Thursday, April 27, 1950

STANDINGS
             W L Pct. GB
Spokane .... 6 3 .667 —
Wenatchee .. 6 3 .667 —
Salem ...... 6 4 .600 ½
Tacoma ..... 6 4 .600 ½
Yakima ..... 6 4 .600 ½
Trl-City ... 5 5 .500 1½
Vancouver .. 2 7 .222 4
Victoria ... 2 8 .200 4½

YAKIMA, April 27, — Jack Rial's inabilty to find the plate cost the Yakima Bears a 6-4 decision to the Tri-City Braves in the third and final game of a three-game Western International league series here Thursday night. Yakima won the series, 2-1.
One of the smallest crowds in WIL history here, 347, shivered in 45 degree weather and watched Rial walk in the two deciding runs in the eighth inning after Yakima had knotted the count at 4-all in the sixth inning on a walk and two costly Tri-City errors.
Cy Greenlaw accounted for two runs by lashing a double to score two of the three runs in the top of the second inning. The Braves added another tally in the third and before the fateful eighth.
Greenlaw went the distance, giving up five singles and a double, for his first win of the season. The other four Brave victories are shared by Joe Orrell, Les Logg, Lou McCollum, and Dick Stone.
Nick Pesut, catcher, who went out of the lineup with a split finger Wednesday night, opened behind the plate for the Braves last night, but had to be replaced by Jim McKeegan in the sixth when a foul tip reopened the wound.
Vic Buccola, Brave first sacker, became the second member of the team to get the thumb from the game when he was ejected in the ninth inning for a too-violent dispute with Umpire Art Jacobs, who was calling the balls and strikes. Pitcher Bob Felizzatto took over for Buccola with one out to finish the game.
TACOMA NEXT
A big right-hander, Joe Orrell, was slated to open on the mound for the Tri-City Braves tonight in the first of a four game series. Odds on the Tacoma Tigers to win the series took a sharp jump with the announcement that Clint Cameron, hard-hitting outfielder, will be sidelined for the next ten games at least.
Dick Richards, business manager of the club, said that Cameron would return to the Tri-Cities to undergo medical treatment in an effort to clear up a groin injury suffered in the opening game of a double-header Saturday. The injury has refused to clear itself up and Cameron suggested to Manager Charlie Petersen that he return to get full medical attention.
In their first meeting with Tacoma, the two teams split even, 2-2. Thus, the 2-1 series loss to Yakima, is the first that the Braves have dropped this season.
Tri-City .... 031 000 020—6-8-2
Yakima ..... 020 002 000—4-6-2
Greenlaw and Pesut; Rial, Larner (8) and Tornay.

VICTORIA, April 28 [Colonist]—Jay Ragni appears to have found his proper position in his third W.I.L. season. The lithe young lefthander, who played 14 games in the outfield for Bremerton in 1948 and 135 games at first base for the Jackets last season, last night set down Victoria Athletics for the second time this season as he pitched the Wenatchee Chiefs to a 6-4 victory in the first game of a four-game series. A small crowd of 900 fans saw the A’s go down to their third one-run defeat in their eighth setback in ten games.
Showing a snapping curve which he kept in close, good control, a live fast ball and considerable poise, Ragni effectively scattered seven hits. Two errors by his teammates, which were responsible for as many runs, and K. Chorlton’s slashing liner to right field which got by manager Rupert Thompson for an inside-the-park home run made his performance look less impressive that it really was. Ragni was particularly tough on Victoria’s southpaw swingers, with both Jim Wert and Junior Krug looking bad at the plate and dividing four of the eight strikeouts charged against the losers.
Jake Mooty started for the A’s but the veteran is not yet ready for his best pitching. Although walking only four men, he was continually pitching behind the hitters and the Chiefs were laying into pitches which were getting too much of the plate. Although given an early lead, Mooty never appeared to take control and was charged with all the Wenatchee runs and eight of their nine hits when he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth. Five of the hits—four doubles and a triple—went for extra bases.
Jim Olsen finished up for the A’s and turned in his second good relief stint, giving up only one hit in his three innings.
A walk to Edo Vanni, Gene Thompson’s single, an error by Walt Pocekay which put Thompson on second, and Al Ronning’s hard double gave Victoria two runs in the first. Vanni scored again in the third when he was given a life at first when Umpire Joe Iacovetti caught Bob Goldstein with his foot off the bag, and completed the circuit on a stolen base and Gene Thompson’s double. Chorlton’s four-baser, the first of the season in Victoria games, completed the A’s run-making in the seventh.
Doubles by Larry Neal, shortstop flash, and Buddy Hjelmaa gave the Chiefs their first run in the third as Mooty was slammed hard. All three outs in the inning were well-tagged balls to the outfielders. Two more scored in the next inning when Al Drew’s drive to right-centre got past Krug, plating Morley Bockman and Lenny Neal, who has singled and walked, respectively.
Ronning, who had flagged every would-be base thief in the first nine games, made a high throw to second in the sixth which resulted in what proved to be the winning run. Bockman and Len Neal hit successive doubles for one run. Mooty retired the next two batters but walked Larry Neal. The latter broke for second on the first pitch and Ronning’s toss was too high for a cut-off by shortstop Bill Dunn, and Lenny Neal, who had gone to third on a fielder’s choice, scored easily.
Pocekay made the fielding play of the game in the ninth when he gathered in Al Smith’s drive to the wall in left centre to keep Ragni out of possible trouble.
A southpaw battle looms up for tonight. Aldon Wilkie is the Victoria pitching choice and his opponent will likely be Ted Ferrarese, who held the A’s to three hits last Saturday.
Wenatchee .... 001 202 000—5 9 2
Victoria ..... 201 000 100—4 7 2
Ragni and Neal; Mooty; Olson (7) and Ronning.

TACOMA, April 27—Tacoma and Spokane divided two hard-fought games to close their series here Thursday night. Tacoma won the first game 2-1 and Spokane the second 3-2. The split gave Tacoma the series, two games to one.
Clint Hufford allowed Spokane only five hits and one run in the tight pitchers duel which featured the first contest. Wimpy Quinn singled in the winning run after Glen Stetter had tripled and Dick Greco and Dick Wenner were intentionally passed.
John Conant allowed Tacoma 10 hits in the second game, but limited the Tigers to two tallies in the seventh.
The aroused Indians stormed right back to ring up three runs in the top of the eighth with a triple by Joe Rossi, a double by Conant and singles by Charlie Bushong and Chuck Davis.
First Game
Spokane .... 000 100 0—1 5 1
Tacoma ..... 000 100 1—2 6 0
Neeley, Roberts(5) and Rossi; Hufford and Fischer.
Second Game
Spokane .... 000 000 030—3 8 1
Tacoma ..... 000 000 200—2 10 0
Conant and Courage, Rossi (8); Lazor, Carter (8) and Sheets, Fischer (2).

VANCOUVER, B.C., April 27—A two-run burst enabled Salem Senators to down Vancouver Capilanos 8-6 Thursday night in a 10-inning affair.
The win cam despite the fact Salem had only two hits.
The Senators gained a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Bob Snyder gave up two walks followed by a home run to Mel Wasley. They boosted the margin to 6-2 in the fifth with another trio when an error and Dick Bartle's single followed three walks issued by Kevin King, who replaced Snyder in the fourth.
The Caps tied the count in the seventh when they bunched threee of their ten hits for and a walk for four runs. Carl Gunnarson, third Cap pitcher, joined the gift procession in the tenth and was charged with the loss when two walks and an error by Ray Tran resulted in the winning run.
Six pitchers saw action in the slugfest, three for each team.
Salem ........ 300 030 000 2—8 2 5
Vancouver .... 001 100 400 0—6 10 4
Osborn, Stephenson (6) Wyatt (10) and McMillan: Snyder, King (4), Gunnarson (9) and Motsinger.

Reno Gets Meany
RENO, Nev., April 27, — The Reno Silver Sox have received right-handed pitcher Con Meany on option from Yakima of the Western International League. He joins lefty Pat Monahan, already on the Sox' staff, down from the Bears.

NON WIL BASEBALL NEWS
Cold Snap Delays Baseball Opening
EAU CLAIRE, Wis., April 27--Cold weather has forced postponment of the Northern Baseball League's opening games from May 2 to May 6, league president Herman White said today.
The Duluth park is covered with six inches of snow, and there is a five-and-a-half-foot drift in the middle of the Superior, Wis., field.
Four to five inches of water cover the field at Grand Forks, N.D., and a fence blown down in the St. Cloud, Minn., park hasn't been replaced because of frozen ground.