Tuesday, September 2, 1952

W L Pct. GB
Victoria .... 87 48 .644 —
Spokane ..... 84 59 .587 7
Vancouver ... 67 64 .511 18
Salem ....... 68 71 .489 21
Lewiston .... 66 75 .468 24
Yakima ...... 64 75 .460 25
Tri-City .... 60 75 .444 27
Wenatchee ... 55 84 .396 34

SPOKANE, Sept. 2 — The Western International league bunting looked a little closer for Spokane Tuesday night after they took a tightly-pitched 2-1 decision from Victoria in the first game of a crucial series.
The win was Spokane's ninth straight and cut Victoria's first-place margin to seven games.
The Indians, who passed Vancouver in the closing weeks last year to take the pennant, retained a mathematical chance of repeating against Victoria in 1952. Both the Indians and the Tyees have 13 games on their schedule, six of them against each other. Spokane also must play last place Wenatchee and third place Vancouver.
Victoria has games with Salem and Lewiston, in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Jehosie Heard started for Victoria but was relieved in the eighth by Bill Prior.
Spokane won the game in that inning when Prior hit Wilbur Johnson with the bases loaded to force in the deciding marker.
Heard pitched six-hit ball during his stint on the mound, while John Conant, picking up his 17th win, allowed only five safeties.
Victoria ...... 000 000 010—1 5 1
Spokane ..... 100 000 01x—2 6 0
Heard, Pryor (8) and Bottler, Martin (8); Conant and Sheets.

LEWISTON [Vancouver News-Herald, Sept. 3]—The Capilanos have already mathematically blown themselves out of a chance for the 1952 WIL championship and the day of reckoning is close at hand when they no longer will be able to reach second place. At least that’s what the arithmetic says.
Tuesday’s 7-6 loss to Lewiston, brought about when the Broncs rallied for three runs in the eighth, placed the Caps 10 full games behind Spokane with but 13 left on the schedule.
Therefore, a combination of four Vancouver losses or Spokane victories will settle the second place issue beyond doubt. That is unless the Caps are able to make up any of their nine rained out home games and with the schedule such a tightly fitting pattern, it seems inconceivable.
HOLD OFF SALEM
Right now, Edo Vanni and his boss, Bob Brown, are mainly concerned with holding off the Salem challenge and finishing in third place.
The Senators are just three games behind now, and the Caps have the worst of the schedule. Vancouver plays here tonight again and Thursday moves on to Tri-City for the weekend, then returns home next week for a tough week against Lewiston and Spokane.
Last night, Tom Lovrich looked well away for his ninth win of the season.
HAD EARLY LEAD
The Caps got him an early lead when they went to work on Jim Clancy and scored four runs in the first two innings. Even when the Broncs rallied with two in the third and two in the fourth, Vancouver surged ahead and were leading 6-4 in the eighth. But that’s when it happened.
Lovrich got into some self-made trouble in the eighth and Ed Locke came in to bail him out. Then in the eighth, the Broncs struck for three quick runs off Locke, making him a loser for the 12th time this season.
Vancouver ...... 310 010 010—6 11 2
Lewiston ........ 020 200 03x—7 12 3
Lovrich, Locke (7) and Ritchey; Clancy, Nicholas (9) and Lundberg.

SALEM, Sept. 2—When Fred Merkle of the New York Giants failed to touch a base and helped lose a pennant, he was a goat. Dick Bartle of the Salem Senators missed a base Tuesday night but wound up a hero.
With the bases loaded in the first inning, Bartle blasted a triple—except that he forgot to touch second. However, he chased home three runs to help Salem take a 4-2 decision over the Tri-City Braves.
Tri-City's first run came in the sixth inning on successive singles by Don Lopes, Ray Hamrich and Des Charouhas. In the eighth inning Lopes singled and Hamrich doubled for another run.
Tri-City .... 000 001 010—2 8 2
Salem ...... 300 000 10x—4 7 1
Romero and Pesut; DeBiasi and Nelson.

WENATCHEE, Sept. 2—Hitting safely four limes in five trips, including an inside-the-park homer, Len Noren was the big thorn in the side of the Wenatchee Chiefs as the Yakima Bears won their Western International League series opener here Tuesday night, 5-1.
Noren's round-tripper, with Jerry Zuvela on base, capped the Yakima scoring and accounted for the final pair of runs in the seventh.
He lashed the ball down the left field line, and it rolled to the wall as Bud Hjelmaa made a flying dive and missed.
Yakima .......... 101 100 200—5 10 1
Wenatchee .... 000 010 000—1 8 0
Shandor and Donahue; Bauhofer and Pocekay.

PCL Recalls 15 On Option
SEATTLE, Sept. 1 — Fifteen optioned farm hands including seven now playing in the Western International League are being recalled by the Pacific Coast League SeattLe Rainiers, General Manager Earl Sheely said Wednesday.
Five are to report before the Coast League season ends Sept. 21 and three others to report next spring.
They are Gordon Brunswick, outfielder; Van Fletcher and Tom Lovrich, pitchers and Don Lundberg, catcher, all with Vancouver in the WIL League, and George Vico, first baseman with Indianapolis in the American Association.
Others to report next spring include Dale Thomason, pitcher for Lewiston in the WI league; and Len Tran, infielder, and Jim Meyers, both with Vancouver.