MANITOBA SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE

League composition within the Manitoba Senior Baseball League reverted to ten teams in 1976 with the withdrawal of the Neepawa franchise after two seasons in the circuit.  As rumours began to circulate that Winnipeg and the eastern portion of Manitoba were planning to reintroduce senior-level baseball in 1977, the established western area saw one of its long-term franchises, the Riverside Canucks, switch all of their home games to Boissevain, a significant distance of some 142 miles from the community which bears their name. The move, unpopular as it was with the Riverside fans, came about because the team was unable to come to an agreement with the new owner of the land on which the Riverside ball park was located.

NORTH DIVISION
Angusville Cardinals
Binscarth Orioles
Dauphin Redbirds
Grandview Lakers
McAuley Blazers

SOUTH DIVISION
Brandon Cloverleafs
Hamiota Red Sox
Riverside Canucks
Souris Cardinals
Virden Oilers 

(May 23)  Import Dan Kaupla began the 1976 MSBL season the way he finished up in 1975. Playing before the Boissevain supporters of the Riverside Canucks, Kaupla combined with the homerun hitting of Dale Lowes to star as the defending champion McAuley Blazers blanked the Riversiders 3 to 0. While Kaupla was blanking the Canucks on four hits and striking out eight, Lowes provided the key offensive blow for the Blazers. With two out in the fourth inning, losing pitcher Rob Medoff surrendered back-to-back singles to Brian Purcha and Wayne Poole. That set the stage for Lowes, Kaupla’s batterymate, who deposited Medoff’s first offering over the rightfield fence for a three-run round-tripper. Neither Kaupla nor Medoff issued a walk in the well-played opener. Purcha added another single for the winners who wound up with seven safeties.

Kaupla (W) and Lowes
Medoff (L) and Gullett, C. Seafoot

(May 23)  Fireballing Bruce Bremer struck out 14 Dauphin batters in seven innings as the Binscarth Orioles started off the campaign by overwhelming the invading Redbirds 13 to 4. While Bremer was throttling the Redbirds, his Biscarth teammates were teeing off on loser Dave Rottman for a dozen safe blows. The key inning for the Orioles was the fourth when they sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven times. Bill Derlago’s three-run homer was the big blow of that uprising. Newcomer Russ Shaw pitched the final two cantos for the O’s and gave up three of the four Dauphin tallies. Derlago had a single in addition to his tater while Reg Parton, Chuck Lang and Bremer all nicked Rottman, who recorded 11 strikeouts, for a double and single. The Redbirds, who committed six errors, had a double and one-bagger from Rottman and a pair of singles from third baseman Ken Buchy

Rottman (L) and Morrison
Bremer (W), Shaw (8) and Lang

(May 23)  The host Souris Cardinals sneaked past the Hamiota Red Sox 4 to 3 in the opening MSBL tilt for both South Division foes. Veteran Bill Carpenter’s single in the fifth frame drove in a pair of runs for the victors, giving them a 4 to 1 lead as the Cards were able to withstand a two-run dinger by Hamiota’s Ellis Woods in the ninth panel and hold on for the narrow win. The Red Sox had a 9 to 7 advantage in base hits. Neither starting heaver, winner Jerry Araujo, or Brent Montague of the Sox was around at the end. Araujo went eight innings while Montague lasted six. Carpenter had an additional one-bagger to go along with his RBI-swat while Doug Mathison and Ron Ramsey both had a pair of singles for the Crimson Hose.

Montague (L), Ramsey (6) and Young
Araujo (W), Jenson (9) and Dwight Kirkup

(May 23)  The Angusville Cardinals built up an early 5 – 1 lead and went on to defeat the visiting Grandview Lakers 7 to 3. Jay Freeman, a new import with the Cards, made his MSBL debut at the plate an auspicious one, unloading a three-run circuit-jack in the opening canto to go along with a single later in the game. Tim Matz, who took over for starting chucker Bob Chuchmuch in the fifth frame, was awarded the pitching win. The duo were tagged for ten Laker safeties with Deryl Ortynski swatting three of them, including a solo home run. Losing twirler Don Luhowy exited after seven stanzas, giving up all seven runs and eight hits garnered by Angusville. One of those was a two-run dinger by Chuchmuch in the seventh. Jim Flynn added a brace of one-baggers for the winners while Grandview’s Tony Kalechyn relicated the feat.

Luhowy (L), Archambault (8) and Kalechyn, Ramsey (8)
B. Chuchmuch, Matz (W) (5) and Freeman, Wowk (7) 

(May 25)  Fuming after being hit in the ribs with an opening-inning pitch by McAuley pitcher Ross Lynd, Brandon’s Rick McFadyen waited until the sixth stanza to get his revenge. With the Blazers and Lynd in front 2 – 0, McFadyen rattled a two-run single off Lynd’s ankle into short rightfield to key a three-run rally, allowing veteran Brian Hodgson and the homestanding Cloverleafs to post a 3 to 2 season-opening win. The Leafs managed only five singles in the hard-fought encounter with outfielder Bob Thompson getting a pair of them. Hodgson went all the way on the bump for the Wheat City nine, yielding six hits and striking out three. Dan Kaupla launched a solo home run and a single for the Blazers while teammate Terry Lynd picked up a triad of one-baggers.

R. Lynd (L), Langston (6) and Lowes
Hodgson (W) and Harvey

(May 25)  The second-year Angusville Cardinals, paced by the strong pitching of import Jay Freeman, slammed out 15 hits to whip the Binscarth Orioles and run their early-season record to 2 – 0. Freeman choked the Orioles on four hits while striking out 13. The Californian also banged out three hits, including his second home run of the season, a three-run shot in the fourth frame. Catcher Barry Wowk and import Tim Matz also cracked three safeties off losing chucker Bryan McCauley with Matz and Lynn Chuchmuch connecting for four-ply clouts. Clinton Pushka added a brace of one-base raps. McCauley went six innings, giving up 13 of the 15 Cardinal hits. Rookie Russ Shaw pitched the final two innings, striking out three. Chuck Lang led Binscarth offensively with two base knocks including a sixth-stanza, bases-empty four-bagger.

McCauley (L), Shaw (7) and Lang
Freeman (W) and Wowk 

(May 25)  The Riverside Canucks won their first game of the season, doubling the Virden Oilers 6 to 3 at Boissevain. Slugger Mark Hunter belted four hits, including a bases-loaded triple, to lead the Canucks to victory. Veteran righthander Grant Everard went the distance for the win, giving up ten hits. Oilers’ rookie import Don Barboneaux, also surrendered ten safeties but had control issues, walking seven which put him into numerous jams. Everard and second baseman Bob Williamson of the Riversiders clipped the apple for two singles apiece while Barboneaux paced the Virden nine with three singles. Randy Dittmer and Blair Fordyce aided Barboneaux’s cause with two hits each, with one of Fordyce’s blows being a triple.

Barboneaux (L) and Fordyce
Everard (W) and Gullett 

(May 27)  The Hamiota Red Sox paraded 11 swatters to the plate in the opening panel against two Brandon pitchers, sent eight of those batters-turned-runners across the plate and then proceeded to blow a 12 to 10 decision the the hosting Brandon Cloverleafs in an eight-inning, darkness-shortened MSBL fixture. The Sox blasted rookie Brandon starter Gary Schuel for five runs in the first inning before playing-manager Rick Hlady assumed pitching chores, facing six more batters and allowing three more tallies before finally retiring the side. In the third, the Leafs began chipping away at the huge deficit by plating a deuce. It was 8 – 3 after three innings, 9 – 7 after four and 10 – 10 at the end of six. Rookie infielder Rick Cruise of the Cloverleafs made his first hit in the MSBL an important one in the seventh spasm, slicing a bases-loaded single up the middle off losing pitcher Mike Labossiere to drive in the winning and insurance runs. Bob Thompson had a three-run triple and a double for the victors while Designated Hitter Roy McLachlan and second baseman Bert Ready cracked out three singles each. Brent Montague collected a triple, double and single for the Sox while Ellis Woods, Ron Ramsey and rookie Doug Mathison each delivered two base raps.

Scott, Anderson (6), Labossiere (L) (6) and Sheardown, Young (5)
Schuel, Hlady (W) (1) and McFadyen

(May 28)  Versatile Rick McFadyen, Brandon’s double-barrelled star, had two hits, one of them a game-winning homer, and tossed a four-hit shutout as the Cloverleafs blanked the hometown Dauphin Redbirds 4 to 0 in an eight-inning, darkness-shortened MSBL affair. McFadyen provided himself with the only tally he would need with a solo homer in the fourth frame and helped to pad the lead with some insurance counters by keying a three-run outburst in the fifth with a two-run double. While toeing the rubber, McFadyen struck out five and walked seven. Only one of the four safeties he surrendered, a double by Sig Sigurson, went for extra bases. Losing heaver Dave Rottman was touched for only six hits, two each by McFadyen and Norm Hemstad. The veteran chucker walked just three while whiffing nine Brandonites.

McFadyen (W) and Harvey
Rottman (L) and Morrison

(May 28)  Wayne Poole’s two-run single in the eighth episode provided the winning margin for the McAuley Blazers as they nipped the Virden Oilers 3 to 1. Jon Langston rang up 11 punchouts and stifled the Oilers on five hits in handing them their second successive loss. He lost his shutout in the ninth when Rick Bohonis singled and later crossed the pan on a ground out. Brian Purcha singled in McAuley’s first run in the sixth stanza, breaking up a scoreless duel between Langston and Virden’s Larry Thompson, who walked two and fanned five in eight innings. Poole and catcher Dale Lowes each bad two singles for the Blazers in heading their eight-hit offense. Bohonis cracked a double and a single for the winless Oilers.

Langston (W) and Lowes
Thompson (L), Bridgett (9) and Fordyce

(May 29)  Mark Fisher’s 400-foot double in the eighth inning scored Bob Williamson with the winning counter as the Riverside Canucks slipped past the Souris Cardinals 9 to 8 in an error-riddled game. The teams combined to make eight miscues, five of them by the Cardinals. Ron Seafoot, who pitched 1-2/3 innings of hitless relief after taking over from Cam Mealy, got the win. Mealy had replaced import starter Rick Arnold on the hillock for the Riversiders after the Californian had been roughed up four runs in the first two frames. Ken Vertz went all the way on the bump for Souris. The Canucks outhit the visitors 13 – 12 with Morley Hartel hitting safely three times. Fisher, Cliff Seafoot Craig Bell and Williamson all had two hits. Third baseman Stan Furman rapped out four singles for Souris and Designated Hitter Bill Carpenter singled and doubled. Grant Kirkup and Garry/Gary Davidson added a pair of one-baggers each.
  
Vertz (L) and Dwight Kirkup
Arnold, Mealy (3), R. Seafoot (W) (8) and Gullett

(May 30)  Rookie Russ Shaw belted home runs in his first two two trips to the plate in leading the host Binscarth Orioles to a 9 to 3 win over the Hamiota Red Sox. Shaw’s three-run blast in the opening canto highlighted a five-run Oriole outburst which put them in front to stay. Dennis Anderson started on the hillock for Hamiota, going 5-1/3 innings before being lifted for Ron Ramsey. The duo gave up a dozen hits, including a home run and double off the bat of Rod Fallis. Ron Low, the goaltender for the NHL’s Washington Capitals, stroked a double and a pair of singles in support of Bruce Bremer who registered his second straight mound victory. Bremer, who helped himself with a pair of singles, limited the winless Red Sox to six hits and a walk, while fanning 15. Bremer’s batterymate, Chuck Lang, also helped the cause with a two-bagger and a one-base rap. Mike Labossiere had two of Hamiota’s six hits, including a double.

Anderson (L), Ramsey (6) and Young
Bremer (W) and Lang

(May 30)  The travelling Grandview Lakers divided the spoils in a split-venue doubleheader, edging the Riverside Canucks 4 to 3 before dropping a darkness-called, seven-inning 7 to 3 decision to the Souris Cardinals. Import Jim Deaver, besides posting the complete-game knoll triumph, doubled home what proved to be the decisive run in the top-of-the-ninth inning of the afternoon tilt. In posting his first win of the season, Deaver limited the Canucks to seven hits. He ran into trouble in the bottom-of-the-ninth when the Canucks fought back from a three-run deficit with a brace of counters but eventually worked his way out of the jam to preserve the victory. The losing pitcher was Grant Everard who also went the distance but was raked for 12 hits. John Hindle drilled a double and single for the winners while teammates Deryl Ortynski and Steve Archambault added two singles apiece. Danny Cassils managed a couple of one-baggers for the Riversiders.

Deaver (W) and G. Ortynski
Everard (L) and Gullett

The trek from Boissevain to Souris for the second-half of the twin-bill wasn’t beneficial in revitalizing the Lakers who fell behind early and faced a 3 to 0 deficit after three innings were in the books. Late in getting started, only seven innings of illuminated play were possible before the tussle was called. Import Scott Jenson picked up the pitching victory for the hosting Cards, allowing two hits and eight free passes in six stanzas of mound toil. Souris collected ten hits off starter and loser Steve Archambault and seventh-inning reliever Tony Kalechyn, including a two-run homer and single by  Stan Furman. Jerry Araujo picked up a double and one-bagger while Bill Carpenter and Greg Cameron each singled twice.

Archambault (L), Kalecyn (7) and G. Ortynski
Jenson (W), Araujo (7) and Dwight Kirkup

(May 30)  The McAuley Blazers celebrated their home opener by clobbering the Angusville Cardinals 12 to 5 in a heavy-hitting tilt wherein each team slapped the sphere for 13 safe swats. The defending champs plated a five-spot in the seventh stanza to put the game out of reach, thanks mainly to a two-run double by Wayne Poole. Brian Purcha, Barry Jamieson and Graeme Lee also drove in two runs apiece for the Blazers. Purcha doubled and homered while Jamieson and Lee stroked two singles each. Terry Lynd also had a pair of hits as did winning pitcher Dan Kaupla. The Cards used three chuckers with starter Bob Chuchmuch being tagged with the loss. Barry Wowk was best with the baton for Angusville, belting a solo homer as well as a double and single. Bill Flynn drove in three runs with as many singles. Bob Chuchmuch connected for a double and single while Lynn Chuchmuch launched a bases-empty tater.

B. Chuchmuch (L), Matz (4), Freeman (5) and Freeman, Wowk (5)
Kaupla (W) and xxx

(June 1)  Showing some improvement, the Virden Oilers battled tooth-and-nail with the Riverside Canucks before succumbing 4 to 3, a third consecutive loss. Riverside’s victory was their third in five tries and required a two-run rally in the eighth inning to pull it off. Wirth Virden in front 3 to 2, Danny Cassils tied the game with a run-scoring single. Murray Duncan followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Bruce Gullett from third base with the ultimate winner, making a winner out of Canucks’ reliever Ron Seafoot. Both teams had eight base hits. Seafoot replaced starter Cam Mealy in the seventh and hurled 2-1/3 innings of scoreless ball. Losing chucker Don Barboneaux tossed the entire nine innings, striking out six. Cassils singled twice for the winners while Cliff Seafoot managed a double and single. Bob Downey ripped three one-baggers for the Oilers while Terry Good picked up a pair.

Mealy, R. Seafoot (W) (7) and Gullett
Barboneaux (L) and Fordyce

(June 1)  The surprising Angusville Cardinals blasted the homestanding Binscarth Orioles 11 to 5 to move into a first-place tie in the North Division standings with the McAuley Blazers. Jay Freeman, staked to an 8 – 3 lead after 3-1/2 innings, registered his second straight win against no losses. He allowed eight hits and struck out the same number before fellow import Tim Matz took over mound chores in the eighth episode. Rookie Oriole heaver Russ Shaw, rocked for seven hits and five runs in just over three innings, was the loser. The Chuchmuch boys, Lynn and Bob, supplied the power for the visitors. Bob, along with a double and single, belted his second home run of the season with one aboard while Lynn later smashed another two-run dinger. Al Ducharme nailed a double and single for Binscarth while catcher Chuck Lang launched a solo tater.

Freeman (W), Matz (8) and Wowk
Shaw (L), Hollender (4), Falk (4) and Lang

(June 1)  In a a clash of two winless teams, the Hamiota Red Sox got plenty of help from the hosting Dauphin nine, who committed seven errors, to chalk up a 7 to 4 verdict over the Redbirds. The game was called after seven innings due to rain. Veteran Glennis Scott was the winning pitcher, garnering the verdict over Dave Rottman, who is winless in three decisions. Catcher John Young led the victors’ eight-hit attack with a triple and single. John Morrison doubled and singled for the losers, driving in three runs. Third baseman Ken Buchy followed with a couple of singles.

Scott (W) and Young
Rottman (L) and Morrison

(June 2)  Ross Lynd pitched a three-hit shutout in leading the McAuley Blazers to a 4 to 0 victory over the Grandview Lakers. The win lifted the Blazers back into sole possession of top spot in the North Division, a half-game in front of the idle Angusville Cardinals. Outhit by a 7 to 3 margin, the Lakers unravelled defensively as all four McAuley runs were unearned. The only tally that the Blazers needed came in the opening panel when Barry Jamieson tripled and scored on a wild pitch by losing chucker Don Luhowy. Lynd and Brian Rose both singled twice for the winners.

R. Lynd (W) and Lowes
Luhowy (L) and G. Ortynski

(June 3)  The hosting Brandon Cloverleafs laid a 14 to 2 licking on the Virden Oilers in MSBL action that was limited to eight innings because of darkness. The win was the fourth in succession for the unbeaten Leafs while Virden absorbed their fourth straight setback. The Cloverleafs collected 12 hits in the one-sided affair but were also the beneficiaries of 12 free passes and three Oiler errors. Brian Hodgson, with seven innings of work on the bump, cruised to his second win of the season. Hodgson tossed five-hit ball before turning the horsehide over to rookie southpaw Brent Hansen for the eighth and final canto. Virden’s Larry Thompson, younger brother of Brandon’s Bob Thompson, had severe command issues and was given the hook after 4-1/3 innings in suffering the setback. A couple of former Virden players, Bob Thompson and Norm Hemstad, each had two hits for the Wheat City nine. Rick McFadyen cracked a triple and single to accumulate five RBI’s. Skipper Rick Hlady also had a good night at the dish, pounding the pill for a double and two singles. Bob Wilson added a brace of one-bagger in his role as Designated Hitter.

Thompson (L), Bridgett (5), Dittmer (7) and Fordyce
Hodgson (W), Hansen (8) and Harvey

(June 4)  Dave Rottman, a veteran MSBL’er who is one of the league’s more versatile players, came on in a fifth-inning relief role with a two-run lead, lost the margin but benefitted by a three-run top-of-the-ninth inning rally by his mates as the Dauphin Redbirds upended the hosting Angusville Cardinals 7 to 4. The win for Dauphin was their first after three successive losses to begin the season. The Redbirds teed off against import Dan Herriage, in Angusville for a tryout, for four runs in the top-of-the-opening panel. Unable to retire even a single batter, Herriage was replaced by Tim Matz who took over and went the rest of the way, eventually being saddled with the hard-luck loss after the Cards had rebounded from the early deficit to deadlock the score at 4 – 4 in the eighth when Matz belted a two-run round-tripper. But the Redbirds won it for Rottman in the ninth with a three-spot despite nicking Matz for only one safety in the frame, an RBI-single by Siggi Sigurdson, one of three safeties he had in the contest. John Morrison, Ken Buchy and Rottman backed up Sigurdson’s triad of safe swats by banging out two hits each. Morrison’s brace included a triple while Buchy’s sum embraced a two-bagger. Matz had a double for Angusville in addition to his dinger while teammate Bill Flynn added two singles. 

Wills, Rottman (W) (5) and Morrison
Herriage, Matz (L) (1) and Wowk

(June 4)  Jim Deaver tossed a five-hitter and struck out 12 as the Grandview Lakers handed the Binscarth Orioles a 2 to 0 defeat. The Orioles, who had scored 29 runs in their first four games, were completely stymied by Deaver, who raised his record to 2 – 0. The only run the Lakers needed came in the third inning when Tony Kalechyn doubled and import Steve Archambault drove him home with a single. They added their other counter in the seventh on a walk and one of four Binscarth errors. Bruce Bremer suffered his first loss of the season although he pitched well enough to win most games, yielding only six hits while punching out nine. Don Luhowy banged out a pair of singles to pace the Grandview hitters while Rod Fallis’ two safeties led the Birds.

Bremer (L) and Lang
Deaver (W) and Ramsey, Kalechyn (5)
 
(June 5)  Lefthander Dennis Anderson, who has been a bust so far this season after a solid rookie campaign, failed to last past the second inning as the Riverside Canucks rolled over the hometown Hamiota Red Sox 7 to 3. The Riversiders, leading 1 – 0 after the first frame, rocked Anderson for five hits and four runs in the second stanza of their match before rookie Doug Mathison came on in relief and put out the fire. Mathison, in turn, was yanked in the ninth before outfielder Doug McPhail took over and yielded a two-run circuit-clout to Mark Fisher. Import Rick Arnold chalked up his first MSBL win, going 7-1/3 innings for the Canucks, giving up six of the seven Hamiota hits and all three runs. Fisher, Ron Seafoot, Bruce Gullett and Morley Hartel each banged out two hits for the Canucks while McPhail contributed two singles for the Red Sox.

Arnold (W), R. Seafoot (8) and Gullett, C. Seafoot (9)
Anderson (L), Mathison (2), McPhail (9) and Sheardown

(June 7)  Danny Kaupla became the MSBL’s first three-game winner, pitching an eight-hitter and driving in the winning run as the McAuley Blazers edged the Grandview Lakers 5 to 4. The victory, McAuley’s fifth in six starts, increased their North Division lead to 1-1/2 games over the idle Angusville Cardinals. Kaupla banged out three hits including an RBI-single in the seventh that gave the Blazers their fifth marker. Grandview’s Steve Archambault gave up six hits and six walks while fanning seven in taking the loss. Kaupla issued only one base-on-balls. Tony Kalechyn, Jim Deaver and Archambault each had two singles for the Lakers.

Archambault (L) and Kalechyn
Kaupla (W) and Lowes

(June 8)  Threatening to run away and hide in the North Division, the McAuley Blazers won their sixth MSBL game in seven tries with a 7 to 4 victory over the Binscarth Orioles. McAuley struck for four runs in the third inning and never lost the lead. Ross Lynd was backed by a 13-hit Blazer attack in picking up his second win with a nine-hitter but was victimized by the long ball. Binscarth reliever Bruce Bremer dialed long distance for his first two four-ply clouts of the campaign. Both dingers were solo shots. The Orioles got their other runs on a two-run tater by Bob Paradine. Lynd struck out seven and didn’t issue a walk in going the full nine innings. Binscarth starter and loser Russ Shaw was pasted for 11 of the 13 opposition safeties in the 4-2/3 innings he pitched. Wayne Poole drilled three singles for the winners while Terry Lynd broke out of a slump with a triple and one-bagger. Alf Ducharme had a pair of singles for the losers.

R. Lynd (W) and Lowes
Shaw (L), Bremer (5) and Lang

(June 10)  A seventh-inning meltdown by the Brandon Canucks allowed the visiting Riverside Canucks to score eight runs en route to a 15 to 7 thrashing by the Riversiders in an eight-inning MSBL assignment. Entering the seventh with the score knotted at 6 – 6, the Canucks put together four base hits against two Brandon relievers but were ably assisted by three free passes and three Cloverleaf errors in notching the eight-spot. Three tallies were forced in by the triad of walks while Riverside’s Craig Bell, with his second triple of the game, drove in a pair to climax the uprising. Rick McFadyen, who ascended the knoll to begin the seventh, in relief of Leaf starter Brian Hodgson, was nicked with the loss. Grant Everard, the fifth-inning replacement for starting heaver Rob Medoff, got the pitching win with his 2-2/3 innings of one-hit ball. Besides Bell’s hot hitting, Morley Hartel and Cliff Seafoot had two hits each for the Canucks while Bob Thompson and error-prone shortstop Rick Cruise had two safeties apiece for the Wheat City nine. 

Medoff, Everard (W) (5), Arnold (8) and Gullett
Hodgson, McFadyen (L) (7), Green (7) and McFadyen, Harvey (7)

(June 10)  The invading Hamiota Red Sox plated five tallies in their first turn at bat and parlayed that lead into an 11 to 1 thumping of the Angusville Cardinals. Ron Ramsey, who plays a sure-handed second base for the Sox between pitching assignments, came up with a six-hitter to annex the one-sided win. The Scarlet Stockings battered Angusville starter and loser Bob Chuchmuch for nine counters in the first four frames. The visitors wound up with 15 safe swats as Mike Labossiere delivered a home run and two singles, Bob Caldwell came through with a four-ply clout and a two-run single and rookie Doug Mathison singled twice to drive in four runs. Another first-year player, Craig Lobban, checked in with two doubles while Bryan Smith bagged a brace of one-base raps. Jim Flynn led the Cards at the platter with a couple of singles.

Ramsey (W) and Labossiere
B. Chuchmuch (L), Kotelniski (7) and Wowk, Chipelski (7)

(June 11)  Allowing only a leadoff single by Dan Herriage in the third inning, Dan Kaupla was just one swing of the bat away from hurling a perfect game as the McAuley Blazers ambushed the hometown Dauphin Redbirds 17 to 0. Kaupla, ace of the McAuley pitching staff, issued no free passes and the Blazers committed no errors as he improved his pitching record to 4 – 0. While Kaupla was busy choking the Redbirds, his mates were teeing off for 13 base hits, five of them by Terry Lynd who was credited with five RBI’s. Lynd belted a triple, double and three singles while McAuley was cruising the the one-sided thrashing, aided by eight Dauphin fielding miscues. Wayne Poole managed a pair of singles for the winners, along with the same number of RBI’s, while Kaupla added two singles and a three-bagger. Herriage, who had an unsuccessful tryout with the Angusville Cardinals last week, was the losing pitcher, giving way to Dave Rottman in the fourth frame. Rottman lasted just one-third of an inning before regular catcher John Morrison assumed mound duties, being tagged for the final seven runs.

Kaupla (W) and Lowes
Herriage (L), Rottman (4), Morrison (5) and Morrison, K. Buchy

(June 11)  Collecting just four base hits, the Hamiota Red Sox still managed to triumph 8 to 3 over the hosting Virden Oilers in a seven-inning MSBL encounter, shortened by darkness. Virden pitchers Dave Ehrhardt and Don Barbeneaux combined to walk eleven Hamiota batters, seven of whom eventually scored. The Red Sox got two bases-loaded walks and a two-run single from Bob Caldwell during a four-run second inning which chased losing chucker Ehrhardt. Southpaw Dennis Anderson went 5-2/3 innings on the bump to earn his first win of the campaign for the Sox. The vanquished Oilers accumulated nine base knocks, three off the bat of Barboneaux and a brace from Terry Good in the abbreviated tilt.

Anderson (W), Mathison (6) and Sheardown
Ehrhardt (L), Barboneaux (3) and Fordyce

(July 12)  The Angusville Cardinals exploded for ten runs in the sixth inning which carried them to a 12 to 6 conquest of the Grandview Lakers. Trailing ultimate losing twirler Jim Deaver and the Lakers 5 to 0 heading into the sixth, the Cards sent 14 batters to the plate in building the highest-scoring inning of the MSBL season. The visitors banged out eight of their ten hits during the course of the inning including two singles by Bill Flynn. The beneficiary of the rally was complete-game winning heaver Tim Matz who gave up 13 hits, fanned six and didn’t issue a walk. Californian Deaver was charged with the ten tallies before getting the hook. Clint Pushka drilled a triple and single for the victors while Matz added a double and one-bagger. For Grandview, John Hindle slapped out the singles, one more than Deaver and Glen Riess.

Matz (W) and Freeman
Deaver (L), Luhowy (6) and Kalechyn

(June 14)  Stacked with quality pitching, the North Division-leading McAuley Blazers shutout the Riverside Canucks 5 to 0 as winning pitcher Jon Langston blanked the Riversiders with a one-hit pitching performance. A game-opening double by Canucks’ second baseman Bob Williamson was the lone rap give up by Kaupla. He also issued five free passes and McAuley made five errors but the Blazers still managed to extend their shutout string to 19 innings. Dale Lowes hit a two-run double to spark a three-run output in the fifth frame and Graeme Lee belted a two-run dinger in the sixth off complete-game loser Grant Everard. Terry Lynd followed with a couple of singles off Everard, who was nicked for ten safeties.

Everard (L) and Gullett
Langston (W) and Lowes

(June 14)  The Souris Cardinals jumped into a 5 – 0 lead after two innings and went on to defeat the homestanding Hamiota Red Sox 6 to 1. Stan Furman, currently the leading hitter in the MSBL, slammed a two-run homer off losing chucker Ron Ramsey in the opening canto and that was all Ken Vertz needed to pick up his first pitching win. Vertz limited the Crimson Hose to four hits while walking two and breezing three. Ramsey went five innings on the hill, giving up seven of the eight Souris hits and all six of their tallies. Tom Kearns collected two singles and a double for the visitors.

Vertz (W) and Dwight Kirkup
Ramsey (L), Anderson (6), Marabella (9) and Labossiere

(June 15)  The high-powered Brandon Cloverleafs erupted for eight runs in the third inning to break a 2 – 2 tie and went on to clobber the winless Virden Oilers 16 to 4 in an eight-inning, darkness-shortened MSBL affair. The third panel outburst gave newcomer Charlie Green of the South Division-leading Leafs, who toiled on the slab for the first five frames, his initial pitching victory. Playing-manager Rick Hlady belted a grand-slam home run and catcher Mel Harvey drilled a three-run double to highlight the big inning. The Wheat City nine raked loser Randy Dittmer and two relievers for 17 hits, three by Rick McFadyen who collected four RBI’s. Hlady, who drove in five markers, Dennis Wiebe, Bob Thompson, Bert Ready and Bob Wilson all had two hits for Brandon. Terry Good ripped two singles for the Oilers while Boyd Henusey added a pair.

Green (W), Hansen (6) and Harvey
Dittmer (L), Thompson (3), Ehrhardt (8) and Fordyce

(June 15)  The Riverside Canucks, a half-game behind Brandon in the South Division pennant race, stayed hot on the heels of the Cloverleafs by thrashing the Souris Cardinals 17 to 3. A six-run uprising by the Riversiders in the sixth spasm broke the back of the Cardinals. The hosting Canucks clobbered three Souris chuckers, including loser Jerry Araujo, for 17 hits. Morley Hartel connected for three safeties and drove in a pair of runs. Craig Bell belted a two-run homer and finished with three RBI’s. Bob Williamson and Mark Fisher also drove in three runs apiece on two safe swats. The Cards accumulated ten base knocks off winning tosser Rick Arnold and sixth-inning reliever Cam Mealy. Bill Carpenter had three of those base raps with teammate Garry/Gary Davidson delivering a pair.

Araujo (L), Carpenter (4), Furman (5), Jenson (7) and Dwight Kirkup
Arnold (W), Mealy (6) and Gullett

(June 15)  The Binscarth Orioles plated an eight-spot in the third panel in the process of clobbering the Grandview Lakers 12 to 2. The Birds banged out 14 hits off four Laker pitchers, none of whom were particularly effective. Steve Archambault, 0 – 3, was the loser. Winning heaver Bruce Bremer, now 3 – 1, limited the visitors to seven hits and walked none while registering 11 punchouts. Cliff McKague had a perfect night at the plate for Binscarth, drilling three singles in as many plate appearances. Russ Shaw had a pair of singles and a double while Rod Fallis delivered a bases-empty tater in the second inning. Catcher Chuck Lang drove in three runs, both coming in two at-bats during the big third chapter. For Grandview, Deryl Ortynski and Jim Deaver stroked two singles apiece.

Archambault (L), Deaver (2), Luhowy (3), Kalechyn (3) and G. Ortynski
Bremer (W) and Lang

(June 17)  Unbelievable as it may sound, the Souris Cardinals teed off on four Brandon pitchers for 23 base hits at Kinsmen Stadium but still came out as 11 to 10 losers in their MSBL clash shortened to seven stanzas because of darkness. Brandon had come back from a 4 – 0 second-inning deficit with nine runs in the third inning but the Cards staged a heavy-hitting rally of their own and had tied things up 10 – 10 after six stanzas. In the top-of-the-seventh and final spasm, Souris got their 23rd hit of the game but no runs. In the bottom-half of the episode, Cardinal chucker Scott Jenson, who had started, left after two innings and returned to the mound after four, walked Bert Ready after two were out. One strike away from ending the inning on the next batter, Rick Cruise, Jenson threw four straight balls for a second free pass. In a questionable bit of strategy, the Cards then decided to intentionally walk the ever-dangerous Rick McFadyen which loaded the sacks. The next batter, Norm Hemstad, hit a not-too-quick roller to third base but Stan Furman’s long throw to Jerry Araujo at first was low and it skipped past him on the hop, allowing Ready to easily plate the deciding tally. The winners had ten hits as Bill Chapple laced three solid safeties including a triple and double. Rick Hlady banged a three-run triple while Ready, Bob Wilson and Mel Harvey each cranked out two singles. For the vanquished Cards, who stranded 14 baserunners, just about everyone in the lineup starred at the plate. Greg Cameron and Jenson each had four hits with Bill Carpenter and Furman both collecting three. Araujo, catcher Dwight Kirkup, Ron Bertholet and Gary Davidson each delivered two safeties. Hlady, the last of the Cloverleaf pitching quartet, got the win over Jenson.

Jenson, Araujo (3), Jenson (L) (5) and Dwight Kirkup
Hodgson, McLachlan (2), Keating (6), Hlady (W) (6) and Harvey

(June 17)  Danny Kaupla, the MSBL’s winningest pitcher so far this season, gave up just for hits, all singles, as he chalked up his third shutout of the year in a 5 to 0 blanking of the Angusville Cardinals by the visiting McAuley Blazers. The Blazers snapped a scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the fourth inning off losing pitcher Jay Freeman and then sealed the deal with another deuce in the sixth stanza. Brian Purcha led the winners offensively, driving in a couple of runs with singles in both the fourth and sixth innings. Also stroking two singles was Angusville’s Tim Matz. Freeman, touched for eight hits in absorbing the loss was also the victim of four errors by his clubmates.

Kaupla (W) and Lowes
Freeman (L) and Wowk

(June 18)  Grandview’s Jim Deaver fashioned a three-hitter and struck out a season-high 16 batters as the visiting Lakers downed the Virden Oilers 4 to 1. Deaver, now 3 – 1, pitched perfect ball for six innings before Virden finally got a baserunner in the seventh. The Oilers didn’t score until the ninth, though, when Terry Good doubled home Boyd Henuset. The Lakers, held hitless by losing chucker Don Barboneaux for four innings, got on the scoreboard in the fifth frame when Wayne Keeler singled home Don Ramsey, who had doubled, and Glen Ortynski, who had reached first on an infield error. Grandview made it 4 – 0 in the ninth on run-scoring singles by Ortynsky and Keeler. Barboneux pitched well in absorbing the defeat for the winless Virdenites, allowing only six hits while punching out seven while Good picked up two of their three hits.

Deaver (W) and G. Ortynski
Barboneaux (L) and Fordyce

(June 18)  First-year import Dave Marabella whiffed nine and gave up just one hit in seven stanzas as the Hamiota Red Sox hammered the Dauphin Redbirds 10 to 4. Marabella, making his first pitching start for the Sox, got all the offense he needed in the seventh spasm, when Hamiota broke through for eight runs. The Red Sox had opened with a pair of first-inning counters with Doug McPhail’s double and Mike Labossiere’s single each knocking in a tally. With a 10 – 1 lead after seven innings, Marabella was pulled in favor of rookie Doug Mathison who gave up the final three Dauphin runs in the ninth. Dave Rottman went the route for the Redbirds, surrendering 12 hits and striking out eight. Labossiere cracked three singles for the Scarlet Stockings while McPhail added a one-base rap to his RBI-double. Bryan Smith came through with a two-run dinger during the eight-run Hamiota seventh-inning. John Morrison and Rottman doubled for the Redbirds with Morrison’s two-bagger driving in two runs in the ninth.

Rottman (L) and Morrison
Marabella (W), Mathison (8) and Labossiere

(June 19)  In spite of being held hitless by Binscarth’s Gerry Falk for 7-2/3 innings, the McAuley Blazers finally broke through in the eighth inning, putting together their only two hits of the games, both singles, along with a walk to plate the game’s lone run as the hosting North Division leaders triumphed over the Binscarth Orioles 1 to 0. Portsider Falk rang up a dozen punchouts and walked three while winning pitcher Ross Lynd, who needed last-out relief help from Jon Langston in the ninth, yielded seven base raps and whiffed three. The amazing McAuley pitching staff, with this whitewashing, ran their shutout-inning streak to 37 in this encounter. Brian Rose was the hitting hero for the Blazers, slapping a pinch-hit single to score Brian Purcha who had started the eighth with a two-out walk and advanced to second base on Lynd’s one-bagger. Russ Shaw, Alf Ducharme and Falk each had two of Binscarth’s seven safeties. 

Falk (L) and Lang
R. Lynd (W), Langston (9) and Lowes

(June 20)  Riverside’s trek into North Division territory for a split-venue double-dip proved highly successful as the Canucks emerged with an 11 to 3 conquest of the Angusville Cardinals and then followed that up with a narrow 4 to 3 triumph over the Binscarth Orioles.

In their encounter at Angusville, Mark Fisher cracked four hits, including two doubles, for the Canucks who also got a three-run tater Danny Cassils and a solo dinger from Bruce Gullett. In all, the Riversiders got three hits off three Cardinal chuckers. Rob Medoff went the distance for the win, scattering seven hits while Tim Matz, who took ill and left after five innings, suffered the defeat. Gullett, Bob Williamson and Cliff Seafoot each had two hits for the victors. Clint Pushka drilled three safeties for the Cards while Bob Chuchmuch spanked the sphere for a brace, one of which was his third homer of the year.

Medoff (W) and Gullett
Matz (L), B. Chuchmuch (6), Freeman (6) and Freeman, Wowk (6)

Playing at Binscarth in their wrap-up tilt, Riverside snapped a 1 – 1 tie with three runs in the sixth inning and held on for the win. The Orioles garnered their final two counters in a last-ditch, ninth-inning attempt at victory, on Roy Reagh’s two-run single. Craig Bell’s two-run four-ply clout and Mark Fisher’s bases-empty round-tripper accounted for the Canucks’ three runs in the fifth. Grant Everard allowed six hits and struck out nine in picking up his third win of the season. Garth Neville, back with the Birds after a short stint with the Teulon Cardinals, took the loss in his first MSBL start of the season. Danny Cassils banged out two singles for Riverside while Chuck Lang had a homer, his third of the year, and a single to lead the Binscarth nine.

Everard (W) and Gullett
Neville (L) and Lang

(June 20)  The Souris Cardinals began the first-half of their two-game set against North Division opposition by losing 9 to 3 to the Grandview Lakers. The hosting Lakers banged out 11 hits off losing pitcher Ken Vertz, including three by Don Luhowy and two each by John Hindle, Jim Deaver and Glen Ortynski to back up winning tosser Steve Archambault’s three-hit pitching. Third baseman Stan Furman had two of the three Cardinal hits to maintain his hot-hitting pace.

Vertz (L) and Dwight Kirkup
Archambault (W) and Kalechyn 

(June 20)  Hosting a pair of South Division invaders for a three-team twin-bill, the Dauphin Redbirds managed a split of the day’s proceedings, winning their second game of the season by bouncing the hapless Virden Oilers 9 to 2 to start things off and then taking it on the chin 12 to 3 from the Souris Cardinals.
    
Dave Rottman had three hits, including a two-run single in the decisive seventh canto when the Redbirds blew the first game open against Virden with a six-spot. Ron Rasmussen and Ken Buchy also had run-scoring doubles in the seventh to make it easier for import Dan Herriage to win his first MSBL game. Larry Thompson was charged with the loss. Buchy wound up with three hits for the winners while Rasmussen and Herriage each had two safeties. Randy Dittmer led the winless Oilers at the plate with a couple of one-base hits.

Thompson (L) and Fordyce
Herriage (W) and Buchy

After the Virdenites left the ball park, the Souris Cardinals moved in and, after three scoreless frames, took control of the game in the middle innings. Veteran Bill Carpenter slammed a pair of homers for the Cards off Dauphin starting pitcher John Morrison, a solo shot in the fourth inning and a three-run clout in the seventh during a six-run Cardinal rally which chased Morrison. Brodie McLean finished up. Jerry Araujo pitched a six-hitter and struck out 12 for the win and had a shutout until the seventh, when Dauphin broke through for all of their runs. Tom Kearns launched a three-run goner for Souris while Stan Furman and Garry/Gary Davidson each added two hits. Six separate Redbirds connected for one hit each.

Araujo (W) and Dwight Kirkup 
Morrison (L), McLean (8) and Buchy

(June 20)  After losing their opener of a split-venue doubleheader in Dauphin, the travelling Virden Oilers moved on to Grandview where they kept their winless skein in order by dropping a 4 to 1 decision to the hosting Lakers who enjoyed a fruitful day. Earlier, in an afternoon tilt, the Grandview Gang had disposed of the Souris Cardinals.
    
Each team managed only three hits, all one-baggers, in this clash but the Lakers parlayed their opportunities into deuces in each of the sixth and seventh spasms for the win. Don Luhowy went the route on the bump for Grandview, striking out nine, while Virden starter Randy Dittmer was tagged with the loss. Dittmer was thrown out of the game in the sixth stanza as infielder Rick Bohonis was called in to finish up.

Dittmer (L), Bohonis (7) and Fordyce
Luhowy (W) and G. Ortynski

(June 20)  The Hamiota Red Sox succumbed to the homestanding McAuley Blazers 3 to 1 but the Sox did manage to snap the Blazers’ shutout string of an amazing 42 consecutive innings when Bob Caldwell nailed a solo home run off winning pitcher Jon Langston in the sixth inning. Langston, 3 – 0, outdueled Ron Ramsey as McAuley took a 3 – 0 lead after four frames and held on for their tenth straight win. Brian Purcha’s double and Brian Rose’s sacrifice fly drove in the first two Blazer tallies and then Barry Jamieson cracked his first four-bagger of the year, a bases-empty shot. Wayne Poole had two of the winners’ seven hits while Ellis Woods contributed a double and single to Hamiota’s four-hit offense.

Ramsey (L) and Labossiere
Langston (W) and Lowes 

STANDINGS

NORTH DIVISION               W      L      Pct.   GBL
McAuley Blazers             11      1     .917    ----
Grandview Lakers             5      6     .455     5.0
Angusville Cardinals         4      5     .444     5.0
Binscarth Orioles            3      6     .333     6.0
Dauphin Redbirds             2      6     .250     6.5     

SOUTH DIVISION               W      L      Pct.   GBL
Brandon Cloverleafs          6      1     .857    ----
Riverside Canucks            8      3     .727    ----
Souris Cardinals             4      4     .500    2.5
Hamiota Red Sox              4      6     .400    3.5
Virden Oilers                0      9     .000    7.0

(June 25)  Playing at their adoptive home in Boissevain, the Riverside Canucks spotted the Brandon Cloverleafs an early 1 to 0 lead, then came storming back to post a convincing 11 to 1 shellacking of the Leafs. Ron Seafoot wore the hero’s mantle for the Canucks in this South Division encounter, both with his pitching arm and bat. Seafoot was summoned to the mound in the second stanza after Riverside starting twirler Cam Mealy encountered control issues. He checked the Brandonites on two hits the rest of the way in picking up his third win against no losses this season. That’s not all Seafoot did. With the baton, he drove in four runs with a brace of two-base hits. Others contributing to the 16-hit attack of the winning nine were Grant Everard who drove in a pair of runs on the strength of three singles, Bob Williamson whose two hits produced as many RBI’s and Dan Cassils who had a perfect three-for-three evening, including a double. Craig Bell and Bruce Gullett delivered two singles each. The Cloverleafs, meanwhile, were only able to muster up four safeties, including Bert Ready’s single which produced their lone tally. Playing-manager Rick Hlady started on the hill for the Wheat City squad and was tagged for 11 hits while pitching into the seventh spasm. Bob Thompson, who took over at that point, didn’t receive the warmest of welcomes and was tagged for five base raps in his brief stint on the bump.

Hlady (L), Thompson (7) and Harvey
Mealy, R. Seafoot (W) (2) and Gullett

(June 25)  The Souris Cardinals dealt the hapless Virden Oilers their tenth straight loss of the season, an 8 to 0 whitewashing. The Cards put together a two-out rally in the bottom-of-the-first-inning off losing twirler Don Barboneaux to tally a four-spot on a run-scoring single by Bill Carpenter, Tom Kearns’ two-run double and and RBI-single by Ron Bertholet. Import chucker Scott Jenson cruised to the four-hit pitching victory, whiffing 13 Oilers along the way. Only Virden catcher Blair Fordyce, with three singles, seemed to be able to solve the offerings of Jenson with any regularity.

Barboneaux (L), Bridgett (8) and Fordyce
Jenson (W) and Dwight Kirkup

(June 26)  Wily veteran slab artist Glennis Scott whiffed nine and tamed the visiting Angusville Cardinals on five hits as the Hamiota Red Sox prevailed 6 to 2 in an MSBL tilt. The Red Sox opened things up with five runs in the seventh stanza against losing chucker Jay Freeman of the Cardinals. Bob Young, Brent Montague, Mike Labossiere and Ron Ramsey has two safeties each for the Crimson Hose while Jim Flynn topped the Cards’ batters with a home run and single.

Freeman (L), B. Chuchmuch (8), Kotelniski (0) and Wowk
Scott (W) and Labossiere

(June 27)  On the road for a split-venue twin-bill against South Division opposition, the Dauphin Redbirds, current cellar-dwellers in the North Division, came away with double defeats, dropping a 14-inning heartbreaker to the Riverside Canucks 1 to 0 before hitting Brandon for a second encounter where they were bombed 13 to 4 by the homestanding Canucks.
    
Engaged in the tightest pitching duel of the season against Riverside’s Grant Everard in the afternoon encounter, Dave Rottman, Dauphin’s ace righthander, saw his record drop to 1 – 5 when he forced in the winning run in the last-half of the fifth overtime session by issuing a bases-loaded walk, his fourth bases-on-balls of the extended tilt, to the Canucks’ Ron Seafoot. Ironically, Rottman had issued his third free ticket, an intentional pass, to the dangerous Don Gullett, just before Seafoot stepped into the batter’s box. Everard twirled a sparkling three-hit shutout over the gruelling 14-inning, four-hour marathon, walking just three while fanning nine. Rottman was nicked for seven safeties while punching out 15 Riverside batters. Mark Fisher and Cliff Seafoot of the victorious Canucks, with two singles each, were the lone hitters in the struggle to accumulate plural hit totals.

Rottman (L) and Morrison
Everard (W) and Gullett

Mentally drained and physically exhausted after the drawn-out Riverside affair, the Redbirds nonetheless made their way to the Wheat City where they were rudely greeted by the Cloverleafs who roughed up starting heaver Dan Herriage for five runs in the first inning. Garry Keating’s two-run single and Rick Cruise’s two-run double were the most impactful blows for Brandon in that opening canto. John Morrison and Ken Buchy, both position players, each hurled an inning for Dauphin when Herriage left after six innings with his team trailing 8 – 3. Lefthander Brian Hodgson went all the way on the knoll for the Leafs, giving up eight hits while improving his record to 3 – 0. Cruise, Keating, Rick McFadyen and Bert Ready paced the Cloverleafs with two hits each. Cruise upped his RBI-total in the game to four with a second two-bagger in the seventh. One of McFadyen’s blows was his third triple of the season. Buchy was best with the baton for the vanquished Redbirds with three singles.

Herriage (L), Morrison (7), Buchy (8) and Buchy. Morrison (8)
Hodgson (W) and Harvey

(June 27)  The travelling Souris Cardinals split two games with North Division opponents, downing the Binscarth Orioles 5 to 3 and falling to the surging McAuley Blazers 7 to 1.  Jerry Araujo fashioned a seven-hit, no-walk game as the Cards triumphed over Garth Neville and the Orioles in the opening match of the day. Binscarth’s Neville allowed just six base raps but issued seven free passes in matching Araujo’s complete-game performance. Stan Furman and Bill Carpenter had two base knocks each for Souris with one of Furman’s blows being a round-tripper. Araujo drove in what proved to be the winning run with a fourth-inning single, scoring Greg Cameron. Garth Jackman, a regular the previous season, made his 1976 playing debut for the Orioles, slashing two singles. Bill Derlago also had two hits for Binscarth, including a seventh-stanza four-ply clout.

Araujo (W) and Dwight Kirkup
Neville (L) and Lang

With the exception of Stan Furman, who drilled a double and two singles, Souris bats were, for the most part, silenced by McAuley’s Danny Kaupla in the late tilt as the Blazers ran off their 11th win in succession. Kaupla struck out 14 batters and was touched for seven safeties while complete-game loser Ken Vertz of the Cardinals was nicked for nine base raps. Dale Lowes cracked out three hits for the North Division leaders while Wayne Poole and Graeme Lee added two each.

Vertz (L) and Dwight Kirkup
Kaupla (W) and Lowes

(June 28)  The Virden Oilers, wallowing in the cellar of the MSBL’s South Division, finally posted their first win of the season by downing the visiting Souris Cardinals 5 to 2. Newly-arrived import Bill Armstrong of the Oilers outduelled the Cardinals’ Stan Furman, a hard-hitting third baseman, making his first start on the mound for Souris this season. Armstrong, a righthander, allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked three in his MSBL debut. Furman, meanwhile, gave up eight base raps, walked five and whiffed a dozen Virdenites. With the game tied 2 – 2 heading into the bottom-of-the-eighth episode, Virden scored three runs on the strength of a walk to Blair Fordyce and three consecutive hits, a triple by Ted Bridgett a two-bagger by Randy Dittmer and a one-base rap off the bat of Boyd Henuset. The Oilers plated their other two counters in the fifth frame, thanks to a timely single by Terry Good. The Cards got their runs via a single by Garry/Gary Davidson in the third inning and Tom Kearn’s sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Furman (L) and Dwight Kirkup
Armstrong (W) and Fordyce

(June 29)  Having fallen on hard times of late, the Angusville Cardinals lost for the fourth straight time, dropping a 9 to 3 home-field decision to the Grandview Lakers. It was Jim Deaver’s five-hit pitching for Grandview that did in Angusville, whose bats, particularly that of import Jay Freeman, have gone virtually silent of late. Trailing 3 – 2 after four innings, the Lakers erupted for a four-spot in the fifth chapter to take command. Bob Chuchmuch, 0 – 3, took the loss. Steve Archambault and John Hindle slammed three hits each for the Grandview Gang. Hindle had a two-run triple while one of Archambault’s hits was his first homer of the year. Deaver, now 4 – 1 for the season, and Tony Kalechyn also belted solo dingers. Lorne Chipelski paced Angusville at the plate with a double and single.

Deaver (W) and G. Ortynski
B. Chuchmuch (L), Kotelniski (8) and Freeman

(June 29)  Virden import Don Barboneaux, struggling at both the plate and on the mound, turned in a decent pitching performance but still lost for the fifth time this campaign as the Oilers were beaten 3 to 1 by the visiting Binscarth Orioles. Hard-luck Barboneaux gave up only three hits and two runs in 6-2/3 innings of toil on the knoll but that was enough offense for Binscarth as Bruce Bremer tossed a five-hitter and struck out 13 for his fourth victory of the season. The Orioles got their first two tallies in the seventh spasm on just one hit, a double by Bremer, plus two walks and an error. In the eighth, Chuck Lang cracked his fourth tater of the year, a bases-empty blast, to add an insurance run. Bob Downey led Virden at the dish with a brace of singles.

Bremer (W) and Lang
Barboneaux (L), Bridgett (7) and Fordyce

(June 29)  The Souris Cardinals grabbed an 8 – 1 lead after four frames and held on to beat the invading Hamiota Red Sox 9 to 6. Import Scott Jenson, 3 – 1, went the distance for the pitching victory while Hamiota’s knuckleballing American, Dave Marabella, lasted just 3-2/3 innings on the bump in taking the loss. Greg Cameron and Gary Davidson pounded three hits each to spice the Cards’ 13-hit attack against Marabella and reliever Dennis Anderson. Stan Furman had two doubles and three RBI’s while Jerry Araujo drove in a pair of tallies with a two-bagger. Brent Montague cracked three hits for the Crimson Hose while Mike Labossiere nailed his second homer of the year, a two-run shot in the final canto.

Marabella (L), Anderson (4) and Labossiere
Jenson (W) and Dwight Kirkup

(June 29)  The McAuley Blazers rolled to their 12th straight MSBL victory, a 5 to 1 conquest of the Dauphin Redbirds. The rampaging Blazers, who have now given up just three runs in their last 64 innings, got a six-hit pitching performance from Ross Lynd en route to the win. McAuley snapped a 1 – 1 tie with three runs in the seventh inning on Dan Kaupla’s homer and run-scoring singles by Barry Jamieson and Dale Lowes. Ken Buchy was the loser in his first pitching of the year, giving up eight of the nine safeties garnered by the victors. Jamieson was the lone Blazer batter with more than one hit, managing two singles, while Ron Rasmussen and Dan Herriage each had two singles for the last-place Birds.

Morrison, Buchy (L) (2) and Buchy, Manthorne (2)
R. Lynd (W) and Lowes

(June 29)  A six-run fourth inning gave the Brandon Cloverleafs an 8 to 2 win over the Riverside Canucks, their initial conquest of the season against the Riversiders after absorbing two one-sided defeats. Playing-manager Rick
Hlady went the full nine innings on the hill for the Leafs, scattering the greater part of seven hits in gaining his third victory in four decisions. It was the fourth inning that the Wheat City nine chased starter and loser Rob Medoff by plating a six-spot. Cam Mealy finished up, yielding eight of Brandon’s ten hits. Bert Ready, Rick McFadyen and Rick Cruise all singled twice for the Cloverleafs. Bob Williamson and Designated Hitter Murray Duncan both managed a pair of one-baggers for the losers.

Medoff (L), Mealy (4) and Gullett
Hlady (W) and Harvey

(July 1)  Birtle annual MSBL Canada Day $2,500 baseball tournament

(July 2)  Righthander Bob Thompson made a rare starting appearance on the mound for the visiting Brandon contingent and tossed a four-hitter as the Cloverleafs downed the hosting Hamiota Red Sox 3 to 1 in MSBL action. The victory moved the Leafs into undisputed possession of first place in the South Division, a half-game up on the Riverside Canucks. The lone tally off Thompson, who walked four and fanned an equal number, came in the second stanza when losing pitcher Doug Mathison drove home Ellis Woods with a single. The Wheat City nine had grabbed a 3 – 0 lead in the top-of-the-second on run-scoring singles by Bert Ready and Rick Cruise as well as on Mel Harvey’s infield grounder. Playing-manager Rick Hlady, who made the defensive play of the contest with shoe-string catch of a line-drive sinker in the eighth episode, led the 11-hit assault against the Sox’ Mathison with three hits, all singles, while Ready, Cruise and Bill Chapple banged out two each. Ron Ramsey paced the Scarlet Stockings at the plate with two singles.

Thompson (W) and Harvey
Mathison (L) and Labossiere

(July 3)  The Riverside Canucks bombarded Virden import Bill Armstrong for 14 hits and swept past the hometown Oilers 9 to 3. Mark Fisher singled four times and had three RBI’s for the Riversiders in support of complete-game winning tosser Cam Mealy. Bob Williamson doubled and singled for the winners while Craig Bell and Cliff Seafoot both singled twice. The Oilers managed six safeties, three by Randy Dittmer eho drove in three runs.

Mealy (W) and Gullett
Armstrong (L) and Fordyce

(July 3)  Unbeaten Dan Kaupla won his seventh consecutive game as the McAuley Blazers steamrolled over the Binscarth Orioles 6 to 1. Gerry Falk, who went the distance for the Birds and yielded 11 hits, lost for the second straight time. The Blazers, who scored two runs in each of the first three innings, got two doubles and two singles from catcher Dale Lowes. Teammates Barry Jamieson and Brian Purcha both swatted a two-bagger and a single. Garth Jackman stroked a brace of one-base hits for the O’s while Alf Ducharme drove in their lone tally in the fifth to spoil Kaupla’s shutout bid.

Kaupla (W) and Lowes
Falk (L) and Lang

(July 4)  Playing in their cozy home ball park with a prevailing wind at their back, the Angusville Cardinals upped their league-leading home run total to 16, with four more goners, as they administered a 16 to 3 throttling on the shell-shocked Virden Oilers. Clinton Pushka, who went yard twice, drove in five runs with his dingers while Curnie Chuchmuch plated another four counters with an eighth-episode grand slam round-tripper and Marion Kotelniski dialed long distance with a two-run circuit-jack. Overall, the Cards raked loser Larry Thompson for 17 hits in the one-sided tilt with Jim Flynn claiming four of those base raps. Pushka added a two-bagger to his twin taters while import Jay Freeman stroked a pair of singles. Bob Chuchmuch went the distance to gain the pitching win, his first in four decisions. He gave up five hits including a two-run homer to Ted Bridgett in the ninth inning when Virden struck for all of their runs.

Thompson (L) and Fordyce
B. Chuchmuch (W) and Freeman, Wowk (7)

(July 4)  Ron Rasmussen belted a two-run homer for the Dauphin Redbirds but the North Division cellar-dwellers still dropped a 3 to 2 decision to the invading Binscarth Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader. In the nightcap, Rod Fallis blasted a bases-loaded homer and the Orioles posted an easy 18 to 4 triumph.
    
Bruce Bremer and Dave Rottman combined for 29 punchouts in the matinee tussle but it was Bremer who gained the pitching win in the end, his fifth of the season. Bremer fanned 14 and allowed Dauphin just three hits, one of them Rasmussen’s ninth-canto four-bagger. Rottman, meanwhile, whiffed 15 for the second game in a row while yielding seven safeties but was saddled with his sixth loss in seven decisions. Binscarth took a 2 – 0 lead during the middle innings and plated what turned out to be the eventual winning tally in the seventh stanza whrn catcher Chuck Lang drove Bremer home from third base with a sacrifice fly.

Bremer (W) and Lang
Rottman (L) and Manthorne

The Orioles wasted little time in settling matters in the finale, battering Redbird starter Siggi Sigurdson for three runs in the opening panel and adding nine more in the second spasm. Fallis, who had a triple and single in addition to his grand-salami goner, drove in five runs in the tilt and, with the O’s holding a 12 – 0 lead, took over pitching chores during the third chapter from starter Russ Shaw to gain credit for the heaving victory. He allowed four of the six Dauphin safeties over the final 6-1/3 frames.  Cliff McKague hit three singles for the victors, one less than Bill Derlago, Bremer and Gerry Falk. Dave Manthorne doubled and singled for the Redbirds.

Shaw, Fallis (W) (3) and Shewchuck
Sigurdson (L), Stone (8) and Manthorne

(July 4)  The visiting Brandon Cloverleafs slugged a pair of home runs but the McAuley Blazers posted their 15th win in 16 games with a 14 to 9 triumph in a heavy-hitting affair. Jon Langston went 7-2/3 innings on the rubber to earn his fourth win without a loss. At the dish, he helped his own cause by cuffing four singles in five trips. Reliever Ross Lynd took over mound chores for the Blazers in the seventh spasm when the Cloverleafs rallied for five runs, three of them coming on Rick Hlady’s second dinger of the campaign. Bob Thompson also launched a tater for the losers while Brian Hodgson, making a rare appearance in the outer garden, doubled and singled. Terry Lynd and Graeme Lee both had three safe swats for McAuley with Lynd drilling a double and Lee a three-bagger. Clubmate Brian Purcha doubled and singled.

Hlady (L) and McFadyen
Langston (L) and R. Lynd

(July 4)  Import slab artist Jim Deaver hurled a five-hitter for his fifth pitching victory as the invading Grandview Lakers blanked the Hamiota Red Sox 2 to 0. Deaver breezed seven Red Sox batters and didn’t issue a walk in earning the heaving decision over Dennis Anderson who limited the Lakers to six safeties. Glen Ortynski’s run-scoring single in the sixth stanza accounted for the first Grandview counter. The Lakers added an unearned run in the top-of-the-ninth. Ortynski finished with three singles while teammate Steve Archambault had a double and single. Bob Young, with two singles was the only Hamiotan to hit safely more than once.

Deaver (W) and D. Ortynski
Anderson (L) and Labossiere

(July 6)  Shortstop Rick Bohonis of the lowly Virden Oilers was summoned to the mound after only one out in the first inning against the visiting Dauphin Redbirds. He didn’t allow the Redbirds another hit bit it was too late. Dauphin had rocked Virden starter Don Barboneaux for all their runs on the way to a 7 to 3 victory. Veteran pitcher Ross Stone, back from British Columbia for his annual lakeside vacation in the Dauphin area, gained his first win of the season, limiting the Oilers to four hits. The Redbirds wasted little time in getting to Barboneaux on a run-producing double by Dan Herriage, Dave Rottman’s two-run single, an RBI two-bagger by Stone and a one-base rap off the bat of Gord Fedorchuk that drove in a pair of counters. The only batter with more than one safety in the contest was Virden’s Ron Harper who connected for two singles.  

Stone (W) and Manthorne
Barboneaux (L), Bohonis (1) and Fordyce

(July 6)  The hosting Grandview Lakers scored a pair of unearned runs in the opening canto and went on to annex a 6 to 1 victory over the Binscarth Orioles. Hitless until late in the game, the Lakers managed only two safe raps, both coming off Bill Derlago, the third Oriole chucker. One of those safeties was a two-run double by Deryl Ortynski in the eighth episode when the Lakers put the game on ice with a three-spot. Eight errors burned the Birds. Don Luhowy picked up the pitching win with a three-hitter while the O’s Gerry Falk, who sustained a knee injury while on thee bump, was tagged with the defeat.

Falk (L), Fallis (5), Derlago (5) and Shewchuk, Wasslen (6)
Luhowy (W) and G. Ortynski

(July 6)  The Riverside Canucks increased their South Division lead in the MSBL by edging the Hamiota Red Sox 6 to 4. A five-run uprising in the fourth frame, highlighted by Bob Williamson’s three-run homer, provided the Canucks with the margin of victory. Grant Everard, in relief of Rob Medoff in the third inning, gained the mound verdict over Hamiota’s Glennis Scott. Mark Fisher was a perfect four-for-four from the batter’s box for the Riversiders while Dan Cassils stroked three singles. Bob Caldwell had a brace of one-base hits for the Red Sox who were outhit  by an 11 to 7 margin.

Scott (L), Ramsey (6) and Labossiere
Medoff, Everard (W) (3) and Gullett

(July 6)  The Souris Cardinals rallied for three runs in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning to shade the Brandon Cloverleafs 10 to 9. The Leafs were clinging to a two-run lead in the final canto when Gary Davidson drew a leadoff walk off veteran Brandon chucker, Brian Hodgson. Rick McFadyen was seconded to the hill at this point to replace a tiring Hodgson. Two singles, a walk and a potential game-ending double play, which was booted, followed allowing the tying and winning tallies to cross the pan. Stan Furman clouted a homer and two singles for the Cardinals while Ron Bertholet was also very effective with the hickory, clubbing a double and two one-baggers. Dwayne Kirkup, in relief of Scott Jenson picked up the pitching win. Bob Thompson went yard with a dinger for the Cloverleafs. Rick Hlady banged out three safeties including a double while losing pitcher McFadyen and Dennis Wiebe delivered two hits each.

Hodgson, McFadyen (L) (9) and Harvey
Jenson, Dwayne Kirkup (W) (7) and Dwight Kirkup

(July 6)  The McAuley Blazers continued to do what they do so well, racking up wins, as they posted their 16th victory in 17 games played, taking a 3 to 1 verdict from the Angusville Cardinals. Danny Kaupla, the MSBL’s winningest slabster, collected his eighth straight triumph, scattering six hits, while McAuley’s other Californian, Jon Langston, provided much of the offensive firepower. Langston drove in a run with a two-bagger and added two singles. Teammate Wayne Poole doubled and singled. Losing chucker Jay Freeman was Angusville’s top batter with a double and single.

Freeman (L) and Wowk
Kaupla (W) and Lowes

(July 9)  Garry Keating made his first 1976 outing as a pitcher a successful one, scattering the better part of eight hits and registering 11 strikeouts in leading the Brandon Cloverleafs to a 7 to 0 victory over the visiting Virden Oilers. The Leafs managed only five hits but made the most of them. Rick McFadyen drilled a two-run double in the opening inning to start things rolling and then iced the result with a four-spot in the seventh. Bill Chapple’s two-run single and Keating’s two-run double were the big blows in the seventh. Keating also managed a single off loser Bill Armstrong who went eight innings and was charged with all the Brandon tallies. Armstrong whiffed seven but had command issues, walking eight. Terry Good stroked three of Virden’s hits, one of which was a triple, while teammate Rick Bohonis managed a pair of singles. 

Armstrong (L), Thompson (9) and Fordyce
Keating (W) and Harvey

(July 9)  The Riverside Canucks maintained their 1-1/2 game lead over the Brandon Canucks in the South Division of the MSBL by scoring a 6 to 2 win over the homestanding Souris Cardinals. Holding only a 2 – 1 edge, the Riversiders took advantage of two Souris errors in the seventh stanza to score runs and put the game on ice. Grant Everard recorded his sixth win while Ken Vertz was saddled with his fourth loss. Everard, who breezed six,  gave up six hits, including two to both Vertz and Greg Cameron. Vertz was nicked for seven hits while swishing eight. Bob Williamson and Craig Bell both cuffed a double and a single for the victors.

Everard (W) and Gullett
Vertz (L) and Dwight Kirkup

(July 9)  Ron Ramsey’s clutch relief pitching kept things in check and allowed his Hamiota Red Sox teammates the opportunity to stage a bottom-of-the-ninth inning rally which carried them to a 4 to 3 victory over the Binscarth Orioles. Ramsey ascended the knoll with one out in the top-of-the-ninth with runners at second and third and limited the Orioles to one run. The Crimson Hose then wiped out a 3 – 1 deficit, tying the score at 3 – 3 on Bob Young’s two-run single and then winning the clash on Mike Labossiere’s sacrifice fly. Binscarth’s ace heaver, Bruce Bremer, was tagged with the loss. Ramsey relieved Hamiota starter Dennis Anderson who was nicked for all 11 safeties garnered by the Birds. Bill Derlago doubled and singled twice for the O’s and catcher Chuck Lang blasted his fifth homer of the season. Ramsey cuffed a double and single for the Sox while Labossiere singled twice.

Bremer (L) and Lang
Anderson, Ramsey (W) (9) and Labossiere

(July 9)  The McAuley Blazers romped to a 12 to 3 pasting of the Angusville Cardinals. It was the 16th consecutive triumph for McAuley. Catcher Dale Lowes and flychaser Brian Purcha of the Division-leading Blazers both dialed long distance for dingers in support of winning tosser Ross Lynd who improved his record to 5 – 1. Bob Chuchmuch was dinged with the hurling setback.
     
R. Lynd (W) and Lowes
B. Chuchmuch (L), Mackedenski (9) and Freeman

(July 9)  The Grandview Lakers blanked the Dauphin Redbirds 5 to 0 behind the seven-hit pitching of Jim Deaver. It was the sixth win of the campaign for the Grandview portsider, who fanned 12, while Dauphin righthander Dave Rottman whiffed ten in going down to his seventh defeat. The Lakers scored three runs in the third inning and then added two more in the eighth on Don Luhowy’s triple. Tony Kalechyn and John Hindle each nicked Rottman for two base raps. John Morrison cuffed three safeties for the Redbirds, one of which was a triple. Ross Stone followed with a brace of one-baggers.

Rottman (L) and xxx
Deaver (W) and xxx

(July 11)  Hosting different opponents in a Sunday three-team double header, the Cardinals of Angusville dumped their feathered namesakes from Souris 7 to 4 to begin the day. Four walks and an error helped Angusville score four times in a decisive sixth-inning rally. The hurling decision, in a battle of imports, went to Jay Freeman who scattered 11 Souris hits in copping the verdict over Scott Jenson, who was nicked for seven hits and nine walks before being lifted in the sixth. Angusville collected nine hits in all, three of them by catcher Barry Wowk. Bob Chuchmuch delivered a brace of one-base raps. Stan Furman rapped out three singles for the South Division Cards while Wayne Ramsey belted a solo homer.

Jenson (L), Dwayne Kirkup (6) and Dwight Kirkup
Freeman (W) and Wowk

(July 11)  It was a beneficial Sunday for the Brandon Cloverleafs who ventured into North Division territory and came away with two victories in a split-venue twin-bill. The Leafs started off with a one-sided 17 to 9 thumping of the Orioles at Binscarth before moving on to Angusville where they doubled the hosting Cardinals 6 to 3.
    
Brandon scored five runs in the first frame and four more in the second stanza at Binscarth to make things relatively easy for lefthander Brian Hodgson, who upped his record to 4 – 0. Russ Shaw, the first of three Oriole twirlers, took the loss, his third. The Cloverleafs banged out 17 hits with seven of their batters having at least two, Bill Chapple and Mel Harvey slugged four-ply clouts while Rick McFadyen drove in four runs with two doubles and a single. Bert Ready delivered three one-baggers. Binscarth catcher Chuck Lang pounded his sixth and seventh round-trippers to pace the Birds’ eight-hit attack. Surging Bill Derlago also upped his batting average with three safeties.

Hodgson (W) and Harvey
Shaw (L), Fallis (3), Derlago (4) and Lang

Roy McLachlan, pitching with a cast on his broken wrist, took to the hill for Brandon the first time this season at Angusville and came out on top, with relief assistance from Bob Thompson. McLachlan pitched the first 7-1/3 innings, giving up all three Cardinal runs on 11 hits. Bill Flynn was saddled with the loss in his first pitching decision of the campaign. The Leafs struck for four counters in the first inning, three of them coming on a home run by Garry Keating. Rick Cruise also nailed a four-bagger for the Wheat City nine. McFadyen singled three times off Flynn to go six-for-eight along with six RBI’s in the Cloverleafs’ two-game set. For the vanquished Cards, who broke even for the day after their earlier triumph over Souris, Clint Pushka and Freeman both had three safe swats, including bases-empty dingers.
   
McLachlan (W), Thompson (8) and Harvey
B. Flynn (L) and Wowk
 
(July 11)  The travelling Virden Oilers managed to divide the spoils in a pair of road games in doubleheader action at McAuley and Binscarth. After taking it on the chin 17 to 6 by the hometown McAuley Blazers, the lowly Virdenites made the trek to Binscarth and picked up a rare victory, a 17 to 6 smearing of the Orioles, who lost for the second time in the day.
    
McAuley rapped out 16 safe swats  in overwhelming the South Division tail-enders in the opening match. Jon Langston improved his pitching record to 5 – 0 in limiting the Oilers to four hits. Barry Jamieson and Terry Lynd went yard with taters for the winners, who failed to score only in the sixth spasm. Lynd. along with Dale Lowes, secured three hits and an equal number of RBI’s. Ted Bridgett, the losing chucker, belted his second homer of the season for Virden.

Bridgett (L), Dittmer (8) and Fordyce
Langston (W) and Purcha

In a complete reversal from their lackluster performance in their afternoon tilt at McAuley, the Oilers came on strong offensively in their clash at Binscarth, plating five-spots in both the opening canto and the seventh stanza. Import Don Barboneaux finally was credited with a pitching win, his first, after absorbing six consecutive losses. Chuck Lang shed his catching gear and ascended the knoll for the Orioles in a starting role, lasting until the fifth in being tagged with the setback. Terry Good had a pair of hits for Virden, including a two-run tater while teammate Perry Kalynuk singled twice and stole three bases. Boyd Henuset, Randy Dittmer and Ron Harper also cuffed a brace of one-baggers for the winners. Rob Fallis stroked three safeties for the Birds while clubmates Bruce Bremer, Cliff McKague and Lyle Robinson managed two hits each.

Barboneaux (W) and Fordyce
Lang (L), Shaw (5), Fallis (6), McKague (8) and Wasslen

(July 11)  The South Division-leading Riverside Canucks maintained their game-and-a-half lead with twin triumphs at Dauphin and Grandview. The Riversiders crushed the Redbirds 10 to 2 in an early scuffle before hammering the Lakers 16 to 2 in a twilight tussle.
    
In the matinee tilt at Dauphin, veteran Cliff Seafoot stung the horsehide for four safeties as Grant Everard improved his record to 7 – 2 with a nine-hitter. Mark Fisher drilled a home run for the visitors off the slants of losing southpaw Ross Stone. Ron Rasmussen had three hits for the Redbirds.

Everard (W), Mealy (7) and Gullett
Stone (L) and Manthorne

The Riverside bats stayed hot in the trek to Grandview where the Canucks scored in every inning except the sixth as unbeaten Ron Seafoot won his fourth game of the season. The Riversiders collected 16 base knocks off loser Don Luhowy and reliever Tony Kalechyn of the Laker, who dropped their second tilt of the day. Danny Cassils ripped his second homer of the season for the visitors while Morley Hartel delivered two doubles and a one-base hit. Craig Bell and Don Gullett checked in with two singles and a double apiece. Deryl Ortynski and Jim Deaver both had a double and single for the Grandview Gang.

R. Seafoot (W) and Gullett
Luhowy (L), Kalechyn (4) and Kalechyn, G. Ortynski (4)

(July 11)  Grandview had started the day by blowing a 5 – 0 first-inning lead in losing to the visiting Hamiota Red Sox 6 to 5. The Scarlet Stockings never lost faith after falling behind and began pecking away at the deficit, eventually knotting the count in the sixth and scoring the winning tally in the eighth chapter. Import Dave Marabella got the win, his second in three decisions. Marabella gave up six hits, one more than the Laker duo of starter Steve Archambault and losing reliever Bob Kutzan.  Hamiota’s Ron Ramsey, with a couple of bingles, was the lone multi-hit batter in the contest. Glen Ortynski did most of the damage with the baton for Grandview, driving in three runs.

Marabella (W) and Labossiere
Archambault, Kutzan (L) (4) and G. Ortynski

(July 12)  The battery of unbeaten pitcher Dan Kaupla and hot-hitting catcher Dale Lowes was just too much for the Souris Cardinals to withstand in an MSBL encounter hosted by the vanquished Cards. Although Souris batters nicked him for 11 base hits, Kaupla had an easy time in registering his ninth victory of the season as the McAuley Blazers’ 13 to 1 win would testify. Lowes, meanwhile continued his torrid hitting streak against a pair of Cardinal chuckers. He had three singles in contributing to the 15-hit McAuley attack. Teammate Terry Lynd also had a triad of one-baggers. Brian Purcha doubled twice while Kaupla and Jamie Poole each managed a pair of singles. Losing heaver Ken Vertz was roughed up for 11 hits and the same number of runs before Brad Walker took over mound chores. Five players singled twice for Souris. The game was terminated after eight episodes because of darkness.

Kaupla (W) and Lowes
Vertz (L), B. Walker (5) and Dwight Kirkup

STANDINGS

NORTH DIVISION               W      L     Pct.    GBL
McAuley Blazers             19      1    .950     ----
Grandview Lakers             9      8    .529      8.5
Binscarth Orioles            7     11    .389     11.0
Angusville Cardinals         6     10    .444     11.0
Dauphin Redbirds             3     13    .188     14.0     

SOUTH DIVISION               W      L      Pct.    GBL
Riverside Canucks           15      4     .789    ----
Brandon Cloverleafs         12      4     .750    1.5
Souris Cardinals             8      9     .471    6.0
Hamiota Red Sox              7     10     .412    7.0
Virden Oilers                2     16     .111   12.5

(July 15)  A two-run first-inning home run by Rick McFadyen got the Brandon Cloverleafs off and running toward a 4 to 2 victory over the Souris Cardinals at Kinsmen Stadium. The round-tripper, along with an eighth inning leadoff triple which started the winning rally, lifted McFadyen’s league-leading RBI total to 31. As it was, the Cards tied the game with a deuce in the third stanza but the Cloverleafs scored twice to win it in the eighth on two hits, a balk, an error and a passed ball. Import Scott Jenson was the victim of it all. In addition to McFadyen’s safeties, Norm Hemstad doubled and singled while Bob Thompson singled twice for the winning Wheat City nine. The pitching victory went to Leaf playing-manager Rick Hlady who allowed seven hits and fanned seven. Jenson gave up eight hits in absorbing the loss, his third in six decisions. Greg Cameron doubled twice for Souris while Garry/Gary Davidson stroked a pair of singles.

Jenson (L) and Wayne Kirkup
Hlady (W) and Harvey

(July 15)  The Hamiota Red Sox scored a 5 to 2 decision over the visiting Virden Oilers to move into a third-place tie with Souris in the South Division. Hamiota scored three times in the sixth and twice more in the seventh spasm to lock up the victory. Veteran Glennis Scott was the winning pitcher, upping his record to 3 – 1, with a three-hitter. Import Bill Armstrong suffered the setback. Armsrtong limited the Red Sox to seven hits and fanned seven but free passes, six in all, tarnished his effort. Doug Mathison collected a couple of singles for the Scarlet Stockings, the only Hamiotan to get more than one hit. Ron Harper singled twice for the lowly Oilers.

Armstrong (L) and Fordyce
Scott (W) and Labossiere

(July 16)  The McAuley Blazers broke the MSBL record for most wins in a season by doubling the Dauphin Redbirds 8 to 4. The Blazers rallied from a 4 – 1 third-inning deficit with a trey in the fifth and a deuce in the sixth to improve their record to an unbelievable 20 – 1. Unbeaten Jon Langston gained his sixth pitching triumph, hurling a nine-hitter in decisioning veteran Ross Stone who went eight episodes before giving way to Dave Rottman. The Redbird tandem were combed for ten safeties. Terry Lynd, Brian Rose and Graeme Lee stroked two singles apiece for the winners. Stone picked up a brace of one-base raps for the losers.

Langston (W) and Lowes
Stone (L), Rottman (9) and Morrison

(July 16)  Grant Everard pitched a three-hitter as the Riverside Canucks toppled the invading Brandon Cloverleafs 6 to 2. Everard and Brandon’s Bob Thompson were locked in a pitcher’s duel for seven innings before the Riversiders broke through for a four-spot in the eighth to break a 2 – 2 stalemate to send Thompson and the Cloverleafs down to defeat. Everard walked five and struck out the same number in winning for the sixth consecutive time and raising his record for the season to 8 – 2. The Canucks rattled off ten safeties as Mark Fisher, Cliff Seafoot, Craig Bell and Morley Hartel registered a pair each. The two swats for Fisher were a double and a triple. Rick McFadyen doubled to drive in his 32nd run of the year for the Leafs.

Thompson (L), Keating (8) and Harvey
Everard (W) and Gullett

(July 16)  The Grandview Lakers stormed to a 10 to 2 triumph over the Angusville Cardinals to strengthen their hold on the runner-up spot in the North Division. Import Jim Deaver limited the Cards to six hits in winning for the seventh time against one loss. The Lakers jumped into a 6 – 0 lead after three innings to virtually settle the issue. Losing twirler Jay Freeman was raked for 12 Grandview bingles. Steve Archambault doubled and singled twice for the Angusville aggregation while seldom-used Jim Wilson delivered three singles.

Freeman (L) and Wowk
Deaver (W) and G. Ortynski

(July 18)  The Binscarth Orioles came home empty-handed after trekking into South Division territory for a Sunday double-dip, starting in Souris and ending in Riverside. Re-injuring his heavily-taped right knee while making a play at first base against the Souris Cardinals in the opener of a split-venue set, starting pitcher Gerry Falk of the Orioles was forced out of a 1 – 1 tie game. Through the first four plus frames that he twirled, every one of the Souris outs, 13 in all, had gone down as strikeouts. After he left in the fifth, the Orioles went on to lose 5 to 1. The O’s then proceeded to Boissevain where they received a 21 to 1 thrashing by the Riverside Canucks in the second half of their three-team set-to. 
    
Winless Russell Shaw, who took over from Falk in the fifth frame of the first scuffle at Souris, was handed his fourth loss as the Cardinals got to him for a single tally in the sixth and a trey in the eighth. The Cards racked up ten safeties in total, including three by hard-hitting Bill Carpenter. Stan Furman singled three times for the winners while Tom Kearns delivered a brace of one-base hits. Complete-game winning heaver Jerry Araujo, stifled Binscarth on six base raps in winning his fourth game in five decisions. Roy Reagh doubled and singled for the Orioles while catcher Chuck Lang laced a couple of one-baggers.

Falk, Shaw (L) (6) and Wasslen
Araujo (W) and Dwight Kirkup

The game against Riverside was a mismatch from start to finish as the Canucks collected 17 hits and scored in every inning except the third and fourth in unmercifully annihilating the weary Binscarth nine. With the victory, the Canucks widened their South Division lead over idle Brandon to 2-1/2 games. Mark Fisher, Danny Cassils, Morley Hartel and Bruce Gullett each had three hits for the Riversiders who staged a nine-run outburst in the seventh stanza. Fisher’s three safeties were all doubles as he drove in four runs. Rob Medoff went the distance to even his record at 2 – 2. He limited the visitors to six hits while punching out three. All of the Birds’ six hits were singles, two of them by Alf Ducharme. Bruce Bremer, the first of four Oriole chuckers, lost for the third time against five victories.

Bremer (L), Derlago (6), Fallis (7), McKague (8) and Lang, Shewchuk (6), Wasslen (7)
Medoff (W) and Gullett

(July 18)  The McAuley Blazers added to their growing record by posting their 21st win with a 13 to 2 decision over the visiting Grandview Lakers. Experiencing control problems in the opening canto, starter and loser Don Archambault of the Lakers gave up a pair of markers and was yanked from the knoll after just 1-2/3 innings. The powerful Blazers built up a 9 – 1 lead after four frames, giving Dan Kaupla more than enough runs to win his tenth consecutive game. Kaupla surrendered only six safeties and rang up ten punchouts. Barry Jamieson doubled and singled for the hosts while Brian Purcha stroked a pair of singles. Brain Rose added a bases-loaded double.

Archambault (L), Luhowy (2) and G. Ortynski
Kaupla (W) and Lowes, Purcha (2)

(July 18)  The Hamiota Red Sox swept a pair of split-venue games from Virden, the first by a 17 to 0 count on the home turf of the Oilers and later, 9 to 4, on their own diamond.
    
It was a field day for some of the Red Sox batters in the matinee match. Brent Montague hit three singles a nd a double, goof for three RBI’s and Ron Ramsey, the winning slabster, had three safeties. Ramsey, now 3 –2, allowed only four hits in decisioning Oiler starter Don Barboneaux, 1 – 7. Randy Dittmer had a pair of doubles for the Virdenites off Ramsey.

Ramsey (W) and Labossiere
Barboneaux (L), Dittmer (5) and Fordyce

The Red Sox raked loser Ted Bridgett for 17 hits, all singles, in the late-half of the two-game set. Bryan Smith led the way for the hosts with four base raps. Five of his teammates had two safeties apiece. One of them was Dave Marabella, the import pitcher who went all the way to gain his third win of the season. Marabella gave up seven hits and struck out eight. Dittmer had two singles for the losers.

Bridgett (L) and Fordyce
Marabella (W) and Labossiere

(July 18)  The invading Dauphin Redbirds got off to a great start at Angusville and got past the Canucks 9 to 6 in an error-infested MSBL tilt. The Redbirds jumped into a 7 – 0 lead after three innings to win their fourth game of the season. Dave Rottman earned the pitching victory, his second, while Bob Chuchmuch lost for the fifth time. Rottman fanned ten Cardinals and led Dauphin offensively with three singles. Clubmate Dan Herriage added a brace of one-baggers. Clint Pushka gathered three hits for the Angusville aggregation, including a double, while Lorne Chipelski ripped a pair of two-base hits.

Rottman (W) and Morrison, Manthorne (6)
B. Chuchmuch (L) and Wowk

(July 20)  Import hurler Jim Deaver outdueled McAuley’s Ross Lynd in a battle of three-hitters as the Grandview Lakers stopped the Blazers’ 20-game winning streak by scoring an unearned run in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning for a 1 – 0 victory. Deaver won for the eighth time in nine decisions this season in recording the shutout. With nothing but goose eggs adorning the scoreboard through 8-1/2 episodes, the Lakers got a break when Steve Archambault reach first on a one-out error and moved on to third base when Don Luhowy singled. After a walk put runners at the corners,  Archambault scored the lone run of the game when McAuley shortstop Barry Jamieson elected to go for an inning-ending double play on Deryl Ortynski’s ground ball. The force out at the keystone sack was successful but the relay to first base was a shade too late to catch Ortynski. Lynd, now 5 – 2, walked two batters and fanned seven while Deaver was punching out four and not giving out any free passes. Archambault singled and doubled for Grandview’s other hits while Brian Purcha singled twice for the Blazers.

R. Lynd (L) and Lowes
Deaver (W) and G. Ortynski

(July 20)  The homestanding Hamiota Red Sox broke a 2 – 2 tie with a single counter in the eighth panel to nose out the Souris Cardinals 3 to 2 to move 1-1/2 games in front of the Cards in the race for third place in the South Division. Ron Ramsey’s successful squeeze bunt in the eighth scored Bryan Smith from third base to give veteran Glennis Scott his fourth hurling triumph of the season. Scott registered eight strikeouts and yielded seven hits, one of them a two-run homer by Greg Cameron. Loser Scott Jenson, 3 – 4, held the hosts to six hits, two of them by Ramsey. Garry/Gary Davidson and Stan Furman both nicked Scott for a double and single.

Jenson (L) and Dwight Kirkup
Scott (W) and Labossiere

(July 20)  The Brandon Cloverleafs travelled to Virden and trimmed the hosting Oilers 8 to 2. The Leafs raked complete-game losing heaver Bill Armstrong for 15 base raps including three each by Bert Ready and Bob Thompson. There other players from the visiting nine -- Rick Cruise, Rick McFadyen and Bill Chapple -- managed two safeties apiece. The Cloverleaf bats provided enough of a cushion for third baseman Roy McLachlan, seldom utilized as a pitcher, to record his second victory against no losses. McLachlan, playing with a cast on his broken wrist, limited the Oilers to five hits and struck out six. One of the Virden safe swats surrendered by McLachlan was a home run by Ron Harper.

McLachlan (W) and McFadyen
Armstrong (L) and Fordyce 

(July 20)  The Binscarth Orioles plated a five-spot in the second stanza and went on to dispose of the Angusville Cardinals 7 to 3. Garth Neville, in a route-going effort, captured his first pitching win of the campaign while import Jay Freeman, who also went he distance, was tagged with the setback. Both teams had eight base hits. Neville, pitching infrequently for the Orioles this season, struck out 13. Binscarth had home runs from Bill Derlago and Rod Fallis. Derlago also singled. Garth Jackman singled three times for the winners. Marion Kotelniski belted a four-bagger for Angusville while Freeman and Barry Wowk singled twice. 

Freeman (L) and Chipelski
Neville (W) and Wasslen

(July 21)  After the visiting Brandon Cloverleafs had made a last-ditch rally to tie the score at 2 – 2 in the top-of-the-ninth inning, the Hamiota Red Sox  scored an unearned counter in their half of the canto to walk away with a 3 to 2 triumph. Rick Cruise’s throw to the plate, with the bases loaded and none out in the bottom-of-the-ninth, hit baserunner Doug McPhail in the back and allowed him to cross the pan with the walkoff winner, saddling Brandon’s Brian Hodgson with his first loss of the year. Lefthander Dennis Anderson copped the win with a five-hitter while Hodgson gave up six Hamiota hits. Ellis Woods singled three times for the winners while teammate Mike Labossiere slammed a solo home run.

Hodgson (L) and Hlady
Anderson (W) and Labossiere

(July 21)  Chuck Lang belted his eighth home run of the season, tying Cliff Seafoot’s 14-year old MSBL record for most home runs in a campaign, as the invading Binscarth Orioles bounced the Angusville Cardinals 10 to 3. Lang also hit a double in the skirmish that saw the slump-ridden Cards drop the 11th of their last 13 games played. Recovering from torn ligaments in his right knee, Gerry Falk won his first pitching decision of the year in toeing the rubber for the first seven frames. Falk and eighth-inning reliever Bryan McCauley combined for a six-hitter. Losing chucker Bob Chuchmuch had one of those hits, a bases-empty round-tripper. Lyle Robinson, Roy Reagh and Russ Shaw each had a pair of hits for the Orioles. Angusville’s Jay Freeman extended his hitting streak to nine games with two singles.                       
  
Falk (W), McCauley (8) and Wasslen
B. Chuchmuch (L) and Chipelski, Wowk (9)
  
(July 21)  The hometown Souris Cardinals scored three times in the sixth inning, keyed by Ron Bertholet’s two-run single, to get past the Dauphin Redbirds 4 to 1. The pitching win went to Jerry Araujo, now 5 – 1, who held the Redbirds to seven hits. Ross Stone was one better than that as he surrendered only six hits but lost for the third straight time. Stan Furman had two of the Souris’ hits while Dave Manthorne doubled and singled for the visitors.

Stone (L) and Morrison
Araujo (W) and Dwight Kirkup  

(July 22)  Perhaps the most feared slugger in the MSBL, Mark Fisher drove in six runs with a two-run homer, a triple and two singles in leading the Riverside Canucks to an 11 to 3 victory over the Virden Oilers. Grant Everard won his ninth pitching decision, bowing out with a 10 – 0 lead for Cam Mealy who took over mound chores in the sixth inning. Bob Williamson singled twice for the winners as part of their ten-hit offense. Randy Dittmer stroked two singles for the hapless Oilers while import Bill Armstrong singled twice.

Barboneaux (L), Bohonis (1), Dittmer (5) and Fordyce
Everard, Mealy (6) and Gullett, C. Seafoot (7)

(July 22)  Rick McFadyen continued his march toward the MSBL’s RBI record and Rick Hlady tossed a six-hitter and struck out six as the Brandon Cloverleafs posted an 8 to 2 win over the Angusville Cardinals. McFadyen went hitless in the tilt but managed a couple of sacrifice flies, raising his seasonal RBI total to 35, five short of Cliff Seafoot’s 14-year old MSBL record. Hlady, who lifted his record to 5 – 2, fashioned a six-hitter and helped himself with the bat against against lossing tosser Bill Flynn by blasting a triple, double and single while driving in three runs. Bert Ready added to the 12-hit Brandon attack with a triple and single while Bob Thompson singled twice. Jim Flynn, with two singles, was the Only Cardinal who managed more than one hit.

B. Flynn (L) and Wowk
Hlady (W) and McFadyen

(July 23)  Rod Fallis established a new MSBL record when he belted four consecutive home runs in propelling the Binscarth Orioles to a 13 to 8 bombardment of the visiting Grandview Lakers. Fallis began his assault in the very first inning, slamming a solo shot off losing heaver Don Luhowy. He greeted Luhowy with another bases-empty blast in the third and then launched two-run circuit-jacks off reliever Tony Kalechyn in both the fourth and sixth chapters. A sacrifice fly in the seventh stanza gave Fallis his seventh RBI of the game. Bruce Bremen gave up 13 hits in winning his sixth game of the season for the Birds as he registered ten punchouts. Russ Shaw had a double and single for the winners. John Hindle and Deryl Ortynski leashed three singles apiece for Grandview.

Luhowy (L), Kalechyn (3) and G. Ortynsky
Bremer (W) and Wasslen

(July 23)  The North Division pennant-winning McAuley Blazers were stretched to the limit in shading the Dauphin Redbirds 4 to 3 as Dan Kaupla raised his pitching record to 11 – 0 with the complete-game win. It was not an easy win for the Blazers who were outswatted 10 to 6 by the Redbirds. They needed Graeme Lee’s run-scoring single in the bottom-of-the-eighth episode to salvage the victory. After Dauphin’s John Morrison had tied the game 3 – 3 with a solo dinger in the top-of-the-eighth, McAuley’s Jon Lanston reached base on an error to start the Blazers’ half of the frame. He swiped the keystone sack and, after a ground out, galloped home with the deciding tally on Lee’s bingle. Kaupla fanned 11 in taking the knoll verdict from Dan Herriage. Aside from his tater, Morrison had two other base raps, a single and a double. Siggi Sigurdson followed with a brace of one-baggers.

Herriage (L) and Morrison
Kaupla (W) and Purcha

(July 23)  The Souris Cardinals moved back into third place in the South Division by dumping the Virden Oilers 12 to 6 in an eight-inning, darkness-shortened MSBL affair. Dwayne Kirkup, the last of three Souris slabsters, was credited for the win while Bill Armstrong, who went all the way for the Oilmen, was tagged with the defeat. Armstrong was combed for 12 hits while registering 11 strikeouts. The Oilers had only five hits but received 13 walks, eight of them from Cards’ starting heaver Ken Vertz. Bill Carpenter singled and homered for the hosting Cardinals, driving in four runs, one more than catcher Dwight Kirkup who had a pair of singles.

Armstrong (L) and Fordyce
Vertz, B. Walker (6), Dwayne Kirkup (W) (6) and Dwight Kirkup

(July 23)   The Riverside Canucks, with three-run rallies in each of the third and sixth innings, outlasted the homestanding Hamiota Canucks 9 to 7. Ron Seafoot, normally a reliever, went all the way on the hillock for Riverside and improved his record to 5 – 0 with a ten-hitter. The loser was Dave Marabella who was relieved in the seventh by Ron Ramsey. All of the Canucks in the line-up had at least one hit. Craig Bell hit a solo home run for the visitors while Bruce Gullett and Cliff Seafoot singled twice. Ellis Woods led the Red Sox with a pair of doubles while Bryan Smith came through with a two-bagger and single.

R. Seafoot (W) and Gullett
Marabella (L), Ramsey (7) and Labossiere

(July 24-25)  Canadian Federation of Amateur Baseball senior elimination series

(July 25)  Travelling Angusville swept both games of an MSBL double-bill from the Dauphin Redbirds by scores of 8 to 2 and 9 to 3. The twin triumphs boosted the Cards into third-place contention, albeit with the odds strongly against them while the double defeat for the Dauphinites all but eliminated them from reaching the playoffs.
    
In the lid-lifter, the Cardinals got three hits each from Bill Flynn, Clint Pushka and Barry Wowk in support of winning tosser Bob Chuchmuch. Angusville struck fast against loser Ross Stone, scoring six runs in the first six innings. Lorne Chipelski, with a triple and single, and Lynn Chuhmuch, with a double and single, also had hot bats for the Cards. Dave Rottman and Siggi Sigurdson cracked two hits each for the vanquished homesters.

B. Chuchmuch (W) and Chipelski
Stone (L) and Manthorne

When a couple of Redbird players didn’t return to the ballpark for the nightcap, 60-year old Dauphin manager Andy Newton was forced to insert himself into the lineup so the hosts could field a team. Newton patrolled the right garden for nine innings and made a great one-handed catch but rolled over and dropped the ball for an error. Import Jay Freeman went the route in winning his fourth game. Locked in a tight pitching duel with Dauphin’s Rottman until the fourth inning, Freeman was the beneficiary of a four-run uprising by his mates, three of them coming on a three-run dinger by Pushka, to give him some breathing room. Pushka also added a double and single, giving him six hits in the two games. Teammate Curnie Chuchmuch clicked for two singles while John Morrison was the Redbirds’ only two-hit batter with a brace of singles.

Freeman (W) and Chipelski
Rottman (L) and Rodnisky

(July 26)  The Hamiota Red Sox hammered the Brandon Cloverleafs 9 to 3 at Kinsmen Stadium, relegating the Wheat City nine to the runner-up spot in the MSBL’s South Division with no chance of overhauling Riverside. The Cloverleafs took a 4 – 0 lead after four innings against Hamiota starter Ron Ramsey but once the Red Sox got started offensively, with a pair of tallies in the fifth, they didn’t stop, scoring at least one run in every inning thereafter to win with ease. Ramsey scattered nine hits, giving up only one in the final four frames, to lift his record to 4 – 2. Brandon’s Roy McLachan, who pitched into the ninth before giving way to rookie Brent Hansen, was the loser. The Sox unloaded 11 hits including three each by Ramsey and Jeff Sheardown, the former cuffing a double and two singles while the later came up with a solo four-bagger and a brace of one-base raps. The Leafs got an unexpected round-tripper from Brian Hodgson which the Hamiotans contended should have been a ground-rule double. Bert Ready and Dennis Wiebe both added two singles to the Brandon cause.

Ramsey (W) and Labossiere
McLachlan (L), Hansen (9) and McFadyen

(July 26)  The Riverside Canucks popped the champagne corks as South Division pennant winners with a 7 to 1 home-field victory over the Angusville Cardinals. Righthander Grant Everard improved his pitching record to 10 – 2, giving up just six hits in beating winless Bill Flynn, now with three losses. Everard didn’t issue a walk while whiffing seven. Flynn allowed the Canucks eight hits but gave up six free passes. Four of those bases-on-balls eventually turned into Riverside runs. In boosting their record to 20 – 4 at their adoptive Boissevain facility, the Canucks were led with the hickory by Ron Seafoot, who garnered a triple and single, as well as Mark Fisher, who singled twice. Their big offensive splurge occurred in the fourth frame when they ran across five counters. The big blow in that canto was a two-run single by Danny Cassils. Losing heaver Flynn led the Cardinals with three singles.

B. Flynn (L) and Chipelski
Everard (W) and Gullett

(July 26)  The visiting Grandview Lakers trounced Dauphin 10 to 3 to officially knock the Redbirds out of playoff contention. The Lakers, who clinched at least a tie for second place in the North Division, teed off against seldom-used chucker Gord Fedorchuk for six first-inning counters and then added three more in the second stanza off reliever Siggi Sigurdson to jump into a comfortable 9 – 0 lead. Import Jim Deaver went the distance on the knoll for Grandview, earning his ninth win of the year against just one loss. Deaver was touched for seven hits but punched out 15 Redbirds. John Hindle banged out three singles to pace the Lakers offensively while Deryl Ortynski added two. Dave Rottman was the only Dauphin hitter with more than one safety, picking up two singles.

Deaver (W) and Kalechyn
Fedorchuk (L), Siggurdson (1) and Cruise 

(July 27)  Import hurler Bill Armstrong set a new MSBL record by striking out 23 Souris batters as the lowly Virden Oilers won for only the third time this season, dumping the visiting Cardinals 10 to 6. Armstrong allowed just four hits but five errors by his clubmates enabled the Cards to get their six runs. Virden lit up losing chucker Scott Jenson, who swished eight, for nine base raps. The Oilers struck for three runs in the first inning on Ron Harper’s bases-loaded triple and maintained control throughout. Harper later added a single while Perry Kalynuk also had a pair of base raps for the winners. Jerry Araujo had the Cardinals’ most impactful blow, a three-run double in the fifth frame, while Greg Cameron laced a couple of one-baggers. 

Jenson (L) and Dwight Kirkup
Armstrong (W) and Fordyce

(July 27)  The Dauphin Redbirds took advantage of seven Grandview errors to beat the hometown Lakers 13 to 5 in a contest that was terminated after eight innings because of darkness. Gord Fedorchuk struck for three hits to pace the Redbirds and back Ross Stone’s eight-hit pitching. Laker starter Steve Archamault, rocked for ten of the 11 Dauphin runs, was saddled with the loss. Stone helped himself, clicking for a brace of doubles while Siggi Sigurdson added two singles. Deryl Ortynski led the Lakers with a triple and single while Jim Deaver had a double and one-bagger.

Stone (W) and Manthorne
Archambault (L), Hindle (7) and G. Ortynsky

(July 27)  The South Division pennant-winning Riverside Canucks kept rolling with a 14 to 5 triumph over the Hamiota Red Sox. The Scarlet Stockings opened with plenty of punch, lighting up Riverside’s Cam Mealy for five runs in the top-of-the-opening panel but the Canucks responded quickly with a seven-spot in their half of the canto, kayoing loser Dennis Anderson from the hill in the process. Anderson failed to retire even one batter as Doug Mathison came on in relief and went the rest of the way. Mealy, meanwhile, settled down to blank the Hamiotans for the remainder of the tilt, chalking up his second win against no losses. Craig Bell had his fifth homer of the season, along with two singles, to pace the Canucks’ 15-hit attack. Morley Hartel contributed three singles while Ron Seafoot and Danny Cassils both delivered a triple and single. Cliff Seafoot added two one-base raps. Brent Montague had a perfect four-for-four night, banging out two doubles and two singles, to lead the Red Sox at the plate. Ron Ramsey chipped in with two singles.

Anderson (L), Mathison (1) and Labossiere
Mealy (W), Gullett, C. Seafoot (9) 

(July 27)  The Binscarth Orioles rallied for a 6 to 3 triumph over the invading Brandon Cloverleafs. Trailing 2 – 1 after seven innings, the Birds struck for two markers in the eighth and three more in the ninth to hand Garry Keating his first loss in two decisions. Five Brandon errors, including three in the final frame, didn’t help the Cloverleafs’ cause. Bruce Bremer pitched the first eight innings for Binscarth and got the win, his seventh. Hot-hitting Bill Derlago bashed a double and two singles for the Orioles. Chuck Lang and Garth Jackman added two singles each. Bob Wilson cracked a double and single to lead Brandon hitters while Rick McFadyen banged out two singles.

Bremer (W), Falk (9) and Derlago
Keating (L) and Hemstad

(July 28)  Dan Kaupla, McAuley’s ace chucker from California, snapped an MSBL one-season record for pitching victories when he recorded his 12th in an inglorious 15 to 10 Blazer triumph over the Binscarth Orioles. Kaupla’s record-setting victory was no masterpiece. He was rocked for 16 hits and ten runs, the most he has allowed all season. McAuley took control early, pushing across eight counters in the fourth chapter to assume a 13 – 3 lead. Oriole starter Russ Shaw absorbed the loss, getting the hook in the second spasm Kaupla led Blazer hitters with three base knocks, including a two-run double. Terry Lynd, Brian Purcha, Wayne Poole and Graeme Lee all added a brace of bingles with Lynd a Poole each nailing a circuit-jack. Ron Low and Bruce Bremer both had three hits for Binscarth. The O’s outhit the Blazers 16 – 15 but committed the game’s only six errors. Bill Derlago delivered a double and single while Shaw added a pair of one-baggers.

Kaupla (W) and Lowes
Shaw (L), Low (2), Derlago (4) and Derlago, Wasslen (4), Shewchuk (6)

(July 28)  The Grandview Lakers blanked the Dauphin Redbirds 4 to 0 in a six-inning, rain-shortened MSBL contest. Although outhit 4 – 3 by the Redbirds, the Lakers managed to score twice in the third and once each in the fifth and sixth stanzas before the rains came. Don Luhowy won the pitching verdict, his third in seven decisions, over Dave Rottman who was beaten for the ninth time. Glen Reiss went yard with a dinger for the Grandview Gang while Ross Stone had two of the Redbirds’ hits, one of which was a two-bagger.

Luhowy (W) and G. Ortynski
Rottman (L) and Manthorne

(July 28)  The Brandon Cloverleafs battled to a 4 – 4 tie with the hometown Souris Cardinals in a game called after nine innings because of darkness. Rick McFadyen, the hard-hitting Cloverleaf, recorded his 36th, 37th and 38th RBI’s of the season but his hitting couldn’t produce a Brandon win. Tom Kearns’ RBI single in the seventh inning gave the Cards their tie. Brian Hodgson went the distance for Brandon while Ken Vertz did the same for the Cards. McFadyen lashed two safeties for the Leafs, including his third tater of the year. Kearns led Souris at the plate with two singles. The game will not be replayed unless the result has a bearing on the final standings.

Hodgson and Hemstad
Vertz and Dwight Kirkup

(July 29)  Righthander Grant Everard won his ninth straight pitching decision, improving his record to 11 – 2, as the Riverside Canucks scored twice in the seventh inning and came away with a 7 to 5 victory over the Souris Cardinals. Everard was touched for ten base raps, including three off the bat of Stan Furman, while loser Dwayne Kirkup, 2 – 1, allowed 14 in a route-going effort. Morley Hartel’s two-run single gave the Canucks a 7 – 4 cushion and Everard held the Cardinals to one run after that. Craig Bell whacked four singles to pace the Riversiders offensively while Mark Fisher added a double and two one-baggers. Bob Williamson, Cliff Seafoot and Hartel each delivered two hits to the winners’ attack. Besides Furman’s tiad of safeties, other hot bats for the Cards were swung by Greg Cameron and Tom Kearns with two singles each.

Everard (W) and C. Seafoot
Dwayne Kirkup (L) and Dwight Kirkup

(July 29)  A four-run Brandon rally in the third inning was sufficient for the Cloverleafs to subdue the visiting Grandview Lakers 5 to 2 and put a stop to ace slab artist Jim Deaver’s seven-game win streak. Deaver’s only two walks in the game came in the third chapter and the Cloverleafs added three singles in that frame in producing their four-spot. Rick Cruise’s two-run triple was the most impactful blow while winning pitcher Bob Thompson and Bill Chapple both had RBI-singles during the decisive third. Rick McFadyen, Chapple and Dennis Wiebe each had two hits for the Wheat City nine while Deryl Ortynski had three singles and Deaver two for the Grandview Gang.

Deaver (L) and G. Ortynski
Thompson (W) and McFadyen

(July 29)  The Angusville Cardinals put the Virden Oilers out of their misery for another campaign with a 13 to 7 triumph at Manitoba’s oil capital. The game ended after eight innings when darkness prevented further play. The season-ending loss for Virden left them with a 3 – 23 record, the worst in the league. The Cardinals overcame a 5 – 1 deficit with eight counters in the fifth frame to pin the loss on winless Larry Thompson who suffered his fifth pitching setback. Bob Chuchmuch went the distance for the mound victory, spinning an eight-hitter. Clinton Pushka belted his fifth homer of the year and added two singles to lead Angusville’s 11-hit attack. Lorne Gallant, Barry Wowk and Chuchmuch each chipped in with two singles. Terry Good was Virden’s offensive leader with a double and two singles while Bob Downey had four RBI’s on the strength of two one-base raps.

B. Chuchmuch (W) and Chipelski
Thompson (L), Dittmer (5), Barboneaux (8) and Fordyce

(July 30)  Despite being out-hit by a 9 to 6 margin, the Hamiota Red Sox elbowed their way into third place in the MSBL’s South Division by nosing out the North Division pennant-winning McAuley Blazers 4 to 3 in the last game of the campaign for both squads. Hamiota’s win relegated Souris to fourth-place in the South Division standings, thereby negating any reason for the Cards to replay their tie game earlier in the week with Brandon. The Red Sox took advantage of McAuley outfielder Terry Lynd’s chronic shoulder problems to score a pair of ninth-inning counters and claim the victory. Unable to relay the ball from his post in the middle garden to the plate, Lynd more or less conceded runners from third base a free pass home on sacrifice fly plays. Veteran chucker Glennis Scott of the Sox annexed his fifth win in six decisions in taking the verdict over McAuley’s Ross Lynd. Ellis Woods had a double and single for the victors while Barry Jamieson and Wayne Poole both launched round-trippers as well as doubles for the Blazers.

R. Lynd (L) and Lowes
Scott (W) and Labossiere

(July 30)  The Binscarth Orioles closed out their regular-season schedule by shading the Dauphin Redbirds 9 to 8. The Orioles spotted Dauphin a 4 – 0 first-inning lead before coming back for the win. Lefthander Gerry Falk went the distance for the O’s, yielding nine hits while ringing up 13 punchouts. Veteran southpaw Ross Stone, in his final mound appearance of his current summer vacation before heading back to Victoria, was tagged with the ten-hit defeat. Ron Low doubled twice for the winners while teammate Rod Fallis cuffed a brace of singles. Ron Rasmussen singled three times for the Redbirds, one more than clubmate Dave Rottman.

Stone (L), Herriage (6) and Morrison
Falk (W) and Wasslen

(July 30)  The Cardinals of Souris stroked 13 base knocks, three of them by batting champion Stan Furman, as they lowered the boom on their red-feathered namesakes from Angusville 18 to 5 in the final regular-season appearance for both aggregations. Furman laced two singles and a double in support of winning heaver Jerry Araujo, who won for the sixth time against one loss. Marion Kotelniski, the first of two Angusville pitchers, was the loser. Greg Cameron had four hits for the winners, including his second home run of the season. Ron Bertholet also cuffed four safeties. Bill Carpenter, who finished with five RBI’s, blasted his fourth circuit-clout of the season. Bill Flynn and Barry Wowk each singled twice for visiting Angusville and Curnie Chuchmuch launched a three-run dinger in the ninth inning.

Kotelniski (L), B. Flynn (6) and Chipelski
Araujo (W), B. Walker (8) and Dwight Kirkup

(July 31)  1976 MSBL batting champion Stan Furman of the Souris Cardinals kept up his hot hitting at McAuley as the South Division trampled all over the North Division selects 8 to 2 in the league’s annual all-star game. Furman lashed out three hits, including a double, and drove in four runs as the South Division stars led from start to finish. Both teams cracked out nine hits but the North’s shoddy fielding did them in. Craig Bell of the Riverside Canucks had two hits for the winners, including a solo homer. Bert Ready of the Brandon Cloverleafs added two singles. Barry Jamieson and Jon Langston, both of the McAuley Blazers, collected two singles apiece for the North Division.

Everard (W), Araujo (4), R. Seafoot (7), Ramsey (8) and Labossiere
Bremer (L), Kaupla (4), Deaver (7) and Lowes

(August 3)  A meaningless last game of the schedule game, in terms of the final standings, was forfeited by the Brandon Cloverleafs who were scheduled to play in Grandview.

FINAL STANDINGS

NORTH DIVISION               W     L     Pct.    GBL
McAuley Blazers             23     3    .885    ----
Grandview Lakers            14    12    .538     9.0
Binscarth Orioles           11    15    .423    12.0
Angusville Cardinals         9    17    .346    14.0
Dauphin Redbirds             5    21    .192    18.0     

SOUTH DIVISION               W     L     Pct.    GBL
Riverside Canucks           22     4    .846    ----
Brandon Cloverleafs         16     9    .640    5.5
Hamiota Red Sox             14    12    .538    8.0
Souris Cardinals            12    13    .480    9.5
Virden Oilers                3    23    .115   19.0

PLAYOFFS
DIVISIONAL SEMI-FINALS  (best-of-five series)

SOUTH DIVISION 
Hamiota vs Brandon & Souris vs Riverside

NORTH DIVISION 
Binscarth vs Grandview & Angusville vs McAuley

(August 5)  Always appearing to be in peak form once playoff time rolls around, ageless Glennis Scott inflicted his annual post-season mezmerization over the Brandon Colverleafs, pitching the underdog Hamiota Red Sox the a 3 to 1 opening-game triumph in the North Division semi-finals. Playing at Kinsmen Stadium, Scott, the wily veteran, got in trouble early but coolly settled down to hold the Leafs to just one hit over the final four innings and finished with a seven-hit, four-walk victory. The Wheat City nine opened the scoring in the opening panel when Bob Wilson crossed the plate on Rick McFadyen’s ground out. After that, however, they were only able to put up goose eggs on the scoreboard as the crafty Scott was able to pitch himself of out of jam after jam in the early innings. A three-run outburst in the third inning against losing pitcher Bob Thompson was all Hamiota needed. Ron Ramsey’s run-scoring single and Mike Labossiere’s two-run double, which immediately followed, did the damage. Brent Montague had two singles as part of the Red Sox eight-hit offense while Wilson and playing-manager Rick Hlady registered two hits each for Brandon.
   
Scott (W) and Labossiere
Thompson (L) and McFadyen

(August 5)  Grant Everard of the Riverside Canucks picked an inopportune time to come up sour after a lengthy MSBL winning streak. A victor in his final nine pitching assignments in the regular season, Everard was rocked from the mound in the fifth inning at Boissevain as the fourth-place Souris Cardinals rang up a 6 to 4 conquest of the South Division pennant-winning Canucks. Jerry Araujo went the route on the hill for the Cards, keeping the Riversiders at bay with an eight-hitter. Losing heaver Everard and reliever Ron Seafoot were nicked for ten Souris hits. Stan Furman led the victors with the baton, slamming two doubles. Bill Carpenter, Gary/Garry Davidson and Greg Cameron each delivered a pair of singles.

Araujo (W) and Bertholet
Everard (L), R. Seafoot and Gullett

(August 5)  The runaway North Division pennant-winning McAuley Blazers hammered the Angusville Cardinals 16 to 2 in their inaugural post-season performance. With ace righthander Danny Kaupa on the knoll, the Blazers started slowly, battling along to a scoreless tie for three innings before putting the game on ice by plating a dozen counters over the course of the next three frames. Kaupla, 12 – 0 during the regular campaign, gave up ten hits but punched out 13 Cardinals in going the route for the easy win. Angusville starter Jay Freeman, who lasted part-way through the sixth, absorbed the loss. Brian Purcha, Jon Langston and Graeme Lee triggered the Blazers’ 16-hit attack with three hits apiece. Kaula added two. Freeman cracked two hits for the Cards, including the game’s lone four-bagger, a bases-empty shot in the fifth frame. Catcher Lorne Chipelski chipped in with a double and single while Jim Flynn added two singles.

Freeman (L), B. Flynn (6) and Chipelski
Kaupla (W) and Lowes

(August 5)  The Grandview Lakers scored once in each of the first and second innings and held on to nip the Binscarth Orioles 2 to 1 in a well-played North Division playoff opener. Jim Deaver of the Lakers and Binscarth’s Gerry Falk went toe-to-toe in an excellent pitching matchup. Deaver was nicked for just four hits while Falk allowed seven Grandview, but held the hosts scoreless after the second spasm. John Hindle’s single drove in Tony Kalechyn with the game’s first run and the winner came when Wayne Keeler singled to score Glen Ortynski, who had walked and stolen second. The Oriole’s lone tally also came in the second spasm when Garth Neville laced an RBI-single to plate Alf Ducharme. Keeler was the only player in the game with more than one hit, collected a brace of one-baggers.

Falk (L) and Reagh
Deaver (W) and G. Ortynski

(August 10)  Dan Kaupla, who has reeled off a 28 – 3 pitching record in less than two complete seasons of MSBL play, lost his first game since the 1975 finals as the homestanding Angusville Cardinals pushed across a run with two out in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning to topple the McAuley Blazers 1 to 0 and even their best-of-five North Division semi-final at one game apiece. The Chuchmuch boys, Bob and Currnie, were the heroes for Angusville with the former pitching a three-hitter and the latter driving in the game’s lone run. Bob Chuchmuch struck out four and walked six in out-duelling Kaupla, who gave up only four hits. The winning rally started with one out. Bill Flynn singles, went to second on Clinton Pushka’s infield out and scored on Currnie Chuchmuch’s walkoff single.

Kaupla (L) and Lowes
B. Chuchmuch (W) and Wowk

(August 10)  The Souris Cardinals surprised the South Division pennant-winning Riverside Canucks for the second straight time with a 5 to 3 verdict over the Riversiders. Souris cracked out 13 hits against losing hurler Rob Medoff to increase their series’ lead to two games. Ken Vertz, with a complete-game five-hitter got the win. Garry/Gary Davidson and Stan Furman each collected three hits for the Cardinals while Greg Cameron and Jerry Araujo slapped out two safeties each. Claude Martin poled the game’s longest drive for the victors, slamming a solo homer in the sixth stanza. Mark Fisher got back on the beam for the Canucks, after going hitless in the opener, lashing out a home run and a single.

Medoff (L) and C. Seafoot, Gullett (4)
Vertz (W) and Bertholet

(August 10)  The Binscarth Orioles hammered the Grandview Lakers 13 to 0 to even their series at a game apiece. Bill Derlago’s three-run double in the third inning, followed by Chuck Lang’s two-run dinger, gave Binscarth winning tosser far more than enough offense he needed to stifle the Lakers. Garth Neville finished with a four-hitter in the six-inning game, delayed for 25 minutes at the start time due to rain and later called because of darkness. Grandview starting chucker Steve Archambault, rocked for ten runs in 3-1/3 innings, was stung with the defeat. Derlago, Lang, Rod Fallis, Garth Jackman and Cliff McKague all had two safeties for the winners. Jim Deaver had two of the Lakers’ four hits, both singles.

Archambault (L), Luhowy (4) and G. Ortynski
Neville (W) and Reagh

(August 10)  The Hamiota Red Sox doubled the Brandon Cloverleafs 8 to 4 to take a 2 – 0 lead in their best-of-five affair. Flychaser Doug McPhail, a former Cloverleaf, belted a bases-loaded four-ply clout off Brandon starter and loser Rick Hlady in the fourth frame to break a 2 – 2 tie and send the Red Sox to the brink of advancement. Reliever Ron Ramsey got credit for the pitching win. McPhail later added a single, good for his fifth RBI of the game, while Ramsey, Mike Labossiere, Jeff Sheardown and Dave Marabella also had a brace of base raps for the Sox. Garry Keating and Bill Chapple, with a double and single each, and Norm Hemstad, with a pair of one-baggers, did most of the offensive damage for the Wheat City nine.  

Hlady (L), Keating (5) and Hemstad
Anderson, Ramsey (W) (5) and Labossiere

(August 11)  The homestanding McAuley Blazers, still stinging from the 1 – 0 loss handed to them just 24 hours previous, came back with a vengeance to grab a two-games-to-one series lead. With McAuley holding a slim 1 – 0 margin in the sixth inning, Brian Purcha’s grand-slam home run off Angusville import Jay Freeman was the deciding blow that led to the hosts chalking up a decisive 7 to 0 conquest of the Cardinals. Consecutive singles by Dale Lowes, Wayne Poole and complete-game winning pitcher Jon Langston preceded Purcha’s blast. Brian Rose doubled home two more tallies in the eighth episode off reliever Bill Flynn to insure the Blazer victory. Besides his homer, Purcha added a double while Langston singled twice as part of McAuley’s ten-hit attack. Freeman had two of the four Angusville safeties, a double and a single.

Freeman (L), B. Flynn (7) and Chiplelski, Wowk (7)
Langston (W) and Lowes

(August 11)  A fifth-inning throwing error by Binscarth pitcher Bruce Bremer opened the door for two unearned Grandview runs, snapping a 1 – 1 tie, and sending the Lakers to an ultimate 6 to 1 victory over the Orioles and a two-games-to-one-lead in their North Division semi-final series. Import lefthander Jim Deaver won his second playoff game, striking out 12, giving up only two walks while holding the Birds to just four hits. Steve Archambault and Deryl Ortynski banged out two hits each in pacing the six-hit Grandview offense.

Bremer (L) and Derlago
Deaver (W) and G. Ortynski

(August 11)  Facing elimination, the Riverside Canucks parlayed a strong pitching performance by Grant Everard with four Souris errors into a 4 to 1 victory to remain alive in the South Division semi-final showdown. The underdog Cards still hold the upper hand with a 2 – 1 lead in the series. Everard went the route for the Canucks, walking only one and striking out six while allowing just five hits. Scott Jenson, tagged for seven hits, took the loss in a distance-going effort. Shortstop Dwayne Kirkup’s error in the fourth frame allowed the Riversiders to plate a pair of runs and break a scoreless tie. The Cards came back with a run in the fifth when Jenson lit up Everard for a solo dinger but the Canucks’ Bruce Gullett made it 4 – 1 in the sixth by belting a two-run tater. Morley Hartel, with a triple and single, and Danny Cassils, with two singles, were stalwarts in the Riverside batting attack. Bill Carpenter was the only two-hit batter for Souris, cracking out a double and single.

Jenson (L) and Bertholet
Everard (W) and Gullett

(August 13)  The Binscarth Orioles, enjoying home field advantage and trailing in their North Division series 2 – 1, came up with a 6 – 6 stalemate in their tussle with the Grandview Lakers. No attempt was made to play any overtime as darkness was prevalent. The visiting Lakers, who used two twirlers, had a 12 to 8 advantage in base hits. Garth Neville went the route for the Birds. Sixth-inning reliever Jim Deaver, Steve Archambault and Don Ramsey collected two hits apiece for the Grandview Gang while Garth Jackman led the way offensively for Binscarth with a double, single and two RBI’s.

Kalechyn, Deaver (6) and G. Ortynski
Neville and Derlago

(August 13)  The Angusville Cardinals, with elimination staring them in the face, rallied for a single counter in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning to claim a tie with the McAuley Blazers. One round of bonus play followed but both teams failed to score. Darkness halted things at that point. Jim Flynn’s two-out, RBI-single in the ninth saved the bacon for the Cards who wound up with a narrow 11 to 10 advantage in base raps. Barry Wowk had an outstanding evening at the plate for Angusville, drilling a triple and three singles. Dan Kaupla nailed a double and a couple of one-baggers for the Blazers.

R. Lynd, Kaupla (9) and Lowes
B. Chuchmuch and Chipelski, Wowk (7)

(August 13)  The Riverside Canucks, trailing two-games-to-one in their series with the Cardinals, invaded Souris and shelled their hosts 7 to 1. The Riversiders rode the arm of ace Grant Everard and the bat of Dan Cassils to stop the Cards. Everard, pitching with only one day’s rest, scattered eight Souris hits to garner the win. Cassils, meanwhile, unloaded a three-run homer in the seventh stanza to break up a 2 – 1 game. Jerry Araujo, raked for 11 Canuck safeties, suffered the loss. Cliff Seafoot and Mark Fisher contributed two hits apiece for the victors while Stan Furman and catcher Ron Bertholet each delivered a brace of safe swats for the vanquished Cardinals.

Everard (W) and Gullett
Araujo (L) and Bertholet

(August 16)  After two weather-related cancellations, the Brandon – Hamiota series finally resumed and saw the hosting Cloverleafs nip the Red Sox 1 to 0 to stay alive for another day. The game, which went the full nine innings, probably should have been called after eight episodes because of less-than-adequate illumination but umpire Earl Poole disagreed and, with just the one-run differential, allowed the top-of-the-ninth to begin even though the eighth had been plagued by early darkness. The Cloverleafs were hanging on to the slim lead provided them on Bert Ready’s run-producing ground ball in the fifth frame. Winning pitcher Brian Hodgson, who finished with a two-hit shutout, began the ninth by allowing a single to Doug McPhail and then, with one out, walked Mike Labossiere, who had broken up Hodgson’s no-hit bid with a sixth-stanza single. At that juncture, the visiting Sox were only one hit away from tying the game and perhaps even going ahead. However, Hodgson then coolly struck out Ellis Woods and Dave Marabella to end the game with pitches the two Hamiota batters could barely see and not because of their velocity. Red Sox’ chucker Glennis Scott was tagged with the loss, yielding six safeties. Leaf outfielder Bob Thompson, with a pair of singles, was the lone batter in the game with plural hit totals.

Scott (L) and Labossiere
Hodgson (W) and Harvey

(August 16)  The McAuley Blazers and Angusville Cardinals battled to their second deadlock in a row, a ten-inning 7 – 7 tie on the home turf of the Blazers. The Cards had the favored Blazers on the ropes until the last-of-the-ninth-inning when McAuley rallied for three runs to tie the game. The teams then played a scoreless overtime session before darkness ended things. Angusville, fourth-place finisher in the North Division, rocked McAuley starter Dan Kaupla for five third-inning runs and took a 7 – 4 lead into the ninth before the Blazers came to life. Dale Lowes doubled in one run and Brian Purcha hit a two-run single to tie things up. At this point, Cardinal starter Jay Freeman was lifted and reliever Bill Flynn enticed the next batter to hit into an inning-ending double play. Despite the third-inning shelling, Kaupla went the distance for McAuley and was touched for 11 hits. The big blow was Clint Pushka’s three-run homer who finished with three hits and four RBI’s. Bob Mazur also cuffed three hits for Angusville while Jim Flynn had a triple and single. Dale Lowes smashed two doubles and a single for McAuley while Brian Lindsay and Wayne Poole each managed two hits.

Freeman, B. Flynn (9) and Wowk
Kaupla and Lowes

(August 16)  The Binscarth Orioles tied their series with Grandview by thumping the hometown Lakers 10 to 3. Chuck Lang’s run-scoring single and Roy Reagh’s two-run homer highlighted a three-run Binscarth rally in the fifth frame which snapped a  2 – 2 tie and sent the Lakers reeling. Winning pitcher Gerry Falk, who cracked three doubles in the game, went the distance on the hillock scattering six hits, all singles. Grandview ace Jim Deaver also went the route in suffering his first playoff defeat. Rod Fallis slammed a solo homer and added two singles for the Orioles while Reagh had a double in addition to his four-bagger. Tony Kalechyn and Glen Ortynski each had two singles to pace Grandview.

Falk (W) and Lang
Deaver (L) and G. Ortynski

(August 16)  The Riverside Canucks completed their series’ comeback with a 5 to 3 win over the Souris Cardinals on their home Boissevain field. Tireless righthander Grant Everard won his third playoff game with a complete-game seven-hit, four-strikeout performance. Losing slabster Scott Jenson was touched for all five Riverside runs in his six innings of mound toil. Bob Williamson led the nine-hit Canuck attack with three hits including a triple. Cliff Seafoot drove in two Riverside runs with a single and a suicide bunt which scored Williamson after his three-bagger. MSBL regular-season batting champ Stan Furman belted two triples and a single for Souris. Adding to the seven-hit Cardinal offense was Tom Kearns with a brace of bingles and Ron Bertholet with a bases-empty round-tripper.

Jenson (L), Dwayne Kirkup (7) and Dwight Kirkup
Everard (W) and Gullett

(August 17)  A 10 to 5 doubling of the visiting Hamiota Red Sox by the Brandon Cloverleafs squared that South Division semi-final round at two games each. The Cloverleafs, who trailed 2 – 0 in games earlier in the series, broke the game wide open in the top-of-the-eighth and final inning. Leading 6 – 5 after Hamiota had scored four times in the bottom-of-the-seventh, Brandon’s Rick McFadyen delivered a two-run double as the Leafs went on to plate a four-spot. Hamiota failed to score in their half of the inning and the game was terminated because of darkness. Bob Thompson lasted into the seventh inning in copping the pitching win, acquiring relief help from McFadyen. Thompson was combed for ten base hits, three less than what four Hamiota chuckers, including starter and loser Ron Ramsey, surrendered. Besides McFadyen’s big hit, Garry Keating racked up three RBI’s on the strength of a pair of singles while Thompson stroked a triad of one-baggers. Bert Ready, Bill Chapple and Rick Cruise added two hits apiece. While he suffered the pitching loss, Ramsey was a perfect three-for-three at the plate for the Red Sox. Brent Montague nailed a two-run homer and Mike Labossiere chipped in with two hits.

Thompson (W), McFadyen (7) and Harvey
Ramsey (L), Anderson (4), Mathison (8), Marabella (8) and Labossiere

(August 17)  It took six hard-fought games but the pennant-winning McAuley Blazers finally eliminated the pesky Angusville Cardinals from the playoffs after posting a 6 to 1 victory in one bracket of the North Division semi-finals. Winning heaver Jon Langston checked the Cards on six hits with only a run-scoring single by Bob Mazur in the fourth frame doing any damage. Fellow Californian Dan Kaupla registered two hits including a three-run homer in the eighth. Brian Purcha was even more effective as a batter for the defending champion Blazers. He had three safe swats including a two-run dinger in the opening panel that provided Langston with all the offensive support he needed. Bob Chuchmuch, raked for 13 hits, went the distance for Angusville in absorbing the loss.

Langston (W) and Lowes
B. Chuchmuch (L) and Wowk

(August 17)   The Grandview Lakers sent the Binscarth Orioles to the playoff sidelines after pounding the Birds 8 to 1 to annex their North Division series. Versatile Tony Kalechyn was the main man for the winning Lakers, going the distance on the mound with an effective five-hitter. He helped out at the plate as well with three hits, one of which was a two-bagger, while driving in a brace of tallies. Bruce Bremer started on the knoll for the Birds but was kayoed in the eighth in taking the loss. Don Ramsey drove in three Grandview runs with a double while Steve Archambault launched a solo tater in the ninth. John Hindle and Glen Ortynski both delivered two singles for the winners. Binscarth’s Rod Fallis prevented Kalechyn from posting a shutout by belting a bases-empty dinger in the eighth episode. He also picked up a single. Ron Low added a brace of one-baggers.

Kalechyn (W) and G. Ortynsky
Bremer (L), Neville (8) and Lang

(August 19-22)  Canadian Senior Baseball Championship tournament 

(August 31)  Delayed for more than a week because of the involvement of key players in the national finals, a winner was finally determined in the last remaining divisional semi-final. In the series’ winner-take-all finale limited to six-innings because of rain, the hosting Brandon Cloverleafs emerged from what had started out as a deep, dark hole in the playoffs by shading the Hamiota Red Sox 4 to 3 at Kinsmen Stadium to capture their best-of-five affair three games to two. The visiting Red Sox collected seven hits off winning pitcher Brian Hodgson on the wet and slippery diamond including a triple by catcher Mike Labossiere plus a double and one-bagger by centre fielder Bryan Smith. The Leafs, meanwhile, teed off on losing twirler Glennis Scott for 11 base knocks. Shortpatcher Rick Cruise led the victors with three singles while outfielder Norm Hemstad doubled and singled.

Scott (L) and Labossiere
Hodgson (W) and Harvey

DIVISIONAL FINALS  (best-of-five series)

SOUTH DIVISION 
Brandon vs Riverside

NORTH DIVISION 
Grandview vs McAuley

(August 26)  Grandview scored a pair of runs in the first inning and that proved to be enough as the Lakers went on to post a 4 to 1 victory over the McAuley Blazers in the opening game of the MSBL North Division finals. Import Steve Archambault doubled home Tony Kalechyn to open the scoring and then plated a second Laker tally when John Hindle followed him with an RBI-single. Laker pitching ace Jim Deaver took over from there, effectively scattering nine hits while walking one and fanning eight. Losing flinger Jon Langston limited the winners to eight safeties and four bases-on-balls while whiffing ten. Hindle managed a two-bagger in addition to his early one-base rap while Deaver delivered two singles. Dan Kaupla doubled and singled for McAuley while Brian Rose and Barry Jamieson both had a brace of one-baggers.

Deaver (W) and G. Ortynski
Langston (L) and Lowes

(August 28)  The upstart Grandview Lakers, showing no respect for McAuley pitching ace Dan Kaupla, annexed a come-from-behind 6 to 4 triumph over the invading Blazers to take a 2 – 0 lead in the North Division finals. McAuley led 4 to 3 until the Lakers scored three times in the eighth episode. Don Luhowy drilled a double that drove in a pair of runs and he eventually scampered home on a sacrifice fly by winning pitcher Tony Kalechyn. Kaupla argued so vehemently that Luhowy had left third base too soon before Kalechyn’s fly ball was caught that it eventually caused his ejection from the game. The Blazers, who outhit their hosts 10 – 8, got two singles apiece from Wayne Poole, Jon Langston and Graeme Lee. 

Kaupla (L) and Lowes
Kalechyn (W) and G. Ortynski

(August 29)  The McAuley Blazers jumped on Grandview starting hurler Don Luhowy for two runs in the opening canto and reliever Steve Archambault for three more in the third chapter and never looked back as they remained alive in the MSBL North Division finals with a 6 to 4 conquest of the gritty Lakers. The early outburst was more than enough to carry Blazer heaver Ross Lynd to a complete-game, nine-hit pitching victory. The Blazers struck for a dozen base raps in the contest, two each by Terry Lynd, Dale Lowes, Wayne Poole and Brian Purcha. Archambault nailed three singles for the losers, one more than teammate Deryl Ortynski. Grandview still holds the lead in the series, two-games-to-one.

Luhowy (L), Archambault (2) and G. Ortynski
R. Lynd (W) and Lowes

(September 1)  Showing more than a few signs of a resurrection, the McAuley Blazers defeated the homestanding Grandview Lakers 7 to 2 to force a fifth and deciding game in their best-of-five North Division finals. McAuley scored a pair of runs in the first inning and then exploded for a five-spot in the fifth to put the issue out of reach. Complete-game loser Tony Kalechyn was combed for 12 hits by the Blazers while winning twirler Dan Kaupla yielded six hits and struck out seven in going the distance. The Lakers missed the presence of import Jim Deaver who appears to be done for the series with a foot infection. Barry Jamieson led the visitors offensively with a pair of doubles while Kaupla and Dale Lowes had a double and single each. Brian Purcha stroked a couple of one-base raps. Glen Ortynski doubled and single for Grandview and Steve Archambault delivered two one-baggers.

Kaupla (W) and Lowes
Kalechyn (L) and G. Ortynski 

(September 2)  With wet weather delaying the onset of the South Division finals, things finally got underway at Boissevain where the hosting Riverside Canucks shaded the Brandon Cloverleafs 3 to 2 in a ten-inning scuffle. Ageless veteran Garth Seafoot, who usually confines himself to managerial duties these days in the Canuck dugout, drilled a two-out pinch-hit single up the middle in the overtime round of play to give Riverside the victory. The single scored another Seafoot, Cliff, who had doubled and stolen third. Grant Everard notched his fourth playoff mound victory in outdueling Brandon’s Rick Hlady. Everard surrendered eight hits and whiffed ten, one more than Hlady. The Cloverleaf manager/hurler was glazed for ten safe swats by the Riversiders. The hosting Canucks took a 2 – 0 lead in the fifth frame but the Wheat City nine tied the game in the sixth spasm on Roy McLachlan’s two-run circuit-blast. Cliff Seafoot doubled twice and singled once for the winners while Everard and Danny Cassils had two singles apiece. Norm Hemstad cuffed three singles for Brandon with Hlady and Bert Ready managing a brace of one-baggers each.

Hlady (L) and Harvey
Everard (W) and Gullett

(September 2)  The McAuley Blazers, once presumed to be missing in action if not dead, made their Northern Division playoff comeback complete with a 9 to 4 victory over the Grandview Lakers. The Blazers, defending MSBL champions, who once trailed the Lakers 2 – 0 in games, won three in a row to cop the series. Not having to contend with Grandview pitching ace Jim Deaver, who was sidelined for the finale because of blood poisoning in his foot, McAuley broke a 1 – 1 tie against losing heaver Steve Archambault with three runs in the sixth inning and then added four more in the seventh. The beneficiary of all those runs was winning tosser Ross Lynd, who bowed out in the eighth episode in favor of reliever Barry Jamieson when the Grandview Gang erupted for a three-spot. Archambault, who went the distance, was nicked for 12 hits and half as many walks. Wayne Poole swung a big bat for the winners, driving in three runs with two doubles and a single. Brian Purcha doubled and singled while Dan Kaupla and Brian Rose chipped in with a brace of singles each. Don Ramsey stroked a double and single for the losers and clubmate Deryl Ortynski picked up a couple of singles.

Archambault (L) and G. Ortynski
R. Lynd (W), Jamieson (8) and Lowes

(September 6)  The Brandon Cloverleafs took advantage of the ineffectiveness of three of Riverside’s four pitchers and took an easy 9 to 2 win over the invading Canucks to square the South Division finals at a game apiece. While lefty Brian Hodgson was blanking the Riversiders on two hits through seven innings for his third playoff victory, the Leafs were collecting 11 hits off in the first five innings for a comfortable 9 – 0 lead. Only Mark Fisher, the final of the Canuck quartet of heavers, was able to subdue the hosts. Rick McFadyen worked the final two innings on the hill for Brandon after Hodgson and his mates had put a bow on things. Rick Cruise led the 12-hit Wheat City attack with a triple and single while Bob Wilson, McFadyen and Norm Hemstad banged out two singles apiece.

Medoff (L), Mealy (1), R. Seafoot (2), Fisher (6) and Gullett
Hodgson (W), McFadyen (8) and Harvey

(September 7)  Bob Thompson pitched a four-hitter in leading the Brandon Cloverleafs to a 3 to 1 win over the Riverside Cardinals and a two-games-to-one edge in the South Division finals. Thompson gave up a run in the first inning while pitching out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam and, after the second spasm, allowed only one hit, an infield single by Mark Fisher. He struck out four and walked one. Brandon’s Dennis Wiebe broke out of a playoff slump  with a double, single and two RBI’s. Wiebe drilled a run-producing two-bagger off loser Grant Everard to tie the game in the second inning. He drove in his second tally of the game and the Cloverleafs’ third when Bill Chapple crossed the dish on a fielder’s choice. Thompson tripled to lead of the third episode and scored the go-ahead counter on Roy McLachlan’s double. Everard gave up ten hits in total, including a single and double by Chapple and a brace of one-baggers by Rick McFadyen. Thompson also bagged a double.

Thompson (W) and Harvey
Everard (L) and Gullett

(September 8)  In spite of being outswatted 15 – 10 by the invading Riverside Canucks, the Brandon Cloverleafs came through with a 7 to 4 home-field win to clinch the South Division playoff title. Portsider Brian Hodgson managed to survive eight plus innings of mound work to claim his fourth playoff triumph. He was raked for 14 of the 15 base raps secured by the Riversiders but did so in an efficient manner, allowing the visitors to collect no more than a pair of safeties in only two innings, the sixth when they secured a singleton and the ninth when they plated their final two markers. Bob Thompson was called upon to put out a final-frame uprising by the Canucks and preserve the win for Hodgson. The Leafs struck early, getting to losing chucker Mark Fisher, making his first pitching start of the season, for a 6 to 1 margin by the fourth frame. Ron Seafoot replaced Fisher in the fourth panel and allowed one counter during the remainder of the fracas. Thompson led the Brandon offense with a double and single while Bob Wilson and Norm Hemstad had two singles each with Wilson knocking in a pair of runs. Morley Hartel slapped out four singles for the vanquished Riversiders. Craig Bell, Cliff Seafoot and Bob Williamson followed Hartel as the Canucks’ chief offensive threat with a double and single apiece.

Fisher (L), R. Seafoot (4) and Gullett, C. Seafoot (8)
Hodgson (W), Thompson (9) and Harvey, McFadyen (9)

NORTH – SOUTH FINALS  (best-of-five series)
Brandon Cloverleafs vs McAuley Blazers

(September 11)  The North Division champion McAuley Blazers put the boots to the Brandon Cloverleafs, bouncing the South Division titlists 10 to 2 as the MSBL North-South finals got underway. Ross Lynd threw a five-hitter for the victors and cruised to the one-sided win, backed by a 16-hit onslaught from his clubmates against losing heaver Rick Hlady and his replacement, Garry Keating. Carrying a 5 – 2 lead into the seventh, the Blazers erupted for five runs to ice the victory. Barry Jamieson had two singles, a double and three RBI’s for McAuley while Ross Lynd and Brian Purcha each had a triple and two singles. Terry Lynd, with a triple and single, and Dale Lowes, with two singles, also carried hot bats to the plate. Rick Cruise was the Leafs’ only two-hit batter.

R. Lynd (W) and Lowes
Hlady (L), Keating (4) and Harvey, Hemstad

(September 12)  Southpaw Brian Hodgson lifted the Brandon Cloverleafs out out their first-game funk by spinning an eight-hitter which enabled the visitors to square the MSBL finals at a game each with a convincing 11 to 4 triumph over the McAuley Blazers. The Wheat City nine ran roughshod over McAuley pitching ace Dan Kaupla, plating three-spots in each of the third, fifth and seventh stanzas. Kaupla was raked for 16 base blows in addition to issuing five free passes. Bill Chapple drove in four counters for the Brandonites with three singles. Teammate Rick McFadyen also cracked out a trio of one-baggers while Rick Cruise, Norm Hemstad, Rick Hlady and Garry Keating each hit safely twice. Terry Lynd blasted a bases-empty dinger for the losers.

Hodgson (W) and Hemstad
Kaupla (L) and Lowes

(September 16)  The Brandon Cloverleafs took a two-games-to-one lead in the MSBL finals with a 90-minute, 1 to 0 victory over the McAuley Blazers at Kinsmen Stadium. The hitters took the night off and let winning heaver Bob Thompson and Ross Lynd of the Blazers grab the spotlight. Neither chucker gave up a walk and the only scoring came in the third inning when two McAuley errors, which followed one of six Brandon hits, allowed Rick Cruise to cross the platter with the winner. The Blazers had only four hits off Thompson but three of them were for extra bases. One of those big blows, in fact, was responsible for their chief scoring threat. Brian Purcha lit into a Thompson offering for a two-out triple in the fourth frame but was nailed at the plate, trying to stretch the blast into an inside-the-park homer. Bill Chapple and Cruise had two singles each for the winners.

R. Lynd (L) and Lowes
Thompson (W) and Harvey

(September 19)  34-year old Brian Hodgson, reliving the glory days of 1971 when he was the playoff MVP and the Brandon Cloverleafs last won the MSBL playoff championship, limited the McAuley Blazers to four hits in pitching the Wheat City squad to a 4 to 0 shutout win over the North Division champions to capture the 1976 Manitoba Senior Baseball League crown. By virtue of his 6 – 0 playoff record, the veteran Cloverleaf lefthander became the first two-time winner of the Riverside Trophy as MVP in the playoffs. The Cloverleafs used their seldom-scene home run power to subdue the Blazers and take the best-of-five series three-games-to-one. Three circuit-clouts, solo blasts by Bob Wilson and Rick McFadyen as well as a two-run shot by Rick Cruise, accounted for all the runs against starter and loser Danny Kaupla, 2 – 4 in the playoffs after being 12 – 0 and the circuit’s MVP during the regular season. In all, the Leafs collected 12 hits off Kaupla and reliever Ross Lynd. In all fairness to the shorthanded Blazers, they were not quite the same contingent that steamrolled through the North Division during the regular season. Throughout the entire series, they were without their second import pitcher, Jon Langston, also a consistent hitter, who had returned to college in California before the finals began.

Hodgson (W) and Harvey
Kaupla (L), R. Lynd (8) and Lowes

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SOUTH-CENTRAL (EAST) BASEBALL LEAGUE  (A.K.A. SANTA CLARA BASEBALL LEAGUE)

Austin : 
Carberry Royals :                                    
Cypress River : 
Glenboro Canucks : 
Holland Athletics : 

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BORDER BASEBALL LEAGUE

Cartwright
Clearwater
Crystal City
Mather
Pilot Mound

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SOUTH-CENTRAL (WEST) BASEBALL LEAGUE

Baldur Regals : 
Brandon U.C.T.
Elgin Cubs : 
Killarney Shamrocks : 
Nesbitt Braves : 
Wawanesa Orioles : 

PLAYOFFS
FINALS

(August 10)  Gord Kaluzniak and Dan Asham connected for run-producing doubles in the fourth inning, lifting the Brandon U.C.T. Athletics into a 3 to 2 victory over the homestanding Nesbitt Braves in South-Central Baseball League action. With the win, the A’s take a 2 – 0 lead in the best-of-five league finals. Brandon scored its other run in the first inning of the darkness-called game, which ended after seven stanzas. Gary Kaluzniak’s sacrifice fly accounted for the opening run. Gord Kaluzniak added a single as losing hurler Ed Beare was touched for only five hits. Beare’s opening canto single off winning chucker Dale Foster accounted for Nesbitt’s first run while Murray Kozak drove in the other Braves’ counter with a single in the third chapter. Foster needed relief help from Len Boutet in the sixth spasm to preserve the win.

(August 17)  The Nesbitt Braves scored all their runs in the eighth and final inning of the darkness-shortened game and, in the process, staved off elimination from the South-Central League finals by shading the Brandon U.C.T. Athletics 3 to 2. Brandon still leads the series 2 – 1. Key hits for the Braves in their late rally were a runs-scoring double by winning pitcher Ed Beare, and RBI-singles by Barry McNish and Murray Kozak. Nesbitt managed seven hits in total against losing heaver Gord Kaluzniak, including a second single by McNish. Beare allowed only four Brandon hits, all singles.

(August 20)  Ed Beare tossed a six-hitter as the Nesbitt Braves forced a deciding game in the best-of-five South-Central League finals by doubling the Brandon U.C.T. Athletics 6 to 3. Beare walked four and struck out nine in a route-going performance, Starter Mike Majcher, who lasted into the eighth episode for Brandon, was charged with the loss. He surrendered all six Nesbitt hits while reliever Gord Kaluzniak pitched 1-1/3 innings of hitless ball. The Braves broke open a scoreless game with three counters in the third inning on a walk, a single and three errors by the A’s. Les Boak led Nesbitt at the plate with two singles while Dale Foster was a one-man wrecking crew for the Athletics with a double and three singles, driving in all three Brandon runs.

No result of the final game in series was located in print.

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SOUTH-WEST BASEBALL LEAGUE

Coulter Red Sox
Deloraine Royals
Goodlands
Lyleton Leafs
Tilston
Waskada Orioles

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MANITOBA INTERMEDIATE BASEBALL LEAGUE

Carman Goldeyes : 
Giroux Athletics : 
St. Boniface Mallards : 
Teulon Cardinals : 
Vassar Giants : 

FINAL STANDINGS
                W    L   PTS
Carman         12    2   24
Teulon         11    5   22
St.Boniface     9    6   18
Giroux          5    9   10
Vasser          1   15    2

PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS  (best-of-five series)

(August 1)  The fourth-place Giroux Athletics surprised the Teulon Cardinals by sweeping the first two games of the semi-final playoffs. The A’s won the opening game 6 to 4 behind the five-hit pitching of Barry Dupre and trounced the Cardinals 12 to 2 in the second encounter when Wayne Seidler yielded just two hits.
    
In the first game, Seidler played a strong defensive game as well as going three-for-four at the plate. Teammates Boris Happychuk and Rory MacDonald each collected two hits with MacDonald driving in three runs. Brock McConachy was the offensive star in a losing cause for Teulon with a brace of safe swats including a two-run homer in the first inning. Gord Leduchowski was tagged with the loss.
    
In the second game of the series, Nick Banera led the Giroux attack with four hits in four trips to the plate, driving in five runs. Seidler earned the hurling verdict for the Athletics while McConachy was stung with the setback.
The Carman Goldeyes lead the other semi-final showdown with St. Boniface two games to one, coming back from an opening-game loss with 4 to 1 and 16 to 0 victories.

FINALS

(August 11)  Carman proved to be the class of the 1976 Manitoba Intermediate Baseball League, winning the regular-season pennant and then sweeping to victory in the final series. The Goldeyes defeated the Giroux Athletics 7 to 2 and 6 to 4 to capture the playoff championship in two straight games.

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INTERLAKE BASEBALL LEAGUE

Balmoral Orioles : 
Grosse Isle : 
Inwood : 
Lundar :
Oak Point : 
Warren : 

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YELLOWHEAD BASEBALL LEAGUE

Arden
Gladstone
Minnedosa
Neepawa Cubs
Neepawa Regals

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MANITOBA JUNIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE

Carman Goldeyes :                                 
Charleswood Chiefs :  
Legion #141 : 
Norwood - St. Boniface Legionnaires :  
River East Raiders :
Transcona Jaycees : 
Springfield Indians :                                                                                                                    

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M. B. A. INTERMEDIATE BASEBALL PLAYDOWNS

Two simultaneous intermediate-level tournaments, one in Glenboro and the other at Teulon, were staged in mid-August to determine finalists for the provincial title, the winner then moving on to represent Manitoba at the western Canada championship tournament to be held on the weekend of September 4-5.

GLENBORO ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT

Border Baseball League (West)
South-Central (West) Baseball League
South-Central (East) Baseball League a.k.a. Santa Clara League
South-West Baseball League

TEULON ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT

Border Baseball League (East)
Teulon Cardinals (host)
Interlake League All-Stars
Neepawa-Yellowhead
Manitoba Intermediate Baseball League All-Stars

(August 14-15)  The Teulon Cardinals of the Manitoba Intermediate Baseball League and the South-West Baseball League All-Stars won individual tournaments over the weekend.

The South-West League Selects went undefeated in the four-team tourney at Glenboro, sidelining the finalists from the South-Central (West) circuit twice  Meanwhile at Teulon, the hosting Cardinals emerged from a five-team scrum, advancing to face the South-West selects in the overall championship series.

(August 28-29)  No game results were found in print featuring the best-of-three series between the Teulon Cardinals and South-West League All-Stars although the Teulon squad was obviously the winner as it was later announced that they were the Manitoba representative in the western Canada intermediate baseball championship tournament.

 

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