Spring Training, Wednesday, April 7, 1954

BRENNER SIGNS LEFTY
Del Sarto Key For Caps?
By CLANCY LORANGER
[Vancouver Province, April 7, 1954]
Up until now, Vancouver Capilanos’ pitching staff lacked just one thing—an established lefthander.
General manager Bill Brenner took care of that oversight Tuesday when he purchased Tom Del Sarto from San Francisco of the Coast League.
Brenner reported the purchase to The Province from the training camp at Clarkston, Wash., where the Caps successfully initiated the spring season Tuesday with a 7-0 victory over Pocatello of the Class C Pioneer League.
Bob Roberts, Bob Moen and Rod MacKay pitched against the Idaho team, and allowed the opposition just one hit. Brenner couldn’t remember which pitcher gave up the offending hit.
Of this mound trio, young Moen is a lefthander. But he’s an untried rookie who’s never played professional baseball, and the rest of the Caps’ southpaw corps can be classified as somewhat nebulous.
Raul Galata, the Mexican import, could be the best of them, but Brenner has never seen him. John Cordell, with Spokane last year, is a veteran who would likely take on the relief role assigned to Carl Gunnarson in past years.
Other lefties who were supposed to try for spots were Bill Tompkins, from Alaska, and Emery Petty, an old pro who’s been out of baseball for awhile.
So Del Sarto will be especially welcome. The husky hurler has been shuttling between Yakima and San Francisco the last few years, but has never quite made the grade in the Coast League. With Yakima the last two years, he won 22, lost 24, but has always looked like a better pitcher than that record.
DIAMOND DUST – Tuesday’s exhibition game went just six innings, the Pocatello team suggesting it be cut short … They’ll play the Caps again Friday and Saturday at Clarkston … Sunday, the Vancouver team crosses the river to Lewiston to tackle the Broncs, and Monday they’ll visit Pocatello in the latter’s home park … First baseman Ellis Daughtery was again a standout Tuesday … He and Jack Bukowatz, Skip Kitsman (an outfielder) and Chuck Lundgren batted in the Vancouver runs.

San Francisco Helps Tyees; Sends Pitcher
[Victoria Colonist, April 7, 1954]
Things are looking better daily for the Victoria Tyees and when manager Don Pries gets his first roll call at Royal Athletic Park next Wednesday, he should have between 25 and 30 players on hand to try out for the 16 positions available.
Business-manager Reg Patterson may have solved the club’s most pressing problem by getting the promise of help from the San Francisco Seals. The Seals came through with their first player yesterday, a needed pitcher, and club officials indicated that the Tyees will get at least one more moundsman and, possibly, two.
SHOULD HELP
Send to the Tyees yesterday was Harold Flinn, a gangly righthander who toiled for Yakima Bears last season with fair success. He appeared in 22 games and completed 11 of 19 starts while compiling an 8-9 record. Two of his victories were shutouts and he allowed 141 hits and 70 bases on balls in 139 innings. He struck out 75.
Flinn trained with the Seals and was sent home last week for assignment to a league of a lower classification. He had been notified and Bob Stevens, baseball writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote that “Flinn, who needs only a little more experience to handle Pacific Coast League batters, may wind up on option to a Texas League club.”
Acquisition of Flinn gives the Tyees a total of eight pitchers, counting holdover Earl Dollins, who can’t agree with the club on the matter of salary. Other moundsmen are holdovers Bob Drilling, Bill Prior and Beryln Hodges, former Wenatchee right-hander Mike Kanshin, righthander Ross McFarlane, who was with Salt Lake City part of last season, and rookie-southpaw Fred Christiansen of Prince Rupert. In addition, the Tyees expect to get one or more pitchers from the Vancouver Caps, at least two from Portland and one or two from San Francisco.
Elsewhere, the club appears to be pretty well set. Milt Martin will be back as first string catcher and Jim Livesay, ex-University of Oregon star, looms as his understudy.
In the infield, Eddie Lake should hive the club excellent work at shortstop and a team with Ron Jackson as a fine keystone combination. Pries will be at first base and Steve Mesner at third. Pepper Wasley, Merlyn Anthony, Primo Santini and Jose Guerrero are other candidates for the infield.
Holdover Duane Helbig, Marv Diercks, back after a service hitch; Tom Keough, Californian collegian; Art Seguso, long-ball hitter from Minnesota; Armando Sanchez, a Mexican recommended by Drilling, and Jerry Kane, Fairbanks, Alaska prospect, are outfielders now listed with the club. And it appears Dain Clay, former Cincinnati, Portland and San Francisco outfielder who is extremely anxious to join the club, will become additional starter.
All of which leaves the Tyees with comparatively few personnel problems for this time of the season. Not more than two other clubs in the WIL are as close to being “set” at the moment and while paper line-ups don’t mean much, the Tyees should at most need two good pitchers and a solid outfielder to figure. And their chances of getting them are excellent.

WEDNESDAY GAMES

LEWISTON, Idaho, April 7— The Washington State Cougars scored eight runs in the fourth inning Wednesday and went on to a 10-5 decision over the Lewiston Broncos of the Western International League.
Lewiston’s Hal Tuschoff walked the first six men he faced in the fourth. A single by Ron Foisy, Ron Oversby’s triple and a Bill Mashburn single completed the big inning. Three WSC pitchers spaced seven Lewiston hits.

Whitey Thomson Stars In Defeating FSC, 3-1
By Bruce Ferris [Fresno Bee, April 8, 1954]
Bobby (Whitey) Thomson, who starred for the Fresno Cardinals in 1950, returned last night to lead the Edmonton Eskimos of the Class A Western International League to a 3 to 1 victory over the. Fresno State College Bulldogs in the finest baseball game of the young local season.
Coach Pete Beiden’s Bulldogs will be idle today but will return to action tomorrow afternoon in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game against the Los Angeles State College Diablos at 2 o'clock in the FSC Park.
The several hundred fans who braved the chilling weather last night saw a thrilling, well played game which ended in spectacular fashion with Thomson turning in the fielding gem of the game to wipe out a potential Bulldog rally.
Ron Kavern was on second and George DeLaTorre on first with one down in the bottom of the ninth and Fresno trailing 3 to 1. Roy Zivanich smashed a sizzling one bounce grounder over second base. Thomson raced behind the bag, backhanded the ball with his glove hand and all in one motion flipped to second for the start of a game ending twin killing.
Fresno had trouble solving the slants of Edmonton pitchers Larry Manier, Dale Hittle and Don Kirk while the Eskimos collected nine safeties off Ted Wills and Rudy Garcia.
Draw First Blood
Edmonton drew first blood in the second inning. With two down Thomson lined a double off the left center field wall.
Pitcher Larry Manier singled sharply to center for the run.
Fresno knotted the count in the third. Ronnie Hager led off with a single and took second when the left fielder hobbled the ball. Wills and Jack Hannah grounded out but J. D. Petersen looped a single to center scoring Hager.
Edmonton broke the tie in the seventh off Garcia. Duane Kling led off with a single. He took second on a ground ball and third on a wild pitch. Second baseman Dave Haddican singled to center scoring Kling.
The Eskimos added an insurance run in the eighth. John McKeoweh singled, stole second and pitcher Kirk singled to center for the tally.
Edmonton almost scored in the ninth but a fine throw from right field by Zivanich and a diving tag at the plate by Clevenger cut down Haddican trying to score from second on Danny Prentice’s single.
With one out in the Fresno ninth, Hager walked. Kavern was sent in to run for Hager. DeLatorre went in to pinch hit for Garcia and laced a single to left. Then came Zivanich's blow and Thomson's terrific play to end the game.
No Bulldog had more than one hit. Kling and Haddican had two each for Edmonton. Fresno made only four hits, three off Manier, none off Hittle and one off Kirk.
Edmonton .... 010 000 110—3 10 1
Fresno ........ 001 000 000—1 4 2