1943 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1943 BC Interior
1943 Vancouver Island
OKANAGAN
(May 23) Hits by Rudy Kitsch and Fred Kitsch in the eighth brought in Martin with the winning run Sunday as Kelowna edged an Army team from Vernon 3-2. Wostradowski and Tostenson shared the mound duties for the winners.
(May 24) Kelowna ran wild Monday scoring 25 runs at Oliver in trouncing the locals who managed just 6 runs. The home club lookd good in the early going taking a 4-0 lead in the first inning against Tostenson on the hill for Kelwona. Wostradowski took over for two innings and Tostenson returned to coast to the victory.
(June 30) Playing at Kamloops Wednesday, Kelowna came away with a 7-2 victory, bolstered by three recruits from the Army team. Wallin held Kamloops to nine hits while his mates started quickly with three runs in the first inning and were never headed. Leng took the loss for Kamloops.
(July 1) At Penticton Thursday, the home club shaded Kelowna 7-6 getting out of a bases-loaded, none out jam in the ninth inning. Wlosoff/Wsoloff went the distance for the pitching win, besting Wostradowski of Kelowna. Penticton had Bob Phinney in the lineup.
(July 4) Kelowna held off a late charge by Kamloops Sunday to emerge with a 9-6 win. Bud Gourlie doffed his army uniform for ball togs and pitched most of the game, giving way to Paul Bach in the seventh.
(July 26) A three-run rally in the eighth inning brought Kelowna an 8-6 triumph over Penticton on Sunday at King's Park. The game produced some extra base power with Al Deer of Penticton with a homer and teammate Benway with the pair of three-baggers. Wostradowski had a triple for Kelowna. In the fourth inning a slugging match broke out between Penticton catcher Verne Cousins and Fred Kitsch of Kelowna. After a few punches were thrown, the bout ended in a draw. Penticton out-hit Kelowna 13 to 10.
Wsoloff/Wlosoff, Deer (L) (7) and V.Cousins
Bach (W), Wostradowski ( ) and F.Kitsch
(August 29) Kamloops pounded out 13 hits Sunday at City Park to crush the host Kelowna nine 12-5. Merrick, on the hill for the winners, held Kelowna to just four hits, one of them a homer by Locatelli.
WEST KOOTENAYS
Reflecting the scarcity of available players during World War 2, senior baseball on West Kootenay diamonds remained non-existent in 1943.
CARIBOO BASEBALL
Although a void continued to exist in Quesnel in terms of 1943 baseball activity, Prince George experienced the formation of an Army Baseball League. The short-scheduled spring circuit was limited to six games, the results of four of these being reported in the Prince George Citizen, and was over in two weeks.
Fusiliers – Bushey P, Lewis, Trasolini C (also Rifles)
Rangers – Brooks, Dainard P, Maynard, McKenzie, Minarsky P, Riley, Whatley C
Rifles – Armstrong C, Bibbings, Clark, Marischuk, Trasolini C (also Fusiliers), Wigle P
(May 23) A capacity crowd was on hand at Athletic Park to welcome the opening of the Army Baseball League which saw the Rangers defeating the Rifles 2 to 1. The game was fast with plenty of action. The Rifles opened the scoring in the fourth inning when catcher Trasolini hit a run-scoring single to drive in Bibbings. The Rangers tied things up in the sixth frame when an error allowed Minarsky, who had doubled, to score. Winning pitcher Dainard plated the winning run, an unearned tally, in the top of the seventh canto after singling and advancing to home on an error.
Dainard (W) and Whatley
Wigle (L) and Trasolini
(May 25) The Rangers turned back the Fusiliers 12 to 6.
Bushey (L) and Trasolini
McKenzie (W), xxx and Whatley
(May 27) The Rifles broke into the win column by easing past the Fusiliers 2 to 0. It was a close game all the way with each team getting only two hits.
Bushey (L) and xxx
Wigle (W) and Armstrong
(May 30) The Rangers won their third straight game by blasting the Fusiliers 13 to 2 in a sluggish affair wherein the players experienced difficulty in fielding on a wet and slippery grounds.
Minarsky (W) and Whatley
Bushey (L) and Lewis
CROW'S NEST BASEBALL
(August 4) In exhibition ball at Natal, the Natal-Michel Miners walloped Blairmore Elks 23-10, pounding out 22 hits. The Elks had taken a 3-0 lead in the second inning before Michel launched its assault in the third with five runs, then five more in the fourth, four in the sixth, three in the seventh and six in the eighth.
(August 8) The Natal-Michel Miners spotted Coleman Miners a run in the top of the first inning before unleashing a whirlwind offense to clobber the visitors 29-1. They ran wild for ten runs in the bottom of the first then piled it on as Natal-Michel cracked eight home runs. Max Turyk smashed a pair with singletons to D'Angelo, Chala, Cimolini, Krall, Romano and Weaver.
JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMP BASEBALL
(September 26) Tashme Arawashis clipped the Nippons 16-8 to capture the best-of three final series to win the Championship Cup. They took the opener 10-6 with pitcher Aki Mizuguchi winning his own game with a bases-loaded homer in the second inning. Daly Kobayashi, the Nippon ace hurler, tossed a three-hit shutout as the Nippons evened the series with a 7-0 triumph.
(Bay Farm, at Slocan, was one of the internment camps in the BC Interior).
(October 03) The final of the Slocan Junior League featured spectacular pitching as the Bayfarm Hurricanes rode the arm of Hiro Izumi to sweep the series over the Bayfarm Bums in two straight games and take home the hadsome Graham Cup. Hurricanes took the opening game 1-0, scoring the lone run on an error as Bums' hurler, 15-year-old, Maw Mori lost while firing a no-hitter.
In the Intermediate League, the Downtown Yankees walked away with the title behind their ace moundsman, Mike Tobo. Bayfarm had earlier won the Adams Cup for their victory in the senior category.