Thursday 31 July 2008

Spring Training, Monday, April 26, 1954

BUKOWATZ TO SALEM
Twenty Survive Cap ‘Culling’
By Clancy Loranger
[Vancouver Province, April 26, 1954]
YAKIMA, Wash.—Vancouver Capilanos’ contingent of 20 players arrived here today, en route to their home base, after winding up their spring baseball stay at Clarkston, Wash., by splitting a pair of weekend exhibition games with Lewiston Broncs.
The Caps, who took a 12-5 drubbing Saturday, won a well-pitched game at Lewiston Sunday, 3-1, play two games here in Yakima before heading north to Vancouver. They meet the WIL Bears tonight and Tuesday, then work out under the lights at Capilano Stadium Wednesday night. Thursday, of course, is opening night, with the Victoria Tyees providing the opposition.
Of the close-to-40 ball players who passed through camp, 20 survived the cutdowns, and some of those will pass on if and when such reinforcements as Bob Wellman, Dick Greco and Jim Suchecki materialize. One player left on the weekend when Jack Bukowatz, last year’s second baseman, was returned to Seattle. He’ll be optioned to Salem.
Here are the 20 players coming north:
CATCHERS: Nick Pesut and Bob Duretto.
INFIELDERS: Ellis Daugherty, Marv Williams, Ken Richardson, Jim Clark.
OUTFIELDERS: K. Chorlton, Arnie Hallgren, Lloyd Jenney, Danny Holden.
PITCHERS: General manager Bill Brenner, Bill Franks, Bob Roberts, George Nicholas, Tom Del Sarto, John Cordell, Bill Tompkins, Rod MacKay, Baz Nagle.
There could be a change in the opening night pitcher. Brenner, a slow starter, hasn’t been able to get his knuckle ball to behave for him yet, and when that’s not working, he takes quite a beating. He was really hit hard in Tri-City recently, and Saturday night the first five Lewiston batters hit safely off him, one of them for a three-run homer.
Bill Franks will replace Brenner if the boss thinks he isn’t ready yet. Franks, who pitched five innings of hitless ball against Tri-City, looked good again Sunday, allowing just one run in six innings against Lewiston.
Williams, Hallgren, Duretto, Clark and Chorlton also went well on the weekend. Williams hit a 350 foot home run Saturday over the right field wall, his off field, and Sunday knocked the paint off the left-centre field wall with a 400-foot double.
Hallgren, who improves every day, also homered Saturday, as did Duretto. And Hallgren, whose throwing arm is the talk of the camp, doubled a man off first base again Sunday after grabbing a line drive.

Osario Heads North
SAN FRANCISCO, April 26—The San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League announced today that outfielder Elias Osorio has been optioned to the Edmonton club of the Western International league. Osorio hit .200 in 10 times at bat with the Seals this year.

MONDAY GAMES

SALEM, Ore., April 26 — The Salem Senators of the Western International League made the most of nine hits here Monday as they downed Sacramento of the Coast League, 6-4, in an exhibition baseball game.
The Senators started fast withtwo runs in the first only to have the Sacs explode for four runs in the third on four singles, an error and a hit batsman.

YAKIMA, April 27—Veteran George Nicholas, who threw a no-hitter for Vancouver in his last season of baseball in 1951, joined with youngster Rod MacKay in four-hitting the Yakima Bears in a WIL exhibition game last night.
Vancouver ... 001 030 302—9 14 1
Yakima ...... 000 000 000—0 4 0
Nicholas, MacKay (5) and Pesut; Young, Edmunds (4) and Summers, Lane (8).

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