Spring Training, Tuesday, April 27, 1954

KNUCKLEBALL TROUBLE
Brenner Names Franks For Opener
By Clancy Loranger
[Vancouver Province, April 27, 1954]
YAKIMA, Wash.—Pitching season openers is nothing new for Bill Franks who was officially nominated Monday by general manager Bill Brenner to do the honors for the Capilanos in Thursday’s WIL inaugural against Victoria Tyees at Vancouver. The slender redhead has pitched six times on getaway day in his eight years of pro baseball. He’s had quite some success, too, winning all but one of those, and the time he lost, he said, he was sick and shouldn’t have pitched.
Brenner originally named pitcher Brenner to fire the first pitches of the 1954 season, but Bill’s been having his usual spring trouble. His knuckle ball just hasn’t been behaving for him, and he was whacked solidly twice last week.
Sunday, a mite worried about this, Brenner dug up a regulation league ball, with a higher seam than the ones they’ve been using in training, and the ball started to jump for him. But it still wasn’t zigging to his satisfaction, so he told Franks he would lead off. Franks, who won 13 and lost 14 for Spokane last season, tosses ‘em up side-arm, and has been the most impressive-looking pitcher in camp.
Brenner will handle the pitching the second night of the Caps’ first home series, which is just a two-night stand. The club comes back here Saturday and Sunday. Caps return home Monday to host Seattle Rainiers that night and Salem Tuesday and Wednesday.
When Seattle pays its visit, the Rainiers will be leaving one, and very likely two, men behind to change into Vancouver uniforms. The Caps will get one pitcher, definitely, but it won’t be Jim Suchecki. The price on him is too higher, says Brenner.
The other man the Suds will leave behind will be Bob Wellman, Brenner says, or believes, or anyway, he hopes. The yeses and nos are coming too fast for him right now on the Wellman situation, so we’ll all just have to wait and see.
George Nicholas, pitching his first game in three years, limited Yakima Bears to just three hits in five innings last night as Caps took the Bears into camp 9-0. Vancouver boy Rod MacKay finished the job for the winners.

Tyees To Finish Pre-Season Preps In Game Tonight
[Victoria Colonist, April 27, 1954]
Victoria Tyees, bolstered by the addition of a much-needed pitcher, will wind up their pre-season exhibition series tonight at Royal Athletic Park when they meet Farmers Construction, crack city amateur club, for the fourth time.
Checking into the Tyees’ camp Sunday was right-hander Jim Reynolds, who played semi-pro ball last season in Nebraska, played 30 days with Meridian of the Cotton States League in 1952, and the three previous years saw action in the West Texas-New Mexico League, where he compiled an over-all 46-43 won and lost record.
PRIES MAY PLAY
Manager Don Pries, who is still suffering the effects of a back injury but hopes to get into some action tonight, said yesterday that the 30-year-old Reynolds worked out lightly. Also expected to reach the camp of the city’s Western International League club shortly is southpaw Bob Moen, acquired from Vancouver Capilanos.
In closing out their spring training games tonight, the Tyees will be seeking their sixth straight win against amateur competition. Sunday, before an estimated 2,000 fans at Courtenay, the Tyees swept both ends of a twin bill from the Comox District All-Stars, although they had to work for both victories.
Mike Kanshin and Berlyn Hodges combined to give up only five hits and Dain Clay rapped out a two-run single to spark the Tyees to a 3-1 victory in the opener. The second game was a sloppily-played affair, both teams committing five errors, as the Tyees won out by a 14-12 score.
NO ADMISSION CHARGE
Club officials, hoping that as many Victoria baseball fans as possible will come out tonight for a final look before the Tyees open their season at Vancouver Thursday, have announced that no admission will be charged.
Pries will stick pretty much to the same line-up he has been starting in recent games. Don Smith, newcomer to the mound staff who saw action in the second game at Courtenay Sunday, Hodges and Bill Prior will share the pitching duties against Farmers.
Art Seguso will start at first base in place of Pries; Ron Jackson will play second, Steve Mesner third and Ed Lake, shortstop. Milt Martin will be behind the plate and Joe Joshua, Tom Perez and Dain Clay will compose the outfield.

TUESDAY GAMES

YAKIMA, April 28 — Veteran pitcher Danny Rios scattered eight blows to the Vancouver Capilanos and his hit-happy Yakima teammates connected sixteen times in taking a 14-4 Western International League exhibition baseball game Tuesday night.
Vancouver ..... 120 000 0— 4 8 3
Yakima .......... 052 340 0—14 16 3
Nagle, Tompkins (4), Del Sarto (5) and Pesut, Jenney (5); Rios and Summers, Ling (6).