1977 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1977 BC Interior
1977 Vancouver Island
OKANAGAN SENIOR "A" BASEBALL
Not surprisingly, with just three teams remaining in the fold during 1976, the revived Okanagan-Mainline Baseball League lasted just two seasons, 1975 and 1976. The lack of an entry from Kelowna made it difficult to continue. With the overmatched Lumby club going winless throughout the 1976 schedule, competitive balance simply didn’t exist. Consequently, both Vernon and Kamloops, the only two evenly-matched teams remaining from 1976, would be without senior A level baseball once more during the spring and summer of 1977.
OKANAGAN SENIOR B/INTERMEDIATE LEVEL BASEBALL
A leagueless/independent team from the north Okanagan town of Enderby, the Legionnaires, went on to annex the B.C. senior B/intermediate title in a six-team tournament held in Nanaimo.
Bulkley Valley
Enderby Legionnaires
Mid-Island All-Stars
Prince George
Quesnel
Trail Hotelmen
OKANAGAN SENIOR BABE RUTH BASEBALL LEAGUE
Picking up some of the slack with the demise of the OMBL was a seven-team Senior Babe Ruth loop formed in 1977.
Kamloops
Kelowna
Rutland
Salmon Arm
Sicamous
Sorrento
Vernon
KOOTENAY INTERNATIONAL SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE
After three seasons without senior-level baseball in the west Kootenays, a new chapter was written in the form of the 1977 Kootenay International Senior Baseball League. The new seven-entry circuit comprised teams from both the east and west Kootenays as well as Washington state and came together as a product of much hard work on the part of Larry Semenoff, Lou DeRosa, Art Mercer, Jack Kelly and Sid Dergousoff.
Grand Forks’ Semenoff was chosen as first president of the revived circuit and did a bang-up job in promoting the loop within the print media while Mercer was essentially a one-man band in the formation and operation of the Trail entry. The ex-Rossland Capilano outfielder canvassed member operators within the Trail Hotel Association to obtain financial backing for the team, recruited players, not to mention acting as club president, general manager, publicity director, equipment manager and on-field skipper of the newly-assembled squad.
TEAMS
EAST DIVISION
Castlegar Cubs
East Kootenay Angels
Trail Hotelmen
WEST DIVISION
Colville Valley WA Lumberjacks
Grand Forks Mets
New Denver-Silverton Twins
Republic WA Americans
(May 7) The Trail Hotelmen exploded for ten runs in the sixth inning, breaking a 4 – 4 tie, to make their Kootenay International Senior Baseball League debut a successful one with a 14 to 4 conquest of the visiting Colville Valley Lumberacks at Butler Park. The Lumberjacks had a significant 7 to 2 edge in base hits but 11 errors and the inability of ace slab artist George Cloakey to find the plate consistently plagued them throughout the contest. An encouraging crowd was on hand to see right-hander Al Pastro hurl the first five frames for Trail, leaving with a 4 – 3 lead as Ed Wilcox came on to assume mound chores. Wilcox gave up a tying tally but blanked the visitors the rest of the way to cop the hurling triumph as his mates put the verdict on ice with the huge sixth-spasm outburst. Cloakey ran out of steam in that stanza and was derricked in favor of Ed Weilep who added to the continuing flow of bases-on-balls.
(May 8) The homestanding Grand Forks Mets split a doubleheader with the Castlegar Cubs as both aggregations began the KISBL campaign in fine style. The Mets annexed the opener 5 to 3 before the Cubs bounced back with a 6 to 3 victory in the nightcap.
Alex Pereversoff went all the way on the clay heap for Grand Forks in the matinee-game victory, holding the visitors to six hits, one of which was a home run by Rob Shertobitoff. Cubs’ starter Tim Paul was nicked with the loss.
The Castlegar contingent, ignited by triples from Bruce Allingham and Paul, piled up five big counters in the second session of the twilight tilt to take control of the fracas. Sherstobitoff and James Warner shared heaving duties for the winners while Don Colclough, the first of three twirlers used by the Boundary Brigade, was saddled with the defeat.
(May 15) The Trail Hotelmen ran their won-loss record to 3 – 0 in the Kootenay International Senior Baseball League by sweeping a doubleheader from the host Castlegar Cubs by scores of 2 to 1 and 5 to 0.
The matinee engagement featured superb pitching by both starting hurlers. Eric Lepper of the Silver City nine tossed a two-hitter and rang up 13 punchouts while the Cubs’ Tim Paul allowed just three base raps and fanned nine before he was relieved in the seventh stanza by James Warner with the bases loaded and none out. Warner surrendered a two-run double to Larry Reid, erasing a 1 – 0 Castlegar lead, but got out of the inning without any further damage.
Senior Babe Ruth League call-up Steve Como was the winning pitcher for Trail in the second tilt, hurling a two-hitter with four strikeouts. Castlegar used three chuckers with Warner, this time in a starting role, absorbing the loss. Ed Wilcox smashed a two-run double for the winning Hotelmen.
(May 15) The New Denver-Silverton Twins travelled to Colville for twin-bill action where they were defeated 3 to 2 before bouncing back for a 15 to 5 win over the Valley Lumberjacks.
With outfielder Keith Elledge driving in the winning run, George Cloakey copped the mound victory for the hosting Lumberjacks in the opener while the Twins’ Andy Leathwood prevailed on the knoll in the late encounter.
(May 21) The Trail Hotelmen kept their KISBL record unblemished at 4 – 0 by drubbing the Grand Forks Mets 19 to 0 in a ragged affair at Butler Park. Eric Lepper of the Innkeepers spun a two-hitter and whiffed 11 in posting the shutout mound triumph. He also picked up a pair of hits. Starting and losing heaver Alex Pereversoff of the Mets lasted only one-third of an inning before being derricked from the hill. The Smelter City nine kept up a steady offensive barrage throughout, stealing six bases and taking advantage of eight errors by the Forkmen. Larry Reid scored three runs for the winners and stole a base. John Mota and Kevin Oliver both ripped two-run dingers for the hosts with Mota crossing the platter three times while amassing five RBI’s. Teammates Glenn Doig and Pat McLaughlin added two hits each.
(May 21) The East Kootenay Angels made their debut in the Kootenay International Senior loop a successful one by downing the homestanding New Denver-Silverton Twins 7 to 3. A second scheduled contest, as part of a double-dip, was rained out. Murray Flegel pitched and batted the East Kootenay nine to victory. Flegel walked just one and allowed only three hits in a route-going knoll performance and swatted three hits in aiding his mound effort.
(May 22) The Castlegar Cubs hit the .500 mark by clubbing New Denver-Silverton 14 to 4 and slipping past the Colville Valley Lumberjacks 1 to 0 in a three-team doubleheader staged in Castlegar.
The hosting Cubs fell behind 4 – 0 in the top-of-the-third session of the matinee fracas but came right back to blast complete-game losing tosser Mike Linn with a nine-spot in their half of the frame to take control of the scuffle, blanking the Twins the rest of the way behind winning slabster James Warner who assumed mound chores in the fourth frame.
In the late encounter, Colville’s George Cloakey threw a no-hitter but to no avail in a hotly-contested pitching duel with Castlegar’s Rob Sherstobitoff who was nicked for just one safety. Sherstobitoff tallied the only counter in the clash in the third round following a pair of fielding miscues by the Lumberjacks. Sherstobitoff breezed eleven while Cloakey rang up ten punchouts.
(May 29) The Republic Americans made their KISBL debut at home by splitting the proceeds of a two-game set with the travelling New Denver-Silverton Twins. The Washingtonians took the opener 8 to 4 then lost the owl encounter 7 to 5.
Rory Rickard was the winner over John Nesbitt in the initial clash in which three round-trippers played a significant role. Republic’s John Clark went yard with a grand-slam tater and had five RBI’s while teammate Leo Orstead and the Twins’ Bill Markin both registered solo four-baggers.
Markin earned the twirling triumph over the Amercs’ Barry Ramsay in the concluding joust.
(May 29) Facing stiffer opposition than in their first meeting, the invading Trail Hotelmen managed a 5 to 1 KISBL victory over the hosting Grand Forks Mets in the curtain-raiser of a three-team double dip hosted by the Boundary team. The Colville Valley Lumberjacks handed the Mets a 13 to 5 drubbing in the second skirmish.
Winning heaver Joel Tremblay both started and finished on the slab for the Hoteliers in the lid-lifter with Ed Wilcox taking a turn on the clay heap during the middle innings. Between the duo, they coughed up just two hits, both by Alex Pereversoff. Tremblay fanned seven during his split-tenure on the bump. The Forkmen plated their lone run in the second spasm on a bases-loaded walk. Kevin Oliver stroked a double and a single for the Trailites, driving in a brace of markers.
George Cloakey spun his way to the hurling win in the second-half of the twin-bill. Sporting a big lead, the Colville right-hander turned the horsehide over to Ed Weilep for mop-up purposes in the sixth spasm. In addition to his knoll prowess, Cloakey was an offensive force, slamming a homer and a single, good for three RBI’s.
(May 29) The Castlegar Cubs travelled to Kimberley for the East Kootenay Angels’ home-opening doubleheader, losing the first game 12 to 6 before coming back to nose out the Halos 6 to 5 in the follow-up affair.
The Kimberley-based Cherubs took an early lead and kept the pressure on during their inaugural contest on home turf. Starting twirler Terry Minnis, with relief help from Jerry Carter, copped the hillock verdict while Tim Paul was saddled with the setback. Catcher Bob James ripped a quartet of bingles for the victors.
Doug Huth homered for the Cubbies in the second stanza of the nightcap and Castlegar added five more in the third. The East Kootenay nine rallied to make things close in the middle innings but were never able to catch up. Both pitchers of record, winner Rob Sherstobitoff, and the Angels’ Murray Flegel, went all the way.
STANDINGS
WEST DIVISION W L Pct.
Republic 1 1 .500
Colville Valley 2 3 .400
New Denver-Silverton 2 4 .333
Grand Forks 1 4 .200
EAST DIVISION W L Pct.
Trail 5 0 1.000
East Kootenay 2 1 .667
Castlegar 4 4 .500
(June 4) At Republic: Republic 3, Colville Valley 2. Talented hurler Rory Rickard of the Americans picked up a well-earned save when he came on in relief of the final stanza and retired three Colville Valley batters in succession with the potential tying run on base.
(June 5) The travelling Republic Americans added twin wins to their record by journeying into Castlegar and sweeping the Cubs by scores of 14 to 5 and 7 to 6 in KISBL double-dip action.
The Amercs, with a 12 to 5 advantage in base knocks, finished strong in the lid-lifter at Castlegar, sealing the deal with a five-spot in the sixth and four more in the seventh. Rory Rickard went the route on the bump for the Washingtonians, fanning 13 along the way, while Cubs’ starter James Warner was hit with the setback. Doug Huth was a bright spot for the losers, skying a two-run round-tripper in the initial panel.
Republic did all their scoring in two innings of the sunset skirmish. Held off the scoreboard for the first four frames, the Americans pushed across four markers in the fifth round, highlighted by “Butch” Sager’s bases-clearing three-bagger. They added three more, including the winning tally, in the seventh episode. “Gopher” Somday, who ascended the knoll in the fifth inning in a relief role, was credited with the win while starter James Warner of the Baby Bears, who was lifted in the seventh spasm, was nailed with the defeat. Huth creamed his second four-ply clout of the day for the vanquished nine during a three-run third inning while teammate Kevin Wilson dialed long-distance for a fifth-frame four-bagger.
(June 5) The unbeaten streak of the Trail Hotelmen came to an abrupt halt when they absorbed 10 to 0 and 8 to 4 losses to the East Kootenay Angels in a doubleheader at Kimberley.
The Angels’ Jerry Carter whitewashed the Trailites on five hits in the opener while his clubmates were busy hammering the offerings of losing tosser Eric Lepper and fifth-frame reliever Pat McLaughlin for nine safe swats. East Kootenay plated their initial tally in the second chapter and locked the game away in the fifth frame on Murray Flegel’s grand-slam homer. Brian Dickie had a double and single for the Cherubs while Flegel added a one-bagger to go along with his bases-loaded dinger. McLaughlin singled twice for the Innkeepers.
In the follow-up encounter, Wayne Bell got the Halos rolling when he went yard by blasting a solo tater in the opening panel. Flegel and John Migneault did the flinging for the victors who had a 10 to 7 edge in base raps. Steve Como, yanked for Ed Wilcox in the third round, was stung with the mound defeat. Migneault and Carter had a brace of hits each for the Angels, an output replicated by McLaughlin and Wilcox of the Smelter City nine.
(June 5) At New Denver : New Denver-Silverton 13, Grand Forks 1
New Denver-Silverton 9, Grand Forks 0
(June 11) The Trail Hotelmen took full advantage of eight fielding miscues by the visiting Republic diamond troopers to register a lopsided 9 to 0 win over the Americans. Trail’s Eric Lepper hurled a two-hitter while ringing up 13 punchouts in copping the shutout knoll triumph. The Hoteliers had only five hits in the skirmish off losing twirler Rory Rickard who breezed ten. Glenn Doig had a pair of RBI’s for the Silver City gang.
(June 11) East division front-runners, the East Kootenay Angels, delivered a double defeat to the homestanding Colville Valley Lumberjacks, taking the Washingtonians into camp by scores of 5 to 1 and 8 to 6.
Jerry Carter went all the way on the bump for the Halos in the matinee match, throwing a four-hitter with nine punchouts. Losing slabster Pat Dodge also went the route. Carter’s triple and a two-bagger by George Cloakey of the Stevens County balltossers highlighted the offensive production of the foes.
The Angels struck for a five-spot in the fourth frame of the second encounter to set the tone for their sweep. Hard-luck loser George Cloakey was nicked for just two safeties as the Cherubs made the best of their opportunities. Terry Minnis, toeing the rubber for the Halos, took the knoll verdict by spinning a five-hitter.
(June 12) A scheduled three-team double-dip at New Denver was reduced to a single encounter in which the hosting Twins bounced the Castlegar Cubs 5 to 1. The late engagement, with the Trail Hotelmen as opponents for the Slocan Lake squad, was washed out after one inning had been played. John Nesbitt was the winning chucker for New Denver-Silverton, annexing the mound verdict from Castlegar’s Tim Paul. The Cubs out-hit the winners 4 – 3 but the Twins sent three counters across the pan on perfectly-executed squeeze bunts.
(June 12) The red-hot East Kootenay Angels reeled off their second twin-bill sweep in two days, trimming the host Grand Forks Mets 6 to 3 and 4 to 1.
The front runners in the east division came out of the gate with gusto in the leadoff joust, plating a four-spot during their initial turn at bat. East Kootenay heaver Murray Flegel somehow managed to survive a ten-hit assault by the Forkmen to capture the pitching decision over Jon Newman who was touched for eight safeties. Bob Garden went four-for-four from the batter’s box for the winning Cherubs.
With Bob Neale on the elevated portion of the diamond for the late bout, the Angels did all their scoring in the second spasm as a quartet of baserunners touched home. Neale yielded a half-dozen base raps in fashioning the complete-game win while Steve Herbert, raked for ten safe swats, was stung with the setback.
(June 19) The Trail Hotelmen, current runners-up in the east division of the KISBL, pulled out all the stops in manufacturing late-inning wins against the Castlegar Cubs and Republic Americans during a three-team twin-bill staged at Butler Park. Slab artist Eric Lepper figured prominently in both victories.
The Silver City right-hander allowed seven hits, all singles, and rang up 17 punchouts in the Trail’s 4 to 3 squeaker over Castlegar in the matinee tilt. His scorching single in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning broke a 3 – 3 tie, sending John Mota across the dish with the deciding tally in a walkoff triumph. Kevin Wilson went eight innings on the mound for the Cubs before turning the horsehide over to James Warner who was tagged with the loss. The Hoteliers out-hit their opponents 8 – 7.
Lepper’s pinch-hit single with the bases loaded in the seventh spasm of the nightcap was another game winner and boosted the Hotelmen to an 8 to 7 triumph over the west division front-runners from Republic. Left-hander Ron Bergen, the last of three chuckers used by the Smelter City squad, copped the knoll verdict while Rory Rickard went the distance in absorbing the setback for the Americans. The visitors were soundly outswatted 16 – 9 as Larry Reid punched out two doubles and a brace of one-base raps for Trail. Bergen followed with a two-bagger and single while Kevin Oliver and playing-manager Art Mercer each stroked a pair of singles. For the Washingtonians, Rickard and Eddie Sacks both connected for a double and single.
(June 20) New Denver-Silverton captured both ends of a two-game set from the Colville Valley Lumberjacks.
Winning pitcher Mike Linn had nine strikeouts and hit a double in the opening-game triumph. Linn was ably assisted by teammates Jack Kelly and Stu Nelson who both went long-and-gone with four-ply clouts.
The second engagement was much closer but the Twins again prevailed, this time by an 8 to 6 score. Linn and Kelly were again prominent for the victors, Linn slamming a triple and a double while Kelly smashed a three-bagger.
(June 20) With twin-wins over the invading Grand Forks Mets, the East Kootenay Angels maintained their cushion atop the KISBL’s east division standings.
Held hitless through the first four frames of the lid-lifter, the Halos exploded for six consecutive hits and six tallies in the fifth round to defeat the Forkmen 6 to 1. In that pivotal session, John Migneault swatted a triple while Bob James and Bob Garden delivered two-baggers.
It didn’t take log for the hosting Cherubs to take control of the follow-up joust as they roared out of the gate with a six-spot in the opening canto and nailed the coffin shut on the Mets with seven counters in the third on their way to an easy 18 to 3 thrashing of the Boundary Boys. Grand Forks went through three chuckers who were raked for 15 hits including a three-run dinger to Brian Dickie. Winning slabster Jerry Carter rang up nine punchouts in a route-going effort.
(June 22) The Colville Valley Lumberjacks kept up a steady offensive barrage by jumping on the offerings of three Trail hurlers for a dozen base knocks on their way to a 10 to 3 conquest of the Hotelmen. Winning heaver Pat Dodge turned in a strong performance for the Valleymen, hurling five frames before giving way to Pete Bradway. Senior Babe Ruth League recruit Darrell St. Denis started on the hill for the Smelter City nine but was kayoed in the sixth stanza as Joel Tremblay and Ron Bergen came on the finish up the mound assignment. Dodge and Cliff Crooks both registered three hits for the winners with one of Dodge’s blows going for a triple. Bradway followed with a three-bagger and single. Glenn Doig’s double was the lone extra-base blow registered by the Innkeepers.
(June 23) Despite a four-RBI performance by Rick McLean, the Grand Forks Mets suffered their eleventh defeat when they were clipped 6 to 4 by the Republic Americans. McLean drilled a three-run tater to go along with a sacrifice fly but it wasn’t quite enough to snap the Mets out of their current funk.
(June 25) With 5 to 4 and 13 to 0 triumphs over the invading East Kootenay Angles, the Trail Hotelmen jumped into a tie with the Halos for top spot in the east division of the KISBL.
Sporting a 3 – 0 cushion, East Kootenay tosser Jerry Carter had the hosts on the ropes during the early portion of the Butler Park lid-lifter but weakened in the fourth frame when the Hoteliers got to him for a four-spot with the help of doubles by Ed Wilcox and Larry Reid along with singles from playing-manager Art Mercer, Kevin Oliver and “Dubs” Binotto. The Cherubs knotted the count at 4 – 4 in the top-of-the-sixth but Binotto’s second RBI-hit in the Trail half of the session produced the winning counter. Winning flinger Ron Bergen, up from the Senior Babe Ruth ranks, and Carter both went the route, fanning five apiece. Wilcox joined Binotto as Trail’s only multi-hit batters, each stroking a brace of safeties. Dale Booth pounded out a pair of doubles and a one-bagger for the Angels while teammate John Migneault delivered a two-base swat plus a single.
After opening with a singleton in the initial round of the second encounter, the Hotelmen reeled off five consecutive hits in the second stanza which, combined with five East Kootenay errors in that pivotal inning, staked the Hotelmen to seven more runs and a 8 – 0 lead which virtually put the verdict on ice. The impressive Smelter City win gave both squads 10 – 3 won-loss records for the season. Another Senior Babe Ruth recruit, 16-year old Darrell St. Denis, kept his older opponents off balance for the entire contest, copping the shutout pitching win for the surging Trailites. The Kimberley-based Halos used three chuckers during the blowout with starter Terry Minnis being tagged with e defeat. Kevin Oliver went three-for-four with the baton for the winners which included a bases-loaded double that drove in three counters. Teammate Mike Mukanik added a pair of singles. Booth and Bob Garden delivered a couple of safeties each for the losers.
(June 25) At Republic: Republic 6, Colville Valley 5
(June 26) Trail’s lead atop the eastern division of the KISBL was short-lived as the travelling East Kootenay Angels blew into Castlegar and, shaking off the effects of their double-defeat in the Smelter City 24 hours previous, rebounded for twin wins against the hosting Cubs, registering identical 4 to 3 victories in both contests to regain top rung on the divisional ladder.
Both teams had a productive third inning in the opener. Doubles by Bob Garden and Bob James, combined with three singles, resulted in three East Kootenay counters while James Warner responded with a two-run triple for the Castlegar crew. Two walks and a single by John Migneault in the fourth sent across what turned out to be the winning tally for the Angels. Warner’s sacrifice fly in the seventh drove in his third run and ended the scoring. Winning moundsman Bob Neale of the Halos and the Cubs’ ace Rob Sherstobitoff were both nicked for seven safeties in route-going performances.
Marv Haney threw the first five innings of the finale for the Cherubs, earning the knoll verdict over the Baby Bears’ Kevin Wilson who went the distance. Wayne Bell’s seventh-spasm double drove in the winning run for the division leaders while clubmate Al Roemer went yard with a two-run tater in the sixth.
(June 26) The homestanding Grand Forks Mets snapped their prolonged losing streak by taking both ends of a double-dip from the New Denver-Silverton Twins. After blanking the visitors 4 to 0 in the matinee tilt, the Metropolitans took the Slocaneers into camp by a lopsided 19 to 3 count in the finale.
Rick McLean pitched a three-hitter for the shutout win in the opening-fracas and helped his cause with the lumber by stroking a double and single.
McLean continued his torrid hitting pace in the sunset skirmish by delivering two timely bingles, driving in a brace of tallies, while scoring twice himself.
STANDINGS
WEST DIVISION W L Pct. GBL
Republic 6 3 .667 ---
New Denver-Silverton 7 6 .538 1.0
Colville Valley 3 9 .250 4.5
Grand Forks 3 11 .214 5.5
EAST DIVISION W L Pct. GBL
East Kootenay 12 3 .800 ---
Trail 10 3 .769 1.0
Castlegar 4 10 .286 7.5
(July 2) At Kimberley : East Kootenay 6, New Denver-Silverton 0. Bob Neale collected two hits, including a double, and scored the Angels’ opening run which was all that was needed in the whitewashing. Merv Haney hurled the shutout win for the homestanding Angels while John Nesbitt was nicked with the loss.
East Kootenay 8, New Denver-Silverton 3. The Cherubs got to losing heaver Mike Linn for a six-spot in the opening panel of the second encounter and cruised to victory from there. Neale went the route on the clay throne for the Halos in this encounter, scattering eight hits while allowing just two earned runs. With the baton, he nailed a double which drove in the what turned out to be the winning counter. George Nelson had a perfect three-for-three performance with the willow for the Twins with one of his raps going for three bases.
(July 3) At Kimberley : East Kootenay 18, New Denver-Silverton 12. East Kootenay’s Bob Neale earned his second weekend pitching win after he was called in as a fourth-inning reliever with the score tied, halting any further run production by New Denver-Silverton. He was a major offensive contributor as well, garnering three base hits, one of them a double, as the Angels grabbed their third weekend triumph. Shortstop Brian Dickie, with a four-for-five output at the dish, co-starred with Neale for the victors. Dickie also drove the Twins crazy on the basepaths, swiping three bases including the theft of home twice.
(July 3) The travelling Trail Hotelmen breezed into Republic and left with a pair of victories over the west division-leading Americans in a brace of KISBL clashes that were defined by a bevy of circuit-jacks. With Ed Wilcox wielding the big stick for the visitors, the Innkeepers prevailed 7 to 3 in the opening melee before taking 15 to 7 verdict in the second scuffle which required an extra inning of play to decide a winner.
Wilcox powered the Hoteliers to a conquest of the Americans in the initial engagement, spanking the spheroid for a two-run dinger, a triple and a one-bagger, picking up five RBI’s in the process. All three Republic counters came as the result of bases-empty four-baggers, one each by Leo Orstead, Pat Dunn and “Gopher” Somday. Contributing to the Silver City win against losing hurler Dan Rickard was “Dubs” Binotto who slashed a brace of one-base raps in support of victorious moundsman Darrell St. Denis recalled from the Selkirk Senior Babe Ruth loop for the road trip.
Facing a 7 – 4 deficit, the homestanding Washingtonians forced overtime in the follow-up tussle, plating a trey in what was supposed to be their final turn at bat. The bonus round of play was dominated by the Smelter Towners with four-ply clouts from Binotto and catcher John Moto leaving the final verdict beyond doubt. Binotto’s blast was a deluxe grand-slam swat while Moto delivered a three-run shot. On the hillock for this engagement, Wilcox persevered to earn the heaving decision over Dunn, the last of a trio of twirlers used by the Americans. Moto’s late tater was his second of the game while Trail skipper Art Mercer added to the barrage of four-baggers by launching a goner to go along with a double and single. Binotto came through with a brace of one-base raps to complement his grand-salami effort.
(July 3) The Castlegar Cubs slipped past the Grand Forks Mets 5 to 4 then blanked the invaders 9 to 0 in the second portion of a KISBL twin-bill.
Doug Huth’s two-run homer in the third round, his third four-bagger of the campaign, helped carry the Cubs to the opening-game win as James Warner emerged with the hillock decision over Alex Pereversoff.
Castlegar flinger Kevin Wilson stifled the Mets on just one hit in the finale to cop the shutout victory. Ken Gorkoff and Tim Paul carried the offensive load for the winners with run-producing doubles in each of the fifth and sixth stanzas.
(July 6) Mike Mukanik supplied the hitting power with a pair of two-run homers and a double in leading the Trail Hotelmen to a 13 to 2 rout of the Colville Valley Lumberjacks on the home turf of the Washingtonians. The Hoteliers exploded for nine runs in the third inning and were never threatened. The Valleymen used four chuckers in a futile attempt to slow down the onslaught as starter Ed Weilep took the loss. Senior Babe Ruth recruit, portsider Ron Bergen, hurled the entire contest for the Innkeepers. Both of the Lumberjack counters crossed the dish in the fifth frame when George Hansen went yard with a two-run dinger.
(July 7) The Grand Forks Mets edged Republic 4 to 3 and, in doing so, crept to within a half-game of the third and final playoff spot in the KISBL’s western division. Steve Herbert allowed only four Republic hits and struck out twelve in taking the mound triumph. John Seminoff had three hits for the winners, including a double, and drove in two runs, Barry Ramsay nailed a two-run round-tripper for the Americans.
(July 9) At Grand Forks : Republic 4, Grand Forks 3
Republic 10, Grand Forks 7
(July 9) The Trail Hotelmen trounced the New Denver-Silverton Twins 12 to 3 and 14 to 3.
Outfielder Mike Mukanic, recently selected to the roster of the team that will represent British Columbia at the Canada Summer Games in Halifax, smashed three doubles, collected three RBI’s and scored four runs for the Smelter City diamond troopers in the early engagement in support of winning heaver Darrell St. Denis who limited the Twins to six hits, including a two-run goner by Jack Kelly. Bill Markin was tagged with the hurling setback.
The Innkeepers pounded out 15 hits and, aided by eight opposition errors, coasted to the easy victory in the nightcap. Fattening their slugging averages for the victors were Kevin Oliver with a home run and double as well as Ed Wilcox with a double and two singles. Southpaw Ron Bergen notched the hillock verdict over Mike Linn, who was relieved by John Nesbitt in the fifth frame.
(July 10) At Kimberley : East Kootenay 4, Colville 3
Second game of the scheduled doubleheader was rained out.
(July 10) Republic received a two-game forfeiture from Castlegar.
(July 16) The Trail Hotelmen finished off a highly successful regular-season campaign by registering a brace of narrow victories in a three-cornered double-dip at Butler Park. The Colville Valley Lumberjacks fell victim to the Trailites in the early engagement by a 5 to 4 count while the Innkeepers eked out a 1 to 0 conquest of the Castlegar Cubs in the follow-up tussle to complete the campaign with a 17 – 3 won–loss mark.
Youthful Senior Babe Ruther Darrell St. Denis rang up ten punchouts in winning for the fourth time in five KISBL mound outings for the Trail aggregation. Teammate Larry Reid helped the cause by smashing a triple and two singles. Fifth-inning reliever Ed Weilep of the ‘Jacks wilted under late pressure and was nicked with the knoll defeat. Cliff Crooks was the leading hitter for Colville Valley, gathering two safeties.
The second bout was a cliff-hanger and saw Trail lefthander Ron Bergen no-hit the Cubs until the seventh episode when Ken Gorkoff touched him for a single, the lone safety garnered by the losers. The Hotelmen plated the only tally of the contest in the sixth session on Kevin Oliver’s RBI-single off losing twirler Kevin Wilson who yielded just two hits. Bergen, another Senior Babe Ruth player, whiffed 11 in improving his record in senior company to 5 – 0.
(July 17) At Colville : Grand Forks 19, Colville Valley 3
Colville Valley 12, Castlegar 11
(July 17) At New Denver : New Denver-Silverton 4, Republic 2
Republic 3, New Denver-Silverton 1
FINAL STANDINGS *
WEST DIVISION W L Pct. GBL
Republic 13 7 .650 ---
New Denver-Silverton 8 12 .400 5.0
Grand Forks 5 15 .250 8.0
Colville Valley 4 15 .211 8.5
EAST DIVISION W L Pct. GBL
Trail 17 3 .850 ---
East Kootenay 16 3 .842 0.5
Castlegar 6 14 .300 11.0
*Colville Valley and East Kootenay played one less game because of a rainout. However, a make-up game would not alter the final standings in the either division as both Grand Forks and Trail had better records within their respective divisions.
PLAYOFFS
DIVISIONAL SEMI-FINALS Grand Forks vs New Denver-Silverton & Castlegar vs East Kootenay (best-of-three series)
(July 23) In Kimberley on Saturday, the East Kootenay Angels doubled the Castlegar Cubs 10 to 5 in the opener of their semi-final playoff round and then scored the winning run in the seventh inning of the second game on a throwing error to take the game 5 to 4 and advance to the east division finals against Trail.
Despite being touched for 11 base knocks, Jerry Carter survived to cop the mound decision in the lid-lifter while Ron Sherstobitoff, raked for a dozen safeties, absorbed the knoll setback. The Angels played errorless ball behind Carter. Shortstop Dale Booth led the winners from the batter’s box with a double and two singles. For the vanquished Cubs, John Veysey went three-for-four with the lumber.
The late engagement, a slow-moving affair, was finally decided by an errant toss. With two retired in the final canto and the score tied at 5 - 5, Gene Strate of the Halos drew a base-on-balls from losing twirler James Warner and moved to the hot corner station on a close play when John Migneault singled. The throw from the outfield to third base was backed up properly by Warner who, observing an alert Migneault heading for the keystone sack on the play, made a hasty throw that was off-target, allowing Strate to romp home with the winning tally. The Cherubs used three chuckers in the tilt with sixth-spasm reliever Bob Neale picking up the triumph.
(July 23-24) The New Denver-Silverton Twins got past the Grand Forks Mets two-games-to-one in a three-game series played over the weekend and now move on to face the Republic Americans in the west division finals.
The Twins won the first game 4 to 2 as winning pitcher Bill Markin flirted with a no-hitter through six stanzas. After almost blowing a four-run lead in the late innings, the Mets hung on to capture the second encounter 7 to 6 to even the series. The rubber match wasn’t settled until the ninth chapter when New Denver-Silverton rallied for a three-spot, the big blow being a triple by Jack Kelly, to break a 5 – 5 tie and defeat the Boundary Bunch 8 to 5, setting up a western division final series with the Republic Americans.
(July 27) Kevin Oliver of the Trail Hotelmen edged out Brian Dickie of the East Kootenay Angels for the 1977 batting crown in the Kootenay International Senior League with a .391 average just three points ahead of Dickie. Teammates Leo Orstead and John Clarke of the Republic Americans were next at .382 and .373. Dickie topped the loop in runs, 21, and stolen bases 9. Doug Huth of Castlegar tied for the lead in homers, with 4, and knocked in the most runs, 18.
Trail's Ron Bergen had the best winning percentage at 5-0 topping Eric Lepper of East Kootenay Angels at 5-1. Lepper led the league in ERA, at 0.50, and strikeouts, 66.
(July 29 – August 1) 1977 B.C. SENIOR “B” - INTERMEDIATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT (Nanaimo B.C.)
DIVISIONAL FINALS New Denver- Silverton vs Republic & East Kootenay vs Trail (best-of-five series)
(August 7) The two finalists for the east division title in the KISBL split the laurels in a twin bill staged at Butler Park in the Silver City. The pennant-winning Trail Hotelmen copped the opener in the best-of-five series 9 to 3 but were trounced 14 to 6 by the resurgent East Kootenay Angels in the second encounter.
In the introductory match, Trail got off to a flying start with six runs in the opening canto, highlighted by Kevin Oliver’s three-run homer, and never looked back. Darrell St. Denis copped the complete-game knoll victory while the Angels’ Jerry Carter took the loss. Oliver contributed a double and single, as well as his tater, for the victors while Larry Reid also had three hits. John Migneault and Bob Neale each cracked out a triad of safeties for the Halos while clubmate Wayne Bell lit the youthful St. Denis up for a home run.
Inconsistent pitching, combined with six fielding miscues, put the Hoteliers behind the eight-ball in the late fixture. A big third-inning outburst that drove losing chucker Ed Wilcox for cover netted five tallies for the invaders and put them in control of the clash. Another five-spot in the fifth off a pair of Trail relievers sealed the deal for the Cherubs. Migneault was the slugging star for the East Kootenay squad in this affair, pounding the pill for a brace of round-trippers plus a single. Bell bagged his second dinger of the day with a two-run shot. Neale pitched the entire game for the Angels, surrendering a two-run circuit jack and a two-bagger to mound opponent Wilcox.
(August 14) The New Denver-Silverton Twins annexed the west division playoff crown in the KISBL by inflicting double defeats upon the travelling Republic Americans by scores of 5 to 3 and 3 to 2 in a pair of close encounters at New Denver.
Winning heaver Bill Markin struck out six and allowed eight hits in the first-game victory for the Twins. His mates collected nine base raps, four of them bunched in the second spasm when they took a lead which they never relinquished. Rory Richard was stung with the knoll setback.
Mike Linn, on the clay heap for the homesters in the series-clinching engagement, doubled to drive in Phil Angrignon with the deciding counter in the bottom-of-the-ninth panel after the Twinkies’ shortpatcher had led off the session with a single. Linn rang up seven punchouts and yielded an equal number of safeties in ousting the Americans. Both Linn and Angrignon accumulated a triad of safeties for the victors.
(August 14) Narrow 4 to 2 and 16 to 14 conquests of the hosting East Kootenay Angels in a pair of nail-biters gave the Trail Hotelmen the east division playoff title and punched their ticket into the KISBL finals against the New Denver-Silverton Twins.
Facing former teammate Eric Lepper who had started the campaign with the Smelter City nine and had emerged as their ace slab artist, the Innkeepers led 2 – 0 heading into the last-of-the-seventh session of the lid-lifter before the Kimberley-based Angels rallied for a deuce on a pair of solo homers by Wayne Bell and Al Roemer, the latter in a pinch-hitting role for Lepper, which knotted the count. An RBI-single by Ed Wilcox in the top-of-the ninth sent the Hoteliers in front once more as Wilcox moved into scoring position on a faux pas by the Cherubs’ backstop during the relay home. Larry Reid then delivered an insurance tally with another one-bagger that sent Wilcox scampering around to the dish. Reliever Jerry Carter was the victim of the late Silver City surge while Senior Babe Ruth lefthander Ron Bergen captured the complete-game mound triumph.
A see-saw battle in the follow-up fixture saw the invading Trailites outslug the Halos 16 to 8. Another Selkirk Senior Babe Ruther, Darrell St. Denis, was credited with the knoll verdict although he was assisted by a brace of relievers in preserving the win. Sixth-spasm fireman Terry Minnis was tagged with the defeat. Heading the barrage of bingles belted by the victors was St. Denis who went yard with a three-run goner and drove in five runs. Reid stroked four singles while Joel Tremblay whacked a brace of two-baggers and Bergen dialed long distance with a two-run circuit-clout. Brian Dickie clubbed a solo dinger for the vanquished Angels who went down fighting.
LEAGUE FINALS New-Denver-Silverton vs Trail (best-of-five series)
(August 20) Displaying the championship form that earned them the east division crown, the Trail Hotelmen opened the KISBL finals with a double-dip sweep of the New Denver-Silverton Twins at Pople Park. Both jousts were highly contested and saw the Hoteliers take game one 3 to 1 before nosing out the visitors 5 to 4 in the finale.
Teenage rookie pitcher Darrell St. Denis stymied the Slocaners on one hit, a seventh-inning single by Bill Markin, and fanned seven in annexing the victory over Mike Linn in the matinee fracas. Linn was nicked for six Trail safeties. St. Denis helped his cause with the baton, singling twice and driving in the first run for the Innkeepers.
Spearheaded by RBI-triples off the bats of Ed Wilcox and Mike Mukanik, the Hotelmen jumped into a 5 – 0 lead first-frame lead in the sunset encounter but were blanked the rest of the way as the Twins whittled away at the deficit but fell one run short. St. Denis came to the rescue of starting heaver Art Mercer after the team’s skipper was hammered for back-to-back three-baggers in the fifth session by Pete Markin and Phil Angrignon, both swats driving in runs. John Nesbitt was addled with the defeat. Stu Nelson went three-for-four at the dish for the Twins.
(August 27) Overcoming a lacklustre defensive performance in which they committed twice as many errors as their opponents, the Trail Hotelmen captured the 1977 Kootenay International Senior Baseball League championship Saturday with a 6 to 4 victory over the homestanding New Denver-Silverton Twins. The win gave the Hotelmen the best-of-five final series three games to none. Trailing 4 – 3 after four innings, the Smelter Towners came alive in the fifth to grab the lead. Mike Mukanik drove in the tying tally with a one-bagger and, with the bases fully occupied, Darrell St. Denis failed to execute on a squeeze play attempt as the first out was recorded at the platter. St. Denis then redeemed himself by slapping out a single that plated Mukanik with the ultimate winning marker and Kevin Oliver with an insurance run. Southpaw Ron Bergen went all the way on the slab for the Hoteliers who took home the Wish Milburn memorial trophy for their winning efforts. Mike Linn, who was derricked from the bump for John Nesbitt in the fifth chapter, was saddled with the setback. Mukanik led the champions at the dish with three hits. Art Mercer followed by collecting a two-run triple and a single. Stu Nelson of the losing nine raked Bergen for a three-bagger and one-base hit.
(September 2 – 5) Grand Forks Credit Union International Labor Day tournament
SELKIRK SENIOR BABE RUTH BASEBALL LEAGUE
Beaver Valley Big T
Colville WA
East Trail Reds
West Trail Blues *
* regular-season pennant winner
FINAL STANDINGS W L Pct.
West Trail 8 5 .615
Colville 6 5 .545
East Trail 7 7 .500
Beaver Valley 4 8 .333
PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS Beaver Valley vs Colville and East Trail vs West Trail (sudden-death)
(June 22) Second-place Colville qualified for the Selkirk Senior Babe Ruth League finals by eliminating fourth-place Beaver Valley Big T in a clash at the Washington State town.
(June 22) The East Trail Reds, third-place finishers during the regular season, bounced the pennant-winning West Trail Blues from the playoff picture with a solid 8 to 0 triumph at Butler Park. Portsider Ron Bergen tossed a five-hitter in copping the shutout win. Losing chucker Rick Cescon, derricked in favor of Dale Vanelli in the fifth frame, was combed for four runs in the opening panel including a solo dinger by leadoff batter Steve Handley of the Reds on the first pitch of the game.
FINALS East Trail Reds vs Colville (best-of-three series)
(June 25 – 26) The East Trail Reds became the new Selkirk Senior Babe Ruth League champions on the weekend without lifting a finger. The Reds, who placed third in the regular season, were awarded the title when the Colville WA team was unable to field enough players for the best-of-three final series.
(July 22-24) The Selkirk Senior Babe Ruth Selects advanced to the provincial finals in Kelowna after going undefeated in district playdowns held in Vernon on the weekend. The Selects humbled Vernon 6 to 1 in their first encounter then defeated Quesnel twice by 5 to 1 and 6 to 4 scores. Ron Bergen was the winning chucker in the opener while Rick Cescon and Bill Lantz copped the pitching victories in the twin wins against Quesnel.
CARIBOO SENIOR BASEBALL
The two 1977 Cariboo area senior leagues in operation, Quesnel and Prince George, played an interlocking schedule. When it came to the standings, the Quesnel loop counted the inter-league tilts, from which they had a healthy margin, but the Prince George association of teams only counted the games played among and between their three member clubs.
QUESNEL SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE
Billy Barker Inn
Cariboo Clippers
Jen’s Hobos
Kopetski A’s
FINAL STANDINGS W L Pct.
Billy Barker Inn 14 7 .667
Cariboo Clippers 13 8 .619
Kopetski A’s 10 11 .476
Jen’s Hobo’s 8 13 .381
PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS
(August 8) The Billy Barker baseballers came alive in the seventh stanza when they plated a seven-spot to overcome a 5 – 3 deficit and defeat the underdog Jen’s Hobos 10 to 5 in the opener of the best-of-three series. Although off his regular-season form, Glen Osterhout managed to survive for the pitching win, taking the mound decision from Glen Halvorson. Terry Clarke had a three-run homer for the Innkeepers during their big inning while clubmate Bruce Booth launched a solo circuit-clout.
(August 10) Jen’s Hobos were eliminated from the playoff picture after falling to the pennant-winning Billy Barker Inn 11 to 3. Glen Ousterhout once again copped the hurling verdict over Glen Halvorson. Terry Clarke drove in four runs for the Hotelmen who now advance to the league finals against the Kopetski A’s who sidelined the Cariboo Clippers
FINALS
(August 16) The Billy Barker Inn withstood a four-run, ninth-inning rally by the Kopetski A’s to nose out their adversaries 9 to 8 in the opener of the Quesnel senior baseball finals. Terry Clarke notched the knoll victory over Pete Swanson.
(August 17) The Kopetsky A’s blew a 7 to 3 lead after four frames and succumbed to the Billy Barker Inn 11 to 7 as the Innkeepers grabbed the series in two straight games. Two-RBI hits by Steve Huska, Mike Cummins and Butch Meyers keyed the Barker comeback.
PRINCE GEORGE SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE
Labatts
Martin & Sons Loggers
Mountain Truck Service
FINAL STANDINGS W L Pts
Labatts 12 8 24
Martin & Sons Loggers 9 11 18
Mountain Truck Service 9 11 18
PLAYOFFS
FINALS
(August 17) The Prince George Labatts took the first game of the best-of-three finals by edging Martin & Sons Loggers 3 to 1. Bruce Taylor was the winning pitcher while the Loggers’ Gary Carrelli was tagged with the loss.
(August 18) Prince George Labatts will face Quesnel’s Billy Barker in the Cariboo area finals. The Labatts earned the spot against the Quesnel champions by bouncing Martin & Sons Loggers 14 to 6 to sweep the Prince George finals in two straight games. The regular-season winners got a bye into the finals while the Loggers eliminated Mountain Truck Service in two straight during a semi-final round.
CARIBOO AREA FINALS Prince George Labatts vs Quesnel Billy Barker Inn (best-of-three series)
(August 21) Billy Barker Inn of Quesnel outgunned the Prince George Labatts 13 to 1 and 6 to 2 to annex the Cariboo area senior title in two straight games. Ivan Malinoski had a two-run homer for the winners in the one-sided opener. Californians Glen Osterhout and Mike Cummins, both Santa Clara Bronco collegians, shared the hurling chores for the Hotelmen in the clincher with starter Osterhout copping the win.
BULKLEY VALLEY BASEBALL LEAGUE
Hazelton Braves
Houston Bees
Moricetown Cubs
Moricetown Grizzlies
Smithers Glaciers
Terrace Colts
Terrace Reds
PLAYOFFS
(August 28) The pennant-winning Smithers Glaziers capped a successful season by capturing top spot in the 1977 Bulkley Valley Baseball League single-knockout playoff tournament held in Moricetown.
On a rain-soaked diamond under cloudy and drizzly skies, the Glaziers downed the Terrace Reds by a score of 7 to 5, then watched while the Hazelton Braves put themselves in the final with an 8 to 3 conquest of the Houston Bees.
In the final, the Glaziers topped the Hazelton squad by a narrow score of 4 to 3. The action was tense as the adversaries battled into the seventh stanza deadlocked at 3 – 3. With Smithers batting in the bottom-half of the inning, eventual winning pitcher Bob Kester led off with an infield hit. Bob Fraser advanced Kester to third base with a double and Randy Epp followed with an RBI-single to drive home the deciding tally.