Thursday 30 August 2007

Wednesday, August 16, 1950

S T A N D I N G S
               W  L  Pct GB
Yakima ...... 73 46 .613 —
Tacoma ...... 73 48 .603 1
Wenatchee ... 68 54 .557 6½
Tri-City .... 65 56 .537 9
Vancouver ... 53 67 .442 20½
Victoria .... 54 71 .432 22
Salem ....... 52 70 .426 22½
Spokane ..... 47 73 .393 26½


KENNEWICK, Aug. 16—Yakima scored an easy 5 to 2 victory over Tri-City Wednesday night to take the second game of its three-game Western International league series.
Although the Braves out-hit Yakima, they were able to make only two of their hits count, once in the second inning when Merle Frick singled in Buddy Peterson, and again in the sixth when Peterson again scored on a single by Nick Pesut.
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KENNEWICK, Aug. 17 (Don Becker, Herald)—Mix together two home run balls that went foul, two critical errors, and pickoff play that didn't jell. Stir well, add one Bill Bradford plus a strong Yakima baseball team and the cake you bake will come out of the even 5-2 in favor of the visiting Bears.
The victory assured Yakima a 2-1 edge in the series over the Tri-City Braves. Tonight they finish off the three-game affair and the prospects for a sweep looked mighty good for Yakima with the announcement by manager Joe Orengo that he was throwing Lloyd Dickey in the last one for the Bears here this year.
Jim Westlake sparked the winners with two singles that drove in three runs. Twice his base raps found Al Jacinto aboard the bags and once Bill Andering was waiting. However, Andring kept pace with Jacinto by also scoring twice.
Buddy Peterson did all the plate cleating for the Braves. He scored in the second after he had walked, when Merle Frick lined a single to the outfield. Then Peterson opened the sixth with a triple that earned to the right center field wall. Nick Pesut's infield putout ball sent the Tri-City shortstop racing in with their last run of the game.
Jim Olsen appeared in the lineup briefly last night. He went in to pinch hit for starting pitcher Joe Nicholas but he didn't stick around to take all his authorized cuts. After a verbal exchange with plate umpire Perkins, Olsen trudged to the dugout with the count 1-1. Cy Greenlaw finished out Olsen's stint by grounding out.
That pickoff play that misfired came in the top of the fifth . Bill Andering reached base on Nicholas's error and moved to second on Jacinto's single. Then Nicholas, apparently believing he had been given the sign to try and nip Andring, whirled from the mound to throw to second, but the bag was bare. Confused, Nicholas half-tossed the ball to Peterson and it rolled between his legs and the runners moved up a notch. Both eventually scored. However, had the play worked it is probable neither would have crossed the plate.
Charlie Peterson is sending his winningest pitcher, Lou McCollum, out to the mound tonight to salvage ths third and last game. McCollum with a season mark of 16-10 is rated at even money to turn back the Bears.
The Braves had trouble moving their base runners around again last night, leaving 11 of them idle on the bags.
Both Jim Warner and Clint Cameron hit four-masters in the ninth, but both went foul. Warner's fell over the left field fence and Cameron's over the right. The matter of a total of 40 feet could have changed the complexion of the game at that point.
Yakima .......... 002 020 010—5 9 0
Tri-City ......... 010 001 000—2 10 3
Bradford and Tornay; Nicholas, Roenspie (9) and Pesut.

SALEM, Aug. 16 (Frank Vaille, AP)—Tacoma's Tigers had their own slant on the little girl who, when she is good, is very, very good, but when she is bad . .oh!
The Tigers were not good Wednesday night. As a result they blew both ends of a twin bill to the seventh place Salem Senators 7-6 and 5-1 to fall back into second place in the Western International league race.
Four consecutive bases on balls by reliefer Don Carter gave Salem its one-run edge in the 10th inning of the scheduled seven-inning opener. One of the calls irked Tacoma manager Jim Brillheart, who irked the arbiter, who in turn ousted the Tiger bossman. The pitching collapse and four Tacoma errors negated Dick Greco's 28th homer of the season, a three-run blow,
and snapped abruptly the Tigers' 11-game winning streak.
Bill Osborn allowed the Tigers only three hits in the second game, called at the end of the sixth because of a league curfew.
First Game
Tacoma ........... 300 030 000 0—6 12 4
Salem .............. 100 401 000 1—7 9 1
Knezovich, Anderson (4), Carter (9) and Fischer, Sheets (8); Costello, Valentine (7) and Martin.
Second Game
Tacoma .......... 010 000—1 3 2
Salem ............. 020 021—5 6 2
Bowman, Loust (5) and Sheets; Osborn and Beard.

WENATCHEE, Aug. 16—Spokane overpowered Wenatchee, 6 to 3, Wednesday night to even the series at one game apiece.
Spokane salted away its victory with a four-run spurt in the ninth after relief pitcher John Conant throttled a Wenatchee rally in the seventh frame. The righthander took over the mound with none away and the bags sagging, but escaped with a single run.
Spokane ............ 100 030 004—8 13 2
Wenatchee ........ 100 001 100—3 11 3
Bishop, Conant (7) and Rossi; Breisinger, Blankenship (9) and Neal.

VANCOUVER, [Jim Kearney, Sun, Aug. 17]—Although Victoria Athletics won both ends of their WIL doubleheader against the Caps at Capilano Stadium last night, they ended up getting second billing to the umpire tandem of Nels Pearson and Ray Jacobs.
Victoria won what to have been the seven-inning opener, 3-2, after nine innings.
What was to have been the nine-inning nightcap they took 3-1, in six innings. The game was halted a few minutes before 11 to allow both teams to catch the midnight boat for Victoria.
FANS WEREN’T PLEASED
Umpire Pearson caused some confusion among the 2700 present at the start of the game and after the curfew time had been announced as 10:50 by changing the hour to 11 and then back to 10:50 again.
Disregarding Pearson for a moment—and no more than a moment—several customers wondered aloud why they could not see nine innings of ball.
Their argument, and it seems quite reasonable, was that a morning boat also sails to Victoria, arriving several hours before game time.
Queried about this, Cap general manager Bob Brown said:
“That’s an arrangement we have with the Victoria club. They do the same for us when we’re playing over there.”
And what about the customers?
“Oh, I think they see enough ball to satisfy them.”
UMPS FINGER BOYS
However, Pearson and Jacobs had priority in the peeve parade, even with those who would like to have seen another three innings and a possible Cap comeback.
When Pearson threw Bob McLean out of the game in the second inning for tossing his bat into the air after going out on three called strikes, the customers started to scream.
They raised the pitch an octave or two when manager Bill Brenner argued the point too violently and travelled the same route.
When Victoria took a 2-1 lead in the fifth, checked on the hour of the day and then started to stall their way to the curfew, the cry rose again. It wasn’t so much at Victoria as at the officials, who never did get around to wagging a finger at the A’s.
Not that it mattered too much. Lefty Jim Hedgecock had the Caps under control most of the way. He allowed five hits, all singles. Sandy Robertson also pitched five-hit ball, but lose his second straight game. Three of the hits were for extra bases, including a homer by Lou Novikoff.
BASE HITS—George Nicholas was the loser in the opener, relieving starter Bud Beasley in the sixth when the Caps were behind, 2-1 . . . Although they failed to get the ball out of the infield, Victoria scored both runs in the fifth on two hits and four Capilano errors . . . Reg Clarkson’s frantic base-running tied it up in the seventh, but Novikoff drove in pitcher Don [sic] Smith with the winner in the ninth . . . Bob Bruenner starts for the Caps in Victoria tonight.
First Game
Victoria ............... 000 020 001—3 11 1
Vancouver .......... 001 000 100—2 9 4
Ron Smith and Danielson; Beasley, Nicholas (7) and Heisner.
Second Game
Victoria ............... 010 011—3 5 1
Vancouver .......... 100 000—1 5 1
Hedgecock and Danielson; Robertson and Heisner.
(Game curfewed at 11 p.m.)

Let the Slugging Jokes Begin
TACOMA, Aug. 16—Tacoma Tiger baseball slugger Dick Greco will add a new twist to this business of getting married next week when he and his bride pledge vows in Tiger Park, near the left fence where Greco is noted for batting so many balls over the fence.

ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor [from Aug. 17/50]
“Let's Beat 4,000.” That's the slogan Richland's basebal fans have adopted for Saturday night. So far neither Pasco or Kennewick has been able to top the 2,524 fans that Connell lured into Sanders Field on “Connell night.” However, Fred Olsen, chairman of Richland's “night” is very optimistic, hence the slogan.
And you've got to admit the Richland boosters have come up with several unique ideas. For one thing they're going to drop a wrist watch from an airplane onto the playing field, and then give it away. What's more they guarantee the watch will be just as good as new, even after the trip from the sky. Ray Hall is the man who come up with that idea.
For a change, instead of boos and catcalls the umpires for that game are going to be given the royal treatment with a “Be Kind To Umpires” celebration. That is going to be the humorous part of the night. And that's not all yet. For every 100 people that come into the park, $10 derby money will be awarded. Working with Olsen on the big Saturday night “Let's Beat 4,000” program are Max Walton, Jack Wilson find Bob Philip.
LIKE TWO BOXERS
There was some mighty good baseball, and some not so. out at Sanders Field in that opening game with Yakima. The 12 innings marks the longest game of the year here, yet should have ended 2-0 in favor of the Tri-City club at the end of the ninth. Among the incidents that pack a lot of good memories are the two pickoff plays that Greenlaw and Buddy Peterson engineered.
Both times the play worked to perfection with no doubt the runner was safe or out. But the most interesting play was a high foul between first and home with Vic Buccola and Nick Pesut both charging the ball. Naturally, Vic had no liking for a head-on collision with the 230-pound catcher so at the last moment he sidestepped, but so did Pesut. Buccola lunged forward and tipped the ball up and down several times before it finally fell out of his glove. But underneath waiting with his big catcher's mitt was Pesut. Give the putout to Pesut and credit Buccola with an assist.

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