Monday 4 August 2008

Monday, May 17, 1954





                W  L  Pct  GB
Vancouver .... 13  7 .650  —
Lewiston ..... 11  8 .570  1½
Yakima ....... 11  9 .550  2
Edmonton ...... 8  9 .533  2
Spokane ...... 10  9 .529  2½
Victoria ..... 10  9 .520  2½
Salem ........ 10 11 .476  3½
Wenatchee ..... 9 10 .474  3½
Calgary ....... 5 10 .333  5½
Tri-City ...... 7 14 .333  6½


KENNEWICK, May 17 — Reliefer Bill Franks saved Vancouver's bacon Monday night as the Capilanos squeezed out a 9-8 Western International League baseball victory over the Tri-City Braves.
Franks, who took over from Rod MacKay in the eighth, had the bases bulging and only one out in the bottom of the ninth when he came through with a cool pitching job to get the Caps off the hook.
Bearing down, Franks fanned Cliff Coggin and got Terry Carroll on as easy grounder.
Marv Williams and Dick Greco homered for Vancouver in the first inning. Len Tran contributed a four master for Tri-City in the eighth.
- - -
KENNEWICK [Tri-City Herald, May 18]—The Tri-City Braves and the Vancouver Caplianoes [sic] go at it again tonight in the second game of the three-game series at Sanders Field and if Monday's 9-8 loss for Tri-City is any indication, it should be a tough hassle for both teams all the way.
The Tri-City starter tonight probably will be Cliff Coggin, who has no record with the Braves this season. In one start and one relief performance, he has pitched 12 innings, given up seven hits, and three earned runs.
In the opening game Monday night, only Tri-City's lack of a punch in the pinch and the fielding ability or Vancouver second baseman Marv Williams kept the Braves out of the win column.
Going into the bottom of the ninth, Vancouver relief pitcher Bill Franks walked two and gave up one hit to load the bases with one away. Then he struck out Coggin.
Terry Carroll, the next batter, hit a hot ground ball to the right of second base. Williams moved over almost behind the bag, and pegged to second to force the runner there ending the game.
The game had all the earmarks of a rout in the first inning. After Tri-City starter Ted Savarese got two away, Williams homered. Then the mighty Dick Greco, who couldn't win a popularity contest here with a stuffed ballot box, homered too.
The second inning runs came after two were away and a fluke situation occurred around first base.
Arnie Hallgren hit a ground ball to Sam Kanelos. Kanelos threw wide at first but Vic Buccola leaped up, grabbed the ball, and put the tag on Hallgren who missed first. The runner was called safe and it was ruled an error on Kanelos.
The play would have meant the final out for the inning but with a new lease on life, Vancouver went on to score five unearned runs on a triple by K. Chorlton, a double by Williams, and singles by Bob Wellman and Greco.
The hit was Greco's last in five times up, much to the delight of Tri-City fans who greeted him with a series of boos and cat-calls each time he carried his bat to the plate.
Tri-City scored its five runs in the first inning when starter Tom Del Sarto gave up three walks, single, and a bases-loaded triple to Bob Moniz. Moniz later scored on Kanelo's [sic] fly ball.
The Braves scored two more in the seventh with Len Tran leading off with his first homer of the season. A walk, singles by Kanelos and Charouhas brought in the other run.
The lone eighth inning run came in when Carroll was safe on a fielder's choice, moved to third on Buccola's double and scored on Tran's fly ball.
The first seven Vancouver runs were charged against Ted Saverese who started for the Braves.
Dale Thomason, who took over in the second with two away, gave up two runs in the fourth — both unearned.
He was taken out for a pinch-hitter and Dale Bloom pitched the last inning.
Vancouver .... 250 200 000—9 12 1
Tri-City ........ 500 000 210—8 10 3
Del Sarto, MacKay (1), Franks (8) and Pesut; Savarese, Thomason (2), Bloom (9) and Warren.

YAKIMA [Victoria Colonist, May 18]—Victoria Tyees may be having their troubles on the road so far this season, but a pleasing part of their play has been their ability to bounce back to avoid any losing streaks.
Last night, playing at Salem after dropping 9-4 and 9-7 decisions to the Braves at Tri-City on Sunday, the Tyees battled back to crush the Senators with 15 well-time hits to score a 12-3 victory.
Reporting to business manager Reg Patterson yesterday morning, manager Don Pries stated that the club spirit was still high but bemoaned the bases on ball and the loss of catcher Milt Martin, who suffered a five-stitch leg cut in Sunday’s first game and was counted out of action for the next few games.
MARTIN PLAYS
But Martin would have no part of it and the rugged receiver was back behind the plate last night—and contributed two hits, including a double in the five-run second inning.
Giving Martin a big hand on the attack were Joe Joshua and Tom Perez. Joshua extended his hitting streak through eight games with his third home run and a pair of singles while Perez hit his fourth homer and filled in at shortstop after Eddie Lake had been tossed out for arguing after being called out trying to steal.
Bob Drilling, hit hard at times, went the distance easily behind solid batting support to become the first Victoria pitcher to win three games.
Victoria ..... 051 010 410—12 15 1
Salem ....... 010 000 200— 3  8 4
Drilling and Martin; Hemphill, Domenichelli (2), Rayle (8) and Ogden.

CALGARY, May 17 — The Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Calgary Stampeders 10-8 in a Western International Baseball League game here Monday night before 800 fans.
The victory gave Eskimos a 2-1 edge in games in the three-game series between the Alberta rivals.
Edmonton pounded four Calgary pitchers for 12 safeties, Andy Skurski and Larry Manier homered for the winners.
Catcher Don Lundberg powered a three-run homer for Stampeders in the sixth inning. Centre fielder Gus Stathos, first man up for Calgary, also hit for the circuit.
Edmonton ..... 220 400 101—10 12 2
Calgary ........ 202 003 010— 8 11 0
Manier, LeBrun (8) and Prentice; Kapp, Tompkins (4), Stites (9) and Lundberg.

ONLY GAMES PLAYED

Lovrich Changes Mind
SEATTLE, May 17—Seattle Rainiers general manager Dewey Soriano announced Monday that pitcher Tom Lovrich has agreed to report to the Vancouver Capilanos of the Western International League.
The six-foot, five-inch righthander, with Vancouver two seasons ago, joins the club Wednesday.

Sports Notes
BY GIL GILMORE

[Tri-City Herald, May 18, 1954]
Vic Buccola, Tri-City first baseman, is in the market for some new equipment.
"What I need is a pogo stick," Vic joked after the double header with Victoria. "Man, I never saw so many high throws. That's tough on my old legs. They can't take all that leaping around anymore."
If Vic's "old legs" were lacking in spring, it wasn't very evident Sunday. During the two games, only one throw from, the infield came straight to him and he saved the other infielders some embarrassing errors with leaping catches off first base.
A couple of them got away, it's true, but it is unlikely that he would have got to them even with a pogo stick.
The inflelder's "wild throws" will probably straighten out in time. Some of those boys have been shifted around so much they are constantly adjusting to new positions. Others have been playing at their particular spots for a short time and a little practice will enable them to get 'em where Vic is.
* * *
Vic's Double Play Rare One

Unassisted double plays aren't particularly rare but the fluke one Vic pulled Sunday was an odd one. Usually, an unassisted double-play comes about because a batter hits a low liner fly ball to an infielder who steps on the bag to double another runner off.
It's pretty rare when an infielder makes an unassisted double play by fielding a ground ball. (And in Vic's case, tops it off by holding a runner on third.)
* * *
He Could Have Clipped Three
Vic said afterward there was a time when he could have made an unassisted triple play but threw the ball instead. It came about when runners were on first and second, none away, and the batter attempted to bunt.
The runners were off with the pitch, the pitcher moved in and the batter blooped one right out to the mound. Vic made a diving catch and took the ball in. The runners were so far around the bases that he could have easily ran to second and then to first for the other two putouts. But in almost an automatic reaction, he tossed to the second baseman who relayed the ball to first for a routine triple after much searching and probing, Spokane sportswriters finally concluded that Vic has played in more WIL games than any other player. Tonight's game will be No. 1,075 for him.
Not tabulated but almost a safe bet is that Vic also had more WIL putouts than any other WIL players and probably leads in several other departments as well.
* * *
Edo And Keeler Tied

In 1948, while playing for Spokane, Tri-City playing manager Edo Vanni rapped out 198 singles and he has often thought that is probably the record not just for the WIL but all of baseball.
Edo has since checked up but finds he is in a first-place tie. Way back in 1897, Wee Willie Keeler who played for Baltimore, and who started the "hit 'em where they ain't" philosophy, also hit 198 singles.
* * *
Jack Grabbed A Toughie

Other Braves briefs: Those six twin-killings executed by Victoria and Tri-City in that first game Sunday did not set or even tie the WIL record. It stands at eight.
Don Robertson was charged with walking, a batter although he was sitting on the bench at the time. Dale Bloom took over for Don [in] the sixth inning after Robertson had worked up to a 3-2 count Bloom threw one ball but Robertson is charged with the walk. Had Bloom given up a hit, or had the batter grounded out, it would have been credited or charged to Bloom.
And on this business of fielding gems, leave us not forget Jack Warren's diving catch of that pop foul. It came so quickly that even the ump had little time to re-act and was almost stomped under by the big catcher. It also came at a time when Robertson sorely needed a put out. The pitcher had given up two walks, and an error had brought a run in and none were away. After Warren's catch, Don was able to relax and pitch.
Nor should we forget the way he came out of the crouch in the third inning to make a perfect tag to second to nail a runner there.
And there was Bob Moniz' catch of a "sure hit" that led to a runner being doubled off first.
All in all, it just shows that winning or losing, there is stil those spectacular individual plays that make the game of baseball interesting.

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