1977 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1977 BC Interior
1977 Vancouver Island
VICTORIA SENIOR AMATEUR BASEBALL LEAGUE
Incorporated into the 1977 schedule for each of the four returning entries were two interlocking tilts against each of the four clubs from the North Island Senior circuit. In addition, beginning in July, one meeting each against the Victoria Firefighters Senior Babe Ruth All-Stars was added to the original schedule. Of note, the Kubicek entry adopted the team name of A’s in 1977.
Farmer Construction
Gorge Hotel
Greave’s Moving & Storage
Kubicek A’s
INTERLOCKING GAME OPPONENTS
NORTH ISLAND SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE
Campbell River
Nanaimo Harewood Sports Royals
Nanaimo Villa Hotel a.k.a. Villas
Port Alberni Souther 68’ers
(May 15) Wayne Krimmer threw a one-hitter to lead Farmer construction to a 7 to 2 decision over Greave’s Movers in one of two season-opening games at Lambrick Park. In the other clash, Gorge hotel defeated Kubicek A’s 9 to 1. Krimmer fanned eight and issued only one base-on-balls in his stellar opening-game performance, losing his no-hitter on a pinch-hit leadoff double by Dave Way in the seventh inning. Dave McDonald, the 1974 league batting champion, bashed out a third-inning triple and a sixth-inning single for the Construction Crew.
Moretti (L) and Morgan
Krimmer (W), Jolly (7), Mabee (7) and Pakos
Derek Drinkwater picked up the pitching win for Gorge in the late tussle, striking out five and walking one while scattering nine hits. Rookie Mark Lawless was the leading batter for the Hotelmen with a two-for-three effort at the dish while scoring twice and driving in another run.
Drinkwater (W) and Russ Holmes
D. Kubicek (L), Wood (4) and Barnett
(May 16) Blair Kubicek and Duane Pack set the batting pace as Kubicek A’s evened their record at 1 – 1 by defeating Greave’s Moving & Storage 6 to 4 in a Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League game at Lambrick Park. Pack drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single and scored twice while Kubicek drove in the other two counters by tagging two hits in three trips to the plate. Dale Aune scattered seven hits, whiffed five and yielded three free passes in earning the knoll victory. One of the swats he surrendered was a two-run circuit-jack by Dave Morgan over the left-centre field fence in the fourth frame.
Karpiuk (L) and Moretti
Aune (W) and Barnett
(May 17) Doug Puritch cracked out a two-run homer to key a a second-inning outburst and lead defending-champion Gorge Hotel to a 6 to 3 Senior Amateur League triumph over Farmer Construction. The victory left the Hotelmen alone in first place with wins in both their starts this season. Bob Moysey bolstered the Gorge offensive attack by scoring twice and driving in a third tally with a three-bagger. Rick Cook picked up the pitching victory by hurling a three-hitter.
Mabee (L), Ron Holmes (2) and Pakos
Cook (W) and Russ Holmes
(May 18) Rookie Jeff Owens made his first start in the Senior Amateur Baseball League a successful one, firing a three-hitter as the Kubicek A’s edged Farmer Construction 2 to 1 at Lambrick Park. Four errors by the Contractors helped the A’s to victory. With the score knotted at 1 – 1 in the fifth inning, Duane Pack scored the ultimate winner on a sacrifice fly by catcher Ross Barnett. Terry Painter yielded four safeties and fanned an equal number in taking the loss.
Owens (W) and Barnett
Painter (L) and Pakos
(May 19) Derek Drinkwater continued his slick pitching and Brian Meadmore struck the big blow at Lambrick Park to keep Gorge Hotel ahead of the pack in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League. Drinkwater, yielding only three hits while ringing up 11 punchouts, collected his second mound triumph as Gorge clipped Greave’s Movers 3 to 1 to make it three straight victories in the young season while, for Greave’s, it was their third consecutive setback. Dave Morgan’s run-producing double had given the Movers a 1 to 0 lead in the first inning while the Hoteliers pulled even when Garnet Moen scored in the fourth. That set the stage for the sixth-inning heroics of Meadmore who stung the sphere for a ground-rule double with two retired and the sacks full, chasing home Moen and Russ Holmes with the winning and insurance counters.
Drinkwater (W) and Russ Holmes
Moretti (L) and Pickering, Way (6)
(May 22) The Kubicek A’s mauled the invading Campbell City squad of balltossers 17 to 3 and 16 to 5 in a pair of one-sided interlocking bouts at Lambrick Park.
Despite the humiliation of the opening-game ambush, the Rivermen managed to hit two home runs, the only round-trippers of the contest, when Gary Thulin and losing pitcher Kevin Storrie connected for dingers in the fifth frame.
Storrie (L), Cyr (5), Enquist (6) and McTavish
Wood (W), Lister (6) and Barnett
The late clash, equally crushing for the overmatched visitors as the curtain-raiser, was called after five innings.
D. Kubicek, Aune (2), Owens (W) (3), Strandlund (5) and Barnett
Thompson (L), Enquist (1), Kanik (3) and McTavish, Thulin (3)
(May 22) Farmer Construction of Victoria paid a visit to Serauxmen Stadium and came away with a sweep of their two-game set of interlocking games with Nanaimo Villa Hotel, capturing the initial tilt 5 to 2 before annexing the follow-up event 8 to 5. Winning pitcher Terry Painter came on to relieve starter Wayne Krimmer of the Victorians in the second inning of the opener after the Villas had gone ahead 2 to 0, holding the Hotelmen scoreless the rest of the way. The Capital City nine tied the score in the third spasm on a two-run double by Ron Holmes, went ahead by a run in the fifth, added fourth counter in the seventh on Dave McDonald’s RBI triple with McDonald adding a fifth and final tally in the same frame when a wild pitch allowed him to touch home. Andy Gourlay went the route for the Nanaimo squad and was nailed with the loss. Outfielder Garry Yakelashek of the Villas lit into one of Krimmer’s offerings for a first-inning solo dinger. Details of the second match were not found in print.
(May 23) Greave’s Moving & Storage recorded their first win of the season by knocking off previously undefeated Gorge Hotel 8 to 7 at Lambrick Park. Three runs in the fifth inning gave Greave’s the win. Ralph Anderson and Terry Karpiuk drew walks and Frank Woods followed with a two-bagger to score Anderson and sprinted in with the ultimate winning run when the relay throw to the dish from the outfield, in an attempt to nail Karpiuk, was far off target. Frank Woods finished the game with a brace of safeties and a pair of RBI’s in the six-inning, darkness-shortened tilt.
Moretti (W) and Way, Morgan (6)
Cook (L) and Russ Holmes
(May 25) Veteran Derek Drinkwater ran his pitching record to 3 – 0 by leading Gorge Hotel to a 10 to 2 decision over Farmer Construction at Lambrick Park. Backed by the 10-hit performance by his mates, Drinkwater effectively scattered eights hits in going the route, string out eight and walking three along the way. Mike Squire went three-for-three for the Hotelmen, hitting two singles and a tripe while amassing three RBI’s. Teammate Garnet Moen checked in with a brace of safeties.
Drinkwater (W) and Russ Holmes, Van Gylswyk (5)
Painter (L), Ron Holmes (2), Painter (3) and Armstrong
(May 29) In a pair of interlocking skirmishes at Lambrick Park, the Nanaimo Villas were clipped twice by Gorge Hotel, succumbing 5 to 4 in the 12-inning opener before being trounced 8 to 3 in the wrap-up event. At the same time, in Port Alberni, Kubicek A’s of Victoria were busy dropping the host Souther 68’ers by 11 to 4 and 6 to 3 in another interlocking twin-bill.
(June 1) Brian Meadmore and Rick Cook provided the main threat as Gorge Hotel chalked up their fourth straight victory in Victoria Senior Amateur League action at Lambrick Park. The Hotelmen extended their lead to one full game over second-place Kubicek A’s with a 5 to 3 verdict over Greave’s Movers. Cook earned his third victory in four outings with a six-hitter in which he whiffed four and issued no free passes. Meadmore had a pair of timely singles and scored twice, including the winning run in the seventh spasm when, with the score tied 2 – 2, he singled and ultimately came around to score on a Greave’s error. Mark Lawless, on base at the same time, also touched the pan on the same miscue for the add-on counter.
Cook (W) and Russ Holmes
Karpiuk, Moretti (L) (5) and Moretti, Morgan (5)
(June 2) Farmer Construction, aided by six opposition errors, upset Kubicek A’s 8 to 6 at Lambrick Park. Three of those miscues were committed in the ninth frame when the Contractors rolled across three tallies. One of those runs was the result of a solo dinger off the bat of Dan Rogers.
Painter, Krimmer (W) (4), Ron Holmes (9) and Pakos
Owens, Aune (L) (6), D. Kubicek (9) and Barnett, Burrows (8)
(June 5) With one marathon game left undecided, Gorge Hotel maintained a lead in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League with a 4 to 1 victory over hosting Port Alberni Souther Construction 89’ers in the opening game of an interlocking doubleheader. The second game was deadlocked 6 – 6 after 15 innings and will probably be continued at a later date.
(June 5) At Lambrick Park, the first-place Nanaimo Harewood Sports Royals of the North Island circuit suffered their first two losses of the campaign, both in extra innings, when they were trimmed 2 to 1 and 4 to 2 by the Greave’s Movers aggregation of Victoria in an interlocking doubleheader. Roy Moretti proved to be the hero for Greave’s, gaining credit for both pitching victories.
Moretti relieved starter Terry Karpiuk in the eighth inning of the first scuffle and scored the winning run in the ninth when Nanaimo’s Bruce Wilgress had the misfortune of issuing a base-loaded walk.
Hill, Wilgress (L) (7) and McCumber
Karpiuk, Moretti (W) (8) and Jones, Morgan (7)
Moretti started and finished the late fracas and drove in the winning run with a two-out single while the the Movers were plating a pair to complete the sweep.
Moretti (W) and Morgan
Fransen (L), Forrest (8) and Wilgress, McCumber (7)
(June 5) The Kubicek A’s blanked Farmer Construction 3 to 0 in a make-up game at Lambrick Park. Gerry Lister fashioned a one-hitter in blanking the Contractors.
Painter (L) and Armstrong
Lister (W) and Barnett
Standings * W L Pct. GBL
Gorge Hotel 8 1 .889 ---
Kubicek A’s 7 3 .700 1.5
Greave’s Moving & Storage 5 4 .556 3.0
Farmer Construction 4 5 .444 4.0
* standings include games with North Island League teams
(June 7) Four home runs carried Farmer Construction to a 15 to 7 pasting of Greave’s Movers at Lambrick Park. George Pakos cracked a three-run shot for the winners, Bob Mabee knocked in two more runs with a fourth-inning blast and Dan Rogers and Barry Moen contributed bases-empty clouts. Ron Holmes also drove in four runs for the Contractors with a single and two doubles. Dave Morgan walloped a two-run round-tripper for Greave’s in the sixth inning.
Krimmer (W) and Pakos
Karpiuk (L), Moretti (2), Morgan (3), Anderson (5), Morgan (6) and Jones
(June 8) Gorge Hotel and the Kubicek A’s were locked in a 1 – 1 struggle at Lambrick Park when darkness halted action after 12 innings. The game will be completed at a later date. Starter Rick Cook was on the hill for the Hoteliers when play was suspended while Jeff Owens and Gerry Lister shared mound duties for Kubicek’s.
(June 9) Derek Drinkwater pushed his pitching record to 5 – 0 while helping Gorge Hotel to a 4 to 2 victory over Farmer Construction in Victoria Senior Amateur League action at Lambrick Park. Drinkwater struck out eight while issuing two walk and yielding five hits. Mike Squire hit a triple and single to drive in a pair of Gorge runs. Russ Holmes scored what turned out to be the winning counter in the fourth frame when he doubled and came home on a single by Dale Marshall.
(June 12) In weekend interlocking action, Farmer Construction tripped Harewood Sports Royals of Nanaimo 4 to 3 and 5 to 3 at Lambrick Park while Greave’s Movers split with Nanaimo’s Villa Hotel in the Hub City, winning 10 to 3 behind the steady hurling of Roy Moretti after losing the opener 12 to 3 as a result of an early defensive meltdown.
(June 13) The Kubicek A’s collected two victories over Gorge Hotel in Senior Amateur play at Lambrick Park. Kubicek’s plated nine counter in the top-of-the-14th inning while the Hotelmen responded with a four-spot in their half of the stanza as the A’s prevailed 10 to 5 in a game that had been suspended because of darkness on June 8. They then went on to bounce Gorge 9 to 7 in the regular-scheduled event.
(June 14) Last-place Greave’s Movers took advantage of ten walks to upset the Kubicek A’s 10 to 6 at Lambrick Park. In going the distance, Ray Moretti captured his fifth mound verdict of the campaign. Frank Woods, Dave Way and Ron Arcuri drove in two runs each for the victorious Movers.
Strandlund, Aune (L) (1), Lister (3), Owens (6) and Barnett
Moretti (W) and Morgan
(June 15) Gorge Hotel staged a three-run rally in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning to tie the game at 1 – 1 before darkness forced suspension of the tilt after nine frames. The Lambrick Park battle will be completed at a later date.
(June 16) Gorge Hotel won the battle of the league leaders in the Senior Amateur Baseball league at Lambrick Park with a 4 to 3 victory over the second-place Kubicek A’s. Playing-manager Russ Holmes, making his first start of the season on the knoll, spaced seven hits effectively, before giving way to Derek Drinkwater in the final canto, to earn the win. Garnet Moen had a pair of RBI’s for the winners while Dale Aune went three-for-three for the vanquished nine. Jeff Owens was tagged with the loss.
Russ Homes (W), Drinkwater (7) and Van Gylswyk
Owens (L), Aune (1) and Barnett
(June 19) Individual teams from the Victoria Amateur Baseball League won five interlocking games with Up-Island opposition on the weekend.
Gorge Hotel scored in the bottom-of the-17th inning to edge the Port Alberni 68’ers 7 to 6 in the final two innings of a game that had been suspended on June 5 because of darkness.
Farmer Construction then whipped the Ports 10 to 8 and 25 to 3 in a follow-up doubleheader at Lambrick Park. Winning pitcher Bob Mabee and Dan Rogers belted three and two-run homers respectively in the late fiasco. Fattening their batting averages in this rout were Victorians Ron Holmes who went five-for-five and Mabee who checked in in with a four-for-four performance. In Campbell River, Greave’s Movers topped the host club 8 to 4 and 6 to 5.
Standings * W L Pct. GBL
Gorge Hotel 11 3 .786 ---
Kubicek A’s 9 5 .643 2.0
Greave’s Moving & Storage 9 6 .538 2.5
Farmer Construction 9 6 .538 2.5
* standings include games with North Island League teams
(June 21) Farmer Construction moved into sole possession of second place in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League with a pair of victories over front-running Gorge Hotel. Terry Painter was a standout in a 10 to 5 win which completed a game halted on June 15 because of darkness. He then struck out nine batters and walked one on his way to a five-hitter and a 7 to 1 Farmer triumph in the regular scheduled tilt.
In the finish of the June 15 encounter, Painter logged over nine innings of relief work, whiffing 14 batters along the way. Mike Baier’s two-run homer capped a five-run tenth-inning which vaulted the Contactors to the triumph. Catcher George Pakos also had a four-bagger for the winners.
Krimmer, Painter (W) (2) and Pakos
Drinkwater (L) and Russ Holmes
Ron Holmes drove in four runs and Mike Baier hit three singles for the Construction Crew in the regularly-scheduled clash as Mike Squire homered for Gorge in a losing cause.
Painter (W) and Pakos
Cook (L) and Russ Holmes
(June 22) The Kubicek A’s defeated slumping Gorge Hotel 5 to 4 at Lambrick Park, tightening the standings in the four-team Senior Amateur loop. Only a half-game now separates the top and bottom clubs in the circuit. The A’s got off to a flying start with a four-spot in their opening turn at bat, highlighted by catcher Ross Barnett’s two-run single. Randy Price drove in Dave Graas for what proved to be the winning run in the second stanza with another two-RBI safety. Jeff Owens won his fourth mound decision in five starts while Mike Squire went down to defeat in his first knoll outing of the campaign.
Squire (L) and Russ Holmes
Owens (W) and Barnett
(June 23) Greave’s Movers moved into a share of the lead in the Victoria Senior Amateur League with Gorge Hotel after disposing of Farmer Construction 5 to 3 at Lambrick Park. Catcher Rick Mark cracked a single and double for the victors, and scored three runs, including the winner in the fourth inning. Joe Cardle’s double in that frame plated both Mark and Ralph Anderson, who had singled. Winning tosser Roy Moretti improved his record to 7 – 3 while Wayne Krimmer, the loser, fell to 4 – 2.
Karpiuk, Moretti (W) (4) and Mark
Krimmer (L) and Pakos
(June 26) Gorge Hotel gained a full game on Greave’s Movers with a double victory over the visiting Campbell River team of the North-Island League in interlocking action at Lambrick Park. The Hotelmen had their way in both games, trouncing the overmatched Rivermen 14 to 4 in the first game and 20 to 0 in the second.
Derek Drinkwater struck out 12 to run his season’s total to 77 as he picked up his eighth win against two defeats in the opener. Mike Squire and Mark Lawless each blasted a home run for the winners.
Cyr (L), Wood (2) and McTavish
Drinkwater (W) and Van Gylswyk
Rick Cook breezed to the shutout win in the nightcap, called after five innings as per the league’s mercy rule.
Cook (W) and Puritch
Wood (L), Cyr (3) and McTavish
(June 28) Greave’s Movers scored all 13 of their runs during a fifth-inning explosion and held on to escape with a 13 to 11 victory over Farmer Construction. Rick Mark, Ron Arcuri and Frank Woods each batted in two runs and scored twice in the marathon inning.
Moretti, Wolfe (5), Karpiuk (W) (5) and Mark
Ron Holmes (L), Rogers (5) and Pakos, Armstrong (6)
(June 29) Ron Holmes connected for a home run, a double and two singles, driving in a total of six runs, in powering Farmer Construction to an 11 to 3 trouncing of the Kubicek A’s. Winning pitcher Terry Karpiuk allowed only four hits and whiffed seven. Randy Johnson accounted for two of the four Kubicek safeties.
Painter (W) and Pakos
Aune (L), B. Kubicek (3), Gill (4), Graas (5) and Barnett
(July 4) The Kubicek A’s abruptly halted the seven-game win streak of Greave’s Moving & Storage by administering a 15 to 0 thrashing on the Movingmen at Lambrick Park. Randy Price set the swatting pace for the A’s with a home run and two singles to drive in four runs while Kevin Gill added a triad of base knocks.
Moretti (L), Karpiuk (8) and Morgan, Jones (5)
Aune (W) and Barnett
(July 5) Gorge Hotel took advantage of opposition chucker George Fritz’ inability to find the strike zone during the opening inning to post a 5 to 4 win over the Firefighters’ Senior Babe Ruth All-Stars in an interlocking clash at Lambrick Park. Following three consecutive bases-on-balls, Gorge’s Russ Holmes blasted a three-run double to get the league-leaders off to a fast start. However, the Senior Babe Ruthers battled back to make the score 4 to 2 by the fourth frame. The Hoteliers scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth inning when Mark Lawless drew another walk, advanced to third on two throwing errors and scored on a delayed double steal. Rick Cook earned the pitching win by striking out nine batters and yielding six hits.
Fritz (L), Wedgewood (1), Stenseth (6) and White
Cook (w) and Russ Holmes
(July 6) A passed ball in the top-of-the-eighth inning allowed Mike Lawless to gallop home from third base with the deciding run as Gorge Hotel edged Farmer Construction 7 to 6 at Lambrick Park. Derek Drinkwater improved his pitching record to 10 – 2 in going the distance for the knoll triumph.
Drinkwater (W) and Russ Holmes
Krimmer, Mabee (3), Ron Holmes (L) (3) and Pakos
(July 10) Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League teams continued to get rich at the expense of Up-Island squads in weekend interlocking games. The Kubicek A’s vaulted into second place, a game-and-a-half behind the idle Gorge Hotel, by defeating the Nanaimo Villas 14 to 3 and 10 to 3 at Topaz Park. Don Burrows smashed a grand-slam inside-the-park home run during the second inning of the opening game to key a ten-hit attack against a pair of Villa slabsters. Teammate Dave Graas hit three singles, scored three times and had three RBI’s while Randy Price also drove in three.
Gourlay (L), Thompson (3) and Rodway
Aune (W) and Burrows
Graas was also a standout in the second game with four hits including a circuit-jack and a two-bagger as he drove in six runs. Catcher Ross Barnett added three RBI’s.
Owens (W) and Barnett
Hodgson (L) and Rodway
Farmer Construction travelled to Campbell River and topped the host club 10 to 5 and 11 to 8. Greave’s Movers had the easiest time of the day, picking up two wins by default when the Port Alberni Souther Construction 68’ers failed to field enough players at Lambrick Park.
(July 11) Greave’s Movers moved into a second-place tie with the Kubicek A’s and within 1-1/2 games of league-leading Gorge Hotel by doubling the Firefighter Senior Babe Ruth League All-Stars 8 to 4 in an interlocking tilt at Lambrick Park. Jim Pickering laced three singles for the victors and teammate Frank Woods had a pair of raps to back winning chucker Roy Moretti who fanned 14 in going the route.
Fritz (L), Shenton (4) and Cooper
Moretti (W) and Jones
Standings * W L Pct. GBL
Gorge Hotel 16 6 .727 ---
Kubicek A’s 15 8 .652 1.5
Greave’s Moving & Storage 15 8 .652 1.5
Farmer Construction 14 9 .609 2.5
* standings include games with Firefighter Senior Babe Ruth All-Stars and North Island League teams
(July 12) Last-place Farmer Construction moved to within two games of pace-setting Gorge Hotel by defeating the Firefighter Senior Babe Ruth All-Stars 8 to 2 in an interlocking match at Lambrick Park. Terry Painter improved his pitching record to 6 – 3 by setting down the Firefighter’s on five hits while fanning 14. Bob Mabee paced the Farmer offense by driving in three runs while Terry Armstrong contributed a two-run triple.
Potter (L), Wedgewood (5) and Cooper
Painter (W) and Armstrong
(July 13) Mike Squire and Garnet Moen came up with some deadly batting to lead Gorge Hotel to a 13 to 5 whipping of the Kubicek A’s at Lambrick Park. Squire connected for three hits, including a three-run homer, and drove in a total of four runs while Moen also had a triad of safe swats, good for a brace of RBI’s. The win, helped by five Kubicek errors, pushed Gorge two games ahead of second-place Greave’s Movers.
Strandlund (L), Owens (3) and Barnett
Cook (W) and Russ Holmes
(July 14) Farmer Construction moved into a tie for second place with Greave’s Movers by virtue of an 8 to 3 win over the Kubicek A;s at Lambrick Park. Dan Rogers had two hits, including a two-run double in the fourth inning for the winners. Bob Mabee picked up the pitching victory by striking out seven batters and limiting the A’s to five hits.
(July 17) Greave’s Moving & Storage topped Gorge Hotel 6 to 5 and 11 to 0 in doubleheader action at Lambrick Park to move into a tie with the Hotelmen for first place in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League. The potent bat of Ron Arcuri was a major factor in the twin triumphs for the Movingmen.
Arcuri had three singles and drove in the winning tally in the opener. Teammate Rick Mark was equally effective with the lumber, stroking a pair of singles and a double, good for a brace of RBI’s. Roy Moretti struck out seven for the four-hit victory. Losing twirler Derek Drinkwater became the first pitcher in the league since 1974 to top 100 strikeouts in a season.
Drinkwater (L) and Russ Holmes
Moretti (W) and Mark
Arcuri was three-for-five in the second encounter and crossed the dish three times while clubmate Dave Morgan went four-for-four in support of winning chucker Terry Karpiuk’s five-hit shutout effort.
Karpiuk (W) and Morgan
Cook (L), Russ Holmes (6), Squire (6) and Holmes, Van Gylswyk (6)
(July 18) A sparkling relief performance by Roy Moretti lifted Greave’s Movers into sole possession of first place in the Senior Amateur Baseball League. Taking over from Ralph Anderson, Moretti blanked Kubiceks by allowing only one hit in his 5-1/3 innings of long relief as the Movers edged the A’s 4 to 3 in ten innings at Lambrick Park. Remaining in the lineup, Anderson stayed around to help secure the win by leading off the tenth inning with a double. After Dave Morgan was intentionally walked, Moretti dropped a sacrifice bunt that allowed Anderson to plate the deciding run when the throw to fist base was wild.
Owens (L) and Barnett
Anderson, Moretti (W) (6) and Mark
(July 19) Gorge Hotel moved back into a tie for top spot in the Senior Amateur circuit with Greave’s Movers by scoring four unearned runs in the seventh inning to edge Farmer Construction 5 to 4. The game-deciding-rally was capped when Mike Squire scored from third base when losing flinger Terry Painter was charged with a balk. Derek Drinkwater threw a four-hitter and fanned eight in boosting his season’s pitching record to 11 – 3.
Painter (L) and Pakos
Drinkwater (W) and Russ Holmes
(July 20) Farmer Construction ended Greave’s Movers winning streak at six games by defeating the second-place squad 9 to 2 in Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League action at Lambrick Park. Wayne Krimmer struck out seven batters, issued three walks and allowed only four singles to pick up the pitching decision. His batterymate, catcher George Pakos helped things out by blasting a home run. Lee Doney and Dan Rogers each contributed a two-run single as the Contractors exploded for six runs in the fifth inning. Ron Holmes garnered three singles for the victors while playing-manager Bob Mabee stroked a single and double.
Krimmer (W) and Pakos
Karpiuk (L), Moretti (5), Karpiuk (6) and Mark
(July 21) Derek Drinkwater boosted his pitching record to 12 – 3 by hurling three innings of hitless relief to help Gorge Hotel to a 9 to 3 victory over the Kubicek A’s at Lambrick Park. The A’s were ahead 3 to 2 when Drinkwater ascended the hillock in relief of starter Mike Squire in the fifth frame. The veteran slab artist then proceeded to strike out five batters while yielding one walk as Gorge tied the score in the sixth and then exploded for six unanswered counters in the seventh spasm. Squire had a better game at the plate, dialing long distance for a grand-slam tater in addition to swatting a double and single. Teammate Garnet Moen also went yard for a dinger.
Squire, Drinkwater (W) (5) and Russ Holmes
Aune (L), B. Kubicek (7) and Barnett
(July 24) Farmer Construction and the Kubicek A’s traded decisions in heavy-hitting doubleheader action at Lambrick Park. The A’s took the opener 7 to 3 but Farmer bounced back to collect the late verdict 9 to 8. The Contractors had 24 hits in the two games and the Kubicek nine picked up 21.
Dave Graas earned his first pitching victory of the Season for Kubicek’s in the opener as catcher Ross Barnett had three hits and scored two runs. Jeff Owens, Dave Wallace and Duane Pack each added a pair of safeties for the winners.
Mabee (L), Painter (5) and Pakos
Graas (W) and Barnett
In the second game, Al Moir singled home the winning run for Farmer in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning. Dave McDonald led the Construction Crew at the platter with three safeties while clubmate Ron Holmes had a brace of base knocks, including a four-bagger, to drive in three runs. Owens, with three safe swats, and Wallace, with a pair, both had two RBI’s for the A;s.
B. Kubicek (L) and Burrows
Painter, Ron Holmes (6), Painter (W) (7) and Armstrong, Pakos (7)
Standings * W L Pct. GBL
Gorge Hotel 19 8 .704 ---
Greave’s Moving & Storage 18 9 .667 1.0
Farmer Construction 18 11 .621 2.0
Kubicek A’s 16 13 .552 4.0
* standings include games with Firefighter Senior Babe Ruth All-Stars and North Island League teams
(July 25) With Derek Drinkwater firing peas, Gorge Hotel rode his coattails to a slick 1 to to 0 conquest of second-place Greave’s Movers at Lambrick Park, increasing their lead atop the Senior Amateur circuit to two full games over the Movers. Drinkwater had a no-hitter going until losing chucker Roy Moretti got to him for a one-out single in the seventh inning, He finished earning his 13th win by breezing seven and walking four. Moretti was also in fine form on the bump, relinquishing but five safeties swishing ten along the way while giving up nary a base-on-balls. Dennis Sproule singled home Doug Puritch, who had earlier reached base with a one-bagger, for the only tally of the struggle in the second stanza.
Moretti (L) and mark
Drinkwater (W) and Russ Holmes
(July 26) The Kubicek A’s toppled front-running Gorge Hotel 4 to 2 at Lambrick Park. The A’s scored all their runs in the fifth inning on doubles by Duane Pack, Dave Wallace and Don Burrows plus a single by Randy Price. Dale Aune copped the twirling triumph with five-hit effort.
Aune (W) and Barnett
Cook (L) and Russ Holmes
(July 27) Farmer Construction diamond pastimers channeled all their scoring punch into the second inning and then held on to clip Greave’s Movers 5 to 3 at Lambrick Park. The win enabled the Contractors to climb over Greave’s into second spot in the Senior Amateur circuit, 1-1/2 games behind leading Gorge Hotel. In the second stanza, two-out singles by Terry Armstrong, Lee Doney and Terry Painter loaded the bases and Kirk Unwin clipped a Texas Leaguer into the middle pasture to drive in a brace of counters. Mike Baier then poled a three-run homer to give winning flinger Wayne Krimmer all the ammunition he needed to record his seventh hillock victory.
(July 30-August 1) B. C. senior amateur baseball championship tournament
(August 1) The cellar-dwelling Kubicek A’s staved off elimination and moved to within striking distance of third place and the final playoff berth in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League by picking up two victories at Lambrick Park. In a rare three-team twin-bill, the A’s doubled Greave’s Movers 4 to 2 then polished off third-place Farmer Construction 8 to 1.
Winning pitcher Dale Aune sparked the Kubicek batting attack against Greave’s in the lid-lifter with two hits to drive in three runs, including the winner.
Aune (W) and Barnett
Karpiuk (L) and Mark
Randy Price had the hot hand with the lumber for the A’s in their conquest of Farmer, spanking the sphere for two singles and a double to score twice and drive in two more. Jeff Owens struck out five and walked two as he went the distance in copping the knoll decision. He lost the shutout went Terry Painter lit him up for a seventh-inning four-ply clout.
Owens (W) and Barnett
Krimmer (L) and Armstrong
(August 2) Greave’s Movers came on strong in the final three innings to dump first-place Gorge Hotel 12 to 3 at Lambrick Park. The Movingmen trailed in the contest 3 to 2 after three frames before catching fire to pummel the Hotelmen. Dave Morgan led Greave’s with the baton, collecting four hits in four trips to the plate while Rick Mark was three-for-five with three RBI’s. Roy Moretti scattered six hits and struck out seven to push his total for the season to 101.
Cook (L), Van Gylswyk (6) and Marshall
Moretti (W) and Mark
(August 3) Farmer Construction scored 10 runs in the fifth inning and bashed 17 hits overall to lambaste Greave’s Movers 15 to 3 in the final regular-season game of the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League. The result left the two teams tied for the runner-up spot in the circuit behind pennant-winning Gorge Hotel who receive a bye into the playoff finals. Terry Painter struck out 12 batters and yielded seven hits in capturing the complete-game pitching victory. Playing-manager Bob Mabee belted two doubles and two singles to score three runs and drive in a pair for the Contractors while catcher Terry Armstrong had three hits and scored twice.
Anderson (L) and Morgan, Pickering (6)
Painter (W) and Armstrong
Final Standings * W L Pct. GBL
Gorge Hotel 21 10 .677 ---
Greave’s Moving & Storage 20 13 .606 2.0
Farmer Construction 20 13 .606 2.0
Kubicek A’s 19 14 .576 3.0
* standings include games with Firefighter Senior Babe Ruth All-Stars and North Island League teams
PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS Farmer Construction vs Greave’s Moving & Storage (best-of-three series)
(August 9) Greave’s Moving & Storage opened with a vengeance at Lambrick Park, smearing Farmer Construction 15 to 2 as the best-of-three Senior Amateur League semi-final series got underway. Rick Mark smashed a triple, double and two singles for Greave’s, driving in four runs. Teammate Ron Arcuri had three RBI’s with a single and three-bagger.
Moretti (W), Anderson (5) and Mark, Jones (5)
Krimmer (L), Ron Holmes (1), Jolly (3) and Armstrong
(August 10) Terry Painter came up with a strong two-way effort as Farmer Construction forced a deciding game in the best-of-three semi-finals by blasting Greave’s Movers 10 to 6 at Lambrick Park. Painter struck out nine and surrendered eight base raps while on the bump and came up with three singles from within the batter’s box to score twice and drive in a run. Mike Baier, Al Moir and Wayne Krimmer each added two singles for the victors with Baier and Moir accumulating two RBI’s each to their production.
Painter (W) and Armstrong
Karpiuk (L), Anderson (4) and Mark, Moretti (4)
(August 11) Although outhit by a 4 to 3 margin, Greave’s Movers gained a berth in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League finals by tripping Farmer Construction 4 to 1 in the rubber match of their semi-final showdown. Two of the runs scored by the Movers were unearned while the lone Farmer counter was also unearned. Joe Cardle scored what proved to be the winning tally in the second inning by taking a walk, advancing to third on an error and scoring on a fielder’s choice as Terry Karpiuk hit into a double play. Winning slabster Roy Moretti rang up nine punchouts in the route-going mound performance.
Moretti (W) and Mark
Mabee (L), Ron Holmes (1) and Armstrong, Painter (6)
FINALS Greave’s Moving & Storage vs Gorge Hotel (best-of-five series)
(August 14) Roy Moretti struck out a total of 21 batters and yielded only three bases-on-balls but had to settle for a defeat and a victory as he pitched the two opening games for Greave’s Movers in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League finals.
In spite of being victimized for 11 punchouts, Gorge Hotel got to Moretti for seven hits in the opener to clip the Movers 5 to 4 in a dramatic come-from-behind victory. Ian Hood belted a two-run, two-out triple in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning to score Mike Squire and Mark Lawless to erase a 4 to 3 deficit and give the Hoteliers game one. Dave Morgan’s solo homer in the top-of-the-frame had put the Movers temporarily in front.
Moretti (L) and Mark
Cook (W) and Marshall
Moretti was back on the knoll in game two, this time fanning ten batters and firing a five-hitter in guiding Greave’s to a 4 to 2 triumph. Ron Arcuri scored what turned out to be the winning marker in the bottom-of-the-third inning on a single by Morgan, who later plated the insurance tally on an error.
Drinkwater (L) and Van Gylswyk
Moretti (W) and Mark
(August 15) Gorge Hotel mounted an 11-hit attack and took advantage of seven opposition errors to defeat Greave’s Movers 11 to 5 at Lambrick Park to take a two-games-to-one lead in the Senior Amateur League finals. Winning pitcher Derek Drinkwater, who relieved starter Rick Cook in the second inning, struck out five and allowed only three hits and one run for the rest of the game. Russ Holmes led the Hotelmen offensively with a double and two singles, good for a pair of RBI’s while Brian Meadmore and Dale Marshall also picked up two RBI’s.
Karpiuk (L), Mark (6) and Mark, Pickering (6)
Cook, Drinkwater (W) (2) and Van Gylswyk
(August 16) Roy Moretti is thriving on extra work in the Senior Amateur League finals. The seemingly-tireless performer pitched a four-hitter at Lambrick Park, his third complete-game of the series, as Greave’s Movers downed Gorge Hotel 5 to 2 to force a fifth game in the best-of-five series. Greaves jumped on Gorge starter Rick Cook for four first-inning runs and Moretti did the rest, shutting out the Hotelmen until the fifth frame. Moretti struck out 11 and walked five. Drinkwater was solid in relief for Gorge, breezing nine while giving up three safeties. Moretti singled in Ron Arcuri, who had tripled, with the game’s first run. George Lomas then doubled in a pair of counters to make it 3 to 0. Joe Cardle hit a sacrifice fly to score Dave Morgan with the fourth Movers’ tally and the Gorge Gang were never able to fully recover from that opening-episode outburst.
Cook (L), Drinkwater (1) and Van Gylswyk
Moretti (W) and Morgan
(August 17) Gorge Hotel finally managed to wear out Roy Moretti and then met little opposition as they breezed to the 1977 playoff championship of the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League. Derek Drinkwater pitched a three-hitter and the Hotelmen stroked 11 hits as Gorge wrapped up the best-of-five series with a 12 to 3 triumph over Greave’s Movers at Lambrick Park. It marked the second straight year that Gorge has won both the regular-season pennant and the playoff title. Moretti was raked for seven hits, including a two-run homer by Mike Squire, before being relieved by Rick Mark in the fifth. Mark was bombed for seven runs in the sixth stanza before help arrived in the form of Ralph Anderson but, by then, it was all over but the shouting.
Moretti (L), Mark (5), Anderson (6) and Morgan
Drinkwater (W) and Russ Holmes
NORTH ISLAND SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE (A.K.A. MID-ISLAND/UP-ISLAND BASEBALL LEAGUE)
Depending upon which centre within this four-team 1977 circuit had your attention, this loop was alternatively referred to as the Up-Island, or in the case of the Nanaimo entries, the Mid-Island League. One very competitive team emerged from the pack, the Harewood Sports Royals of Nanaimo, who were undefeated in intra-league games while, at the other extreme, the Campbell River club was hopelessly inept, going winless. Interlocking play against teams from Victoria’s Senior Amateur League proved to be disastrous for member teams within this association as the Capital City aggregations, with the odd exception, routinely rolled to easy wins.
Campbell River
Nanaimo Harewood Sports Royals
Nanaimo Villa Hotel a.k.a. Villas
Port Alberni Souther Construction 68’ers
(May 1) Nanaimo Harewood Sports Royals, 1976 winners of the North Island Senior Baseball League, started of the new season where they left off last year, on a winning note. The Royals swept a doubleheader from the hosting Campbell River baseballers by scores of 12 o 4 and 2 to 0. In the first game, Bruce Wilgress fanned 11 in going the route for the win. “Buzz” Forrest was on the mound for Harewood in the second outing and limited the Campbell River nine to just two hits.
Port Alberni’s Souther 68’ers pushed across 20 runs in 17 innings but could only get a split in their season-opening doubleheader in Nanaimo. The 68’ers dropped a 13 to 12, ten-inning decision to the hosting Villas in their first tussle of the campaign then bounced back to take the nightcap 6 to 1.
In the first skirmish, the 68’ers needed five runs in the seventh stanza to force extra innings. In the tenth, the Villas’ Thompson stung loser Bruce Bugden, the third Port Alberni tosser, for a double, advancing to second on a sacrifice, moving to third after a pair of walks and romping on home on an error to end the game.
The result of the second tilt was never much in doubt as Jim Seredick’s pitching held the Villas in check throughout while Lon Miles had an explosive bat for the winners, going five-for-five.
(May 8) Nanaimo’s Harewood Royals failed to score an earned run in either game of a twin-bill against the visiting Port Alberni Souther 89’ers yet same away with a sweep by copping identical 2 to 1 wins in each scuffle. Mike Forrest and Art Fransen notched the pitching wins in the two closely-fought clashes.
Harewood put up a fourth-inning deuce on the scoreboard to complete their scoring in the matinée event while the 68’ers tallied their lone maker in the sixth on an RBI single by Jim Kocsis. In the nightcap, the Royals erased a 1 to 0 deficit in the fifth when Rocky Kurulak and Ted Boe both crossed the dish on errors.
In another Sunday two-game set, Nanaimo’s Villa Hotel took both ends of a double-dip against homestanding Campbell River, emerging with 9 to 4 and 4 to 3 victories.
(May 15) The Harewood Sports Royals had another successful weekend when they toppled the arch-rival Nanaimo Villas 7 to 1 and 1 to 0 at Serauxmen Stadium. Winning flinger Art Fransen and “Buzz” Forrest shared mound duties for the Royals in the curtain-raiser. Phil Hodgson was raked for 11 safeties in taking the setback.
In the second game of the twin-bill, NHL’er Al Hill pitched the Royals to victory while Andy Gourlay of the Villas was stung with the loss. Both pitchers went all the way as a two-out single by Bruce Wilgress in the seventh stanza drove in the contest’s lone counter.
The hosting Port Alberni Souther 68’ers evened their season’s record to 3 – 3 by shading winless Campbell River 3 to 1 and 4 to 3 in a two-game set at the Tenth Avenue diamond. Campbell River went ahead 1 to 0 in the opener on a first-inning RBI single by Kanik. A run-scoring double by Glen Saunders tied things up in the fifth and the Ports tallied a pair of unearned runs in the seventh to come away as victors. Don Dunbar, who pitched the final two innings, annexed the win.
The teams were deadlocked at 2 – 2 heading into the seventh inning of the owl encounter but back-to-back walks issued to Brent Speidel and Jim Seredick set the table for the 68’ers’ Tony Powell who doubled both runners home with his third safety of the scuffle. A sacrifice fly by Barker of the Rivermen plated Orel in the final frame to narrow the gap to one run but that all the visitors could muster. Seventh-inning reliever Don Wiebe notched the hillock triumph.
(May 22) Victoria’s Kubicek A’s mauled the invading Campbell City squad of balltossers 17 to 3 and 16 to 5 in a pair of one-sided interlocking bouts at Lambrick Park in the Capital City. Despite the humiliation of the opening-game ambush, the Rivermen managed to hit two home runs, the only round-trippers of the contest, when Gary Thulin and losing pitcher Kevin Storrie connected for dingers in the fifth frame. The late clash, equally crushing for the visitors as the curtain-raiser, was called after five innings.
Farmer Construction of Victoria paid a visit to Serauxmen Stadium and came away with a sweep of their two-game set of interlocking games with Nanaimo Villa Hotel, capturing the initial tilt 5 to 2 before annexing the follow-up event 8 to 5. Winning pitcher Terry Painter came on to relieve starter Wayne Krimmer of the Victorians in the second inning of the opener after the Villas had gone ahead 2 to 0, holding the Hotelmen scoreless the rest of the way. The Capital City nine tied the score in the third spasm on a two-run double by Ron Holmes, went ahead by a run in the fifth, added fourth counter in the seventh on Dave McDonald’s RBI triple with McDonald adding a fifth and final tally in the same frame when a wild pitch allowed him to touch home. Andy Gourlay went the route for the Nanaimo squad and was nailed with the loss. Outfielder Garry Yakelashek of the Villas lit into one of Krimmer’s offerings for a first-inning solo dinger. Details of the second match were not found in print.
(May 29) Harewood Sports Royals of Nanaimo kept on rolling by taking a brace of contests from the hapless Campbell River aggregation at Serauxmen Stadium by 3 to 1 and 9 to 4 counts. Bruce Wilgress, combining with Art Fransen for a two-hitter, copped the first-game knoll decision while Ali Cyr was stung with the defeat. Mike Forrest and Dave Barker limited the Rivermen to four safeties in the late tilt. Sloppy defensive play proved to be Campbell River’s undoing in this match as the Royals had just five base raps.
Meanwhile, in a pair of interlocking skirmishes in Victoria, the Nanaimo Villas were clipped twice by Gorge Hotel, succumbing 5 to 4 in the 12-inning opener before being trounced 8 to 3 in the wrap-up event. At the same time, in Port Alberni, Kubicek A’s of Victoria were busy dropping the host Souther 68’ers by 11 to 4 and 6 to 3 in another interlocking twin-bill.
(June 5) After losing six in a row, the Villa Hotel baseballers of Nanaimo finally got back on the winning track when they disposed of bottom-feeding Campbell River twice at Serauxmen Stadium. Behind the solid chucking of Phil Hodgson, the Villas captured the opener 2 to 0 and then completed the sweep when Jack MacDonald fashioned a one-hitter in a 4 to 1 second-game conquest of the Rivermen.
Meanwhile, at Lambrick Park in Victoria, the first-place Nanaimo Harewood Sports Royals suffered their first two losses of the campaign, both in extra innings, when they were trimmed 2 to 1 and 4 to 2 by the Capital City’s Greave’s Movers aggregation. Bruce Wilgress had the misfortune of walking home the winning run in the opener. The Victorians scored twice in the first overtime session of the finale to complete the sweep.
(June 12) Playing on the diamond at their newly-constructed ball park, the Port Alberni Souther 68’ers won both matchers in a two-game set against the winless Campbell River contingent. In the opener, the Ports broke up a scoreless ball game with three runs in the bottom-of-the-fourth inning and coasted to an 8 to 1 decision. Don Wiebe and Bruce Bugden combined pitching efforts for the victors while Ali Cyr of the Rivermen was saddled with the defeat.
The second game wasn’t quite as easy as the curtain-raiser and the 68’ers had to work hard to pull off a 3 to 2 victory. Trailing 2 to 1 in the fifth frame, Port Alberni had a run-scoring double by Wayne Morishita and an RBI single off the bat of Lon Miles to plate the tying and eventual winning tallies. Jim Seredick and Don Dunbar shared the hurling chores for the winners at the expense of losing twirler Paul Enquist.
Aided by the circus-like fielding display of the invading Greave’s Movers squad, the Nanaimo Villas spanked the Victorians 12 to 3 in the first half of a twin-bill at Serauxmen Stadium with Phil Hodgson capturing the hillock victory. The Capital City Crew came back to annex the late tilt 10 to 3 with Roy Moretti earning the twirling triumph.
(June 19) It took the Harewood Sports Royals of Nanaimo 20 innings to do it but they finally beat their cross-town rivals, the Nanaimo Villas, in two close games at Serauxmen Stadium. The Royals triumphed 3 to 2 in the nine-inning opener and prevailed 5 to 1 after 11 innings in the windup affair. Pitchers Andy Gourlay of the Villas and the Royals’ Al Hill were both firing on all cylinders in the leadoff tilt, stifling opposing hitters with regularity. Despite being outhit 6 to 3, the Harewood band of baseballers hung on to get a narrow win when flychaser Jim Luck led off the bottom-of-the-ninth inning with a single, swiped second and scored on a Villa miscue to break a 2 – 2 deadlock. The excitement created by the first scuffle continued into the second as Art Fransen of the Royals dueled the Hoteliers’ Phil Hodgson on the bump. The Villas struck first in this 11-inning marathon as Grant Thompson turned their only hit of the game into a run. Steve Whittam crossed the pan for the Royals in the third to even the score and the teams battled through seven scoreless stanzas with neither aggregation able to break the tie. A four-spot by the Royals in the top-of-the-eleventh, however, abruptly ended the Villas’ hopes of gaining a split.
Individual teams from the Victoria Amateur Baseball League won five interlocking games with North Island League opposition on the weekend.
Victoria’s Gorge Hotel scored in the bottom-of the-17th inning to edge the Port Alberni Souther 68’ers 7 to 6 in the final two innings of a game that had been suspended on June 5 because of darkness. Farmer Construction then whipped the Ports 10 to 8 and 25 to 3 in a follow-up doubleheader at Lambrick Park. In Campbell River, Greave’s Movers of the Capital City topped the host club 8 to 4 and 6 to 5.
(June 26) Port Alberni Souther 68’ers split a pair of games at new Klitsa Park when they dropped a 4 to 3 extra-inning contest with the Nanaimo Villas before coming back to even things up with a 5 to 2 triumph. Winning pitcher Andy Gourlay of the Villas doubled home Ray Edger with the deciding tally in the overtime session of the opener to pin the loss on reliever Don Wiebe, who had come to the aid of starter Lon Miles of the 68’ers in the seventh. Miles launched a three-run homer off Nanaimo’s Phil Hodgson in the first frame of the second set-to and the Port Alberni nine never relinquished the lead throughout the remainder of the joust, reeling off a pair of double plays in support of winning tosser Don Dunbar.
At Serauxmen Stadium in Nanaimo, the visiting Kubicek A’s of Victoria and the Harewood Sports Royals divided the spoils in an interlocking two-game set. The Royals blanked the A’s 2 to 0 to get things underway but were shaded 4 to 3 by the Victorians in the concluding contest. Al Hill pitched the shutout win in the opener for the Royals who scored once in the third spasm on a Victoria error and picked up an add-on counter in the fourth when Randy Senini singled home Rick Neff. The wind-up affair went into overtime before Blair Kubicek of the A’s drove in a pair of counters to end things after Rocky Kurulak had given Nanaimo a brief top-of-the-eleventh inning lead by singling home Ted Boe. Kubicek and Neff, with three safe swats apiece, led their respective squads offensively in this affair.
Hosting Gorge Hotel of Victoria easily captured a double victory over the visiting Campbell River team of the North-Island League in interlocking action at Lambrick Park. The Hotelmen had their way in both games, trouncing the overmatched Rivermen 14 to 4 in the first game and 20 to 0 in the second. Campbell River pitchers Ali Cyr and Paul Wood were hammered mercilessly in both games.
(July 10) Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League teams continued to get rich at the expense of Up-Island squads in weekend interlocking games.
The hosting Kubicek A’s vaulted into second place, a game-and-a-half behind the idle Gorge Hotel, by defeating the Nanaimo Villas 14 to 3 and 10 to 3 at Topaz Park. Farmer Construction travelled to Campbell River and topped the host club 10 to 5 and 11 to 8. Greave’s Movers had the easiest time of the day, picking up two wins by default when the Port Alberni Souther Construction 68’ers failed to field enough players at Lambrick Park.
PLAYOFFS
FINALS Port Alberni Souther Construction 68’ers vs Nanaimo Harewood Sports Royals (best-of-three series)
(July 23-24) The Nanaimo Harewood Royals captured the league championship over the weekend by dropping Port Alberni two straight in the best-of-three series. The visiting Royals pounded out a decisive 17 to 7 win in Port Alberni Saturday night and wrapped up the title on home turf Sunday with a 5 to 4 victory.