Wednesday, May 3, 1950

STANDINGS
Team         W  L Pct GB
Tacoma .... 10  5 .667 —
Yakima .... 10  5 .667 —
Wenatchee .. 9  5 .643 ½
Salem ...... 7  6 .538 2
Tri-City ... 7  9 .437 3½
Spokane .... 6  8 .428 3½
Vancouver .. 5  9 .357 4½
Victoria ... 3 10 .300 5

KENNEWICK, May 4—Right versus left. That's the pitching menu on up tonight at Sanders Field when the Wenatchee Chiefs and Tri-City Braves both seek to capture the final and deciding game of this series. Braves' Manager, Charlie Petersen, will send his ace moundsman, Lou McCollum, a tall right hander out to turn the trick. It will be McCollum's fifth start this season in which he holds two victories against the same number of losses.
Meanwhile it will be a slight portsider on the mound for the Chiefs who won 9-3 last night. Tommy Thompson, pilot of the Chiefs, has nominated Tom Breisinger, (2-1) for the final fling.
It was the smallest crowd of the season, 602 paid through the turnstiles, that was on hand last night to witness the fine pitching performance turned in by Jay Ragni, who gave up nine hits in turning in the Chief win. Ragni struck out seven Brave batters and issued five free passes.
NO WALKS FOR CHIEFS
The Chiefs collected 17 hits off the offering of loser Joe Orrell. Although Orrell didn't whiff any, he didn't walk any either.
Most potent bat of the evening was held by Walt Pocekay, Chief left fielder. Pocekay collected four for five including a base clearing triple in the eighth. The hefty outfielder drove in five of the nine Wenatchee runs.
Jim Warner, center fielder, was the lone Brave to find the range for extra base knocks. Warner collected a double in the fifth, but was left stranded.
Nick Pesut, Neil Bryant, and Warner added to their runs batted in column by each driving one counter across the plate.
BRAVES GET TWO.
The Braves got the game off to a good start by ringing up two runs on four hits in the opening inning, but Ragni had the Braves handcuffed from there until the ninth when a single by Warner shoved .Spaeter across from second. Spaeter had reached first on a single and moved to second when first baseman Vic Buccola grounded out to the Chief first sacker unassisted.
Although the Chiefs never tallied more than three safe blows in any one inning, they kept them well bunched and made them count for the most. Ragni scored the first one by leading off with a double in the third and scoring on Pocekay's single.
START BIG RHUBARB
Don Fracchia opened the Chiefs' fourth with a single and took second when Orrell committed the first of his two balks. Fracchia's slide across home plate touched off the biggest rhubarb of the game. With Fraccia on third Jim Unfried hit a grounder to Buccola. The Brave first baseman fired the ball to Pesut at the plate who went down with the ball as Fracchia came Into the plate. Umpire Mathews called Fracchia safe and Pesut came up off the ground steaming. Manager Charlie Petersen had to come out to put out the blaze that was getting red hot between Pesut and Mathews.
The Chiefs added two more in the seventh on Drew's double, successive singles by Neal and Pocekay and a deep fly ball by Bud Hjelmaa. Their final run of the game came in the ninth on three straight singles. Hank Sciarra led off and romped in when Unfried got his first hit of the game.
Wenatchee ........ 001 110 231—9-17-0
Tri-City ............. 200 000 001—3- 9-4
Ragni and Fiscallini; Orrell and Pesut.
- - - - -
KENNEWICK, May 3 (AP) — The Wenatchee Chiefs collected 17 hits off Joe Orrell Wednesday night and eased past the crippled Tri-City Braves 9 to 3 to even the Western International league series at a game apiece.
Jay Ragni went all the way for Wenatchee, allowing the Braves only four hits in the last eight innings.
He got off to a shaky start, though. Al Spaeter led off with a single in the first and Jim Warner walked. Singles by Nick Pesut, Neil Bryant and Artie Wilson sent two runs home and left the bases full.
Then Ragni fanned Jim Kleasner and Jim McKeegan to retire the side. Kleasner, a pitcher, and McKeegan, a rookie reserve catcher, were pressed into duty as outfielders by the Braves who are hampered by injuries.
Wenatchee scored twice in the seventh on Al Drew's double and singles by Walt Pocekay, Larry Neal and Bud Hjelmaa. Pocekay's triple with the bases loaded brought in three more in the eighth.
Wenatchee .... 001 110 231—9 17 0
Tri-City ......... 200 000 001—3 9 4
Ragni and Fiscallini; Orrell and Pesut.

SPOKANE, May 3—The Tacoma Tigers batted around for six runs in the first inning Wednesday night and coasted to a 9 to 4 victory over Spokane in a series opener.
A chilled crowd of 848 watched the Tigers chase Spokane starter Ward Rockey from the mound in the opening frame. The fans might just have well gone home after that. The Indians never recovered.
Rockey, Washington State college pitching ace last year, couldn't find the plate and walked the
first two men who faced him. Dick Greco, Dick Wenner and Wimpy Quinn laced successive singles for four runs and Rockey was pulled.
Two long outfield, drives brought home the fifth and sixth scores.
Wenner powered a home run in the seventh for Tacoma with Greco on base.
Mel Knezovich, just down from San Diego of the Pacific Coast league, held Spokane's Indians in check throughout.
Tacoma ......... 600 000 210—9 10 3
Spokane ........ 010 000 300—4 7 2
Knezovich, Carter (7) and Sheets; Rockey, Brock (1), Holder (9) and Rossi.

YAKIMA, May 3—A two-run triple by rookie Jerry Zuvella in the eighth inning enabled the Yakima Bears to defeat Vancouver 3-2 in a tight league game here Wednesday night. The game was interrupted for 25 minutes by rain.
The rain halted the game in the fourth inning when the game was a scoreless deadlock.
Capilano pitcher Bob Snyder and Yakima's Dick Larner each gave up seven hits. The loss was the first of the season for Snyder. The victory was Larner's second in three starts.
Jimmy Robinson and Bob McLean each collected two hits for Vancouver. Mike Baxes connected
for two of Yakima's hits.
Lamer's win keeps his mates tied for first place with Tacoma.
Vancouver ........ 000 010 100—2 7 1
Yakima ............. 000 010 02x—3 7 2
Snyder and Heisner; Larner and Tiesiera.

Victoria and Salem were rained out for the second consecutive night in the Oregon capital city.

Chiefs Make Changes
WENATCHEE, May 3—The Wenatchee Chiefs cut four players from their roster and acquired the services of right handed pitcher Joe Blankenship from Victoria. Pitcher Don Stanford was sent to Albuquerque, N. Mex., and another hurler, Howie Davis, went to Salt Lake City. First baseman Bob Goldstein has been conditionally assigned to Salt Lake City and third baseman Morley Bockman was sent to Great Falls of the Pioneer league.
Blankenship won 25 games at Victoria in 1948, a league record.

TACOMA, May 4—Although he dropped .106 points, Glen Stetter, Tacoma outfielder, continued to lead Western International League hitters after the second week of play according to figures released by league office here today.
The Tacoman's average at end of two weeks was .444 which was six points better than .438 turned in by Bud Hjelmaa, Wenatchee second baseman, for second place. Nini Tornay, Yakima catcher, was third at .436.
Stetter and Jim Baxes, Yakima shortstop, were tied for the top mark in the runs batted in division, each having clubbed across 13 counters during the two weeks of play.
                     AB  H RBI Ave.
Stetter, Tac. ...... 45 20 13 .444
Hjelmaa, Wen. ...... 48 21 11 .438
Tornay, Yak ........ 39 17  8 .436
Bacciocco, Yak ..... 47 18  8 .383
Matoh, Spok ........ 56 20  7 .347
Gammino, Yak. ...... 45 16  6 .356
Thompson, Vic. ..... 49 17 12 .347
Bryant, Tri-City ... 53 18 11 .340
Murphy, Spok. ...... 48 18  7 .333
Lar. Neal, Wen ..... 42 14  8 .333
Gifford, Tac ....... 49 16  6 .327
Wilson, Tri-City ... 46 15  6 .327
Chorlton, Vic. ..... 53 17 11 .321
Bartle, Salem ...... 47 15  7 .319
Robinson, Van ...... 57 18  5 .316
Pearson, Van ....... 49 15  2 .306
Greco, Tac ......... 46 14  1 .304
Dunn, Vic .......... 43 13  5 .302
Warner, Tri-City ... 54 16 11 .296
Pocekay, Wen ....... 44 13  6 .295
Clarkson, Van ...... 44 13  5 .295
Catron, Tac. ....... 51 15  7 .294

ON THE INSIDE

by DON BECKER - Herald Sports Editor

[May 4, 1950]

Talk about the shorts! Our Braves have got them, and in a big way too. Why when we fumbled our way into the clubhouse Before Tuesday's opener with the Chiefs, Manager Charlie Petersen looked at us and said, “You know, if I didn't have the agonizing memory of fly balls hitting you on the head instead of the glove down at Lindsay I'd be tempted to put you into the lineup tonight.” When you get that hard up you're hurting brother . . . you're hurting.
But just take a look at the current roster of absentees for one reason and another.
Clint Cameron . . . sore right leg, might be able to go soon though.
Cy Greenlaw . . . Cy's pitching arm has got more kinks in it than a hula-hula dancer's skirt.
Charlie Petersen . . . stopped a foul tip with his left ankle which has now taken on the appearance of a balloon.

Dick Faber . . . out of the lineup because of illness in the family. And yet we won that Tuesday night game, because there's one thing that the Braves have that every winning team has to show ... spirit and fight. And you, and you, and you, sitting there in the stands, drumming for a rally, you've also got a share in those victories.
CHIEFS LEAVING-BEARS COMING
Tonight “Tommy” Thompson and his Chiefs play their last game of the current series at Sanders Field. They'll be back come the end of June for another three-day stand though. Tommy spent more time in the American league than most players do in baseball altogether. He was with the Boston Braves from 1933-36, then switched to the Chisox for two years where in 1939 he was sold to the St. Louis Browns. For a short few hours he was a Yankee when he figured in a deal that sent Joe Gallagher to St. Louis and Tommy to Newark between trains. This is his first year at the helm of a WIL club, having managed the Salt Lake Bees of the Pioneer league the past three seasons.
ARE YA LISTENIN' BABE?
It's going to be more than just a ball game when Yakima moves in Friday night. The quarterback booster club of that upvalley hamlet is coming down in full force to put the whammy on our Braves. And who's caught in the middle? None other than “Babe” Hollingbery, president of the Braves and also president of the club of that aforesaid town.
As the president of the Braves local fans will be watching closely to see which nine he's cheering on to victory. Likewise, as a 20-gun salute in Yakima athletic circles, his hometown, he's going to be under close scrutiny from the Bear fans.
Just as a suggestion we'd like to pass this along to you Babe, it might keep you out of a whale of a jam...why not sit in the Bears dugout for four and one-half innings, and in the Braves dugout for the other four and one-half? And when you parade across the field from one to the other, who knows, we might even get Dick Richards to put a piece of band music on the p. a. system. Whadda say Babe?