Saturday, July 3, 1954

                W  L  Pct GB
Vancouver .... 41 21 .650 —
Yakima ....... 37 32 .536 7½
Edmonton ..... 30 27 .526 8½
Lewiston ..... 32 32 .500 10
Tri-City ..... 32 36 .471 12
Wenatchee .... 32 38 .457 13
Victoria ..... 29 35 .453 13
Salem ........ 30 39 .435 14½

VANCOUVER [Province, July 5]—Biggest crowd of the season, 2978 paid, came out to pay tribute to the WIL’s first half champions (and incidentally the weatherman) Saturday night at Cap Stadium. The Caps proceeded to show ‘em why they won the title, taking a pair of one-sided contests from the Bears, 7-0 and 12-6.
Bill Brenner’s boys wasted no time in establishing their superiority over the second-place Bears not only [three words unreadable] in the two games, but also running Yakima’s string of scoreless innings against the Caps in the series to 25 during the proceedings.
Sandy Robertson and Bob Roberts handed the visitors their second straight shutout in the opener. Sandy, who pitches only home games, left in the fifth inning with a sore arm. The Bears found it hard to believe the arm was too sore, because they managed only one hit off him. They got just one more off Roberts.
Marv Williams, with a homer and double, and Bob Wellman, home run and two doubles, led the Caps, who were in command throughout.
It was much the same in the nightcap, the locals routing Danny Rios with a five-run first inning splurge climaxed by a home run by Arnie Hallgren. Bill Brenner gained his 11th win against four losses, though he needed help in the eighth.
The Caps unveiled their new outfield, fastest in the league, with Eddie Murphy in centre, K Chorlton moved over to left, and Danny Holden and Hallgren working a right field platoon. Murphy was most impressive, going back for miles on several balls, showing off his great throwing arm, and collecting five hits in nine tries.
Tonight marks the end of the first half schedule, with another doubleheader billed for Salem. The Caps plat in Victoria Wednesday through Friday, and return home for a double header Saturday night against Victoria.
[WILfan notes: Charlie Mead and Lou Stringer got the two Yakima hits in the opener … Murphy had four hits for Vancouver in the finale, and batted in three runs … Lon Summers, with three RBIs thanks to two hits, Len Noren, with a two-run single in the eighth, and Herm Lewis’ single accounted for the Bears’ scoring].
First Game
Yakima ......... 000 000 0—0  2 1
Vancouver .... 113 200 x—7 12 0
Lovrich, Schaening (3) and Summers; Robertson, Roberts (6) and Duretto.
Second Game
Yakima ......... 000 200 043— 6 10 1
Vancouver .... 520 030 20x—12 18 0
Rios, Lovrich (3), Carter (8) and Summers; Brenner, Roberts (8) and Pesut.

VICTORIA [Colonist, July 4]—Victoria Tyees ended their home schedule in first half WIL play yesterday by losing twice to Wenatchee Chiefs at Royal Athletic Park.
The Chiefs, who could be solid second-half contenders with a couple of long-ball hitters, tossed some good pitching at the Victoria club to win, 8-3, in the afternoon and 2-1 under the lights.
CAPS WEDNESDAY
Tyees complete their first-half schedule on the road with doubleheaders at Tri-City today and tomorrow. There are no league games scheduled Tuesday and second-half play starts Wednesday with Vancouver Capilanos, first-half champions, here for three games.
In the interim, club officials will be concentrating on their second-half ticket sales plan which is meant to end any financial worries for the balance of the season.
Fans may purchase a ticket for all remaining home games for the nominal sum of $12.50, which, with a minimum of 33 games assured, means the per-game price is less than 40 cents.
TO AID CHARITIES
Tickets will be sold by members of the Gyro, Kiwanis and Lions’ Clubs and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Each ticket sold by a club member means that the club will be allowed to keep $2.50 for its own charties.
Members of the Tyees Booster Club will also be selling tickets and tickets wil be on sale at the Central Ticket Bureau in the CJVI Building on Fort Street. The Tyees will send out 7,000 tickets and expect to dispose of at least 3,500 which would tide them through the season.
WELL-PLAYED GAMES
Although nothing was at stake yesterday, both the Tyees and Chiefs fought hard for the decisions and the result was two well-played games.
Ted Shandor retired 16 Tyees in a row in the afternoon game after giving up a two-out double to Dain Clay in the first inning. In the meantime, his teammates pecked away at rookie Phil Page for three runs.
Page pitched well, but the game was lost when manager Don Pries elected to send in a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning although he had to use Bill Prior, a .245 hitting pitcher. The gamble didn’t work as John Tierney failed to keep his club close.
The Tyees knocked Shandor out with fourth hits for two runs in the seventh to get close at 4-2 but two walks and a single loaded the bags for Wenatchee in the eighth and outfielder Dick Stacey put it out of reach with a grand-slam home run.
The series finale was a keen pitching battle between southpaw Berlyn Hodges of the Tyees and Charlie Beamon, hard-throwing colored youngster who is the ace of the Wenatchee staff.
Hodges gave up a run in the first inning when he walked the lead-off batter, who completed the circuit on a stolen base, infield out and sacrifice fly. A home run by Jake Helmuth counted for what proved to be the winning run in the third inning as the Chiefs could get only five hits from the improving Hodges.
But the Tyees were handcuffed by Beamon until the late innings, and then couldn’t get the run they needed to tie, although he was tiring.
First Game
Wenatchee ...... 100 110 140—8 9 0
Victoria ........... 000 000 201—3 8 0
Shandor, Waters (7) and Helmuth; Page, Tierney (7), Nicholas (9) and Lundberg.
Second Game
Wenatchee ...... 101 000 000—3 5 1
Victoria ........... 000 000 010—1 8 0
Beamon and Helmuth; Hodges and Lundberg.

SALEM, July 3—First baseman Russ Rosburg smashed a tenth inning grand-slam home run Saturday to give the Lewiston Broncs an 8-4 victory over the Salen Senators in a Western International League contest.
Lewiston ..... 100 030 000 4—8 10 0
Salem ......... 130 000 000 0—4  7 1
Marshall and Garay; Franks, Roenspie (10) and Ogden.

Only games scheduled.

NON-WIL MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Infield Dies in Game
HAGERSTOWN, Md., July 3 — Malaria "and complications" proved fatal here last night to a young Korean War veteran who collapsed during a Class B Piedmont League baseball game.
Mac Smith, 23-year-old infielder whose father is pastor of Christ Church in Chickamauga, Ga., complained of feeling dizzy after driving home a run for Hagerstown with a single in the fifth inning. He was given first aid on the field bundled on the way to a hospital.
A Marine, Smith won the Navy Cross and two Purple Hearts in Korea, where he contracted malaria.
His condition had not been considered serious.