1945 Tournaments/Exhibitions      

 

(May 24)  The Notre Dame Hounds waltzed off with first prize money in the Wilcox Victoria Day baseball tournament, crushing Pangman 9 to 4 in the final behind Ernie Franks' classy chucking. In a semi-final match, the Hounds eked out a 9 to 8 victory over the Regina Caps.

(May 24)  The Regina Red Sox took both ends of a pre-season exhibition doubleheader from Holdfast by scores of 9 to 2 and 13 to 10. "Lefty" Straub went the distance in the opener in picking up the win. In the evening game, the Red Sox tried out no less than four pitchers and, even then, had to get Straub to finish the game.

(July 3)  More than 6,000 visitors jammed the sports grounds for Indian Head's annual Dominion Day sports jamboree as the Weyburn Beavers won first money at the invitation baseball tournament. The Beavers downed Balcarres in the tourney final after the Regina Army and the Notre Dame Hounds had been eliminated.


(July 23-28)  Saskatoon Exhibition Tournament

(July 23)    An upset marked the opening day of the Saskatoon Exhibition Tournament.  Aberdeen downed the highly-rated Delisle nine 8-7 with winning pitcher Bob Shore driving in the deciding run in the last of the 8th inning. Behind 7-3 after six innings, Aberdeen rallied with four in the 7th, on three hits, an error and a wild pitch, to tie and the singleton in the 8th for the victory. Tied 7-7, Huckaby and Bates singled and Shore, who had three hits, rapped one over the shortstop to plate the winning run. Bates and Huckaby also had three hits for the winners while Doug Bentley smacked a triple and two singles for Delisle. 

Maroniuk, Christianson (7), Maroniuk (7), Christianson (L) (8) and Reg Bentley
Shore (W) and Stout

(July 24)   An outfield collision on Johnny Folk's eighth inning blast resulted in the winning run as Viscount edged Langham 3-2 Tuesday night.  With the score tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the 8th, winning pitcher Ed Thoen opened the inning with a single off veteran prairie hurler Jimmy Rattlesnake. Folk then cracked a long fly to deep left and both B.Tarasoff the leftfielder and Gilmour, in centre, raced for the ball. With the sun in their eyes, the outfielders collided heavily as the ball rolled to the race track behind left field and Thoen scampered home. Tarasoff was carried off the field and taken by ambulance to the hospital.  The extent of his injuries was not known. Langham had taken the lead in the 2nd on a combination of hits and errors. Viscount got a run in the 4th on a catcher's interference call and a wild throw to first. They knotted the count in the 6th as Thoen singled and advanced on an error and passed ball before coming home on another botched defensive play. Thoen held Langham to just three hits and fanned ten.

Rattlesnake (L), Wurtz (8) and Sherstobitoff
E.Thoen (W) and J.Folk

(July 25)    Reinie Kembel shutout Lanigan on six hits as Rosetown scored an 8-0 victory to move into the second round of the Exhibition Tournament. The game started as a pitcher's battle between Denny Evenson, recently discharged from the RCAF after a tour of operations overseas, and Kembel, but Rosetown found the range in the 4th to put up five runs. They added three more in the 5th before the Lanigan manager waved Evenson to the bench and called upon Wildeman. Besides his outstanding mound effort, Kembel had the big blow for the winners, a three-run homer in the 5th. Shields had three hits for Rosetown. Third baseman Vandale, looking considerably heavier than when he played with No.4 S.F.TS, cracked one onto the racetrack back of left field in the 4th inning but barely made it to second base before the throw-in.

Kembel (W) and Wiggins
Evenson (L), Wildeman (5) and Brooker

(July 26)   Playing before the largest crowd of the week, Wiseton advanced to the second round of the Fair Week Tournament with an easy 13-2 victory over Neilburg.  Shortstop Hepfner provided a highlight for the winners with a bases-loaded home run in the 6th inning.  Wieston out-hit Neilburg 13 to 2.  Jake Jacobson fanned ten in hurling the two-hitter. 

Jacobson (W) and Derhahl
Ley (L), Skarban (3) and Prediger

(July 27)  Young Bob Shore pitched a gem, a four-hitter with 20 strikeouts, as Aberdeen blanked Viscount 5-0, scoring all five runs in an 8th inning outburst.  Ed Thoen for Viscount fanned 14. For seven innings the pair engaged in a scoreless duel.  Shore was in trouble in the 5th with he loaded the bases on an error, hit batsman and a single but fanned the next two batters to get out of the inning. Thoen allowed Aberdeen to get two on base with two out in the first and fourth innings but managed to wriggle out of trouble. In the 8th, lead-off man Fred Hassen reached on an error and with one out Bates singled to right. On Shore's high drive, the centre fielder dropped the ball and Hassen scored the first run. Another error loaded the bases and Jackson cracked a triple scoring all three before he came home on a fielder's choice.

Shore (W) and Stout
E.Thoen (L) and J.Folk

(July 28)  Rosetown erupted for five runs in the 8th inning to break up a 2-2 tie to defeat Wiseton 8-1 to win a berth in the final of the Exhibition Tournament.  Olmstead held Wiseton to six hits in going the route for the win. First baseman Wiggins led the winners with three hits. 

Olmstead (W) and Grant
Arnold, Jacobson (8) and Derdall

(July 28)  Aberdeen whipped Rosetown 9-2 Saturday before a record-breaking crowd to capture the 1945 Exhibition Tournament championship and the J.F. Cairns Memorial Trophy.  Jerry Whitney, the army pitcher, held Rosetown to six hits in a nine inning relief job to pick up the win. He came into the game in the first inning for Karst who had given up a run without getting an out. Aberdeen rapped out 12 hits, three each by Bob Shore, playing shortstop and second base, and Al Hassen, the first sacker. One of Hassen's hits went for three bases.  

Maloney, Kembel (2), Miller (8) and Grant
Karat, Whitney (W) (1) and Stout


(August 1)   Swift Current United Commercial Travellers Tournament

(August 1)  Richmound captured top money at the Swift Current Tournament downing the host club 9-6 in the final. The visitors scored seven runs, helped by five errors, in a wild 3rd inning and held off a late Swift Current rally for the title. Jacobson, who pitched Richmound to a semi-final win over the tough Sceptre nine, again started in the box for the winners but moved to the infield when the game was sewn up.

Jacobson (W), xxx and xxx
Kjasgaard (L) and xxx

Jacobson out-dueled Dean Olmstead of Sceptre at West End Park as Richmound took the semi-final match 4-3, scoring once in the top of the 7th and final inning as Laturnis drove in Baron with a hard drive over third. Sceptre scored a pair in the bottom of the frame but the late rally fell just short.

Jacobson and xxx
Olmstead and xxx

Swift Current scored a pair in the first and another two in the second and coasted to a 4-1 victory over Hazlet. Stan Kjasgaard, of hockey fame, was sharp on the hill for the winners.                  

Kjasgaard (W)  and xxx
xxx and xxx

In the tournament opener, Sceptre eliminated Medicine Hat with a 5-0 triumph, scoring all five runs in the 4th inning. Dean Olmstead hurled the shutout besting veteran Lefty Pennington.

Olmstead (W) and xxx
Pennington (L) and xxx