1970 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1970 BC Interior
1970 Vancouver Island
VICTORIA SENIOR AMATEUR BASEBALL LEAGUE
The Victoria senior amateur loop was reduced in size from five to four clubs for the 1970 campaign. Returning to the fold were the 1969 playoff champion Gorge Hotel squad as well as teams representing the Transport Workers and Greaves Motors. Leaving the circuit from 1969 were the Independents and the Lake Cowichan entries while a team sponsored by Imperial Esso joined the 1970 fray.
Gorge Hotel
Greaves Movers
Imperial Esso
Transport Workers
(May 18) Behind the six-hit pitching of George Hemming, the Greaves Movers pinned a 10 to 3 loss on Imperial Esso in the Victoria Senior Amateur League season opener.
(May 19) Gord Strongman connected for a three-run homer in the fifth inning to help the Transport Workers gain an 11 to 2 triumph over Gorge Hotel at Royal Athletic Park. Winning pitcher Bob Mabee had a no-hitter for the first six innings before Gorge tagged three in the final frame.
Mabee (W) and McAvoy
Gibb (L) and Lumley
(May 20) Playing-manager Bob Lumley singled home George Holt in the bottom-of-the-seventh-inning at Royal Athletic Park a 3 to 2 victory to give the Gorge Hotel nine a 3 to 2 victory over Greaves Movers. The Hotelmen had tied the game in come-from-behind fashion during the fifth inning on a two-run homer by Gary Andrews. George Brice threw a six-hitter while winning a pitching duel against Des Moseley, a former teammate with the disbanded Independents. Moseley also turned in a six-hit pitching effort.
Moseley (L) and Bishop
G. Brice (W) and Lumley
(May 21) The Transport Workers needed only five innings to hammer the Imperial Essos 9 to 0 in a rain-shortened Senior Amateur game at Royal Athletic Park. Winning pitcher Pete Jolly allowed just two hits and one walk during the five frames. Gord Strongman paced the willow wielders with two RBI’s on a pair of base hits.
Rands (L), Woods (3) and Strandlund
Jolly (W) and McAvoy
(May 26) Holding off a seventh-inning rally by the Greaves Movers nine, the Transport Workers chalked up their third straight VSABL triumph, a narrow 3 to 2 verdict. The Transports were leading 3 to 1 heading into the final spasm when winning flinger Bob Mabee walked John Martin, was tagged for a single by Gary Bishop and walked Don Bell to load the bases. Martin crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly but Mabee worked his way out of the jam he had created by enticing Bob Moysey to ground out and then fanning Les Brice to end the game. Mabee earlier had helped attain the victory by driving in two runs with a sixth-inning one-bagger.
Mabee (W) and McAvoy
Lister (L) and Bishop
(May 27) Gorge Hotel and the Transport Workers fought to a 2 – 2 nine-inning draw in a VSABL game called because of darkness.
Jolly and McAvoy
G. Brice and Lumley
(May 28) The Imperial Esso pitching tandem of Terry Karpiuk and Terry Strandlund issued a dozen bases-on-balls, a recipe for disaster, as the Gasmen fell 5 to 1 to the Greaves Movers. Winning pitcher Les Brice, who gave up three singles and a run in the first inning, allowed only two hits the remainder of the game. Brice helped his own cause by delivering a two-run single in the third inning.
L. Brice (W) and Bishop
Karpiuk (L), Strandlund (3) and Hall
(June 1) The Transport Workers remained undefeated in VSABL action after pummelling the winless Imperial Esso nine 10 to 4 at Royal Athletic Park. Each team had just four hits but a plethora of free passes issued by a trio of Esso chuckers quickly turned the tide in favor of the Transports. The victors went ahead 9 to 0 in the fourth frame after leadoff batter Tony Gage singled which was followed by an error and seven bases on balls. Terry Whitman crossed the plate three times for the Transport Workers.
Miles (L), Strandlund (5), Armstrong (6) and Hall
Verillet (W), Mabee (3) and McAvoy
(June 2) Stan Gibb pitched a two-hitter in leading the Gorge Hotel nine to a 6 to 1 conquest of the Greaves Movers at Royal Athletic Park. A four-run fifth inning in which Doug Hill contributed a two-run double broke the game wide open.
Gibb (W) and Lumley
Lister (L), L. Brice (5) and Bishop
(June 3) The Transport workers won their fifth in a row, defeating Greaves Movers 6 to 5, to move into a game-and-a-half lead atop the Victoria Senior Amateur circuit. Barry Harvey paced the Transport batters by driving in two runs with a pair of singles. Bob Bowles led the Movers at the dish with a three-run homer in the fourth stanza.
Jolly, Mabee (W) (4) and McAvoy
Hemming (L) and Bishop
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Transport Workers 5 0 1.000 -----
Gorge Hotel 3 1 .750 1.5
Greaves Movers 2 4 .333 3.5
Imperial Esso 0 5 .000 5.0
(June 4) George Brice fired a two-hitter in pitching the Gorge Hotel to a 9 to 1 shellacking of the Imperial Essos at Royal Athletic Park. Brice cut down the first 13 Esso batters, then five of the next seven. He lost the shutout and no-hitter in the last inning as Ralph Anderson and Lonnie Miles punched out singles to give the Petroleum Dealers their only run. Brice also sparkled with the lumber, banging out a brace of doubles. Doug Hill and Dave Morgan also collected two hits for the winners.
Rands (L), Armstrong (2), Karpiuk (3) and Hall
G. Brice (W) and Lumley
(June 8) Greaves Movers moved to within three games of first place in the VSABL when they bounced the winless Imperial Essos 9 to 2. All but three of the Greaves’ runs were scored in the fourth inning, coming on just three hits. Des Moseley earned the mound triumph with a five-hitter.
Moseley (W) and Bishop
T. Holmes (L), Rands (6) and Hall
(June 9) The Transport Workers extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a hard-fought 4 to 3 win over second-place Gorge Hotel at Royal Athletic Park. Craig Lawrence and winning pitcher Bob Mabee led Transport with run-scoring singles in the sixth inning. Pinch-hitter Bob Lumley brought the Hoteliers to within a run of tying the score in the top-of-the-seventh panel with a two-run single but was tagged out at home after attempting to score on Bill Campbell’s two-out double.
Brice (L) and Morgan
Mabee (W) and McAvoy
(June 10) The Greaves Movers band of baseballers moved to within a half-game of second-place Gorge Hotel by dropping the Hotelmen 4 to 2 in Senior Amateur League action. The Movers collected all their runs in the first inning as John Yankoski and Dave Rivers walked, advanced on Gary Bishop’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Gerry Lister’s single. Bob Bowles added another base hit and Bob Moysey reached base on a fielder’s choice as Lister was retired. A single by Larry McKinty then drove in both Bowles and Moysey with the third and fourth Greaves’ tallies.
Hill (L), Gibb (1) and Lumley
Hemming (W) and Bishop
(June 11) The Transport Workers continued to lock out their rivals in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League. With pitcher Pete Jolly fashioning a three-hit victory, the undefeated Transports ran their winning streak to seven games by blasting the cellar-dwelling Imperial Essos 12 to 2 at Royal Athletic Park. Trailing 2 to 1 after four innings, the Workers waltzed home by scoring eleven times in the last three frames.
Jolly (W) and McAvoy
Karpiuk (L), Miles (6), T. Holmes (7), Armstrong (7) and Hall
(June 15) Led by the six-hit pitching of Stan Gibb as well as the offensive punch provided by Wayne Peters and George Holt, the Gorge Hotel diamondeers trounced the winless Imperial Essos 12 to 1 at Royal Athletic Park. The winners exploded for eight runs in the second inning, an eruption highlighted by two-run doubles off the bats of Peters and Holt. Russ Holmes of the Essos spoiled Gibb’s bid for a shutout in the seventh inning when he took advantage of two Gorge errors and a passed ball to score his team’s only run.
Miles (L) and Burrows
Gibb (W) and Morgan
(June 16) Sparked by the pitching of Les Brice, the Greaves Movers handed the Transport Workers their first loss of the season, defeating the league-leaders 4 to 1 at Royal Athletic Park. With seven strikeouts to his credit, Brice helped jumpstart the Movers to within a half-game of second-place Gorge Hotel. The winners scored all they needed in the first inning, plating a pair as Dave Rivers walked and advanced to the keystone sack when Bob Bowles was safe on an error. Brice then singled, advancing the runners one base which loaded the sacks. Both runners then rode home on walks issued by losing chucker Bob Mabee.
L. Brice (W) and Bishop
Mabee (L), Jolly (4) and McAvoy
(June 17) The penthouse-dwelling Transport Workers dropped their second game in two nights when the Gorge Hotel nine tripped them up to the tune of 5 to 1. Winning pitcher George Brice, brother of Les who led Greaves to a victory over the Transports a night before, scattered seven hits as he and his mates chalked up their sixth victory of the campaign. All but one of Gorge’s runs came in the second inning as the put together three singles combined with three walks. The win pulled the Hotelmen within one game of the Transports.
G. Brice (W) and Lumley
Mabee (L) and McAvoy
(June 18) Greaves Movers, ignited by the batting and pitching of Gerry Lister, advanced to within a half-game of second place in the VSABL by blanking the youthful Imperial Essos 4 to 0. In earning his team’s sixth triumph of the season, Lister rang up seven punchouts, drove in the first run for his team with a third-inning double and scored himself on two Imperial errors.
(June 22) The rich got richer and the poor got poorer at Royal Athletic Park when the top-dog Transport Workers defeated the last-place Imperial Essos 8 to 6. The youthful Essos have now lost eleven in a row while the Transports lead the Senior Amateur loop with an 8 and 2 mark. The Gasmen made things difficult for the league-leaders, taking a 1 to 0 lead in the opening chapter on singles by Ralph Anderson and Russ Holmes. They added a pair in the second on one-baggers by Don Burrows and Chris Hall, an infield error and Anderson’s second single. In the third, doubles by Terry Karpiuk and Hall, a single by Dave Wallace and a bobble at the hot corner put the Essos in front 5 to 0. Then Karpiuk singled home Randy Senini in the fourth to put the Imperials in front 6 to 0. But, in the top of the fifth, the roof fell in when a triple by George Fuller, five bases-on-balls and a two-run error sent five Transport runners across the platter. They added three more in the seventh, the key blow being a a two-run single by Craig Lawrence.
Strongman, Mabee (W) (3) and McAvoy
Strandlund, Karpiuk (L) (6) and Burrows
(June 23) George Brice was an all-round winner at Royal Athletic Park as the Gorge Hotel defeated Greaves Movers 5 to 4. The Gorge pitcher won his own game in the first extra inning, hitting a double that scored Bill James to crack a 4 – 4 stalemate. In turning in fine performance on the bump, Brice fanned six and walloped another two-bagger and single in addition to his game-winning safety. The victory for the Hotelmen moved them to within one game of the league-leading Transport Workers.
G. Brice (W) and Lumley
Hemming (L) and Bishop
(June 24) The Greaves Movers dropped their second VSABL contest in two evenings, falling 10 to 1 to the first-place Transport Workers. Winning pitcher Pete Jolly whiffed seven Greaves’ batters and allowed but four hits. Leading the winners’ eight-hit attack was Tony Gage who drilled a two-run triple. With the win, the Transports increased their lead atop the loop to a game-and-a-half.
L. Brice (L) and Bishop
Jolly (W) and McAvoy
(June 25) The youngish and improving Imperial Essos, an assemblage of Connie Mack League graduates, outswatted the second-place Gorge Hotel nine by a 9 to 5 margin at Royal Athletic Park but still bowed to the Hoteliers 5 to 3 in VSABL action. The Imperials stranded nine baserunners in dropping their twelfth consecutive league game. Gorge reliever Doug Hill faced only one batter in a bases-loaded situation and struck him out to preserve the victory for starter Stan Gibb. Shortstop Chris Hall had two of the Essos’ nine safeties.
Gibb (W), Hill (7) and Morgan
T. Holmes (L), Strandlund (3) and Burrows
(June 29) The youthful Imperial Essos finally cracked the win column, doubling Greaves Movers 4 to 2 to earn their initial VSABL victory. The Imperials jumped into a 2 to 0 first-inning lead when Ralph Anderson and Dave Wallace crossed the plate on a Greaves’ error. They increased their margin to 4 to 0 in the sixth when Russ Holmes connected for a run-scoring triple and scored on another miscue by the Movers. Greaves threatened in the bottom-of-the-sixth, scoring a pair on bases-loaded walks to Les Brice and Larry McKinty but that was their last gasp as they succumbed quietly in the seventh.
Rands (W), Karpiuk (6), Armstrong (7) and Burrows
Lister (L), Hemming (6), Moseley (7) and Bishop
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Transport Workers 9 2 .810 -----
Gorge Hotel 8 3 .727 1
Greaves Movers 6 7 .462 4
Imperial Esso 1 12 .077 9
(July 2) Terry Karpiuk pitched a seven-inning no-hitter against the top team in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League, the Transport Workers, but he and his Imperial Esso clubmates still ended up as 1 to 0 losers. Karpiuk was working on a perfect game until the fourth inning when he walked a pair of Transport batters. He managed to bail himself out of that trouble spot but, an inning later, the Workers plated the lone run of the game after a bases on balls, an outfield error and a couple of hard-hit ground balls which resulted in putouts but allowed a runner to score from third base.
(July 6) Despite the superb relief twirling of John Lobus, the hard-luck Imperial Essos lost once more, a 3 to 1 setback at the hands of second-place Gorge Hotel. Lobus entered the game as a fireman in the second frame in relief of starter and loser Tom Holmes. He hurled hitless ball for the remainder of the contest but his mates provided no offensive punch with which to overcome the two-run deficit they were facing. The winners had grouped all of their runs in that second inning as Bill Campbell slugged a double as one of the five hits that Holmes surrendered. The Essos had taken a 1 to 0 first-inning lead when Dave Wallace singled and scored on a pickoff attempt which resulted in a three-base error.
Gibb (W) and Morgan
T. Holmes (L), Lobus (2) and Burrows
(July 7) Backed by the one-hit pitching of Pete Jolly and the home run hitting of Brian MacKenzie, the league-leading Transport Workers disposed of Greaves Movers 7 to 0 in A VSABL game at Royal Athletic Park. The only safety the Movers could muster off Jolly came in the bottom-of-the first inning when Les Brice singled. The Transports had led 1 to 0 on Gord Strongman’s run-scoring triple, also in the opening stanza, but MacKenzie wrapped it up by blasting a grand-slam home run in the third spasm. Art Worth added a two-run double for the winners in the seventh frame.
Jolly (W) and MacKenzie
Hemming (L) and Bishop
(July 8) The Gorge Hotel nine tightened the race for top-spot in the VSABL after knocking off the first-place Transport Workers 8 to 6 and closing to within a half-game of the league leaders. Doug Hill’s run-scoring double, singles by Gary Andrews and Barry Cosier, two bases on balls and a pair of errors got Gorge off and running with a five-spot in the first inning. The Transports threatened in the sixth and seventh frames, scoring a total of three runs before winning pitcher George Brice fanned Terry Whitman for the third out in the bottom-of-the-seventh chapter with the bases loaded.
Mabee (L), Jolly (1), Worth (4) and McAvoy
G. Brice (W) and Lumley
(July 9) A timely single by Ken Ross allowed the Imperial Essos to plate the winning counter in their final turn at bat and come away with just their second triumph of the season, a 3 to 2 nudging of Greaves Movers. The bottom-of-the-seventh rally began with a base on balls to Terry Karpiuk who moved safely to the keystone sack after an attempted force out on a ground ball hit by Ron Oldridge. Ross then came though in grand style with his game-winning one-bagger to score Karpiuk.
Thame (L) and Bishop
Rands, Oldridge (W) (6) and Burrows
(July 13) After an extended stay in first place in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League, the Transport Workers were knocked into second place, by mere percentage points, when they suffered a ten-inning 3 to 1 setback at the hands of the much-improved Imperial Esso squad. Esso pitcher Terry Karpiuk won his own game in the tenth frame, driving in the winning run with a double after Ken Ross reached base on a one-out error. Karpiuk then plated an insurance run when pinch-hitter Terry Strandlund singled. In posting Esso’s third win of the campaign, Karpiuk tossed a three-hitter while losing hurler Bob Mabee was nicked for nine safe swats.
Karpiuk (W) and Burrows
Mabee (L) and McAvoy
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Gorge Hotel 10 3 .769 -----
Transport Workers 11 4 .733 -----
Greaves Movers 6 9 .400 5
Imperial Esso 3 14 .176 9
(July 15) Playing-manager Bob Lumley tagged a pair of doubles and drove in three runs, including the game-winner, as the Gorge Hotel balltossers defeated Greaves Movers 4 to 1 in VSABL play at Royal Athletic Park.The victory pulled the Hotelmen into a half-game lead over the runner-up Transport Workers in the standings.
G. Brice, Gibb (W) (6) and Lumley
Hemming (L) and Bishop
(July 16) The Transport Workers survived a sixth-inning rally by the slumping Greaves Movers contingent to earn a 7 to 6 Senior Amateur Baseball League victory at Royal Athletic Park. The victory halted a two-game losing streak for the Transports which cost them leadership in the circuit earlier in the week. Winless in their last seven contests, the Movers fell to six-and-a-half games off the pace. Pete Jolly, with relief help from Bob Mabee, recorded the hillock triumph.
Jolly (W), Mabee (6) and McAvoy
L. Brice (L) and Bishop
(July 20) The Imperial Essos continued to play the role of spoilers in the VSABL by defeating the Gorge Hotel squad 3 to 1 at Royal Athletic Park. The loss dropped the Hoteliers a half-game behind the Transport Workers in the standings. In posting their third consecutive victory, and fourth win of the season, the youthful Essos were led by pitcher John Lobus who allowed Gorge only five hits while punching out nine batters.
Lobus (W) and Burrows
Gibb (L) and Morgan
(July 21) George Hemming hurled a five-hitter which played a major role in snapping the recent three-game win streak rang up by the Imperial Essos. His superb mound work at Royal Athletic Park was more than sufficient to lift the Greaves Movers aggregation out of their tailspin and to a well-deserved 5 to 0 conquest of the Petroleum Dealers. Hemming breezed four and received errorless backing by his mates in recording the shutout triumph. Four runs in the third inning provided the winning margin.
Hemming (W) and Bishop
Rands (L), Karpiuk (5) and Burrows
(July 22) Sporting a 9 to 6 edge in base hits, the Gorge Hotel baseballers eked out a 5 to 4 victory over the Transport Workers in VSABL action at Royal Athletic Park to take over first place in the circuit. The Hotelmen staged a three-run scoring spree in the fourth inning, breaking a 2 – 2 tie. Dave Morgan was singled home by George Holt and both Gary Andrews and Holt scored on Bill Campbell’s two-out double. The Transports managed a pair of runs in the bottom-of-the-fourth as Brian MacKenzie and Craig Lawrence tagged one-baggers, sandwiched around a walk to George Fuller, who scored on an error.
G. Brice (W) and Lumley
Mabee (L) and McAvoy
(July 23) The Gorge Hotel nine boosted their league lead to a full game over the idle Transport Workers by romping to a 13 to 4 decision over Greaves Movers in a VSABL fixture at Royal Athletic Park. Entering the final frame with a 6 to 4 cushion, the Hoteliers hung a seven-spot on the scoreboard to put the issue to bed. Stan Gibb pitched a seven-hitter for the win.
Gibb (W) and Lumley
Hemming (L), Thame (6) and Bishop, Bell
(July 27) Nine runs collected in a seventh-inning eruption gave the Transport Workers a 13 to 7 triumph over the Imperial Essos at Royal Athletic Park. Pitchers Terry Karpiuk and Bruce Rands had to face 13 Transport batters in the seventh frame after the Essos had taken a 7 to 4 lead. The Workers tagged seven of their 13 hits in that inning, led by John McKeachie’s two-run double and Brian MacKenzie’s three-run two-bagger. Don Burrows, catching for the Imperials, paced the 12-hit attack mounted by his team, poking out a double and two singles.
Jolly, Strongman (W) (5) and McAvoy
Karpiuk, Rands (L) (6), Karpiuk (7) and Burrows
(July 28) Three Imperial Esso errors eased the way for an 8 to 2 victory by the Gorge Hotel in a VSABL fracas at Royal Athletic Park. The win for the Innkeepers moved them into a one-game lead over the second-place Transport Workers. Gorge snapped a 1 – 1 deadlock with three runs on two errors in the third panel and bolstered their lead with four additional tallies in the fourth with the aid of another Esso bobble. Stan Gibb pitched a five-hitter to cop the mound victory.
Strandlund (L), T. Holmes (4) and Burrows, Hall (4)
Gibb (W) and Lumley
(July 29) Les Brice scattered five hits and rang up six punchouts to help Greaves Movers to a 1 to 0 blanking of the Transport Workers at Royal Athletic Park. Brice also helped his victory from the batter’s box, collecting two of the eight hits accumulated by the Greaves nine. With the win, the Movers clinched third place in the four-team circuit. The winning run came in the seventh inning when Bob Moysey singled, gained second on an error made by losing pitcher Bob Mabee, advanced to third on a groundout and crossed the plate on a single by Dave Rivers.
L. Brice (W) and Bishop
Mabee (L) and McAvoy
(July 30) The second-place Transport Workers staged a fifth-inning rally and went on to down the league-leading Gorge Hotel 4 to 1 in Senior Amateur Baseball League action at Royal Athletic Park. Pete Jolly pitched a three-hitter for the victory that moved the Transports to within a half-game of the league-leaders. The Transports nailed four of their five base knocks off losing chucker George Brice in the fifth frame, scoring all their runs after grouping two bases on balls, a wild pitch and singles by Mike McAvoy, George Fuller, Terry Whitman and Tony Gage.
G. Brice (L) and Lumley
Jolly (W) and McAvoy
(August 4) Gorge Hotel received a helping hand from cellar-dwelling Imperial Esso in a VSABL game played at Royal Athletic Park. The Gasmen bounced the second=place Transport Workers 8 to 6 and prevented them from moving into a first-place tie with Gorge. The Esso crew took a commanding 8 to 4 lead in the bottom-of-the-sixth inning when Chris Hall blasted a run-scoring triple and then romped home on a sacrifice fly by Randy Senini. Bob Burrows and Senini each dove in two runs for the Imperials. Mike McAvoy’s two-run homer paced the Transports’ four-run first inning.
Mabee (L), Worth (3) and McAvoy
Oldridge (W) and Burrows
BC SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
(August 7) Playing throughout a steady drizzle, the Kelowna Carlings of the OMBL dumped the Quesnel All-Stars 9 to 3 in the opening tournament match. The Carlings got to losing pitcher Pete Swanson and reliever Lorne Rodenets for ten safe blows.
(August 7) The West Kootenay Capilanos, sporting a nucleus of players from the Rossland W.K.S.B.L. club with the same name, yet without the services of the league’s top pitcher and hitter, Joe Zanussi, were blanked 4 to 0 by the Vancouver C.Y.O. diamondeers in an opening round game of the five-team double-elimination B. C. senior tourney being hosted by Kelowna. The Capilanos had plenty of scoring opportunities, stranding ten baserunners and having one thrown out at the plate in a close play, but failed to deliver with the bat when bingles meant bacon. Vancouver hurler Rich Mosher gave up just three safeties and fanned a dozen but struggled at times with his command, issuing six bases on balls. Starting chucker Barry Seal of the Caps was nailed with the defeat when, after pitching no-hit ball into the fourth, he allowed three C.Y.O. runs after three singles and an error and was given the hook. A two-run single by shortstop Paul Peterson of the Lower Mainlanders in this stanza was the telling blow of the contest. Al DeCecco finished up on the hillock for the vanquished nine, yielding another run in the fifth but was almost untouchable after that.
Mosher (W) and xxx
Seal (L), DeCecco (4) and J. McFarland
(August 8) Hosting Kelowna dropped a 7 to 1 decision to the Victoria All-Stars as Gord Strongman, Mike McAvoy and George Fuller all launched homers in support of the five-hit pitching of winning slabman George Brice.
(August 8 Vancouver C.Y.O. overcame a 3 to 0 deficit to defeat the Victoria All-Stars 5 to 3 and move into the championship bracket of the B.C. senior baseball championships. The Capital City crew grabbed a 1 to 0 first-inning lead and increased it to 3 to 0 in the sixth on a two-run homer by Gord Strongman off Larry Webster. But C.Y.O. mounted its comeback on run-scoring singles by Webster and Al Foreman in the seventh and capped the drive, in the eighth, on hits by Howie Stevens and John Kochan.
(August 8) The West Kootenay Capilanos, the aggregation of Rossland pastimers augmented with four players from the Trail Silver Kings and one each from the Grand Forks Mets and Nelson Merchants, were ousted from the B.C. senior baseball tournament after splitting a brace of games. In their early clash, the Caps bounced the Quesnel All-Stars 10 to 5 but were unable to survive a three-run seventh inning outburst by the OMBL champion Kelowna Carlings in their second encounter and were edged 3 to 2.
Although requiring relief help in the ninth, Nelson pickup Bob Jeffs was in complete control on the hill in the opener. He surrendered four hits in his eight innings of toil on the bump, struck out five and walked three. He also led the Caps with three base raps while teammate Rich Miller chipped in with a pair.
Jeffs (W), DeCecco (9) and J. McFarland
Phoenix (L), Rodonets (6), Yalowega (9) and Inglis
Lefthander Dale Payette, seconded by the Caps from the Trail contingent of baseballers, thwarted the Carlings for the first six frames of the second contest, allowing only one runner as far as third base. Weakening in the seventh after one had been retired, he gave up singles to Bob Adshead and Doug Favell which, combined with an outfield error, plated a brace of markers for the hosting Regatta Towners. Another one-bagger, this one by Doug Moore, drove in Favell with what turned out to be the winner. Payette finished with nine strikeouts and averaged just 13 pitches per inning in a losing cause. Winning chucker Len Tweed whiffed seven and walked one as the Carlings registered a narrow 8 to 7 edge in base hits. Adshead had three safeties for the Brewery Boys while Bob Jeffs picked up a pair to lead the losers.
Tweed (W), Burdette (9) and xxx
Payette (L) and J. McFarland
(August 9) An all-star team from the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League climaxed a strong comeback by blasting Vancouver C.Y.O. 15 to 3 in the final game of the British Columbia senior baseball championships. With their back to the wall after losing to the Vancouver squad a day previous, the strong-hitting Victoria nine were forced to play three games on this final day of the tournament to win the right to represent the province in the Canadian championships. After eliminating the host Kelowna Carlings in the loser’s bracket final 11 to 5 earlier in the day, the Victorians continued their comeback by stopping the previously-unbeaten C.Y.O. aggregation 6 to 3 in their second contest, forcing a deciding game. The Islanders unleashed a 15-hit attack against the Lower Mainlanders in the sudden-death finale, scoring seven times in the opening stanza and forcing C.Y.O. to use four pitchers. Outfielder Gord Strongman batted .524 in the three-day, double-knockout tournament. He hit homers in all five games the winners played and batted in 14 runs. Strongman had five RBI’s on the basis a single, double and home run in the game against Kelowna. He added another three RBI’s in Victoria’s 6 to 3 doubling of Vancouver and three more in the lopsided championship game.
(August 12) Supported by the two-hit pitching of Bob Mabee, the Transport Workers made a first inning lead stand up as they edged Greaves Movers 2 to 0 at Royal Athletic Park and advanced to within a half-game of the VSABL leagie-leading Gorge Hotel. Mabee struck out five Greaves’ batters en route to his mound triumph. The Transports scored both of their counters in the opening panel when losing flinger George Hemming issued three bases on balls and was touched for a single.
Hemming (L) and Bishop
Mabee (W) and McAvoy
(August 13) A determined band of Gorge Hotel diamond pastimers climbed to within one triumph of clinching a first-place finish in the VSABL when they thumped the Imperial Essos 7 to 1 at Royal Athletic Park. George Brice, who tossed a three-hitter while ringing up six punchouts, and Wayne Peters, with a fifth-inning bases-loaded triple, were the key men in the Movers triumph over the Petroleum Dealers.
G. Brice (W) and Morgan
Rands (L), Karpiuk (3), Strandlund (5) and Burrows
(August 17) Gorge Hotel captured the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League regular-season pennant after splitting a pair of suspended games against the Transport Workers which had ended in ties earlier in the season.
The Transports won the first overtime contest 3 to 2 with a run in the top-of-the-twelfth frame. Gorge scored a run in the first extra-inning of the second game for a 2 to 1 victory at Royal Athletic Park to clinch the title. The Hoteliers and third-place Greaves Movers will now tangle in one sudden-death semi-final while the Transports will tackle the last-place Imperial Essos in the other.
Final Standings W L Pct. GBL
Gorge Hotel 17 7 .708 -----
Transport Workers 16 8 .667 1
Greaves Movers 9 15 .375 8
Imperial Esso 6 18 .250 11
PLAYOFFS
SUDDEN-DEATH SEMI-FINALS
(August 18) It took a whole season for the Gorge Hotel diamond troopers to capture the regular-season pennant in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League and now the Hoteliers are out of the running for the playoff crown after only one game. The Innkeepers were swamped by a batting barrage at Royal Athletic Park in a sudden-death, semi-final playoff as Greaves Movers unloaded eleven hits and carted away an 8 to 1 triumph. Southpaw George Hemming allowed Gorge only four hits while striking out five batters. Bob Moysey paced the Movers with the baton, drilling three singles off losing slabman George Brice while Les Brice collected a double and single off his brother’s slants to accumulate three RBI’s. Greaves now await the winner of the other sudden-death showdown between the Transport Workers and Imperial Esso.
G. Brice (L) and Morgan
Hemming (W) and Bishop
(August 19) Upset victories in abbreviated playoffs of the VSABL have sent the Imperial Essos and Greaves Movers into the sudden-death final at Royal Athletic Park. Following the elimination of pennant-winning Gorge Hotel by third-place Greaves Movers 24 hours previous, the last-place Essos surprised the Transport Workers 9 to 2 in the other sudden-death semi-final. In receipt of solid pitching from Tom Holmes, the Gasmen limited the Transports to one counter in each of the opening and final stanzas. The youthful Imperials took a 2 to 1 first-inning lead and turned on the power in the second panel, scoring five times. Holmes yielded four hits and struck out an equal number of opposing batters. The Transports threatened in the fifth and sixth spasms, as recipients of five free passes during over those two frames, but Holmes managed to dig himself out of the hole he had created.
T. Holmes (W) and Burrows
Jolly (L) and McAvoy
SUDDEN-DEATH FINAL
(August 20) After finishing in the basement and winning a total of only six games during the regular-season campaign, the Imperial Essos annexed the 1970 Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League playoff crown by edging Greaves Movers 3 to 2 in a sudden-death final at Royal Athletic Park. Winning pitcher Bruce Rands held the Greaves swatsmiths to seven hits in the winner-take-all finale. Starter and loser Gerry Lister of the Movers allowed the Essos three hits and one run in the first inning and yielded two more in the third on a brace of safeties and a sacrifice fly. Portsider George Hemming, who took over mound duties from Lister in the fourth episode, drove in both counters tallied by the vanquished nine in the same frame when he slashed a bases-loaded single.
Rands (W) and Burrows
Lister (L), Hemming (4) and Bishop
(August 28 – 31) Canadian Senior Baseball Championshi, Brandon MB.