1973 Game Reports, Vancouver Island     

1973 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley 
1973 BC Interior 
1973 Vancouver Island   

VICTORIA SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE

The four-team composition of the 1973 circuit remained stable with the Kubicek’s entry flipping it’s name back to simply Al’s as they had been referred to in 1971. Individual player loyalty to one team on a long-term basis was thrown out the window and a draft of all registered players started things from scratch with the objective of strengthening the weak sisters and making the league more competitive..

Al’s Home Service
Farmer Construction
Gorge Hotel
Greave’s Movers

(May 20-21)  It appears the Victoria Senior Baseball League’s aim of achieving a better parity among its teams through a pre-season draft has born fruit. In a remarkably tight triad of weekend games to open the season, Al’s Home Service downed Farmer Construction 6 to 4 in an extra-inning tilt to begin a Sunday doubleheader which was followed by a 4 to 2 victory by Gorge Hotel over Greave’s Movers. Then on the holiday Monday, the Hoteliers and Movingmen locked horns again and played to a 1 – 1 stalemate. Monday’s contest will be continued just prior to the next time the foes clash in a scheduled contest.

Al’s won the Sunday curtain-raiser with a pair of eighth-inning runs. Dave Graas started things off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third when Russ McKee, who had tagged a home run in the first inning, connected for a one-bagger. Tom Craig’s single then drove both runners in.

T. Holmes, G. Lister (W) and Craig
Mabee (L) and R. Holmes 

Gorge prevailed in the follow-up affair, plating a brace in the ninth canto when Tom Robertson stroked a two-out single and moved to the hot corner on pinch-hitter Don Mainwaring’s double. Both runners crossed the pan on Rick Cook’s two-bagger.

Jolly (W) and Robertson
Karpiuk (L), Drinkwater (9) and D. Burrows

Greave’s scored their run in the first inning of the Monday fracas when Larry Montgomery touched the plate on a passed ball after hitting a one-out single and advancing to third on a double by Walt Burrows. Gorge knotted the score in the fourth when George Fuller singled, advanced on a two-base error and came in on a single by Tom Robertson.

Cook and Robertson
Drinkwater and D. Burrows

(May 22)  Farmer Construction squeezed three runs out of a pair of singles to defeat Al’s Home Service 3 to 1 in a Victoria Senior baseball League game at Lambrick Park. Trailing by a run, Farmer began a sixth-inning rally with back-to-back singles by Mike Baier and Glen Campbell. Winning pitcher George Brice sacrificed the runners 90 feet before Randy Johnson and John Yankoski drew bases-on-balls to force Baier home with the tying tally. Campbell scored what proved to be the winner on a wild pitch and Johnson trotted home on a balk by losing chucker Eric Lister.

E. Lister (L), St. Denis (6) and Craig
Brice (W) and R. Holmes

(May 23)  Errors helped Al’s Home Service break a 1 – 1 tie with a fifth-frame five-spot en route to a 7 to 3 disposal of Greave’s Movers at Lambrick Park. Gerry Lister’s two-run single was the key to Al’s success but the Movers also aided their opponents by committing three errors in the inning. Although outswatting the Servicemen by a 9 to 7 margin, Greave’s lacked hitting in the clutch and left baserunners stranded in every inning.

T. Holmes (W) and Craig
Karpiuk (L) and Simpson

(May 24)  Pete Jolly and Bob Mabee were pitching sidekicks with the same club for 10 years in the Victoria Senior Baseball League but, this season separated by the draft, they met in their first head-to-head mound duel at Lambrick Park. Jolly, scattering four hits, took the first decision between the two slab artists, hurling unbeaten Gorge Hotel to a 2 to 0 blanking of Farmer Construction. Mabee was touched for seven safeties and had seven strikeouts, three more than Jolly, but his new clubmates couldn’t get the clutch hits and left ten runners stranded on the bases. Catcher Tom Robertson of the Hotelmen was instrumental in providing both runs for his squad, lighting Mabee up for a second-inning solo homer and then delivering an RBI double in the third that drove in Bob Bowles

Jolly (W) and Robertson
Mabee (L) and R. Holmes

(May 27)  Greave’s Movers won their first game of the season while splitting a Victoria Senior Baseball League doubleheader with Farmer Construction at Lambrick Park. Farmer took the opening tussle 5 to 2 but Greave’s recovered to nail down the second encounter 5 to 3. George Brice led the Contractors both at the dish and on the bump in the matinée fracas. He scattered four hits in earning the mound verdict as well as clipping the orb for a pair of hits which ultimately resulted in tallies. Farmer built their triumph on a three-run third stanza. Dave McDonald and Brice led off with successive singles and Danny Rogers doubled with one out to score McDonald. On the same play, an error was made which allowed Brice to touch the platter. Glen Wallis then hit a two-out single to score Rogers.

Brice (W) and R. Holmes
Drinkwater (L), Mayhood (6) and D. Burrows

Mike Squire sparked the Movers win in the late affair with a three-for-four performance at the plate including a timely triple during a four-run fifth inning. Ian Hood started the fifth-inning surge with a single. Ralph Anderson sacrificed him to second and Squire tripled him home. Walt Burrows reached base on an error as Squire romped home. Don Burrows doubled his brother home and Terry Karpiuk singled home the final counter.

Morgan (W) and D. Burrows
Mabee (L) and Johnson

(May 28)  Gorge Hotel extended its first-place lead to 1-1/2 games by tripping up runner-up Al’s Home Service 5 to 3 in a Victoria Senior Baseball League game at Lambrick Park. George Fuller scored what proved to be the winning run in the third inning after singling, advancing on one-baggers by Wayne O’Malley and Terry Tweedy and coming home an another single by winning pitcher Rick Cook. Fuller finished up with two hits and an RBI. Tom Craig led Al’s batters with a three-for-four performance.

G. Lister (L) and Craig
Cook (W) and Robertson

(May 29)  Farmer Construction took advantage of early opportunities to harvest a big group of runs and come away with a 15 to 5 Senior League decision over Greave’s Movers at Lambrick Park. The Contractors struck for seven runs on just two singles in the first spasm as losing pitcher Terry Karpiuk, suffering through a wild streak, gave up three bases-on-balls and hit two batters. Farmer then put the game on ice by adding six more counters on six hits in the third panel. Barry Moen led the Construction Crew offensively with two singles , driving in three runs and scoring twice. Rookie southpaw Glen Campbell, in his first start on the bump, fanned eight, walked three and allowed only two earned runs.

Campbell (W) and Johnson
Karpiuk (L), Drinkwater (1), Karpiuk (3), Cross (3) and Puritch

(May 30)  Glen Wallis cracked a three-run homer in the first inning at Lambrick Park and his Farmer Construction clubmates kept things rolling in romping to a 13 to 3 Senior League victory over Gorge Hotel. Wallis had three hits, four RBI’s and scored a pair in the one-sided tilt. Winning pitcher George Brice scattered eight Gorge base raps and picked up a pair of safeties himself in winning his third game of the young season. Glen Campbell of the victors and the Hoteliers’ Tom Robertson both batted in a brace of tallies.

Brice (W) and Pakos
Linn (L), Jolly (2), Stewart (5) and Robertson

(May 31)  Cellar-dwelling Greave’s Movers jumped all over the seven miscues committed by their rivals and coasted to a 9 to 1 Victoria Senior Baseball League triumph over Al’s Home Service at Lambrick Park. Both teams had nine base hits but the Hotelmen committed only one error. Larry Montgomery started things off for Greave’s with a first-inning home run. Mike Morrill had a single and double for the winners, scored twice and drove in a pair. Derek Drinkwater picked up the knoll victory, squaring his record at 1 – 1, by striking out nine.

Drinkwater (W) and Puritch
E. Lister (L), St. Denis (3), T. Holmes (6) and Craig

(June 3)  Pace-setting place Gorge Hotel divided honors with third-place Al’s Home Service during a Victoria Senior Baseball League at Lambrick Park. Gorge won the opening tussle 1 to 0 but dropped an 8 to 2 decision in the second encounter.

Rick Cook claimed the Gorge pitching victory, scattering four hits, whiffing nine and allowing no walks. Bob Moysey scored the lone run of the game in the first inning by blasting a triple and coming home on a two-out single by Tom Robertson.

Cook (W) and Robertson
G. Lister (L) and Craig

Al’s Home Service came up with 11 hits in the second game. Pacing the Servicemen at the dish was Bob Martin who drove in three counters by slamming two singles, a double and a fifth-inning home run. Clubmate Tom Craig had a brace of RBI’s.

T. Holmes (W) and Craig
Jolly (L), Stewart (6) and Robertson

(June 4)  A Gorge Hotel protest over the use of a suspended player by Al’s Home Service in the second game of the June 3 doubleheader was upheld by league officials and the game was awarded to the Hotelmen.

(June 4)  Playing-manager Bob Mabee picked up his first pitching win in four starts this season as he hurled Farmer Construction to a 5 to 2 Senior Baseball League victory over Greave’s Movers at Lambrick Park. Mabee swished eight, walked four and yielded only three hits in going the distance. Glen Campbell had a pair of safeties for the winners and drove in what turned out to be the winning run in the fourth inning.

Karpiuk (L) and Morgan
Mabee (W) and R. Holmes

Standings                     W       L       Pct.       GBL
Gorge Hotel                   5       1      .833       -----
Farmer Construction           5       3      .625        1.0
Al’s Home Service             2       5      .400        3.5
Greave’s Movers               2       5      .400        3.5

(June 5)  Darkness forced a halt to a Senior Baseball League tussle between Gorge Hotel and Farmer Construction at Lambrick Park. The game, suspended after eight innings with the score ties 2 – 2, will be continued prior to the regularly-scheduled doubleheader on June 10.

(June 7)  Pete Jolly showed why he was picked as the MVP in the Victoria Senior Baseball League last season, The right-hander displayed great command while pitching Gorge Hotel to a 6 to 0 shutout over Al’s Home Service at Lambrick Park. Jolly rang up seven punchouts, allowed no bases-on-balls and yielded only three hits, all singles. Rick Cook, Russ Holmes and Stan Thame each hit two singles and drove in a run for the Hotelmen.

Jolly (W) and Robertson
B. Kubicek (L) and Craig

(June 10)  Pitcher Derek Drinkwater was a loser and a winner in action at Lambrick Park. Ironically, the same applied to his mound opponent, Rick Cook, although in reverse order. Drinkwater was nailed with the pitching loss when Greave’s Movers went under 2 to 1 to Gorge Hotel in a Senior Baseball League game that had been suspended on May 21 because of darkness. Terry Tweedy hit a two-out single to score Russ Holmes with the winning run in the ninth inning.

Cook (W) and Robertson
Drinkwater (L) and D. Burrows

In the opener of the scheduled twin-bill for the day, Drinkwater returned to the hillock and came back strongly for the win as the Movers decisioned the Hoteliers 2 to 1. The Greave’s chucker breezed 11, walked eight and hurled a three-hitter.

Drinkwater (W), Morgan (9) and D. Burrows
Cook (L) and Robertson

In the other contest on the agenda for the afternoon, Al’s Home Service blanked Farmer Construction 7 to 0. Winning pitcher Tom Holmes fired a five-hitter and also starred with the bat, drilling a double and single to spark a seven-run third inning.

Mabee (L), Campbell (3) and Pakos, R. Holmes (5)
T. Holmes (W) and Craig

(June 11)  Gerry Lister hurled a three-hitter to carry Al’s Home Service to a 1 to 0 whitewashing of pace-setting Gorge Hotel. Lister whiffed eleven as his mates scored the winning run in the fourth inning when Dave Graas doubled and Bob Martin cracked a one-out single to plate Graas.

G. Lister (W) and Craig
Jolly (L) and Robertson

(June 12)  Al’s Home Service erupted for four runs in the fifth inning to snap a 1 – 1 ties and defeat Farmer Construction 5 to 3 in a Senior League game at Lambrick Park. Gerry Lister hit a two-run double and then Bob Martin launched a homer with a mate aboard to provide the other two tallies in the four-run spree. The win moved Al’s to within a half game of the second-place Farmer aggregation as Eric Lister earned his first mound victory of the season.

Brice (L) and Pakos
E. Lister (W) and Craig 

(June 13)  For the third game in a row, Gerry Lister’s bat had a big impact on the fate of Al’s Home Service. Lister cracked a double and a single, drove in a run and scored twice himself as the Servicemen blanked Greave’s Movers 5 to 0 at Lambrick Park to move into a second-place tie with Farmer Construction in the standings. Winning pitcher Rob St. Dennis also got a good deal of offensive support from Bob Butcher who had three safeties and crossed the plate twice.

Karpiuk (L) and Morgan
St. Denis (W) and Craig

(June 14)  Farmer Construction scored three unearned runs to topple Greave’s Movers 3 to 1 at Lambrick Park to regain sole possession of second place in the Victoria Senior Baseball League. Playing-manager Bob Mabee scattered five hits to earn his second pitching win in six decisions. Terry Karpiuk had two hits for the losers and drove in their lone run.

Mabee (W) and Pakos
Cross (L), Morgan (5) and D. Burrows 

(June 17)  Greave’s Movers, last-place club in the Victoria Senior Baseball League, took two steps up the ladder by sweeping a doubleheader against third-ranked Al’s Home Service. The Movers captured the opening game 3 to 2 and exploded for 11 hits to win the second encounter 12 to 1. Derek Drinkwater struck out nine batters, yielded four hits and allowed six bases-on-balls in pitching Greave’s to the matinée game win. Larry Montgomery singled home Dave Morgan and Don Burrows to provide the tail-enders the winning margin.

G. Lister (L), E. Lister (5) and Craig
Drinkwater (W) and D. Burrows

In the second battle, Burrows led Greave’s at the plate with three hits including a homer. Teammate Russ Walker was deuces wild with two hits, two runs scores and two RBI’s. Darryl Kubicek spoiled winning pitcher Dave Morgan’s bid for a shutout by driving home Al’s lone run in the fifth inning.

Morgan (W) and D. Burrows
T. Holmes (L), St. Denis (5), Andre (6) and Craig

(June 18)  Some great pitching by George Brice and four opposition errors helped boost Farmer Construction to a 5 to 1 Victoria Senior League victory over Gorge Hotel. Brice rang up 14 punchouts in the Lambrick Park contest and allowed only four hits, three singles in the first inning and a leadoff one-bagger in the second canto, before retiring 18 of the next 19 batters. Barry Moen and Randy Johnson led the Farmer batters, each with two hits and a pair of RBI’s. 

Brice (W) and Pakos
Cook (L) and Robertson

(June 19)  Mike Squire scored an unearned run in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning to break up a scoreless pitching duel and give Greave’s Movers a 1 to 0 Victoria Senior Baseball League victory over Al’s Home Service at Lambrick Park. Winning-pitcher Cliff Cross and loser Eric Lister both hurled four-hitters.

E. Lister (L) and Craig
Cross (W) and Morgan

Standings                     W       L       Pct.       GBL
Gorge Hotel                   7       4      .636       -----
Farmer Construction           7       5      .583        0.5
Greave’s Movers               6       8      .429        2.5
Al’s Home Service             6       9      .400        3.0

(June 20)  An error-free performance combined with ten base hits to give league-leading Gorge Hotel a 7 to 2 victory over runner-up Farmer Construction at Lambrick Park. Russ Holes and playing-manager Bob Bowles led the Gorge batting parade, each securing two hits on three trips to the plate. Holmes scored three times and Bowles drove in three clubmates for counters. Pete Jolly picked up his fourth bump conquest in five decisions, striking out six, walking three and giving up seven hits.

Jolly (W) and Robertson
Mabee (L), Mosely (5), Campbell (7) and Pakos

(June 21)  Al’s Home Service tightened the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League race by tripping first-place Gorge Hotel 5 to 1 at Lambrick Park.The victory moved the Servicemen into a tie for third place with Greave’s Movers and left only 2-1/2 games separating the top and bottom clubs. Bob Butcher and Dave Graas led Al’s with two hits and two runs apiece. Tom Robertson spoiled winning pitcher Tom Holmes’ bid for a shutout with a one-out single in the seventh inning.

T. Holmes (W) and Craig
Stuart (L), Cook (3) and Robertson

(June 22)  The Lister brothers are doing their bit to push Al’s Home Service into contention for Senior Baseball League honors. Eric Lister slapped out two hits and drove in a pair of runs while brother Gerry fired a two-hit shutout at Lambrick Park as Al’s downed Greave’s Movers 6 to 1. Older sibling Gerry also connected for a brace of safeties as the Lister family claimed four of the six hits credited to the Servicemen. Control problems by Greave’s starter Derek Drinkwater broke open the game in the seventh. Leading 1 to 0, Al’s took advantage of four walks to plate five counters in that stanza.

G. Lister (W) and Craig
Drinkwater (L), Mayhood (7) and D. Burrows

(June 24)  Farmer Construction won two of three Sunday encounters with Gorge Hotel to move into a tie for first place with the Hotelmen. The Contractors won the first game at Lambrick Park 3 to 2 after playing one inning of a continued battle which had ended in a 2 – 2 draw after eight innings on June 5. Winning slabster George Brice won his own game by singling in Randy Johnson to end the nine-inning affair.

Cook (L) and Robertson
Brice (W) and Pakos

Gorge emerged with a 3 to 2 decision in the second game as Wayne O’Malley drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the first inning and pushed another tally across by drawing a walk with the sacks full in the second spasm. Glen Wallis belted a bases-empty tater for the Construction Crew in this encounter

Brice (L) and Pakos
Cook (W) and Robertson

Farmer came back with a ten-hit barrage in the final tussle to steamroll over the Hoteliers 9 to 0. In addition to the bevy of safe swats, the winners cashed in with six unearned runs in the second inning. Bob Mabee, with some relief assistance from lefty Glen Campbell, was credited with the shutout victory.

Jolly (L), Thame (4) and Robertson
Mabee (W), Campbell (5) and Pakos

(June 26)  Farmer Construction, with the help of an opportunistic baserunner, nipped Gorge Hotel 1 to 0 at Lambrick Park to break a first-place deadlock between the two Victoria Senior Baseball League teams. Randy Johnson took advantage of a fifth-inning wild streak by losing heaver Tom Holmes to score the lone tally in the contest. Three wild pitches allowed Johnson to cross the pan after he had reached first on a base-on-balls. Portsider Glen Campbell, who picked up his third victory without a loss, was locked in a pitching duel with Holmes. Both struck out six and surrendered a half-dozen safeties.

T. Holmes (L) and Craig
Campbell (W) and Pakos

(June 29-July 2)  B. C. Senior Baseball championship tournament

(July 3)  Rookie southpaw Glen Campbell extended his personal unbeaten streak to four games while hurling Farmer Construction to a 5 to 2 victory over Greave’s Movers at Lambrick Park. Campbell fanned ten, allowed six hits and walked two. Randy Johnson led the Farmer swatters with a pair of RBI’s. The win moved the Contractors a full game ahead of second-place Gorge Hotel.

Cross (L), Karpiuk (1), Cross (2), Karpiuk (3) and D. Burrows
Campbell (W) and Pakos

(July 4)  Derek Drinkwater had his work cut out for him at Lambrick Park as the cellar-dwelling Greave’s Movers toppled second-place Gorge Hotel 6 to 2 in Senior League action. Drinkwater extracted himself from bases-loaded jams in the fourth and fifth frames, left two runners stranded in the third and sixth stanzas and had one left on in the other three chapters. In total, the Hotelmen had 13 runners marooned compared to four for the Movers. 

Drinkwater (W) and D. Burrows
Cook (L) and Robertson

(July 8)  Farmer Construction extended its lead atop the Victoria Senior baseball League by sweeping a doubleheader from cellar-dwelling Greave’s Movers. The Contractors won the opening contest 4 to 2 then took the second encounter 7 to 1. In the ninth inning of the curtain raiser with the score tied at 2 – 2, George Pakos led off with a double and counted the winning marker on a triple by Dave McDonald who later scored an insurance run on an error. Terry Karpiuk of the Movers had given his team an extra lease on life when he nailed a two-out round-tripper in the seventh to knot the count.

Mosely (W) and Pakos
Drinkwater (L) and D. Burrows

Carrying the hot lumber for the Construction Crew in the late tilt were Randy Johnson and George Pakos who both went two-for-three at the plate. Greave’s hurler Terry Karpiuk was stung with his seventh straight hillock defeat in the nightcap but managed to stroke a pair of safeties off the slants of winning tosser Bob Mabee.

Karpiuk (L) and D. Burrows
Mabee (W) and Pakos

Standings                    W       L       Pct.       GBL
Farmer Construction         13       7      .650        ----
Gorge Hotel                  9       8      .529        2.5
Al’s Home Service            9      10      .474        3.5
Greave’s Movers              7      13      .350        6.0

(July 9)  Despite committing all four errors in the scuffle, Al’s Home Service managed to turn an early lead into a 1 to 0 shutout win over Gorge Hotel at Lambrick Park in a hard-fought Senior League clash. Blair Kubicek, Tom Craig and Bob Martin hit consecutive two-out singles to plate the game’s only run in the opening inning. Slabster Tom Holmes of the Servicemen, who didn’t allow a runner past second base until two were out in the seventh inning, copped the hillock victory with a three-hitter. He fanned nine and issued only one base-on-balls. Martin had another bingle in addition to his RBI swat to pace the winners’ seven-hit offense.

Thame (L) and Robertson
T. Holmes (W) and Craig 

(July 10)  Terry Karpiuk drilled a bases-loaded single i the ninth inning at Lambrick Park as Greave’s Movers snatched a 5 to 4 victory from Gorge Hotel. Karpiuk’s one-bagger, his second run-scoring hit of the game, drove in winning pitcher Cliff Cross, who had started the ninth-inning outburst with a one-out single and had reached the hot corner sack when Russ Walker’s sacrifice bunt was bobbled.

Jolly (L), Cook (9) and Robertson
Cross (W) and D. Burrows

(July 11)  Southpaw Derek Drinkwater tossed a four-hitter and breezed ten as last-place Greave’s Movers defeated Al’s Home Service 7 to 2.

(July 12)  Veteran Larry McKinty, confining his Senior Baseball League activities to coaching this season, stepped back onto the diamond at Lambrick Park and blasted a two-run circuit-jack in the opening panel to start Gorge Hotel on their way to a 4 to 2 victory over front-running Farmer Construction. McKinty also figured in the Hoteliers’ final two runs. He drew a walk to push Bob Moysey into scoring position in the third inning. Moysey scored on George Fuller’s single and McKinty later added the fourth counter on a Farmer error. Rick Cook spaced eight hits to score his fifth victory of the season while George Brice was saddled with his third loss.

Gook (W) and Robertson
Brice (L) and Pakos 

(July 15)  Gorge Hotel moved to within a game-and-a-half of pace-setting Farmer Construction by recording two shutouts over Al’s Home Service in twin-bill action at Lambrick Park. Gorge took the lid-lifter 5 to 0 and then annexed the late outing 7 to 0, recording nine hits in each tussle. Pete Jolly pitched the first victory, scattering four hits, swishing three and going walk-free.

Jolly (W) and Robertson
T. Holmes (L), St. Denis (4) and Craig

Rick Cook punched out four and allowed just two safeties to earn the second shutout win.

E. Lister (L), Craig (5) and D. Kubicek
Cook (W) and Robertson

(July 16)  Derek Drinkwater to roll along over opposing batters as he pitched Greave’s Movers to a 6 to 0 shutout over league-leading Farmer Construction at Lambrick Park. Drinkwater allowed only three Farmer hits and struck out eight in recording his second consecutive shutout victory. Mike Squire bashed out a home run for the Movingmen as hid team moved into a tie for third place with Al’s Home Service.

Campbell (L), Mabee (5) and Pakos
Drinkwater (W) and D. Burrows

(July 17) The scoring drought continued for Al’s Home Service as they were blanked for the third game in a row, 1 to 0, by Farmer Construction at Lambrick Park. Bob Mabee picked up the victory by firing a two-hitter, striking out ten and allowing a pair of walks. George Brice scored the lone run of the game in the second inning when he nailed a double, advanced to third on a single by Glen Wallis and raced home on Ron Holmes’ sacrifice fly. The winners had only four hits off a pair of Al’s chuckers with Barry Moen registering two of them. 

T. Holmes (L), G. Lister (2) and Craig
Mabee (W) and R. Holmes

(July 18)  Greave’s Mover’s clipped the horsehide for 14 safe blows, ten of which came during a 12-run fifth inning, as they trampled cellar-dwelling Al’s Home Service 16 to 5 at Lambrick Park. Catcher Don Burrows led the willow wielders from the Movers as he ripped two singles and a three-run homer, all good for six RBI’s. Teammate Derek Drinkwater highlighted the fifth inning with another three-run tater while Terry Karpiuk pitched his first win after seven straight defeats. Mike Embury drilled a solo dinger for the Servicemen in the opening panel. 

Karpiuk (W) and D. Burrows
E. Lister (L), B. Kubicek (5), E. Lister (6) and Craig

(July 19)  John Yankoski set the pace with the lumber as Farmer Construction padded their league lead by turning back second-place Gorge Hotel 3 to 1 in Victoria Senior Baseball action at Lambrick Park. Yankoski connected for three singles, a bases-empty circuit-clout and a brace of RBI’s. George Brice picked up his sixth win, tossing a five-hitter with eleven whiffs and two free passes. Glen Campbell scored what proved to be the winning run with a two-out homer in the sixth stanza.

Brice (W) and Pakos
Jolly (L) and Robertson

(July 22)  Gorge Hotel swept a doubleheader against Greave’s Movers by scores of 7 to 2 and 3 to 0 even though Derek Drinkwater of the Movingmen took much of the spotlight by becoming the first pitcher in the Victoria Senior Baseball League to record more than 100 strikeouts. Stung with the pitching defeat in the opener, Drinkwater fanned five as mound opponent Pete Jolly claimed the hillock victory, his fifth against four losses, with a five-hitter.

Drinkwater (L), Cross (3) and D. Burrows
Jolly (W) and Robertson

Rick Cook swished 11 and tamed the Greave’s batters on five hits in the nightcap as Drinkwater, in a relief role, whiffed nine to run his season’s total to 105.

Cook (W) and Robertson
Cross (L), Drinkwater (3) and D. Burrows

(July 23)  Glen Campbell hurled a four-hitter in winning his fifth mound decision and got solid hitting support from his clubmates at Lambrick Park as Farmer Construction crushed Al’s Home Service 6 to 0. Ron Holmes and Bob Mabee each drove in two runs as the Contractors went on a 13-hit spree.

Campbell (W) and Pakos
T. Homes (L) and Craig

(July 24)  Greave’s Movers overwhelmed Gorge Hotel 14 to 2 at Lambrick Park where winning pitcher Terry Karpiuk grabbed his second hillock win in a row after losing his first seven starts. Beside spinning a five-hitter, Karpiuk distinguished himself in the batter’s box, ripping three hits to drive in four runs.

Karpiuk (W) and D. Burrows
Thame (L), Jolly (5) and Robertson

(July 25)  The top-dog Farmer Construction squad scored for times in a sixth-inning eruption to take a come-from-behind 5 to 2 victory over the lowly Al’s Home Service aggregation. A two-out double by Chris Hall, who drove in two runs, completed the Farmer sixth-inning spree. Bob Mabee squared his pitching record to 5 – 5 by twirling a six-hitter with ten punchouts.

Mabee (W) and Pakos, R. Holmes (4)
E. Lister, D. Kubicek (L) (4) and Simpson

Standings                    W      L        Pct.       GBL
Farmer Construction         17      9       .654        ----
Gorge Hotel                 14     12       .538        3.0
Greave’s Movers             12     15       .444        5.5
Al’s Home Service           10     17       .370        7.5

(July 26)  Greave’s Movers unleashed a 16-hit barrage to crush Farmer Construction, leaders of the pack in the Victoria Senior Baseball circuit, 16 to 5 at Lambrick Park. The Contractors used five different hurlers on the knoll, most of them position players, in an unsuccessful attempt to stem the tide. George Pakos of the vanquished nine clubbed the game’s lone home run.

Drinkwater, Simpson (W) (1), Drinkwater (2) and D. Burrows
Mosely (L), Pakos (2), Hall (3), McDonald (4), R. Holmes (5) and Johnson, R. Holmes (4), Johnson (5)

(July 29)  First and fourth positions in the Senior Baseball loop were decided in double-dip play at Lambrick Park where Farmer Construction captured the regular-season pennant with a 4 to 1 and 9 to 1 sweep of Al’s Home Service. The double defeat doomed the Servicemen to the cellar spot in the standings.  Rookie portsider Glen Campbell notched his sixth win against one loss in the opener.

B. Kubicek (L) and D. Kubicek
Campbell (W) and Pakos

The Construction Crew slammed three circuit-clouts in the second encounter with George Pakos, Barry Moen and winning tosser Bob Mabee all connecting long distance.

Mabee (W) and Pakos
T. Holmes (L) and Craig

(July 31)  Pitcher Terry Karpiuk continued to show improvement after an unhappy run in the Victoria Senior Baseball League. Karpiuk, who lost his first seven games, won his third in a row in leading Greave’s Movers to a 2 to 0 blanking of Gorge Hotel. The win for the Movingmen moved them to within a game of the second-place Hoteliers. Karpiuk rang up 16 strikeouts while surrendering four hits and an equal number of walks. He bailed himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth stanza to preserve the shutout. Losing flinger Rick Cook gave up only two hits but one of those was a two-out double to Barry Cosier which drove in both runs.

Cook (L), James (6) and Robertson
Karpiuk (W) and D. Burrows

(August 1)  Pennant-winning Farmer Construction edged second-place Gorge Hotel 2 to 1 at Lambrick Park to hand the Hotelmen their second straight loss. The setback for Gorge left them just a half-game in front of Greave’s Movers for the runner-up position in the standings.

Brice, Mabee (W) (4) and Pakos, Johnson (5)
Russ Holmes (L) and Robertson

(August 2)  Greave’s Movers captured their final regular-season meeting with Gorge Hotel 5 to 0 and, as a result of the Lambrick Park victory, took over second spot in the finals standings. The win by the Movers allowed league officials to cancel one remaining game between the Hotelmen and Al’s Home Service as, even with a Gorge win in that contest, Greave’s would take the runner-up spot because of their 6 to 4 edge in games against the Hoteliers during the season. Derek Drinkwater won his eighth game of the campaign by checking Gorge on three hits. He fanned ten to run his league-leading strikeout total to 121. Ralph Anderson, Terry Karpiuk and Mike Squire each banged out three hits for the winners. 

Drinkwater (W) and D. Burrows
Jolly (L) and Robertson

Final Standings              W      L        Pct.      GBL
Farmer Construction         20     10       .667       ----
Greave’s Movers             15     15       .500       5.0
Gorge Hotel                 14     15       .483       5.5
Al’s Home Service           10     19       .345       9.5

PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS  Gorge Hotel vs Greave’s Movers  (best-of-five series)

(August 5)  Greave’s Movers and Gorge Hotel split their semi-final doubleheader at Lambrick Park as the Victoria Senior Baseball League playoffs got underway. Greave’s struck the first blow in the series, winning the opener 1 to 0. The Hotelmen took advantage of a second-inning defensive lapse by the Movers to plate a brace of unearned counters en route to a 3 to 0 triumph.  Terry Karpiuk rang up 12 punchouts for Greave’s and had a no-hitter going in the matinée clash until Terry Tweedy hit a one-out single in the seventh spasm. The winning counter also came in the seventh stanza when Don Burrows and Mike Squire led off with singles as Burrows moved to third on the Squire base rap. Then Mike Morrill foiled a bid to intentionally walk him by driving a fly ball to the middle pasture to plate Burrows.

Jolly (L) and Robertson
Karpiuk (W) and D. Burrows

In the second fracas, both winning tosser Rick Cook and losing chucker Derek Drinkwater hurled three-hitters.

Drinkwater (L) and D. Burrows
Cook (W) and Robertson

(August 7)  Terry Karpiuk put on a strong two-way performance to pace Greave’s Movers to a 13 to 5 triumph over Gorge Hotel and a two games to one lead in the Senior League semi-finals. Karpiuk went the route on the bump, tossing an eight-hitter, and connected for two singles and a home run. Other leading swatters in the 17-hit Greave’s attack were Ralph Anderson and Don Burrows who each had a triad of safeties.

Jolly (L), Cook (3), James (4) and Robertson
Karpiuk (W) and D. Burrows

(August 8)  Greave’s Movers, helped by five opposition errors and the 13-strikeout performance of Derek Drinkwater, defeated Gorge Hotel 5 to 4 at Lambrick Park to wrap up the best-o-five semi-finals in four games. Drinkwater was working on a no-hitter until running into sixth-inning difficulties when he yielded four of the five Gorge safeties and four tallies. Mike Squire led the winners offensively with two hits and a pair of RBI’s. The Movers now face pennant-winning Farmer Construction in the best-of-seven final series.

Drinkwater (W) and D. Burrows
Cook (L) and Robertson

FINALS  Greave’s Movers vs Farmer Construction  (best-of-seven series)

(August 19)  Farmer Construction jumped into a two-game lead in the Victoria Senior Baseball finals by sweeping a doubleheader from Greave’s Movers. Final scores, game details and batteries not found in the Victoria Times-Colonist.

(August 20)  Farmer Construction took a stranglehold on their playoff final series with Greave’s Movers by soundly thumping the Movingmen 11 to 1 at Lambrick Park. Glen Campbell threw a three-hitter for the victory, allowing one counter in the sixth frame when Ralph Anderson connected for a single and scored on a triple by Barry Cosier. Glen Wallis paced Farmer at the dish with a three-run homer that highlighted an eight-run fourth inning. Teammate Ron Holmes contributed two hits and crossed the plate twice.

Drinkwater (L), Moretti (4), Anderson (4) and Simpson
Campbell (W) and Pakos

(August 21)  Wayne Simpson showed the way at Lambrick Park as Greave’s Movers extended the Victoria Senior Baseball League playoffs by defeating Farmer Construction 2 to 1. With the Movers trailing 1 to 0, Simpson hit a one-out single in the sixth inning, went to second on Ian Hood’s two-out single and was forced home on two successive base-on-balls to tie the score at 1 – 1. The winning run came in the seventh inning when Ralph Anderson singled, moved to second on Barry Cosier’s sacrifice , took third on an infield error and raced home on a single by Simpson. In earning the hillock verdict, Derek Drinkwater fanned eight to raise his playoff total of strikeouts to 39 and his season’s total to 160.

Mosely (L) and Pakos
Drinkwater (W) and Simpson 

(August 22)  Despite committing three of the game’s four errors, Greave’s Movers survived to see another day by edging Farmer Construction 4 to 3 at Lambrick Park. The Contractors lead the series three-games-to-two. Ian Hood led the Movers at bat with three hits and a pair of RBI’s. He also scored what turned out to be the winning run during a three-run fourth inning when he raced home on a wild pitch by losing pitcher Bob Mabee. Terry Karpiuk limited the Construction Crew to five safeties in going the route for the bump triumph. 

Karpiuk (W) and Simpson
Mabee (L) and Pakos

(August 23)  Farmer Construction added the playoff crown to their pennant-winning season by tripping Greave’s Movers 4 to 2 in the sixth game of their best-of-seven series. Two counters in the fourth inning gave the Contractors the margin of victory. Glen Wallis led off by drawing a base-on-balls, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ron Holmes and scored on a double by Barry Moen who later crossed the pan on two wild pitches by losing pitcher Derek Drinkwater. Farmer added an insurance run in the seventh panel when Bob Mabee hit a one-out, pinch-hit single and scored on a triple by John Yankoski. Glen Campbell picked up his second playoff victory by pitching a four-hitter Yankoski had a pair of singles to go along with his three-bagger.

Campbell (W) and Pakos
Drinkwater (L), Karpiuk (5) and Simpson 


MID-ISLAND SENIOR BASEBALL

(May 13)   Lake Cowichan opened the season with a pair of one-run wins over Ladysmith's Sportsman Hotel, 4-3 and 3-2. In the opener, Lake Cowichan got the winning run in the sixth inning on a botched double-play ball. Jim Jubenville notched the pitching win besting Murray Davidson. In the second game, the deciding marker came home in the extra inning on a single and a bad hop triple.

(June 10)   Ladysmith's Sportsman Hotel swept Sunday's double-header against Nanaimo 8-4 and 10-2. After the visitors had taken the lead in the first inning, Ladysmith roared back with five runs in their half of the initial stanza. Glen Copp knocked in a pair with a triple, Lorne Smith singled in another and Larry Irving drove in two with a single. Nanaimo battled back to trail by just one, 5-4, in the sixth before Ladysmith scored three more to salt away the victory. Nanaimo also scored first in the second game but the home squad put it out of reach with a six-run outburst in the third. Ron Noye doubled for two runs, Terry Puska drove in one and Lorne Smith singled to plate two more and stole second and third and scored on a passed ball for the sixth marker. They added a singleton in the fourth and another three in the fifth. Nanaimo got it's final run in the seventh when Pete Dupuis tripled and scored on an infield out.