Monday, August 16, 1954

                 W  L  Pct GB
Lewiston ...... 30 16 .652 —
Vancouver ..... 24 17 .585 3½
Edmonton ...... 24 18 .571 4
Yakima ........ 25 19 .568 4
Salem ......... 22 18 .550 5
Tri-City ...... 15 29 .341 14
Wenatchee ..... 15 31 .326 15

LEWISTON [Vancouver Province, Aug. 17]—Vancouver Capilanos, first half champions of the Western International League, began a strong bid Monday night to make a clean sweep and take the second-half crown, too, as they fashioned a dramatic 10-inning, 6-4 victory over host Lewiston Broncs in the first game of a do-or-die, three-game series with the league leaders.
The win, coupled with Yakima’s 6-1 loss to Wenatchee, moved the slow-starting Caps into second spot, three-and-one-half games behind Lewiston.
The sudden end to the hotly contested game came in the 10th when Capilano second-sacker Marv Williams smashed out his 19th home run of the year with K Chorlton aboard.
The Broncs were almost on their way to tying the game up again in their half of the 10th, but a disputed out at home and an ejected catcher put a damper on the budding rally.
Don Hunter doubled with Al Heist on first. Heist came all the way around, sliding hard into catcher Bob Duretto who dropped the ball. However, Duretto picked it up again and tagged Heist. The umpire [Art Jacobs] called Heist out and the row began.
With practically the whole Lewiston squad to choose from the umpire picked catcher Clint Cameron to oust from the game.
Pete Hernandez, who went the distance for Vancouver, picked up his eighth win in 11 decisions since coming to the Capilanos from Seattle in mid-season.
[WILfan note: Hunter also homered in the contest and batted in a pair]
Vancouver ...... 000 202 000 2—6 8 1
Lewiston ........ 100 100 002 0—4 6 5
Hernandez and Duretto; Orrell, Kime (10) and Cameron.

YAKIMA, Aug. 16—Pitcher Charlie Oubre was almost a one-man show as the Wenatchee Chiefs defeated the hometown Bears, 6-1, in a Western International League game on Monday night.
Oubre drove in five of Wenatchee's runs and held the locals to seven scattered hits as he went the route for the Chiefs.
He slapped out a two-run double in the fifth and later scored on Pumpsie Green's triple. In the ninth, with the sacks loaded, Oubre laced out another double, scoring three men.
The Bears got their only run in the fifth on Des Charouhas's single. Herm Lewis' double and an infield out.
Wenatchee ..... 000 030 003—6 6 0
Yakima .......... 000 010 000—1 7 2
Oubre and Self; Lovrich and Summers.

Only games scheduled.

Sports Notes
BY GIL GILMORE
[from Tri-City Herald, Aug. 17, 1954]
You Can't Bribe Them To Games

Dave Cromwell, writing in the Salem Capital Journal:
“A fitting epitaph: Baseball in Salem is dead, long live television or whatever the causes why fans won’t turn out to see the local ball club.
“Last night’s ingredients: A perfect, warm, sunny evening; prizes galore; ice cream and cokes for the kids, and free gifts of a bike and several baseballs and gloves; free admission for the kids in the first base bleachers, which wound up about a fifth full; a doubleheader with then second-place Yakima; the top pitchers slated to start for each team; free nylon hose given away to the lady fans during the second game; and lastly, but by no means least, half-time entertainment by the Multnomah County sheriff’s motorcycle patrol, which was worth the price of admission in itself.
“But with all these lures, the paid attendance was a ‘hefty’ 794.”
Ah, yes, Dave but you should sit in the Sanders Field press box. Sunday night they let ‘em in free — and only 619 showed up.
Other Factors
There were of course, other factors. First of all, the Braves aren’t exactly a winning ball club. Then, too, the weather was rough, there was a gals’ softball tournament drawing 1,000 going on at the same time, and the stock car races, drawing 1,200.
Or maybe fans in both cities just don’t like that Yakima bunch.