Wednesday, July 19, 1950

S T A N D I N G S
Team          W  L  Pct GB
Yakima ..... 54 39 .581 —
Tacoma ..... 52 39 .571 1
Wenatchee .. 53 40 .570 1
Tri-City ... 51 42 .548 3
Salem ...... 39 49 .443 12½
Victoria ... 41 52 .441 13
Spokane .... 40 53 .435 13½
Vancouver .. 36 53 .404 16

KENNEWICK, July 20—[Don Becker, Herald]—Two Vancouver singles, one in the fifth and the other in the ninth inning, was all that prevented hurler Lou McCollum of the Tri-City Braves from entering baseball's hall of fame last night. The big, veteran right hander, turned in one of the best performances of his career in the nightcap of the doubleheader to give the Braves both games of the double-header.
A record crowd is expected to jam into Sanders Field. Tonight's games are labelled 'Pasco' and big awards will be made during the game, chairman Fred Huber said today.
Excellent, air-tight pitching dominated the evening, The 1,864 fans saw Jim Olsen pull the first one out of the fire, 6-4 and it was Tri-City all the way in the owl game, 12-0.
LOU WAS HOT
Brave catcher, Nick Pesut said after the game, “McCollum really had it last night. I've never soon Lou look better out there on the mound.” Bud Beasley, coaching at third for Vancouver shook his head as he watched the batters go down in succession. “Big Lou's got it tonight. It's tough to be in there trying to got a hit when a pitcher's working like that.”
Umpire Art Jacobs was calling the balls and strikes behind the plate in the memorable game. Jacobs said it was evident after the first two innings that McCollum was pitching one of the best games of his entire career. “I pitched for 16 years myself,” Jacobs said, “and the ball that McCollum was throwing was breaking off sharp. He had lots of stuff and it was good stuff too.”
Even the Vancouver batters could tell it just wasn't their night. One of them commented “You might just as well go up there and swing at the first three, McCollum isn't giving up many hits tonight. Not with that kind of pitching.”
Those were the comments that followed McCollum's masterful victory. It was win number 14 for the right handed ace, against seven losses this year. Thus McCollum is definitely within striking distance now of the 20-game victory mark.
QUTCK RECOVERY
The Braves got off to a wobbly start in the seven inning opener and had to come from behind to win. Starter Joe Orrell bowed out in the second after giving up four runs. Manager Charlie Peterson called his fireman, Jim Olsen, from the bullpen and Olsen turned on the ice water.
Using a variety of side arm and three-quarter pitches Olsen turned back the Caps with just two hits in the five and one-third innings he worked. The Braves, who had collected only two hits off Vancouver pitcher Bob Snyder, suddenly found the range in the sixth and belabored him from the mound with six runs on four safeties.
Shortstop Neil Bryant and second baseman Al Spaeter did most of the damage. Bryant's double cleared the bases for the first three runs, and Spaeter's triple deep in the left field corner cleated the plate with the other three.
Just about everybody got into the act to help McCollum win the final one. Jim Warner, sparkled both afield and at the plate. Warner posted a four-master, a triple, and two singles, in his four appearances at the plate driving in five runs. Clint Cameron, right field garden tender, blazed two doubles and a single in four trips to nearly match Warner's blazing bat.
First baseman Vic Buccola, with a pair of doubles, drove in two of the Tri-City's 12 runs. And McCollum helped his own game by doubling and scoring in the eighth.
First Game
Vancouver ....... 130 000 0— 4-6-0
Tri-City ........... 000 006 x—6-7-1
Snyder, Beasley (6) and Brenner; Orrell, Olsen (2) and Pesut.
Second Game
Vancouver ......... 000 000 000—0- 2-2
Tri-City ............. 330 021 03x—12-15-0
Alvari, Whyte (1) and Heisner; McCollum and Pesut.

YAKIMA, July 19—Yakima spanked the Salem Senators 9-0 on righthander Ernie Domenichelli's six-hit pitching Wednesday night to move a full game out in front of the Western International league.
Al Jacinto, Yakima second sacker, paced the Bears' 12-hit attack against Salem with four singles and a walk in five plate appearances. Domenichelli's shut out was his ninth win against five setbacks.
It was Yakima's second win in a row in the series.
Salem ......... 000 000 000—0- 6-1
Yakima ....... 313 000 02x—9-12-0
Osborn, Lineberger (3) and Beard, Allison (8); Domenichelli and Tiesiera.

SPOKANE, July 19—Tacoma, which gave up the lead to the Bears the previous night, slipped farther back on its even break with Spokane on Wednesday.
The Tigers won a seven-inning tiff 8-3 but bumped into Bob Roberts' five-hit hurling to drop a 3-1 decision in the regulation nightcap.
Spokane's Roberts not only turned in a five-hit performance but drove home the run that whipped Tacoma with a long outfield fly in the sixth inning. Tacoma won the opener by bunching
11 hits behind young Tom Kipp's seven-hit pitching.
First Game
Tacoma ......... 220 220 0—8-11-1
Spokane ........ 000 300 0—3- 7-2
Kipp and Sheets; Curran and Rossi, Courage (7),
Second Game
Tacoma .......... 000 010 000— 1-5-1
Spokane ......... 010 020 00x— 3-7-0
Carter and Sheets; Roberts and Rossi.

WENATCHEE, [Victoria Colonist, July 20]—It was the same old story at Wenatchee last night. The Victoria Athletics dropped another one-run decision—their second in two nights and more than their 20th for the season—as the Chiefs squeezed home a run in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 victory.
It was the 14th triumph for Wenatchee in 17 games with the A’s.
John Marshall tried for his 12th win but escaped the loss when the A’s tied the count in the first half of the ninth. Jim Propst relieved and took the loss when Larry Neal walked, was bunted to second, stole third, and then scored on a bunt down the first base line.
[WILfan note: the Colonist screwed this up. Len Neal walked, was sacrificed to second by Al Treichel, 9-7 with the win, stole third and then Larry Neal bunted him in]
POOR START
Marshall got away with his usual rocky start, giving up two runs in the first inning on a base on balls, Walt Pocekay’s triple and a blooper single by Don Fracchia.
The score remained at 2-0 until the sixth when the A’s tied it up. Gene Thompson singled and went to third on John Hack’s double. Thompson scored and Hack went to third as Jim Wert grounded out. Hack scored after the catch on Bill Dunn’s fly.
Larry Neal pounded one out of the park [370 feet] in the seventh to give the Chiefs the lead again but Thompson came through with a run-producing single in the ninth to dead lock the score for the second time.
OPPORTUNITY MISSED
Bob McGuire and Charlie Bell walked around an outfield fly by Junior Krug. Jim Moore popped out but Thompson laced out his third hit. Hack walked to load the bags but Wert struck out. It was just one of a number of missed scoring opportunities for the A’s. Bell hit into a double play in the third with two men on and Al Ronning grounded out with the bags loaded in the fourth.
Either Jim Hedgecock or Aldon Wilkie will pitch the finale tonight. The A’s then move over to take on the Tri-City Braves in the first game of a four-game series.
Victoria .......... 000 002 001—3-8-0
Wenatchee .... 200 000 101—4-7-0
Marshall, Propst (9) and Ronning; Treichel and Len Neal.

BALL TALK
Danny (Spokane Spokesman-Review) May says some of the officials of the class B Western International Baseball League would like very much to add a couple of teams from Alberta, probably Edmonton and Calgary, soon. "New blood is needed in the league," says May "with two or three spots sagging badly."
There's talk also of adding Edmonton, Calgary and possibly Lethbridge to the class C Pioneer League.
-Lethbridge Herald, July 20/50

Baseball - Theatre Reach Lawsuit Agreement
KENNEWICK, July 20 [Herald] — A lawsuit involving the Hi-Land Theater Corp. and the Tri-City baseball and Tri-City Athletic Association may be settled out of court. Dean Loney of Moulton, Powell and Gess, attorneys for the defendants, said that a tentative offer had been accepted by the theater.
The case had been scheduled to be heard in Yakima Federal Court, July 25. But in view of the possibility of a settlement, the case has been continued.
The proposal involves the building of a fence on the west side of the theater which would be 27 feet high and 396 feet long. Work on building the fence will start immediately. Loney said the final details of the compromise should be completed within the next few days.
In their original suit the theater has aksed for $25,000 damages, $4,000 for depreciation, and $200 for each night the baseball club played after the suit was filed. Basis of the theater's contention was that the lights interfered with their patrons.

NON-WIL MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
More Minor Clubs Quit
NEW YORK, July 20—Blame it on television, radio, bad weather or just plain pocketbook-retrenchment. The fact is the mortality rate in minor league baseball is reaching serious proportions.
Hard on the heels of the complete collapse Sunday of the class B Colonial league in Connecticut and New York come scattered reports telling of teams quitting or about to give up because of poor attendance.
Some clubs have folded outright. Others have either been taken over by determined towns people or by the leagues themselves.
The Middle Atlantic and East Texas leagues, both class C, lost members yesterday to join a list of flops that bring a new meaning to mid-summer slumps.
Vandergrift, Pa., a member of the Middle Atlantic four years, gave up the ghost last night. The team had a working agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies. The league will continue with seven teams. Vandergrift's franchise was vocated.
Paris and Bryan gave way in the East Texas league, but the loop will continue with six members. El Centro, Calif., is leading the class C Sunset league, but 250 townspeople recently took over when the owner deplored lack of attendance. The group has on option to buy the franchise for $25,000 at the end of the season.