so on.
“He has the Coast League record for strikeouts yet,” [said GM Dewey Soriano…] probably never will break it.”
He had that good fast ball, they said. Along with a curve that was almost as quick as his fast one.
Soriano got up as Barrett came in and, sticking out his hand, said, “Hello Rich.”
“Thought you told me it didn’t get hot up here!” puffed the new Capilano pitching coach. Then he noticed manager Harvey Storey.
“Why, there’s big Harv,” he said.
They shook and Storey said, “Maybe you’re right, Dewey. Maybe we haven’t got a uniform wide enough for him.”
Lefty No Runner
Soriano asked Barrett if he could pitch batting practice right away.
“Not tonight I couldn’t,” said Kewpie. “I had to stand all the way from Bellingham on the bus. I’ll have to do a little running before I’m ready for anything.”
“We got the outfield for you to do it in,” Storey said. “Lots of room.”
Barrett said it was funny. Everybody agreed a pitcher had to run a lot. Everywhere in baseball pitchers ran and ran.
“But I’m on the same club with a fellow once, in the big league, and he didn’t run. Didn’t believe in it. But he won his 20 games most years, for a lot of years. Fellow called Lefty Moses Grove.
Barrett asked how many pitchers the club had.
“Ten counting the boss,” grinned Storey. “Eleven counting you.”
“Say I might pitch just so you don’t play left field. Remember the time you played left field? Every time you did catch a ball I would look out at your and you would say: “I fooled you this time.”
Long Fly Ball
Barrett slapped his thigh and his contagious grin widened as he recalled a night in San Diego. The game was in the tenth inning. Ad Liska was his pitching opponent.
“We got the bases loaded in the tenth and Bucky Harris says, ‘Just give me one guy who can hit that long fly ball.’ All we need is one run, of course.
“Big Harv is sitting on the bench, because Al Rosen is playing third for us. Same guy who is busting ‘em for Cleveland now. Well I remember that all through the game you keep saying this to me, ‘I could hit this Liska guy even if it’s midnight and they turn all the light out.’
“So I says to Bucky, ‘Big Harv is telling me all night how he can hit this Liska.’ So Bucky points his finger at you and says ‘You! Grab at bat and get in there.’
“I guess you could get orders to hit the first pitch, or something, because it seems to come in high and outside. But you hit it. You hit the long fly ball all right. Only it keeps going out of the park for four runs.”
