Wednesday, July 23, 1952

W L Pct. GB
Victoria .... 61 31 .663 —
Vancouver ... 47 39 .547 11
Spokane ..... 51 44 .537 11½
Salem ....... 44 47 .484 16½
Lewiston .... 43 48 .473 17½
Yakima ...... 43 52 .433 19½
Tri-City .... 40 53 .439 21½
Wenatchee ... 39 54 .419 22½

VICTORIA [Colonist, July 24]—Victoria’s baseball Moses recieved dozens of gifts during the pre-game ceremonies at ”Cec Garriott Night” last night, but the most welcome one of all came two hours and 18 minutes later. It was a 6-4 triumph over the Lewiston Broncs which gave the Tyees a 1-1 series split and increased their W.I.L. lead to 11 games, largest margin of the season.
Murky skies and a little rain almost up to game time sliced at least 2,000 off the attendance indicated by pre-game ticket sales but the turnout of 1,700 was a fine tribute in view of the weather conditions. Garriott received a real ovation and the businesslike manager, although held hitless, escaped the traditional jinx which haunts honored players by contributing a sparkling catch and making a clean steal of home.
HEARD KEY FIGURE
Jehosie Heard was the key figure for the winners. The popular colored southpaw had one bad inning after pitching scorless baseball for the first five, then tightened up to protect his early lead. It was his 14th win in 20 decisions and his 12th complete game in 18 starts. It was also the 55th complete game turned in by the Victoria pitching staff and the Tyees 13th win in their last 16 games.
Heard, who added to his imposing strikeout total with nine whiffs, was helped by Garriott’s fine running catch which saved at least one run in the first inning, a good play by Don Pries on a hard smash and a brilliant play by Jim Clark, the shortstop wizard. Clark raced behind the pitcher’s mound in the seventh inning to pick up Snag Moore’s roller with his bare hand and got his man at first with a snap throw.
MADE OWN TROUBLE
Bob Schulte, Lewiston’s starter, looked as if he might be tough until he made his own trouble in the third by walking Milt Martin and hitting Lu Branham. Steady Bob Moniz plated both with a right-field triple. Garriott walked and went all the way to third as Moore bottled Granny Gladstone’s run-scoring single. Garriott then stole home with the fourth run so neatly that the napping Schulte didn’t even made the throw to the plate.
Martin provided what proved to be the winning run with his fourth home run in the fourth inning. Heard scored an insurance run after leading off the sixth with a single, coming across on Pries’ single after two sacrifice bunts, one of which was booted, put him on third.
DIAMOND DUST: Garriott made a find little speech of thanks after receiving his gifts: “I can’t say when I’ve been happier. I’ve been playing baseball for 17 years and nothing like this ever happened to me before,” he said, drawing a laugh as he continued with, “I understand that you people haven’t had much like with your teams before. I didn’t promise anything when I came and I don’t promise anything now but I think we’ll finish in the first division.” … Tyee pitchers couldn’t keep Artie Wilson, Bronc outfielder, off the bases in the two-game series. Wilson had three singles and two walks in Monday’s game, made it six hits in a row by singling twice before hitting his three-run homer in the sixth. His streak was finally stopped in the eighth inning but he got on base for the ninth straight time when John Treece was charged with an error on his bounder … Charlie Mead, veteran outfielder, was tossed out of the game in the fourth inning for being uncomplimentary after umpire Einar Sorenson called him out on strikes … The rain during the past two days was not the million dollar rain as described, only a $998,000 rain. It cost the Tyees about $2,000 … The Broncs can be dangerous on occasion when their hitters are functioning but they haven’t the consistent pitching or the defensive ability to threaten and will probably wind up sixth or lower … Chuck Abernathy, again bothered with his leg troubles, is back on the disabled list along with Bill Wisneski, reported victim of a sore back. That leaves the Tyees with their 17-play limit … with about 29 games left to play, the Tyees have already reached last season’s attendance figures.
Lewiston .... 000 004 000—4 7 3
Victoria ...... 004 101 00x—6 7 1
Schulte, Clancy (4) and Lundberg; Heard and Martin.

VANCOUVER [Keith Matthews, News-Herald, July 24]—This is the age of miracles, but a lot of people will tell you there was nothing miraculous about the Capilanos’ double 3-1 victories over Spokane Wednesday at Cap Stadium.
For one, there’s Bob Brown, who always felt the Caps had the ‘stuff’ to win, and who is pretty proud of the job Edo Vanni is doing trying to make the boss a good forecaster,
Two solid pitching performances, one apiece by Van Fletcher and Paul Jones, meant an important “double” over the rambunctious Spokanes and meant, also, a leap into second place in the WIL standings. The wins were Nos. 5 and 6 in a row for Vancouver.
Fletcher, after three weeks of being denied, finally reached his 10th win of the year with a six-hitter in the first game. Jones picked up his fourth of the year with a four-hitter, and if you’ve ever got the idea by now that the pitching was masterful, indeed it was.
There is, of course, no difference in the personnel of the Caps now than there was two weeks ago. Their latent success has merely been a story of “intangibles.”
Hustle has been one of the biggest things, and confidence in themselves to do the job they were sent out to do another. They had neither of these things during the Schuster regime.
The Caps got only eight basehits for themselves in that first game, but they got them when they counted the most. That, also, is something new.
Fletcher gave Spokane a 1-0 lead in the second, then Vancouver tied it in their half of the same inning on a base on balls and following singles by Ray Tran and Fletcher.
The winners came in the third and there was strategy involved which made it not merely a matter of the physical. John Ritchey singled with one out to start it. On the first pitch, Vanni flashed the hit-and-run and John took off for second. Brunswick laid the wood down on the pitch and his 400-foot drive to the left centre field fence went for two bases and a run batted in. It was the winning run, as it turned out.
Jones never looked back in his second game conquest.
His attack staked him to two runs in the third inning on a pair of bases on balls, Brunswick’s infield out and Jim Moore’s clutch single. From there Paul pitched himself a near perfect game. He didn’t walk a man, faced only 28 batters and left but one Spokane runner stranded.
First Game
Spokane …… 010 000 0—1 6 0
Vancouver … 011 100 x—3 8 1
Conant and Sheets; Fletcher and Ritchey.
Second Game
Spokane …… 000 010 000—1 4 0
Vancouver … 002 010 00x—3 7 0
Palm and Sheets; Jones and Ritchey.

SALEM, July 24 — Held to three hits by Ray McNulty, Yakima was shut out 3-0 by Salem in a Western International League baseball game here Wednesday night.
The victory gave Salem a 2-0 margin in the three-game series here.
The three hits off McNulty were two singles by Jerry Zuvela, and another single by Mike Donahue.
Connie Perez slapped put a two-run homer for Salem in the first inning.
The game was Luby's 50th at second base without committing an error.
Yakima ...... 000 000 000—0 3 0
Salem ....... 200 001 00x—3 6 0
DelSarto and Donahue; McNulty and Nelson.

KENNEWICK [Herald, July 24]—The Tri-City ended an eight-game losing streak by defeating the Wenatchee Chiefs 7-2 Wednesday night in the Western International League battle-of-the cellar.
The win moved the Braves' one game out of last place. The game at Sanders Field saw:
Center fielder John Kovenz steal four bases.
Third baseman Tommy Marier hit one home run and miss getting another in the seventh inning by a few short feet.
Pitcher Bob Greenwood knock out a double drive in two runs to clinch his own all game.
Coming to bat in the first Tri-City found themselves one run behind Vic Buccola took a swing at the first pitch thrown by Frank Dasso and flied out. Marier then stepped up and swung at Dasso's second pitch. He belted the ball 350 feet over the left-center field wall.
John Kovenz was walked and he stole second. Des Charouhas also drew a walk and Kovenz advanced to third on Nick Pesut's long fly to center field.
Then Charouhas took off for second. Wenatchee catcher Walt Pocekay pegged the ball to the second baseman who immediately threw back to home. But Kovenz, who had dashed for home, slid in safely.
Tri-City got another run in the sixth frame. Charouhas singled. Pesut hit a ground ball to the pitcher who bobbled it and Charouhas and Pesut were safe Joe Scalise laid down a bunt that sent the runners to second and third.
Frank Mataya got a single that scored Charouhas. Pesut also attempted to score on the hit but Nick was thrown out at the plate.
The fourth inning was the big one for the Braves. It started with Pesut getting a single. Another error on the pitcher, this time Bill Stites, moved Pesut to second and Scalise pulled up on first. Mataya popped out and Lopes flied out to make it two away.
Then pitcher Greenwood stepped up. With two strikes on him, he caught hold of the the ball and smacked it out to the left-center field wall. Both Pesut and Scalise scored.
An error on Wenatchee shortstop Ernie Valasquez on the throw in moved Greenwood to third. Buccola belted out a triple to score Greenwood. A single by Kovenz brought Buccola home.
The Chiefs got their first inning run when Valasquez hit a ground ball to third and Marier dropped it. Valasquez attempted to steal second. Pesut's throw was wild and Valasquez moved to third. A hit by Lyle Palmer drove him home.
In the fifth inning Palmer and Pocekay drew walks. A single by Dick Adams scored Palmer.
Greenwood gave up seven hits, walked seven and struck out nine. Dasso who was yanked at the end of the third inning, struck out two and walked five. Stites, who was charged with the loss, gave up seven hits, struck out two and walked three.
The Braves will meet the Chiefs again tonight in the third game of the five-game series. Ralph Romero is probable starting pitcher for Tri-City.
Wenatchee .... 100 010 000—2 7 3
Tri-City ......... 200 001 04x—7 9 2
Dasso, Stites (4) and Pocekay; Greenwood and Pesut.

Infielder Hamrick To Join Tri-City Braves' Staff
[Tri-City Herald, July 25, 1952]
A longtime friend of Manager Charlie Gassaway is flying here to beef up the Tri-City Braves' infield.
The new player is Ray Hamrick who has been with Oakland and San Francisco in the Pacific Coast League. He is a veteran infielder with 12 years playing. Injuries have cut the Tri-City infield recently. Bob Rittenberg is out of the lineup with a shoulder injury and Tommy Marier, who has taken Rittenberg's place at third, is also suffering with a bad shoulder.
Gassaway feels that Hamrick will be the top infielder in the WIL. The new player hit oveer .300 when playing in the Southern League.
He is from Nashville, Tenn.—Gassaway's home town. Gassaway took Hamrick to his first spring training at Nashville 12 years ago.