MANITOBA SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE

An abundance of offense along with a dearth of effective pitching best defines the 1978 edition of this well-established circuit comprising eleven entries. Two American players were the permissible maximum per roster and use of the designated hitter option was optional. A 110-game schedule had each team participating in 20 regular-season games within this dual-division loop.

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

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

(June 2)  Shortstop Barry Jamieson came up with two timely hits in sparking the McAuley Blazers to an eleven-inning 5 to 4 win over the Souris Cardinals in a Manitoba Senior Baseball League opening-night fixture. Jamieson’s seventh-inning double scored Bill Flynn and pulled McAuley into a 4 – 4 deadlock. Then in the 11th, with the score still tied, Jamieson banged a game-ending single. Souris had a 4 to 0 lead after 6-1/2 frames before the Blazers caught fire and posted a four-spot in the bottom-of-the-seventh to knot the count. Winning pitcher John Liefl went the full eleven innings, giving up nine hits and three walks while striking out seven. McAuley collected eleven hits off the Cardinal tandem of Jerry Araujo and Ray Bruels. First baseman Wayne Poole was the Blazers’ top hitter, banging out a double and two singles. Teammates Flynn and Graeme Lee had two safeties apiece as did the Cards’ duo of Araujo and catcher Gary Davidson.

Araujo, Bruels (L) (7) and Davidson
Liefl (W) and D. Lowes

(June 2)  In another MSBL premiere, the Binscarth Orioles scored four ninth-inning runs, wiping out a Virden lead, to post a 7 to 6 win over the hosting Oilers. The Orioles waited until two were out in the ninth before erupting for their winning four-run rally. Import relief tosser Bill Armstrong, who took over for Oiler starter Chuck Evans in the seventh, retired two of the first three Binscarth batters to face him in the ninth before the roof fell in on him as the Birds proceeded to light him up five hits and four counters in stealing the victory. The big blow was a two-run homer to deep centre field by catcher Chuck Lang. Gord Leduchowski yielded six hits and fanned five in going the route for the win. Rod Fallis had three hits, one a double, to pace the winners at the dish. Backstop Rick Bohonis had a solo four-bagger for the Oilers. 

Leduchowski (W) and Lang                                        
Evans, Armstrong (L) (7) and Bohonis 

(June 4)  The Riverside Canucks coasted to an easy 16 to 5 triumph over the Souris Cardinals as winning flinger Ron Seafoot pitched six innings of two-hit ball before tiring in the seventh and getting the hook. The young southpaw also went yard with a two-run dinger. The Canucks cracked out 16 hits against three Souris pitchers, four of which came off the bat of catcher Bruce Gullett. Greg Cameron reached base six straight times for Riverside, accumulating two singles and four walks. He also pilfered a brace of sacks. Mark Fisher and Danny Cassils of the winners, along with the Cards’ Stan Furman and Shane Moffatt, all picked up a pair of safeties.

Walker (L), Furman (4), Moffatt (6) and Davidson, Hurton (5)
R. Seafoot (W), McFadyen (7), Everard (7) and Gullett   
              
(June 4)  Import chuckers Mike Free and Ed Fowler, both from San Diego, combined on a seven-hitter in pitching the McAuley Blazers to a 6 to 3 conquest of the Dauphin Redbirds. Free, who tossed the first six stanzas and left with a 4 to 1 lead, got credit for the mound decision. Dauphin starter Jim Modlinski suffered the defeat. Bill Flynn paced McAuley’s 14-hit attack with three singles while Barry Lowes, Dick White, Dale Loews and Barry Jamieson chipped in with a brace of bingles each. John Morrison got nearly half of Dauphin’s seven safeties, stroking a double and two one-baggers.

Modlinski (L), McLean (6) and Kerlin
Free (W), Fowler (7) and D. Lowes

(June 4)  Binscarth shortpatcher Garth Jackman had a perfect 5-for-5 performance at the platter as the homestanding Orioles raked three Hamiota pitchers for 20 hits and a 17 to 8 victory over the Red Sox. Jackman banged out four singles and a triple, driving in six runs, as the O’s romped from the start. Along the way, they scored three first-inning runs, added five more in the third, three on Jackman’s bases-loaded triple, and plated a six-spot in the seventh, largely due to Chuck Lang’s three-run round-tripper. Gerry Falk breezed to the win although tiring noticeably in the ninth when Hamiota got to him for five tallies in a too little, too late scenario. Lang and Rod Fallis followed Jackman in the hitting parade for the victors with three hits apiece. Wes Coulson and Mike Labossiere cracked out a trio of safe swats, two singles and a double, to lead the Scarlet Stockings offensively.

Anderson (L), R. Ramsey (3), Coulson (7) and W. Ramsey
G. Falk (W) and Lang, R. Jackman (8)  
                                             
(June 4)  Former Cloverleaf Brent Hansen and and Brandon native Brent Muirhead combined on a seven-hitter in hurling the Neepawa Cubs to a 5 to 2 win against the Wheat City squad in the opener for both clubs. Hansen, who twirled the first five frames, got the hillock decision. Portsider Brian Hodgson went the distance for the Cloverleafs, whiffing 15 while surrendering nine bingles. Blaine Peterson and Lawson Davie ripped three hits each for the Cubbies with a triple included in Peterson’s total. Rookie Grant Griffith was the lone Leaf swatsmith with more than one hit, picking up two singles.

Hansen (W), Muirhead (6) and Buchanan
Hodgson (L) and Prysunka

(June 4)  Tony Ryshytyko’s bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning sparked a five-run Grandview rally that led to a 6 to 4 annexation of the Angusville Cardinals. The Cards had taken a 4 to 0 lead by the third chapter, combing import winner Jim Deaver for an opening-inning singleton and a trey in the third. Deaver tightened up after the early meltdown and went the route, yielding ten Angusville safeties along the way. Brian Bullas and Ryshytyko had two hits apiece for the winners off losing slabman, import Pat McGehee. American signees McGehee and Mark Haley led Angusville at the plate with three and two base knocks respectively.
 
McGehee (L), Haley (8) and Haley, Reagh (8)
Deaver (W) and G. Ortynsky

(June 6)  The Binscarth Orioles ran their record to 3 – 0 with a 13 to 4 shellacking of the host Angusville Cardinals. The Orioles fell behind 4 to 0 in the first inning but unloaded their batting power to tie it in the fourth. By that point, winning tosser Bryan McCauley had settled into a groove as he went on to finish with a six-hitter while his mates were battering the offerings of a triad of Card chuckers for 11 safeties. Rod Fallis belted a two-run homer to go along with a brace of singles for the winners. Dale Gies also had three hits for Binscarth while Gord Leduchowski racked up four RBI’s with a three-run four-ply tater and a single. Import Mark Haley, the second of the Angusville tossers, was nailed with the hillock setback. Lynn Chuchmuch was the Cards’ best hitter, banging out two singles. 

McCauley (W) and Lang
B. Chuchmuch, Haley (L) (6), McGehee (8) and Haley, Reagh (6), Haley (8)

(June 6)  The Virden Oilers won their first game of the season, an 8 to 1 pasting of the Dauphin Redbirds. A four-hit, 13 strikeout mound effort by import Bill Armstrong kept the Oilers in control throughout. Virden finished with 16 hits against a pair of Redbird flingers. Import Chuck Evans led the winners with the lumber, smacking the apple for two singles, a double and a triple. Dauphin’s “Siggi” Sigurdson had three of his team’s four base knocks, all one-baggers.

Armstrong (W) and Bohonis
Valcourt (L), Modlinski (7) and Rideout

(June 6)  The unbeaten Grandview Lakers rallied for seven runs in the final two innings for a 13 to 7 decision over the winless Brandon Cloverleafs. Laker pitcher Jim Deaver won his second game in three days, surviving a grand-slam homer by Rick McFadyen while his mates were clawing their way back in the game. McFadyen, back with the Leafs after one contest with Riverside, slugged his grand salami in the third panel to tie the score at 4 – 4. Starter Gary Keating of the Brandon nine was saddled with the mound defeat. Deaver, meanwhile, gave up eight hits and struck out six. Brian Bullas of the victors pounded the horsehide for three hits while teammates Tony Kalechyn, Don Luhowy and Ron Rasmussen had two base hits apiece. Bert Ready was Brandon’s only two-hit swatter, singling and tripling.

G. Keating (L), McFadyen (7), Harvey (8) and Prysunka
Deaver (W) and G. Ortynsky                                                     

(June 8)  The invading McAuley Blazers maintained their unbeaten status by manufacturing three ninth-inning tallies to edge past the Hamiota Red Sox 5 to 4. Seeking their first win of the campaign, the Scarlet Hose carried a 4 to 2 lead into the ninth but the Blazers got to 19-year old Louisville, Kentucky native Monty Holland for a fatal three-spot after Dale Lowes reached base on an error, John Liefl doubled and both runners scored on Graeme Lee’s one-bagger. Lee then moved into scoring position and plated the go-ahead marker when winning pitcher Mike Free’s singled. Hamiota had snapped a 2 – 2 tie in the seventh when Wayne Ramsey doubled to send Ellis Woods and Cliff McKague across the pan.

Fowler, Free (W) (8) and D. Lowes
Holland (L), R. Ramsey (9) and Labossiere

(June 8)  Virden import hurler Chuck Evans rang up 17 strikeouts as the hosting Oilers doubled the Neepawa Cubs 6 to 3. Evans, who played last season with the Souris Cardinals, limited the Cubs to six hits in going the route. Neepawa, with Barry Suski on the rubber, had taken a 3 to 2 third-inning lead, powered by catcher Rob Buchanan’s two-run long-distance dinger, but fell behind to stay when the Oilers pushed across three runs in the fifth. Virden’s Randy Dittmer rapped out three hits and Rick Bohonis drove in three to back Evans’ outstanding punchout performance. Kerry Lowe and Bohonis both stung the sphere for a brace of safeties as did the Cubs’ Blaine Peterson. 

Suski (L) and Buchanan
Evans (W) and Bohonis 

(June 9)  The Hamiota Red Sox finally broke into the win column and they did it in dramatic fashion. Mel Smith’s two-run ground-rule double with one out in the eleventh inning broke up a pitching duel between the Red Sox’ Dennis Anderson and Virden’s import ace Bill Armstrong, sending the Crimson Stockings to a 3 to 1 victory over the Oilers. Anderson was touched for seven hits while whiffing six. Armstrong was nicked for just five safeties and fanned a dozen. Perry Kalynuk of Virden was the lone swatter to achieve plural hit figures, connecting for a pair of singles.

Armstrong (L) and xxx
Anderson (W) and xxx
           
(June 9)  The Brandon Cloverleafs, boasting a pair of unretired veterans to the lineup, crushed the Souris Cardinals 14 to 1. The Leafs, inspired by the return of retirees Bob Thompson and Rick Hlady, erupted for five first-inning counters against Cards’ starter Ken Vertz. Winning pitcher Dale Harvey’s three-run two-bagger in that initial canto sparked the outburst and sent the Wheat City nine on their way to a rout. Rick Cruise, playing his first game for Brandon, slammed two doubles and a single while teammate Rick McFadyen banged out three singles. Harvey, who finished with four RBI’s, collected two hits as did rookie Grant Griffith and veterans Bert Ready and Roy McLachlan. Hlady was responsible for the Cloverleafs’ final pair of counters when he launched a two-run tater in the eighth panel. Jerry Araujo, Don Hurton and Shane Moffatt stroked two hits apiece for the cards.

Harvey (W), Hlady (6) and xxx
Vertz (L), xxx and xxx

(June 9)  The invading Binscarth Orioles won their fourth in a row, a comeback 8 to 5 triumph over the Grandview Lakers. No game details or batteries were found in print.

(June 11)  The McAuley Blazers started the double-dip day off with a 6 to 4 conquest of the Neepawa Cubs. Run-producing singles by Dale Lowes and winning pitcher John Liefl highlighted a three-run McAuley rally in the fourth frame which led to the win. Liefl, 2 – 0, combined with Mike Free on a six-hitter while the Blazers were connecting for nine hits against loser Brent Muirhead and reliever Pete Chapin. Terry Lynd started things rolling for the winners when he nailed a first-inning dinger with the sacks clean. Lowes and Barry Jamieson paced the McAuley nine at the dish with a pair of hits each while the Cubs’ Lawson Davies and Wayne Coates replicated the feat. One of Coates’ knocks was a two-run triple.

Liefl (W), Free (8) and D. Lowes                               
Muirhead (L), Chapin (5) and Buchanan

(June 11)  The Brandon Cloverleafs snapped Binscarth’s undefeated streak at four games by downing the Orioles 5 to 2 at Kinsmen Stadium. Recently arrived pitcher Stan Webb, an 18-year old Californian, punched out eight and walked only two in his winning MSBL debut. The Cloverleafs took a 4 to 0 lead by the fifth canto, in large part because of Binscarth defensive miscues, before the Orioles broke Webb’s shutout hopes with a pair of runs in the seventh, one of them on Glenn Hodgson’s double. Rod Enerson, with a five-hitter, pitched well for the O’s despite absorbing the hillock setback.

Enerson (L) and Lang
Webb (W) and McFadyen

(June 11)   In the second skirmish of the day for both squads, the Brandon Cloverleafs were beaten 5 to 2 by the McAuley Blazers who, at 5 – 0, are the MSBL’s lone undefeated team. Snapping a 2 – 2 tie in the eighth, the Blazers plated a deuce after three straight singles, a sacrifice fly by Wayne Poole and an infield chopper by Brian Rose. They added another in the ninth on Terry Lynd’s double which scored Dale Lowes. Mike Free improved his pitching record to 3 – 0 in capturing the complete-game mound victory with a five-hitter. Starting portsider Brian Hodgson of the Leafs was tagged with the loss. Lynd had two safeties for the winners while Brandon’s Bert Ready cuffed three bingles.

Free (W) and Edmundson, Lowes (5)
Hodgson (L), Keating (8) and Prysunka

(June 11)   The Riverside Cardinals dropped the opener of their three-team twin-bill 4 to 3 to the Grandview Blazers. A solo home run off the slants of import Larry Thomas by Brian Bullas leading off the eighth inning propelled the Lakers to victory, making Don Luhowy a winner in his first bump start of the year. Shaky fielding by the Cards contributed to their defeat. Both teams had eight hits with Grant Plewak and Bullas acquiring two each for Grandview and Riverside’s Mark Fisher chalking up three.  

Luhowy (W) and G. Ortynsky                 
Thomas (L) and Gullett

(June 11)   The Dauphin Redbirds edged the Souris Cardinals 4 to 3 in the matinée event for both aggregations. Leo Valcourt’s sacrifice fly in the eighth spasm drove in Sheldon Birss with the winning run against hard-luck loser Jerry Araujo who struck out 11 Redbirds. The veteran southpaw gave up just five hits while his Souris teammates were connected for 11 against Dauphin’s Jim Modlinski. Brian Hopfner had a double and single to lead the Redbird willow wielders while Araujo and Gary Davidson paced Souris with three hits each.

Modlinski (W) and Rideout
Araujo (L) and Hurton

(June 11)   Rebounding from an early defeat, the Riverside Canucks evened their record for the day, and that of their opponent, by whipping the Dauphin Redbirds 19 to 7. The Canucks sent 15 batters to the plate during an 11-run second inning against import Mike Hargas, making his MSBL debut with the Redbirds. Brodie McLean and Leo Valcourt followed Hargas to the mound for the Redbirds but were not particularly effective in this slugfest. In spite of surrendering a dozen safe swats, Riverside’s Grant Everard was the beneficiary in copping an easy win. Catcher Bruce Gullett led the Canucks’ 22-hit assault with three singles and a double while Danny Cassils drove in five counters on the basis of a triad of one-baggers. Greg Cameron, Mark Fisher and Cliff Seafoot also had a field day in the batter’s box, creaming the orb for three safeties each. Sheldon Birss had a great game for Dauphin, stroking four singles in five trips to the plate.

Hargas (L), McLean (2), Valcourt (3) and Rideout
Everard (W) and Gullett

(June 11)   The Souris Cardinals won their first game of the year, taking out the Grandview Lakers 5 to 4. A two-run homer by winning flinger Ray Bruels and a solo shot by Keith Kontzie gave the Cardinals three runs in the fifth inning and a lead they never relinquished. Bruels fanned 15, walked just three but was lit up by Grandview’s Tony Ryshytyko for a two-run four-bagger and a pair of singles by Jim Deaver in going the distance. Losing tosser Brian Bullas was touched up for 11 safe swats, three off the baton of Bruels and two each by Stan Furman and Don Hurton.

Bullas (L) and Ortynsky                                             
Bruels (W) and Davidson, Hurton (6)                      

(June 11)   The Binscarth Orioles regained their winning ways by decisioning the Neepawa Cubs 5 to 3. In rebounding after a first-game loss to Brandon, the O’s picked up seven hits off import Andy Anderson, making his first  start of the year for the Cubs. One of those base raps was a two-run round-tripper in the third canto by Gord Leduchowksi who also struck for a double and single. Garth Neville racked up the win, giving up six hits and breezing eight in his first mound assignment of the season. Anderson had two of the Cubbies’ hits, both singles, while teammate Don Schmall cracked a four-ply wallop with the sacks clean.

Neville (W) and R. Jackman, Lang (8)                     
Anderson (L) and Buchanan                                 

(June 11)   In a game which involved two combatants who locked horns only once during the day, the Angusville Cardinals went on a hitting spree to clobber the Hamiota Red Sox 20 to 8. The Cards battered three Hamiota slabmen for 19 hits in coming out victorious for the first time all campaign. Bob Mazur drilled four hits for the winners while Barry Wowk, winning flinger Pat McGehee and Glen Katchin all registered a trio of safeties. Included in Wowk and Katchin’s  sum of swats were mightily-launched taters by each. McGehee went the route for the Cards, yielding ten hits including three by Mike Labossiere.

Coulson (L), R. Ramsey (2), Labossiere (5) and Labossiere, W. Ramsey (3)
McGehee (W) and Haley

(June 13)  The McAuley Blazers maintained their unbeaten status with an 8 to 1 triumph over the Grandview Lakers. Winning pitcher Ed Fowler was a one-man show for the Blazers. The import moundsman won his first decision of the year, a four-hit 13-strikeout performance and also went four-for-four at the plate with three singles, a double and a couple of RBI’s. Fowler’s two-bagger in the fourth chapter highlighted a three-run McAuley rally which helped make it a rout. Losing flinger Jim Deaver struck out a dozen but was lit up for 14 base blows. John Liefl and Terry Lynd contributed to a well-balanced Blazer display at the dish, both slapping out a pair of base knocks. Tony Kalechyn managed two singles off Fowler to pace Grandview.

Fowler (W) and D. Lowes
Deaver (L) and G. Ortynsky

(June 13)  The Binscarth Orioles stayed on the heels of the North Division-leading McAuley nine by dumping the Dauphin Redbirds 8 to 3. Veteran hurler Gerry Falk won for the third straight time, tossing a seven-hitter while breezing 13. John Morrison gave the Redbirds a short-lived 3 to 2 lead with a two-run circuit-clout in the top-of-the fifth before the Orioles knotted the count in their half of the frame. The Orioles then snapped the 3 – 3 tie, scoring a deuce in the sixth and adding three more in the seventh, to pull out the victory. Dale Gies drove in three runs for the O’s with a double and single while Rob Jackman tripled and singled to account for another pair of counters. Dale Hopfner was the Redbirds’ only two-hit man, stroking a pair of singles.

Modlinski (L) and Rideout    
G. Falk (W) and R. Jackman

(June 13)  The Angusville Cardinals rallied for a 3 – 3 tie with the Riverside Canucks in a game suspended after nine innings when darkness enveloped the skies. Barry Wowk singled home Roy Reagh with the tying counter as the Canucks argued unsuccessfully that the game should have been called at the end of eight innings when they had a one-run cushion. The contest will be completed on June 29. Bob Chuchmuch went the distance for Angusville, giving up seven base hits. The Cards connected for eight safeties off a brace of Riverside tossers. Mark Fisher lashed a pair of doubles to lead Riverside offensively while teammates Bob Williamson and Dale Hunter collected two singles each. Wowk was Angusville’s big man at the dish with three singles while Pat McGehee had a double and single.

Medoff, R. Seafoot (4) and Gullett
B. Chuchmuch and Haley

(June 13)  The Brandon Cloverleafs won for the third time in their last four games, capitalizing on an opening-inning four-run outburst to outlast the Virden Oilers 4 to 3. The victors had four singles during the uprising and took advantage of a wild pitch and passed ball in plating their tallies. Winning chucker Rick Hlady needed ninth-inning relief help from Dale Harvey to escape with the triumph as the Oilers threatened to tie the score. Both teams had six hits in the closely-contested affair. Bert Ready cuffed a triple and two singles for the Leafs off losing twirler Bill Armstrong while catcher Al Bohonis led Virden at the pan with a brace of one-baggers.

Armstrong (L) and Bohonis
Hlady (W), Harvey (9) and Prysunka

(June 13)  Right hander Monty Holland struck out 21 Neepawa batters over the course of an eight-inning, darkness-shortened match in pitching the Hamiota Red Sox to a 7 to 1 conquest of the Cubs. Using a blazing fastball and a confounding 12 to 6 bender, the 6'5", 230 pound right-hander mowed down the Baby Bears on four hits while teammates Mel Smith and Wayne Ramsey were providing the necessary punch from within the batter’s box, staking the winners to a 6 to 0 cushion after two innings were in the books. Smith dialed long distance for a two-run circuit-jack off Neepawa starter Brent Hansen  and Ramsey followed with a three-run blast later in the same panel. Wayne and Ron Ramsey had two hits apiece for the Sox while the Cubs’ Blaine Peterson ripped a pair of one-baggers.

Holland (W) and Labossiere                  
Hansen (L), Suski (2) and Buchanan

(June 14)  In spite of being out-hit by a 7 to 4 margin, the Neepawa Cubs managed to nose out the Souris Cardinals 4 to 3 in MSBL action. The win by Neepawa was largely due to a key blow by winning flinger Pete Chapin, a fifth-frame two-run four-bagger, that put the Cubs in front to stay. The timely blow was Chapin’s first hit of the season. Catcher Rob Buchanan had two of the winners’ four safeties off Souris starter Ken Vertz and reliever Ray Bruels.

Vertz (L), Bruels (6) and Hurton
Chapin (W), Anderson (8) and Buchanan

(June 15)  Import moundsman Chuck Evans of the Virden Oilers was the undisputed star of an MSBL match hosted by the Oilers who marched to an 8 to 3 victory over the Hamiota Red Sox. Evans fanned nine and limited the Crimson Hose to eight hits while on the bump as well as driving in six markers with a three-for-three output from the batter’s box. Amongst his blows were a four-ply dinger which produced three tallies, a three-run double and a single which accounted for another RBI. Starting hurler Dennis Anderson of the Sox was rocked with the loss while teammate Wayne Ramsey went deep with his second tater of the season.

Anderson (L), Coulson (4) and Labossiere, W. Ramsey (2)        
Evans (W) and Bohonis    

(June 16)  Import pitcher Mike Free breezed to his fourth win of the year as the McAuley Blazers extended their perfect record to 7 – 0 with a 10 to 2 pasting of the Angusville Cardinals. The Blazers roughed up losing tosser Pat McGehee for 13 base blows including four-ply wallops by Terry Lynd, Ed Fowler and Wayne Poole. Fowler picked up a brace of singles in addition to his solo homer. Barry Wowk and Bob Mazur had two singles apiece for the vanquished nine.

McGehee (L) and Haley
Free (W) and D. Lowes  
        
(June 16)  Todd Jensen, in his first MSBL appearance, threw 6-1/3 innings of no-hit ball as the Riverside Canucks swamped the Neepawa Cubs 13 to 0 in a game shortened to seven innings because of darkness. The Canuck tosser, an import from Rugby ND, had his abbreviated no-no bid stymied when Terry Tkachyk doubled in the seventh for the Cubs’ lone hit of the match. Jensen received plenty of offensive support from his teammates who banged out 11 base knocks. Leading the charge was Mark Fisher who nailed an opening-inning three-run dinger off losing slabman Andy Anderson and added a double later to drive in a total of four runs. 

Anderson (L), Hansen (1), Muirhead (4) and Buchanan
Jensen (W) and Gullett  
                                                    
(June 16)  The Souris Cardinals got an early jump on the hosting Virden Oilers and hung on for a 4 to 3 win. The game was late getting started because of wet grounds and was called after six innings. Jerry Araujo evened his MSBL pitching record at 1 – 1 with a four-hitter. Virden’s Bill Armstrong also allowed four hits in suffering his fourth loss in five decisions. The big blow for Souris was Cam Walker’s two-run homer over the left field fence in the second inning. One of the Oiler counters resulted from a daring theft of home on the front end of a double steal in the fourth stanza.

Araujo (W) and Hurton                             
Armstrong (L) and Bohonis
            
(June 16)   The Brandon Cloverleafs edged the Hamiota Red Sox 4 to 3 in a tooth-and-nail battle wherein the Red Sox’ defense let them down. There wasn’t much to choose between the combatants’ pitching and offense in this affair which allowed the victorious Leafs to pass the .500 mark for the first time this year. The Scarlet Stockings were atrocious afield, however, booting the ball seven times which resulted in crucial unearned tallies. Import pitcher Stan Webb gave up five hits in earning his second mound battle. Ron Ramsey of the Red Sox also gave up five safeties. Ramsey punched out 11 batters, four more than Webb. Gary Keating’s single in the eighth frame scored Rick McFadyen with the winning run. McFadyen had reached second on a two-base Hamiota error and advanced to third on a passed ball. Keating cracked two singles for the victors while receiver Wayne Ramsey was the only Hamiotan with more than one hit, collecting a double and single.   

Webb (W) and McFadyen
R. Ramsey (L) and W. Ramsey                                                                     

(June 18)  For the second straight game, the offensively-challenged Neepawa Cubs were victimized by a one-hitter, falling 4 to 0 to the Grandview Lakers behind the overpowering pitching of Jim Deaver. A two-out seventh-inning single by Lawson Davie spoiled Deaver’s attempt at a no-run, no-hit gem. Deaver went on to ring up 16 strikeouts as the Lakers improved their record to 4 – 3. The Lakers tallied the only run they needed on Deryl Ortynsky’s run-producing single in the third inning. Brian Bullas was the only Laker with more than one hit, collecting a brace of one-baggers.

Chapin (L) and Anderson
Deaver (W) and G. Ortynsky

(June 18)  The Angusville Cardinals dropped their first test of the day, falling behind early and eventually succumbing 12 to 11 to the homestanding Dauphin Redbirds. The Redbirds struck for nine first-inning runs and managed to hold off the Cards who made for a wild finish in this high-scoring tilt, running across a four-spot in the ninth canto. Roger Sheldon got Dauphin off on the right foot when he went yard off loser Bob Chuchmuch with the sacks loaded. Mike Hargas went the route for the winners, whiffing ten while surviving a 12-hit Angusville attack which included four-ply dingers off the bats of Barry Wowk, a three-run shot in the ninth, Glen Katchin and Lorne Gallant. “Siggi” Sigurdson stroked three hits for Dauphin while Hargas, Dale Hopfner, Leo Valcourt and Darcy Archambault banged out two safeties each.

Hargas (W) and Modlinski                                                                         
B. Chuchmuch (L), McGehee (1), B. Chuchmuch (3) and Haley 
             
(June 18)  Following a first-game setback, the Angusville Cardinals bounced back and annexed their late tilt, taking a 17 to 9 verdict from the Virden Oilers. This game was a field day for batters on both sides. The foes combined for 35 base knocks with the Cards, in their biggest offensive outburst of the season, registering 19 of them. Losing twirler Ed Frazer and reliever Ted Bridgett were the punching bags for the extended Cardinal batting strength. Winning twirler Mark Haley was battered for all nine Virden counters before being given the hook in the eighth panel. He made up for his deficiencies on the bump by hammering the orb for a two-run homer and a single but it was teammate Pat McGehee who was the shining light at the dish for the victors, spanking the sphere for four safe swats including a brace of two-baggers. Glen Katchin followed with a triad of safeties. Barry Wowk had only one hit for Angusville but that was a three-run round-tripper in the fourth when the Cards struck for seven counters. For the Oilers, Morley Hartel, Ken Buchy, Terry Good, Randy Dittmer, Rick Bohonis and Bridgett all registered two hits.

Frazer (L), Bridgett (4) and Bohonis
Haley (W), McGehee (8) and Reagh, Haley (8)                                          

(June 18)  The Riverside Canucks blasted the Brandon Cloverleafs 11 to 3 to maintain their grip on top spot in the South Division. Greg Cameron’s three-run, inside-the-park homer off lefty Brian Hodgson pulled the Canucks into a 5 to 3 lead in the seventh inning and reliever Ron Seafoot did the rest, blanking the Leafs on three hits for the remainder of the game to pick up up the win. Cameron, rookie Dale Hunter, Bruce Gullett and Grant Everard each cracked out three hits to pace Riverside’s 15-hit offense. One of Gullett’s safeties was a second-inning triple. Roy McLachlan paced Brandon with three hits while Bert Ready continued his hot hitting of late with a double and single.

Thomas, R. Seafoot (W) (7) and Gullett                                                
Hodgson (L), Keating (8) and Prysunka, McFadyen (6)

(June 18)  With import chucker Monty Holland on the hill, the Hamiota Red Sox nipped the Souris Cardinals 2 to 1. Reportedly, on his way back to Kentucky following the tilt, Holland handcuffed the Souris nine on three bingles. Loser Ray Bruels was also stingy with the base raps, giving up just four. The Sox scored the winning marker in the sixth on Wayne Ramsey’s RBI single.

Bruels (L) and Hurton, Davidson (6)
Holland (W) and Labossiere

(June 18)  By forging a 6 to 2 conquest of the previously unbeaten McAuley nine, the Binscarth Orioles moved into a first-place North Division deadlock with the Blazers. Gord Leduchowski slammed a three-run dinger for the Orioles and winning tosser Gerry Falk in the fifth inning to put the visitors ahead 4 to 2 and they were never threatened after that. Falk, now 4 – 0 for the campaign, had earlier been lit up for a pair of solo homers by losing tosser Ed Fowler and new import Wayne Larker. Binscarth rang up a dozen base raps off Fowler and Larker with Garth Jackman and Chuck Lang leading the way with two singles and a double each. Fowler was the only Blazer to get into plural hit figures, stroking a one-bagger in addition to his tater.

G. Falk (W) and Lang                                                                                 
Fowler (L), Larker (8) and D. Lowes        

NORTH
McAuley       7 - 1
Binscarth     7 - 1 
Grandview     4 - 3  2.5
Angusville    2 - 4  4.0
Dauphin       2 - 4  4.0

SOUTH
Riverside     4 - 1
Brandon       4 - 4  1.5
Virden        3 - 5  2.5
Hamiota       3 - 5  2.5
Neepawa       2 - 6  3.5
Souris        2 - 6  3.5                     

(June 20)  The Angusville Cardinals pushed across seven runs in the third inning and went on to out slug the Neepawa Cubs 15 to 9. Pat McGehee was the beneficiary of the early Cardinal offense, hanging in with a solid lead to take the complete-game win with a ten-hitter. Lorne Gallant and McGehee went yard with four-baggers for the winners who roughed up a quartet of Cub tossers for 15 base knocks. The duo also had singles to emerge with two-hit totals. Teammates Bob Mazur and Lynn Chuchmuch also collected a brace of safeties, all one-baggers. Wayne Coates, Andy Anderson and Rob Buchanan picked up two bingles apiece for the Cubbies while Lawson Davie cranked out a two-run four-ply blast.

Anderson (L), Muirhead (3), Hansen (5), Davie (7) and Buchanan      
McGehee (W) and Haley 
                                                                        
(June 20)  A 6 to 4 triumph by the Souris Cardinals knocked the losing McAuley Blazers out of first place in the North Division of the MSBL. It was a three-run homer by McAuley’s Stan Furman that erased a third-inning 2 to 0 deficit and ignited the victory march. The loss for the Blazers was their second in succession and knocked them a half-game behind the idle Binscarth Orioles. Jerry Araujo earned his second mound win while Blazer starting slabman John Liefl was nailed with the loss. Manufacturing two singles apiece for the winners were Shane Moffat and Cam Walker while the McAuley trio of Barry "Sam" Jamieson, Wayne Poole and Dale Lowes replicated the feat.

Liefl (L), Zimmerman (4) and D. Lowes
Araujo (W) and Davidson
                                                                      
(June 20)  The South Division-leading Riverside Canucks hammered the hosting Virden Oilers 13 to 1 to maintain their 1-1/2 game cushion atop the circuit. Grant Everard limited the Oilers to six hits in boosting his record to 2 – 0. Bob Williamson, Mark Fisher and Dale Hunter all walloped homers for the Canucks. Fisher also collected a double and single to finish with four RBI’s. Half the Virden hits came from former Canuck, Morley Hartel, who had two singles and a double.

Everard (W) and Gullett                                                                       
Evans (L), Dittmer (6), Armstrong (8) and Bohonis

(June 20)  The Brandon Cloverleafs used a four-run sixth inning to nose out the Hamiota Red Sox 5 to 4. Five consecutive safeties in that frame, culminated by veteran Bob Thompson’s two-run single, swung the pendulum in favor of the Leafs. Rookie import Stan Webb earned his third hillock victory in as many decisions but needed relief help from Rick Hlady. Bert Ready tripled twice for the winners while Thompson and Rick McFadyen both singled and doubled. Wes Coulson knocked in three runs for the invading Red Sox with a couple of one-baggers.

Anderson (L), R. Ramsey (6) and Labossiere, W. Ramsey (6)
Webb (W), Hlady (7) and McFadyen

(June 23)  The Virden diamond troopers and the Grandview balltossers combined for 21 base hits as the Oilers took an 8 to 5 decision from the Lakers. Morley Hartel’s double and a run-scoring single by Chuck Evans gave the Oilers three runs in the third inning and sent them on their way to victory. Bill Armstrong, with relief assistance from Evans, notched the win while Jim Deaver was tagged with the loss. Hartel and Perry Kalynuk rapped out three hits each for Virden. One of Kalynuk’s swats was a run-producing triple. Terry Good stung the pill for a triple and single while Evans accounted for Virden’s final tally with a ninth-inning dinger with the bases clean. Brian Bullas, who pitched the last five innings for Grandview, spiced the Lakers’ nine-hit attack with three singles.

Armstrong (W), Evans (6) and Bohonis     
Deaver (L), Bullas (5) and G. Ortynsky

(June 23)  Slugger Rick McFadyen of Brandon belted three home runs but it wasn’t enough as four members of the Angusville Cardinals responded with circuit-clouts resulting in a 16 to 11 whipping of the Cloverleafs. McFadyen also laced a single to go along with his three-pack of taters. The Cards outhit the visiting Leafs 18 to 14 in this slugfest in which their quartet of swatsmiths, consisting of Bob Mazur, Pat McGehee, Mark Haley and Lynn Chuchmuch, all nailed four-ply clouts. Mazur’s was a two-run shot while the others had solo dingers. Chuchmuch, much to the delight of his sibling and winning pitcher Bob Chuchmuch, wound up with four hits as did fellow Cardinal Clinton Pushka. Rookie receiver Wes Davidson, in his first start wearing the “tools of ignorance” for Brandon, manufactured two doubles and a single.  

Harvey (L), Hodgson (4), McLachlan (6) and Davidson  
B. Chuchmuch (W), McGehee (6) and Haley
                  
(June 23)  Rookie Dale Hunter drove in seven runs with a homer, two triples and a single as the Riverside Canucks blasted the Hamiota Red Sox 14 to 2. While Hunter was having a field day at the plate, teammate and winning pitcher Ron Seafoot was quietly mowing down the Red Sox’ batters, limiting them to three hits throughout the course of the rout. Bob Williamson and Mark Fisher also had four-hit performances for the winners although their raps were confined to one-baggers. Dave Marabella, making his 1978 debut, was shelled from the hill in the sixth and was saddled with the loss.

Marabella (L), R. Ramsey (6) and Labossiere, W. Ramsey (6)
R. Seafoot (W) and Gullett
                                              
(June 23)  The Dauphin Redbirds scored six second-inning counters and held on for a 6 to 5 triumph over the McAuley Blazers. Both teams stung the sphere for eight safeties. Winning pitcher Jim Modlinski and rookie Dale Hopfner drove in two runs apiece during the six-spot uprising, spoiling the MSBL debut of Wayne Larker. The son of former Los Angeles Dodger Norm Larker, the Blazer twirler struck out a dozen and got stronger as the game progressed, surrendering just three hits during the last seven innings. But the 6 – 0 deficit was too much for the McAuley swatters to overcome, as they dropped their third straight game. Catcher John Morrison was 4-for-4 at the dish for the victors, crushing a triple as well as three singles. Rookie Ron Zimmerman paced McAuley offensively with a single, double and a solo round-tripper.

Larker (L) and D. Lowes                                                
Modlinski (W) and Morrison

(June 23)  Leadoff batter Garth Jackman of Binscarth put together his second five-hit game of the season as the Orioles overwhelmed the Souris Cardinals 7 to 2. All five of Jackman’s raps were one-baggers as he did his job of setting the table. Oriole moundsman Gerry Falk gave up a two-run homer to Stan Furman of the Cardinals in the opening inning but shut the door thereafter, easily winning his fifth game against no losses. He turned the ball over to kid brother Larry Falk in the ninth in a mop-up gesture as the O’s increased their North Division lead to 1-1/2 games over McAuley. Gord Leduchowski drove in three runs for Binscarth with a double and two singles.

Vertz (L) and Davidson                                                    
G. Falk (W), L. Falk (9) and Lang

(June 25)  In the first of two games against different opponents, the North Division-leading Binscarth Orioles clipped the Brandon Cloverleafs 5 to 3. Bryan McCauley’s two-run double highlighted a three-run Binscarth output in the sixth which snapped a 2 – 2 tie and saddled Brandon pitcher Bob Thompson with the loss in his first start. Garth Neville, who went 6-1/3 innings on the rubber, got the win despite experiencing control problems. Thompson was stung for nine hits including solo homers by Chuck Lang and Dale Gies. 

Thompson (L), Hodgson (6) and Davidson
Neville (W), McCauley (7), Leduchowski (9) and Lang

(June 25)  A 6 to 3 upset loss to the Neepawa Cubs concluded the three-team double-bill for the Binscarth Orioles. In this affair, winning flinger Pete Chapin clubbed a pair of round-trippers, a three-run shot and a bases-empty blast, and teammate Lawson Davie added one. The surprise win for the Baby Bears vaulted them out of the South Division cellar. Chapin, a Detroit Tigers’ draftee, fanned a dozen in his route-going performance. Wayne Coates cracked two hits for Neepawa while Glenn Hodgson paced the Orioles from the batter’s box with three singles.

Chapin (W) and Anderson                                                              
McCauley (L), Leduchowski (4) and R. Jackman, Lang (4)

(June 25)  The Riverside Canucks opened their two-game Sunday agenda by clubbing 15 base blows en route to a 9 to 1 thumping of the Grandview Lakers. Light-hitting Wayne Keeler rapped out four hits and drove in three runs for the Canucks. Todd Jensen, 2 – 0, scattered six hits for the win and was aided offensively by batterymate Bruce Gullett and Greg Cameron who both went yard with four-ply clouts.

Jensen (W) and Gullett                                                                  
Luhowy (L) and G. Ortynsky

(June 25)  The Souris Cardinals lost the opener of two road tussles, falling 10 to 7 to the Dauphin Redbirds. Dale Rideout, not known for his power, unloaded a two-out, bases-loaded round-tripper to stun the Cards and losing pitcher Jerry Araujo, who were one out away from a 7 to 6 triumph. Reliever Mike Hargas, who took over from veteran Dave Rottman in the seventh, notched the win. Rottman joined Sheldon Birss, Jim Modlinski, Rideout and Roger Sheldon as two-hit men for the Redbirds. Araujo stroked three hits for Souris

Araujo (L) and Davidson
Rottman, Hargas (W) (7) and Modlinski  
                                    
(June 25)  Clipping the horsehide for 25 base knocks, the Riverside Canucks continued their torrid batting spree for the day, punishing the Dauphin Redbirds to the tune of 23 to 11. Bob Williamson, Bruce Gullett and Mark Fisher all pounded out four safe swats for the winners in this contest where adequate pitching was just a dream. Included in Fisher’s quartet of of base blows was a dinger. Gregg Cameron also joined the power club with a four-ply blast. Despite being lit up for 15 safeties, Canuck chucker Grant Everard rode the crest of this mates offensive punch to last the full nine frames on the hill in taking the win. Three Redbirds, “Siggi” Sigurdson, John Morrison and losing twirler Leo Valcourt, found his offerings to their liking, smacking the orb for circuit-clouts.

Everard (W) and Gullett, Keeler (6)                                               
Valcourt (L), Rideout (4) and Rideout, Morrison (4)
                  
(June 25)  The Grandview Lakers finished their two-match schedule with a split, inflicting a second defeat for the day upon the Souris Cardinals, this one by a 9 to 5 score. The Lakers provided winning slabman Jim Deaver with a 5 – 0 first-inning lead, teeing off against import Ray Bruels for five straight singles followed by Don Luhowy’s double. Deaver punched out 13 and gave up ten hits, one of which was a solo homer to Cam Walker. Redeeming himself at the plate for his mistake pitch to Walker, Deaver proceeded to slug one out of the park, one of the triad of safeties which he registered. Teammate Deryl Ortynsky as well as Souris’ Gary Davidson also collected three bingles. 

Bruels (L), Walker (5) and Palmer                                                  
Deaver (W) and G. Ortynsky   

(June 27)  The Angusville diamond troopers shaded the Souris balltossers 9 to 7 in a battle of Cardinal namesakes at Souris. Barry Wowk and Glen Katchin belted home runs for the northern Cards to spark Angusville’s 12-hit attack. Bob Chuchmuch, who toiled on the hill for the first five frames, snatched the hillock verdict from winless Ken Vertz, 0-4. A four-run uprising by the winners in the fourth panel provided the decisive runs. Katchin wound up with two hits as did teammates Bob Mazur, Pat McGehee and Marion Kotelniski. Ray Bruels and Don Hurton cracked three singles each for Souris while Stan Furman had a double and single. 

B. Chuchmuch (W), McGehee (6) and Haley                      
Vertz (L), Bruels (4), Araujo (9) and Davidson

(June 27)  The Riverside Canucks took full advantage of a tiny opening presented them in the third inning of their MSBL match against Brandon and piled on a five-spot which was the difference-maker in their ultimate 6 to 5 conquest of the Cloverleafs. Trailing 3 to 0 and about to go down with barely a whimper in the third, they got a big break. A two-out walk to winning moundsman Ron Seafoot started things. Bob Williamson then fanned but made it to first when Brandon catcher Rick McFadyen dropped the third strike and then threw low to the initial sack. That was the opening needed. Greg Cameron singled home Seafoot for the first Riverside tally. Roy McLachlan’s overthrow to first on Ed Beare’s ground ball allowed the second counter to cross the pan. Then, the big blow, a three-run four-bagger on losing chucker Stan Webb’s first pitch to Mark Fisher, followed and the momentum had shifted dramatically. Webb, in suffering his first MSBL mound defeat, yielded just five hits. The Leafs connected for ten safeties off Seafoot, now 3 – 0, including two singles each by McLachlan, Gordie MacKay and Dale Harvey. 

Webb (L) and McFadyen
R. Seafoot (W) and C. Seafoot, Gullett (4)
    
(June 27)  The Binscarth Orioles hammered out 15 base knocks in pulverizing the Virden Oilers 14 to 3. Gerry Falk took over for Oriole starting flinger Bryan McCauley in the second inning and tossed 7-1/3 innings of two-hit ball for his sixth win of the year, tops in the league. Leading 5 to 3 entering the bottom-of-the-seventh, Binscarth broke the game open with a four-spot and then added five more in the eighth to make it a blowout.  Oiler slabman Chuck Evans endured all the way, in absorbing the one-sided loss. Rod Fallis belted two doubles and a single for the O’s while Garth Jackman singled three times. 

Evans (L) and Bohonis
McCauley, G. Falk (2) and Lang, R. Jackman (9)

(June 27)  The Hamiota Red Sox had a grand-slam home run from Wayne Ramsey and upset the hometown McAuley Blazers 10 to 4. The Scarlet Stockings were behind 1 to 0 when Ramsey unloaded for the grand salami to highlight a five-run outburst that saddled import Wayne Larker with his second loss in as many decisions. Ron Ramsey fashioned a nine-hitter in earning the win. Cliff McKague had three hits for Hamiota, including his first dinger of the year. Newcomer Handsom Roundtree went three-for-three at the dish for the Blazers.

R. Ramsey (W) and W. Ramsey                                        
Larker (L), Liefl (5) and D. Lowes

(June 29)  The Riverside Canucks, runaway leaders in the South Division, nipped the Angusville Cardinals 3 to 2 and gained two victories in the process. Rookie Dale Hunter’s double down the left field line drove in Cliff Seafoot with a second-inning run that earned Riverside a 4 to 3 victory in a game started in Angusville on June 13. The teams tied 3 – 3 that night and the MSBL constitution states that the first team ahead after a complete inning in their next meeting gets credit for the first-game decision. With the June 13 game locked up, the Canucks needed an eighth-inning rally to plate a deuce and win the regularly-scheduled contest. Trailing 2 to 1 to the Blazers’ Pat McGehee, Mark Fisher belted a two-out double to drive in Bruce Gullett with the tying run. He then came around to score the winner on Cliff Seafoot’s single. The rally made a winner out of Todd Jensen who gained credit for both victories, raising his mound record to 4 – 0.

McGehee (L) and Haley
Jensen (W) and Gullett

(June 29)  Catcher Chuck Lang drove in seven runs as the North Division-leading Binscarth Orioles put together a late-game splurge to whip the Hamiota Red Sox 14 to 8. Lang had five hits in six at bats, three singles and two doubles. Despite having a massive 23 to 7 advantage in base hits, the O’s didn’t take command of this game until the seventh panel when the score was knotted at 5 – 5. They got a pair in the top-of-the-seventh to forge ahead 7 to 5, fell behind 8 to 7 when Hamiota responded for three of their own in the bottom half of the stanza but then exploded for seven markers in the final two spasms for the one-sided win. Gerry Falk, who replaced his brother Larry Falk on the bump with two out in the seventh, was credited with the win, his seventh straight. While Lang was doing the major damage with his bat, teammate Garth Jackman added four hits to the Orioles’ total. Next in line were Dale Gies and Glenn Hodgson who both clicked for three safeties. Mel Smith led the Red Sox’ hitters with two singles. 

L. Falk, G. Falk (W) (7) and Lang
Anderson, Marabella (L) (5), Ashworth (9) and W. Ramsey

(June 29)  Rick Hlady blanked Dauphin on six hits as the Brandon Cloverleafs prevailed 5 to 0 over the Redbirds. Hlady was locked in a pitching duel with the Redbirds’ Jim Modlinski before the Leafs broke the game open with a four-run eighth inning. Run-producing swats by Roy McLachlan and Ray Prysunka were the key. Hlady earned the whitewash win by breezing six and walking nary a Dauphin batter. Bob Thompson, with two one-baggers, was Brandon’s prime offensive player.

Modlinski (L) and Rideout
Hlady (W) and Davidson, Prysunka (6)

(June 29)  McAuley Blazers 3  Virden Oilers 1
No game details or batteries printed in Brandon Sun

NORTH
Binscarth    11 - 2 
McAuley       9 - 4  2.0
Grandview     5 - 5  4.5
Angusville    5 - 6  5.0
Dauphin       4 - 6  5.5

SOUTH
Riverside     4 - 1
Brandon       4 - 4  1.5
Virden        3 - 5  2.5
Hamiota       3 - 5  2.5
Neepawa       2 - 6  3.5
Souris        2 - 6  3.5

(July 2)  Birtle tournament

(July 4)  Pitcher Ray Bruels stopped Hamiota on five hits as the Souris Cardinals defeated the Red Sox 6 to 2. Run-producing singles by Stan Furman and Jerry Araujo sparked a three-run Souris rally in the seventh inning which broke up a close game and sealed the deal for Cards, marking the end for Hamiota starter and loser Dave Marabella. Bruels struck out five in his complete game performance, upping his record to 2 – 3. Furman and Araujo, along with the Red Sox’ Cliff McKague, singled twice.

Marabella (L),  Anderson (7) and Labossierre
Bruels (W) and Davidson

(July 4)  Import Pete Chapin launched his fourth and fifth home runs of the MSBL campaign as the Neepawa Cubs posted a 9 to 7 victory over the Brandon Cloverleafs. Another American, Jim Scranton, the second of three Cub slabmen, earned the hillock victory in his MSBL debut. Aside from Chapin’s show of power, Blaine Peterson also enjoyed a big night offensively for the Cubs, drilling a double and two singles. Equally dividing Brandon’s eight safeties, with two apiece, were Grant Griffith, Rick McFadyen, Brian Hodgson and Roy McLachlan.

Hlady, Webb (L) (7) and McFadyen
Muirhead, Scranton (W) (5), Chapin (9) and Buchanan

(July 5)  Rain cut short an MSBL match at Grandview in which the Lakers were awarded a 1 to 0 victory over the Dauphin Redbirds after five innings. Winning chucker, Californian Brian Bullas, had surrendered just one hit when the game was called. Don Luhowy’s second-inning single drove in Bullas with the game’s lone run.

Bullas (L) and G. Ortynsky
Modlinski (W) and Rideout
          
(July 6)  Better known  for their home run hitting prowess, the Angusville Cardinals cracked their first three triples of the campaign which boosted them to a 7 to 3 triumph over the Brandon Cloverleafs. Using the deep confines of Brandon’s Kinsmen Stadium to their advantage, Glen Katchin, winning pitcher Pat McGehee and Clinton Pushka all registered three-baggers which accounted for four of the Cards’ seven tallies. Overall, the visitors outswatted the What City nine by a 10 to 5 margin. Pushka, Katchin and Bob Mazur of the winners all wound up with two hits. Rick McFadyen had a triple and Roy McLachlan a double but the Leafs did not have anyone who amassed plural hit figures.

McGehee (W) and Haley
Hodgson (L), Thompson (6) and Prysunka, Davidson (7)

(July 6)  The Virden Oilers closed to within mere percentage points of second-place Brandon in the South Division of the MSBL by virtue of a 7 to 5 conquest of the Neepawa Cubs. Virden’s Bill Armstrong punched out 14 Cubbies and got the win when the Oilers put together a three-run outburst in the seventh which allowed them to overcome a 4 to 3 deficit. Perry Kalynuk’s two-run single highlighted the splurge. Randy Dittmer led Virden at the platter with a double and single while Chuck Evans drove in a pair of runs with two singles. Blaine Peterson, Gord Kaluzniak, Don Schmall and Jim Scranton each had two safeties for Neepawa.

Armstrong (W) and Bohonis
Chapin (L), Scranton (7) and Kaluzniak

(July 7)  Catcher Wayne Ramsey’s slugging was the difference in Hamiota’s 5 to 1 conquest of the Dauphin Redbirds. The Red Sox’ receiver belted a run-scoring triple in the second inning and then settled the issue with a two-out, three-run four-ply shot off losing flinger Leo Valcourt in the third panel. With brother Ron Ramsey on the bump and ably scattering a dozen Redbirds bingles while breezing nine, the victory was assured.

R. Ramsey (W) and W. Ramsey                            
Valcourt (L) and Rideout

(July 7)  In Grandview, ace slabman Gerry Falk of the Binscarth Orioles had an uncharacteristic bad outing, walking ten batters, but the Orioles still prevailed 4 to 1 over the Lakers. While dealing with his control issues, Falk was able to endure by limiting the Grandview swatters to just four hits while he was busy ringing up a dozen strikeouts. The result was that the frustrated Lakers stranded 11 base-runners. In winning for the 12th time in 14 games, the O’s scored the decisive runs in the third inning in which Gord Leduchowski’s two-run double was the key blow. The winners added another when Chuck Lang dialed long distance with his fifth circuit-jack of the year. The losing twirler in this contest was Jim Deaver who matched Falk’s 12-strikeout total while giving up eight hits and walking six.

G. Falk (W) and Lang, R. Jackman (9)                   
Deaver (L) and G. Ortynsky

(July 7)  In a rare low-scoring MSBL affair, the Riverside Canucks edged the McAuley Blazers 2 to 1. With their normal potent offense struggling, the Canucks had to rely upon pitcher Grant Everard to keep them in the game. The veteran moundsman met the challenge head on, firing a six-hitter to throttle the Blazers. Riverside opened the scoring in the fifth when Bruce Gullett grounded into a bases-loaded fielder’s choice, driving across the first tally. Mark Fisher followed with a run-scoring single to up the score to 2 to 0. That proved to be enough of a margin for Everard who lost his shutout bid in the eighth when Barry "Sam Jamieson" singled home Jamie Poole for McAuley’s lone counter. Everard, with four punchouts and zero walks to his credit, upped his season’s record to 4 – 0. Starter John Liefl of the Blazers was nailed with the loss. Keystone sacker Bob Williamson paced the Canucks’ five-hit attack with a double and two singles. Jamieson was the leading McAuley batter, collecting two one-baggers.

Liefl (L), Zimmerman (6) and D. Lowes
Everard (W) and Gullett

(July 9)  The Souris Cardinals scored four ninth-inning runs to double the hosting Brandon Cloverleafs 8 to 4. With the win, the Cardinals vacated the basement position in the South Division. Third baseman Cam Walker swung the big bat for Souris in this joust, topping off his 3-for-5 outing at the plate with a two-run homer in the ninth off reliever Bob Thompson. Ray Bruels fanned eight while giving up six hits in securing the win. Gary Davidson and Jerry Araujo both collected two safeties for the Cards while Roy McLachlan was the only Cloverleaf to attain a brace of base raps.

Bruels (W) and Davidson                                
Webb (L), Thompson (9) and McFadyen

(July 9)  The Hamiota Red Sox grabbed a decisive 6 to 3 home-field victory over the Neepawa Cubs to move into a second-place tie with the Virden Oilers in the MSBL’s South Division. With a 5 to 0 lead garnered through four frames, the Crimson Hose, behind the six-hit twirling of Dennis Anderson, cruised the rest of the way. Losing flinger Lawson Davie narrowed the gap slightly with a two-run tater in the fifth but Anderson was never in any serious peril. Russ Shaw and Wes Coulson led Hamiota’s nine-hit attack with two hits apiece.

Davie (L) and Buchanan                         
Anderson (W) and W. Ramsey

(July 9)  Belmont International tournament

(July 9)  Angusville tournament

(July 11)  Import playing-manager Brian Bullas, who had cranked out three hits in four previous times to the plate, smashed a solo home run in the 10th inning to give the Grandview Lakers a 6 to 5 victory over the McAuley Blazers. Bullas clubbed his third homer of the season off late-inning reliever Handsom Roundtree while Grandview ace Jim Deaver did the rest, blanking the Blazers in the home half of the tenth. The Lakers needed a three-run outburst in the eighth inning to get on even terms with McAuley, a completed mission which ultimately forced overtime. Bullas had a double and two singles in addition to his game-deciding four-ply wallop. Deryl Ortynsky and Grant Ross also had significant contributions to Grandview’s 16–hit offense, both cuffing the horsehide for three safeties. Terry Lynd, Roundtree and Wayne Poole led the vanquished nine with the stick, each registering a couple of safeties.

Deaver (W) and G. Ortynsky                                                    
Zimmerman, Liefl (3), Roundtree (L) (8) and D. Lowes

(July 11)  Rick Hlady fired a six-hitter and struck out 14 batters as the Brandon Cloverleafs blanked the Virden Oilers 6 to 0. While Hlady was improving his record to 3 – 0, Virden’s Bill Armstrong was losing for the sixth time in nine decisions. Armstrong fanned 10 batters, but walked seven and yielded 10 hits, three of them extra-base blows. Grant Griffith checked in with three singles for the Cloverleafs while the Oilers’ Terry Good singled twice in a losing cause.

Hlady (W) and McFadyen
Armstrong (L) and Bohonis

(July 11)  The Binscarth Orioles came on strong late in the game to post an 8 to 5 win over the Angusville Cardinals. The O’s, who trailed 4 to 1 after three innings, tied the game in the fifth on Gord Leduchowski’s three-run homer and then rallied for four runs in the eighth. Bryan McCauley drove in two of those runs with his first dinger of the season, and Rod Fallis knocked in the other two with a single. Winner Rod Enerson and loser Pat McGehee both went the distance. Fallis wound up with two singles and a double in helping the Orioles to their 13th win in 15 games. Glen Hodgson smacked a third homer in this contest for the winners, to go along with a single, the same output as produced by McCauley. Mark Haley and Lynn Chuchmuch paced the Cards with three-hit performances. One of Chuchmuch’s base knocks was his second round-tripper of the year, a solo blast in the ninth.

McGehee (L) and Haley                                                           
Enerson (W) and Lang
                                                               
(July 11)  Unbeaten Grant Everard won his fifth mound decision and Mark Fisher boosted his league-leading batting average with three hits as the Riverside Canucks  won for the 13th time this season, whipping the Neepawa Cubs 11 to 4. Included in Fisher’s trio of swats was a solo homer, his fifth tater of the year. Everard tossed a nine-hitter in the eight-inning affair, called because of darkness. Jim Scranton of the Cubs was a real thorn in the side of Everard, lighting him up for thee singles and a triple.

Everard (W) and Gullett                                                            
Peterson (L), Scranton (8) and Buchanan

(July 11)  The Dauphin Redbirds squeezed past the hosting Hamiota Red Sox 2 to 1 in a fiercely-contested MSBL clash. Leading 1 to 0, the Redbirds scored what proved to be the winning run in the fourth frame. Catcher John Morrison led off with a double and, after a ground out, moved to third on winning pitcher Jim Modlinski’s one-bagger, then scored on a throwing error. Modlinski, who hurled a seven-hitter, gave up Hamiota’s only run in the fourth when Ron Ramsey singled home Russ Shaw. Losing pitcher Dave Marabella was touched for eight safeties including a double and single by Roger Sheldon. Shaw replicated that output for the Red Sox.   

Modlinski (W) and Morrison
Marabella (L) and W. Ramsey

(July 12)  The Binscarth Orioles forfeited a 9 to 0 game to the Dauphin Redbirds when they were unable to field a team.

(June 12)  The Brandon Cloverleafs, with veteran left-hander Brian Hodgson tossing a six-hitter, racked up their second shutout in as many nights by beating the slumping McAuley Blazers 4 to 0. The Leafs supplied Hodgson with all the run support he needed in the early going, scoring twice off loser Wayne Larker in the opening stanza and adding one more in each of the second and third frames. Hodgson fanned six and did not walk a batter while Larker gave up six base knocks and struck out a dozen. Garry/Gary Keating paced Brandon’s attack with a pair of doubles. Terry Lynd and Hansom Roundtree both stroked two singles for the Blazers.

Hodgson (W) and Davidson
Larker (L), Jamieson (9) and Zimmerman

(June 12)  Import moundsman Pete Chapin punched out 18 Cardinal batters but it wasn’t enough as the Neepawa Cubs lost 3 to 2 to Souris in a ten-inning MSBL joust. Chapin was nicked for seven hits in his losing effort while winning flinger Jerry Araujo gave up six safeties while breezing eight. Souris’ Keith Kontzie led off the tenth inning with a double and eventually scored on a ground ball out. Kontzie sparked the winners offensively, singling twice in addition to his overtime two-bagger. Import slugger Jim Scranton of the Cubs belted leadoff homers in the second and seventh spasms, in addition to stroking a single.
 
Chapin (L) and Buchanan                                         
Araujo (W) and Davidson

(June 12)  Lorne Gallant smashed two home runs and Barry Wowk one as the Angusville Cardinals out-slugged the Grandview Lakers 9 to 6. The game was tied 5 – 5 when Gallant led off the eighth by unloading his second four-master of the tussle. The Cards went on on to put up three more counters in that pivotal frame, two coming on Bob Mazur’s clutch one-bagger. The pitching win went to Bob Chuchmuch who was twice relieved by Pat McGehee. Lynn Chuchmuch, Mazur and Mark Haley added two safe swats each to Angusville’s 11–hit total. The Lakers banged out 13 hits including a triple and a pair of one-baggers by losing chucker Brian Bullas. Jim Deaver Tony Kalechyn and Ron Rasmussen all singled twice for the vanquished nine.

Bullas (L), Luhowy (8) and G. Ortynsky
B. Chuchmuch, McGehee (7), B. Chuchmuch (W) (8), McGehee (9) and Haley

(July 13)  The Binscarth Orioles won the battle of first-place teams, dumping the Riverside Canucks 10 to 2, as Gerry Falk throttled the potent Canuck offense on four hits. Cliff Seafoot’s second-inning single was the only hit Riverside could muster until the eighth when the got to the Oriole ace for all of their scoring on three hits, one of which was a double by Greg Cameron which drove in both counters. Falk, unbeaten now in nine games, registered ten strikeouts. Leading the 15-hit offensive assault mounted by the O’s were Rob and Garth Jackman, Dale Gies and Chuck Lang who each chalked up three safeties.

Jensen (L) and Gullett
Falk (W) and Lang

(July 13)  The Angusville Canucks hammered out a 10 to 3 decision over the Neepawa Cubs, a victory which lifted them to with a half-game of the idle McAuley Blazers in the North Division. Winning pitcher Mark Haley stopped the Baby Bears with a seven-hitter and drove in three runs with a pair of singles. Brent Muirhead, the first of three Neepawa tossers, was saddled with the defeat. Barry Wowk contributed three singles to the Cards’ 11-hit offense while Pat McGehee and Bob Mazur both had a couple of hits. Blaine Peterson had a good night at the plate for the Cubbies, singling on three occasions. Catcher Rob Buchanan connected for a two-run homer for the hosts in the fifth inning.

Haley (W) and Wowk
Muirhead (L), Davie (5), Kaluzniak (7) and Buchanan                       

(July 13)   A weird double-play ended a  ninth-inning Virden comeback attempt and the game as the Oilers fell 4 to 2 to the hosting Souris Cardinals. Trying to fight back from a 4 to 0 deficit, Virden loaded the bases with one out when Perry Kalynuk hit an infield ground ball which the Cards’ shortstop scooped up and went for the twin-killing, giving up the run from third. But the Souris second baseman took his foot off the bag and then had his relay throw to first sail wild of his target. That made the score 4 to 1 and everyone was safe, at least momentarily. Oiler base-runner Ted Bridgett, who had slid into the keystone sack on the play, thought he had been forced out and was tagged out upon vacating the base. That call incensed Kalynuk so much that, without asking for time, he wandered off the initial sack to argue the call and he, too, was tagged out but not before Terry Good had raced in from the hot corner station to make the score 4 to 2. Souris outhit the Virdenites 9 to 5 in the controversial contest.

Evans (L) and Bohonis
Bruels (W) and Davidson

(July 14)  The slump-ridden McAuley Blazers were beaten for the fourth consecutive time, taking it on the chin 10 to 2 in a tussle with the Angusville Cardinals. Falling into fourth place as a result of their recent setback, the Blazers were victims of a torrid 18-hit batting assault by the Cards who pushed across four runs in each of the fourth and innings to move a half-game ahead of McAuley. The heavy-hitting Cardinals were led at the plate by Bob Mazur who went five-for-five. Winning pitcher Pat McGehee, who was touched for 11 hits in going the distance, Mark Haley and Barry Wowk all checked in with three-hit efforts for the winners. Dale Lowes, with a trio of safeties, was tops for McAuley while Ross Lynd, losing flinger Handsom Roundtree and Wayne Larker contributed two safeties each. One of Larker’s raps was a solo homer, his second of the campaign.

Roundtree (L), Zimmerman (6) and D. Lowes              
McGehee (W) and Haley  
                                          
(July 14)  Although outhit by a significant 12 to 7 margin, the Riverside Canucks pulled off an 8 to 3 conquest of the Hamiota Red Sox. The Crimson Stockings shot themselves in the foot, committing four errors while starter and losing chucker Dennis Anderson was having difficulty locating the strike zone, issuing six free passes. Winning pitcher Ron Seafoot saw his record improve to 4 – 0 although Mel Smith of Hamiota fattened his batting average with three safe swats off the Riverside slabman. Wayne Ramsey, Mike Labossiere and Dave Marabella of the Red Sox as well as Danny Cassils of the winners all checked in with a brace of bingles.

R. Seafoot (W) and Gullett
Anderson (L), R. Ramsey (8) and W. Ramsey

(July 14)  Grandview had no difficulty in getting past the Dauphin Redbirds, the Lakers prevailing 8 to 1. Winning moundsman Jim Deaver limited the Redbirds to eight hits while punching out 14. At the plate, he helped his own cause by collecting three singles which produced a pair of RBI’s. Tony Ryshytyko had a four-for-five outing for the Lakers while teammate Ron Rasmussen hit safely three times, including a two-run four-bagger.

Deaver (W) and G. Ortynsky                                       
Modlinski (L), Morrison (9) and Rideout

(July 16)  The Virden Oilers blanked Grandview 4 to 0 in the first of a Sunday two-game set for the Lakers. Virden’s Bill Armstrong set the Lakers down on four hits and the subsequent goose egg defeat. Chuck Evans drove in all four of the Virden tallies with a double and single. He, and teammate Rick Bohonis, who also doubled and singled, were the only batters with more than one hit. 

Luhowy (L) and G. Ortynsky
Armstrong (W) and Bohonis

(July 16)  With Neepawa’s Pete Chapin fashioning the MSBL’s first no-hit, no-run game of the season, the Grandview Lakers were whitewashed for the second time in their pair of Sunday outings, this time going down 3 to 0 to the Cubs. Chapin, the league’s co-leader in home runs, struck out 14 and walked three as the hitting-challenged Grandview nine failed to plate even one counter in either of their Sunday games. While Chapin was mowing down the Laker batters, teammate Blaine Peterson was busy sparking a pair of offensive thrusts which produced the Neepawa runs. In the first inning, Peterson singled and eventually scored on Jim Scranton’s one-bagger off losing chucker Brian Bullas. He then singled to open the fifth, went to second on Rob Buchanan’s single and came in on Gord Kaluzniak’s fielder’s choice. Lawson Davie then drove in Kaluzniak with the final run. Chapin, Scranton and Peterson each finished with two singles to lead the Cubs’ attack.

Bullas (L) and G. Ortynsky, Kalechyn (8)
Chapin (W) and Buchanan

(July 16)  The Brandon Cloverleafs downed the Dauphin Redbirds 5 to 2 to maintain their grip on the runner-up spot in the South Division. The Leafs, stymied by Dauphin starter Dave Rottman for three innings, cut loose against relief man John Morrison in the fourth and fifth cantos after Rottman was forced to leave the game with a sore arm. Morrison was rocked for all five of the Brandon counters during those middle frames, providing Cloverleaf import starter Stan Webb with enough of a cushion to win for the first time in his last four outings. Roy McLachlan slammed a couple of two-baggers and a single for the victors, good for two RBI’s.

Webb (W), Hodgson (9) and Davidson
Rottman, Morrison (L) (4) and Rideout

(July 16)  Gerry Falk was saddled with his first mound defeat of the season as the McAuley Blazers beat the Binscarth Orioles 13 to 9. McAuley, down 6 to 1 after three innings, got to Binscarth starter Garth Neville for four counters in the fourth panel before continuing the onslaught against Falk who replaced the Orioles’ starter in the midst of a fifth-inning rally. The Blazers then continued to tee off against Falk in both the sixth and seventh innings to seal their tenth win in 18 games. Dale Lowes was McAuley’s batting star, driving in three runs with a double and two singles. Wayne Poole and Ron Zimmerman each contributed three singles while Handsom Roundtree collected a brace of one-baggers and drove in two runs. Zimmerman, who relieved starter John Liefl in the fifth frame, got credit for the hillock triumph. Binscarth’s defeat, only their fourth in 18 contests, couldn’t be blamed on leadoff batter Garth Jackman who rapped out four hits in five at bats. Falk drove in a pair or markers for the O’s with three doubles while Gord Leduchowski belted his fifth dinger of the year, a two-run shot in the seventh.

Liefl, Zimmerman (W) (5) and D. Lowes
Neville, Falk (L) (5) and Lang
                            
(July 16)  The Riverside Canucks had a three-hit gem from Grant Everard as they shutout the Souris Cardinals 6 to 0. The veteran Canuck hurler upped his season’s record to 6 – 0 with the triumph while losing slabman Ken Vertz fell to 0 – 5. Home runs spelled the demise for Souris, victimized for Mark Fisher’s three-run blast in the fifth and Bob Williamson’s two-run clout in the eighth. Greg Cameron singled twice for Riverside.

Everard (W) and Gullett                                  
Vertz (L) and Kurtenbach 

(July 16)  The Hamiota Red Sox doubled up the Angusville Cardinals 6 to 3 as import pitcher Dave Marabella snapped a personal four-game losing streak by stopping the hard-hitting Cards on five hits. Mel Smith’s two-run circuit-jack in the second inning was the big blow for Hamiota who collected 11 hits of a tandem of Angusville twirlers. Mike Labossiere had a perfect three-for-three game for the Sox while Marabella added two singles. Bob Mazur singled and doubled to pace Angusville at the dish.

B. Chuchmuch (L), McGehee (7) and Haley
Marabella (W) and W. Ramsey        

NORTH
Binscarth    14 - 4 
McAuley      10 - 8  4.0
Angusville    9 - 8  4.5
Grandview     8 - 9  5.5
Dauphin       6 - 10 7.0

SOUTH
Riverside    15 - 2
Brandon       9 - 10 7.0
Souris        7 - 11 8.5
Hamiota       7 - 11 8.5
Virden        6 - 10 8.5
Neepawa       5 - 13 10.5

(July 18)  The Riverside Canucks blasted the Virden Oilers 9 to 1 on Todd Jensen’s five-hitter. Wayne Keeler’s three-run double in the third inning highlighted a three-run Riverside splurge that helped propel the Canucks to their 16th win in 18 games. A two-run homer by Dale Hunter and a solo shot by Bob Williamson, both in the sixth, were the major hits in a four-run uprising which helped shell starter and loser Ken Buchy from the slab in his first start of the season. Jensen earned his fifth win in six decisions, whiffing five while walking three. Keeler finished the game with three hits while Williamson, Greg Cameron and Bruce Gullett each had two. Buchy singled and tripled to lead the Oilers offensively while Randy Dittmer had two singles. Chuck Evans’ fifth-inning triple drove in the lone Virden tally.
  
Buchy (L), Sando (8) and Bohonis
Jensen (W) and Gullett
                                                
(July 18)  Suffering a 17 to 6 bombardment at the hands of the Binscarth Orioles, the Souris Cardinals were eliminated from MSBL playoff contention. First baseman Rod Fallis was almost a one-man wrecking crew for the powerful Orioles, driving in seven runs with a two-run homer and four singles in five plate appearances. The output helped rookie pitcher Larry Falk win his first decision of the year. Binscarth exploded for ten runs in the third inning, for a 13 – 0 lead, to put the game on ice. Darkness ended the game after seven innings. Garth Jackman continued his amazing hitting spree for the winners, singling twice to go along with a double. Gerry Falk smashed a solo dinger for the O’s while Cam Walker unloaded a three-run tater in the sixth for the Cards.

L. Falk (W) and Lang                                                                                       
Araujo (L), Walker (3), Moffat (7) and Davidson, Kurtenbach (6)           

(July 18)  The Grandview Lakers finally emerged from their recent hitting slump and doubled the Brandon Cloverleafs 8 to 4. The Lakers erupted for 15 hits off two Brandon chuckers and coasted to the win at Kinsmen Stadium. A five-run outburst in the fifth inning, with six successive hits against losing pitcher Dale Harvey, decided the issue. Left-hander Jim Deaver, 7 – 4, went the distance for the win. Deryl Ortynsky banged out three singles for Grandview while Glenn Reiss picked up two doubles. Rookie catcher Ray Prysunka  drove in a pair of runs for the Leafs with a double and two singles. 

Deaver (W) and G. Ortynsky
Harvey (L), Hlady (5) and Prysunka

(July 19)  The Riverside Canucks, runaway leaders in the South Division, struck for three runs in the final two innings, two on solo home runs, and set an MSBL record for wins in a season, as they doubled the hosting McAuley Blazers 4 to 2. Riverside’s win was the 17th in 19 games, breaking the previous record of 16 victories in a campaign. Ron Seafoot scattered 11 hits for his fifth consecutive hillock triumph and was backed by three Canuck four-baggers, all solo shots. Wayne Keeler’s first homer of the year tied the game at 1 – 1 in the fifth. Mark Fisher’s league-leading blast in the seventh produced the winning run and Dale Hunter’s ninth-inning round-tripper provided an insurance run. Losing chucker John Liefl gave up eight hits, three fewer than Seafoot, in going the distance. Terry Lynd and Wayne Poole had three hits apiece for the Blazers.

R. Seafoot (W) and Gullett
Liefl (L) and D. Loews

(July 19)  The Neepawa Cubs downed the Dauphin Redbirds 7 to 4 in a battle of division cellar-dwellers. Lawson Davie of the Cubs won his first game of the year with a six-hitter although he needed last-inning relief help from Brent Muirhead. The Cubs struck fast against Dauphin’s Leo Valcourt, now 0 – 4, scoring a deuce in each of the first and second cantos. Blaine Peterson and Ed Williams both singled twice for the winners. Roger Sheldon had two one-baggers for the Redbirds who were bounced from any hope of post-season play with the setback. 

Valcourt (L) and Rideout
Davie (W), Muirhead (9) and Buchanan

(July 20)  A 5 – 5, 10-inning tie at Hamiota between the Grandview Lakers and the homestanding Red Sox threw a slight wrench into the playoff situation. Two-run rallies in each of the final two innings by the Red Sox gained them the draw. The Lakers led throughout and outswatted Hamiota 11 to 7 but committed the game’s only six errors. Neither team was able to score in the overtime session although the Red Sox did come close. The no-decision means the teams will lock horns again with the first team to hold a lead after an even inning being declared the winner. Tony Ryshytylo and Tony Kalechyn both stroked three hits for the Lakers with Ryshytylo’s sum of swats including a solo homer in the third inning.

Bullas and G. Ortynsky, Kalechyn (10)                                   
Anderson, R. Ramsey (8) and Labossiere, W. Ramsey (8)

(July 20)  Import Chuck Evans drilled four hits, including a three-run homer in the opening stanza, to lead the Oilers to an important 7 to 6 victory over the Angusville Cardinals. Pitcher Bill Armstrong, Virden’s other import, got the win with a route-going nine hitter. Armstrong had to dig deep in the top-of-the-ninth inning, when the Cardinals had plated a pair to close within one and were threatening to go go ahead, by striking out the dangerous Mark Haley to end the nail-biter. Ron Harper and Armstrong backed Evans’ hitting with a pair of safeties each while Pat McGehee and losing twirler Bob Chuchmuch of the Cards also clipped the orb for a brace of base raps.

B. Chuchmuch (L), McGehee (6), Haley (7) and Haley, Wowk (7)
Armstrong (W) and Bohonis  

(July 21)  The Neepawa Cubs finished off their 1978 season by drubbing the Dauphin Redbirds 13 to 8. No game details were published in the Brandon Sun.

Chapin (W) and xxx
Morrison (L), xxx and xxx

(July 21)  The Hamiota Red Sox were benefactors of a three-hitter by Dave Marabella and a seventh-inning run as they nosed out the Grandview Lakers 1 to 0. With the victory, Hamiota laid claim to two wins because the tie staged between the foes the night before was also on the line. More importantly, the double-win earned the Red Sox a final 9 – 11 record and a playoff berth by finishing third in the South Division. Marabella and southpaw Jim Deaver were locked in a grueling pitcher’s duel until a leadoff triple by Hamiota catcher Mike Labossiere in the seventh set the table for the run that would break up a scoreless tie. A one-out throwing error by rival backstop Tony Kalechyn allowed Labossiere to plate the game’s lone counter. Marabella, who pitched his way out of several jams, had 14 whiffs in the encounter while Deaver, who gave up just four hits, countered with 16. Labossiere had a single earlier in the skirmish, finishing with two safeties, a hit total replicated by Grandview’s Kalechyn.

Marabella (W) and Labossiere
Deaver (L) and Kalechyn

(July 21)  Angusville downed Souris 6 to 2 in a battle of the Cardinals. Run-scoring singles by imports Pat McGehee and Mark Haley in the seventh inning bounced Angusville into a 3 to 2 lead, then a three-run eighth inning clinched it. McGehee went the route for his sixth win, giving up six hits. Ray Bruels was tagged with the loss. Clinton Pushka cracked three singles and a double to lead Angusville with the lumber while Bob Mazur nailed a triple to go along with a couple of one-baggers. Rookie Shane Moffatt had half the Souris hits, three singles

Bruels (L), Araujo (8) and Davidson
McGehee (W) and Haley

(July 21)  The McAuley Blazers blanked the Virden Oilers 5 to 0 to qualify for the North Division semi-finals. Import Wayne Larker won his first game in four decisions with a three-hit, 14 strikeout performance. Barry Jamieson’s second homer of the year in the first inning opened the scoring against loser Chuck Evans, 2 – 4, who went the distance for the Oilers. A three-run sixth panel clinched it for the Blazers. Jamieson had a brace of one-baggers to do along with his tater while Larker and Ron Zimmerman checked in with two singles apiece.

Evans (L) and Bohonis
Larker (W) and D. Lowes                                

(July 21)  The Binscarth Orioles whipped the mighty Riverside Canucks 5 to 0 behind the combined effort of three of their chuckers. The trio blanked the Canucks, limiting them to just two singles in this battle of Division leaders. Gerry Falk, who took over from Rod Enerson in the fifth after the Binscarth starter had thrown four innings of no-hit ball, got credit for the win, his tenth of the year. Rod Fallis had the big blow of the game, a two-run dinger in the eighth. Glenn Hodgson and Rob Jackman each hit safely twice for the Orioles.

Enerson, G. Falk (W) (5), Neville (8) and Lang 
Everard (L), Thomas (9) and C. Seafoot  

(July 23)  The North Division took an easy 8 to 1 win over the South Division in the 18th annual MSBL all-star game played in Neepawa. The North Division staff, using five chuckers, combined for a five-hitter. South Division tossers were raked for eight safeties. Two home runs were walloped in the event, one by each team. Bob Williamson’s solo shot provided the Southerners with their lone run of the game while Chuck Lang’s seventh–inning grand slam sealed the deal for the Northerners. Dale Gies of the victors finished with two hits, one batting right handed against Ron Seafoot and the other left-handed against Stan Webb.

Seafoot, Webb (L) (4), Araujo (7) and McFadyen                                    
Falk, Modlinski (3), Deaver (W) (5), Bullas (7), McGehee (9) and Lang   

(July 23))  The Dauphin Redbirds, with their out-of-the-playoffs fate sealed about a week ago, were unable to field a full quota of players for their final league match against the McAuley Blazers and forfeited 9 to 0.  

NORTH
Binscarth    16 - 4 
McAuley      11 - 9   5.0
Angusville   11 - 9   5.0
Grandview     9 - 11  7.0
Dauphin       6 - 14  10.0

SOUTH
Riverside    17 - 3
Brandon       9 - 11  8.0
Hamiota       9 - 11  8.0
Virden        8 - 12  9.0
Souris        7 - 13  10.0
Neepawa       7 - 13  10.0

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

NORTH DIVISION

(July 24)  The Binscarth Orioles, North Division pennant winners, were outhit 11 to 7 but managed to edge the Grandview Lakers 5 to 4 as their playoff series got underway. Thanks to a three-run third inning, the Lakers had the favored Orioles on the ropes. But Binscarth chipped away at the 3 – 1 Grandview lead, tying things up with single counters in the fourth and sixth, and then took command with Gerry Falk’s two-run circuit-jack in the seventh. Grandview mounted a rally in the ninth, plating one counter and having two runners on base with just one out but winning pitcher Gord Leduchowski rose to the occasion by fanning Glenn Reiss and then getting Glen Ortynsky on a game-ending fly out. Besides his home run, Falk also nailed a two-bagger. Grant Ross’ three hits and a pair by Tony Kalechyn led the Lakers’ attack. 
 
Bullas (L) and G. Ortynsky
L. Falk, Leduchowski (W) (3) and Lang     

(July 25)  16-year old outfielder Grant Ross drove in Brian Bullas with the game-winner in the 11th inning as the Grandview Lakers surprised Gerry Falk and the Binscarth Orioles by edging the North Division pennant winners 2 to 1 in the second match of their semi-final encounter. Winning hurler Jim Deaver out-pitched Falk, 10 – 1 during the regular campaign, with a four-hitter. Falk was touched for six safeties. Grandview took a 1 – 0 lead in the fifth inning on Deryl Ortynsky’s run-scoring single but the O’s forced extra-innings when Deaver uncorked a wild pitch in the ninth, allowing Garth Jackman, who had reached base on a one-out single, stolen second and moved to third on an infield out, to scamper home from the hot corner.

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

(July 27)   Riding the four-ply power of Chuck Lang and Rod Fallis, the Binscarth Orioles mauled the Grandview Lakers 9 to 4 to take a two games to one lead in their semi-final showdown. Fallis’ three-run circuit-clout came in the fourth inning to bring the Orioles back from a 2 – 0 deficit while Lang sent Binscarth on the road to victory with another three-run shot in the fifth. Losing moundsman Tony Kalechyn lasted 6-1/3 innings on the bump, giving up all but one of Binscarth’s 12 hits. Garth Jackman was zoned in at the dish for the victors, creaming the orb for two singles, a double and a triple. Teammate Gord Leduchowski singled three times. Rod Enerson took the win in a route-going performance, surrendering eight safeties, three of which were singles by playing-manager Brian Bullas and another that was a solo homer by Tony Ryshytylo.

Kalechyn (L), Bullas (7) and G. Ortynsky            
Enerson (W) and Lang

(August 1)  Jim Deaver threw a five-hitter in game four but two of those surrendered safeties were pivotal in propelling the Binscarth Orioles past Deaver and the Grandview Lakers by a 5 to 2 count. The first pitch that the Grandview left-hander regrets throwing was converted by the Orioles’ Gord Leduchowski into a third-inning three-run tater while the other one turned into a two-run dinger in the eighth by catcher Chuck Lang. Otherwise, it could be said that Deaver out-pitched winning tosser Rod Enerson who was touched for nine safe swats. In any event, Binscarth moves on while Grandview is eliminated. With the exception of the four-ply blasts launched by Leduchowski and Lang, the top hitter in the contest was the Lakers’ Tony Kalechyn who rapped two singles and a double.

Enerson (W) and Lang                         
Deaver (L) and G. Ortynsky     

---

(July 24)  The McAuley Blazers battered Angusville pitching ace Pat McGehee from the slab en route to a 7 to 1 conquest of the Cardinals. Tied 1 – 1 heading into the fifth, McAuley roughed up McGehee for a six-spot, sending him packing and decisively ending the defensive battle right there. Mark Haley replaced McGehee and limited the Cards to three hits the rest of the way. Winning tosser Ron Zimmerman, with an eight-hitter, handled the bulk of the Cardinal hitters without much difficulty with the exception of Lynn Chuchmuch, who cracked three bingles, and McGehee, who had two. Terry Lynd and Wayne Larker both doubled twice for the winners while Wayne Poole ripped a double and single.  
 
McGehee (L), Haley (6) and Haley, Wowk (6)
Zimmerman (W) and D. Lowes 

(July 25)  Home run power was evident in McAuley’s 14 to 8 conquest of the hometown Angusville Cardinals. The Blazers had three-run homers from Barry Jamieson and Dale Lowes in the sixth and eighth innings respectively to blow their match with the Cards wide open. Umpires called the game after eight innings due to darkness. McAuley starter John Liefl was responsible for eight Angusville runs. Liefl was derricked in the second panel in favor of Handsom Roundtree who pitched 6-1/3 innings of strong relief to get the win. Roundtree gave up just three hits and fanned ten during his tenure on the bump. Wayne Poole had a big night for McAuley, with three singles and a double. Terry Lynd had three hits while Jamieson, Roundtree, Ron Zimmerman and Bill Flynn cracked two each. Barry Wowk belted a first-inning solo dinger for Angusville while Clinton Pushka and Lorne Gallant contributed two hits apiece.

Liefl, Roundtree (W) (2) and D. Lowes                                  
B. Chuchmuch (L), Haley (6) and Haley, Wowk (6)   

(July 27)  The McAuley Blazers concluded their series with the Angusville Cardinals in the minimum number of games, sidelining the Cards in a 9 to 5 conquest. Trailing 5 to 4, the Blazers mounted the winning rally in the seventh inning, keyed by a two-run homer from Handsom Roundtree. Pat McGehee went all the way on the rubber for the vanquished nine despite being shelled for 15 hits. Wayne Poole reached McGehee for a three-run tater in the opening panel. Both Roundtree and Poole had singles to go along with their dingers. Mark Haley singled and homered for the Cards against winning tosser John Liefl.

McGehee (L) and Haley
Liefl (W) and D. Lowes                                   

SOUTH DIVISION

(July 24)  The Riverside Canucks hammered the underdog Virden Oilers 7 to 1 as Grant Everard, more noted for pitching than hitting, blasted two triples and drove in three runs as part of the 15-hit Canuck bombardment. Todd Jensen stymied Virden on four hits which included two singles by Gord Sando. The Riverside import also punched out a dozen. Mark Fisher cracked three singles for the Canucks while Ron Seafoot had a triple and single. Checking in with a pair of singles each were Danny Cassils and catcher Bruce Gullett.

Armstrong (L), Bridgett (8) and Bohonis
Jensen (W) and Gullett

(July 25)  The Riverside Canucks took the Grandview Lakers for the second straight game, this time by a 5 to 3 count. Dale Hunter drilled a two-run single off loser Chuck Evans during a four-run Riverside sixth inning to erase a 2 to 1 deficit and send the Canucks to their second win in the series. Larry Thomas toed the slab for Riverside to start the tussle but gave way to winning flinger Ron Seafoot in the fourth after developing arm trouble. Cliff Seafoot led the victors with the baton, going three-for-three, all singles. For the Oilers, who outhit the Canucks 9 to 8, Rick Bohonis and Evans cuffed two singles each.

Thomas, R. Seafoot (W) (4) and Gullett
Evans (L) and Bohonis

(July 27)  With a 6 to 0 whitewashing of Virden, the Riverside Canucks eliminated the Oilers from the playoff picture. Riverside got four-hit pitching from Grant Everard who fanned eight in tossing the shutout victory. A four-run fifth inning by the Canucks broke the game open. The winners raked losing twirler Bill Armstrong for ten base knocks and the Oiler defense made things worse for him by committing a half dozen errors. Ron Seafoot singled and blasted a solo four-bagger for  Riverside while Bob Williamson, Bruce Gullett, Cliff Seafoot and Craig Bell all stroked two singles. The four hits off Everard were all one-baggers, two of which came of the bat of Rick Bohonis.

Armstrong (L) and Bohonis
Everard (W) and Gullett

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(July 24)  The Hamiota Red Sox pulled out a 6 to 4, ten-inning win over the Brandon Cloverleafs as the two South Division foes opened their semi-final series. The Crimson Stockings had a slight 10 to 9 hitting margin in the affair. Wes Coulson drove in the winner in the overtime session with a double. Cliff McKague accounted for the insurance run with an infield out. The Red Sox trailed 4 to 1 after six but put up a three-spot in the seventh to knot the count. Coulson had a triple in addition to his two-bagger. Other two-hit swatsmiths for the victors were Dave Marabella and Wayne Ramsey who both poked out a brace of one-baggers. Gary Keating and Bert Ready led Brandon with two singles each.

R. Ramsey (W) and W. Ramsey
Hlady, Hodgson (L) (7) and McFadyen

(July 25)  The Brandon Cloverleafs, backed by a five-hitter from pitcher Stan Webb and Roy McLachlan’s four hits, knotted their series with the Hamiota Red Sox, humbling the Scarlet Hose 8 to 3. Webb rang up nine strikeouts in going the route while McLachlan stroked three singles to go along with a two-run tater, accounting for five RBI’s. Rookie Wes Davidson followed McLachlan’s performance with three one-baggers.

Webb (W) and McFadyen                                      
Coulson (L), Labossiere (6) and W. Ramsey

(July 27)  Nine fielding miscues cost the Brandon Cloverleafs big-time as they dropped a 9 to 3 decision to the Hamiota Red Sox and now trail their semi-final series two games to one. The Leafs started making errors early, helping the Red Sox to a three-run first inning with a pair of bungles that set the tone for the rest of the game. Hamiota went on to score seven unearned runs, which proved more than enough for winning pitcher Dave Marabella who limited the hosts to six hits and two walks. Meanwhile, the visitors were rapping 11 hits off a trio of Brandon chuckers. Cliff McKague, Wayne Ramsey, Mike Labossiere and designated hitter Mel Smith all picked up a brace of safeties for the winners. Bert Ready managed to acquire two hits for the Cloverleafs, one of them a triple.
 
Marabella (W) and Labossiere
Hodgson (L), Harvey (6), Foster (9) and McFadyen

(July 29-30)  Wawota Lions Club tournament

(August 1)  Two key base blows in the fifth and ninth cantos by Hamiota swatsmiths boosted the Red Sox to a 6 to 5 triumph over the Brandon Cloverleafs and a three games to one semi-final series victory. Dave Marabella, who was instrumental in the two Crimson Hose outbursts, went the distance for the winners, firing an eight-hitter while punching out nine. Loser Stan Webb was nicked for 11 safeties. Brandon took a 2 to 1 fourth-inning lead but thanks to Ramsey’s grand-slam homer in the fifth, with Marabella and two others aboard, they never led again. That gave the Scarlet Stockings a 5 to 2 margin but the Leafs refused to fold, fighting back with a pair in the sixth and evening the score in the top-of-the-ninth on a solo four-bagger by Rick Hlady.  In the Red Sox’ half of the frame, Marabella sparked the winning rally with a one-out walk and moved into scoring position when Webb overthrew first base on a pickoff attempt. Following a second out, Mike Labossiere ended the game and the Cloverleaf season by drilling a single to drive in Marabella. Labossiere finished with a trio of one-baggers while Marabella and Wes Coulson ripped a brace of singles. Roy McLachlan and Bob Thompson of the Leafs also had a couple of hits.

Webb (L) and McFadyen                                              
Marabella (W) and Labossiere     

(August 6-7)  Souris Civic Day tournament                           

DIVISION FINALS  (best of five series)

NORTH DIVISION

(August 14)  The underdog McAuley Blazers mugged the hometown Binscarth Orioles 21 to 5 in the opener of the North Division finals, banging out 20 base blows in the process. Binscarth pitching ace Gerry Falk was roughed up for 13 hits and the same number of runs before getting the hook in the seventh inning. Import Handsom Roundtree tossed a seven-hit complete game to grab the win and hit everything the Orioles threw his way. He piled up five safe blows in the same number of at bats with four singles and a grand slam home run. Roundtree’s bases-loaded shot wasn’t the only one for the Blazers. Brian Rose drove in six counters with a grand salami as well in addition to a double and single. Ron Zimmerman also homered for the invaders, drilling a three-run tater in the ninth to go along with three other hits, all singles. The Orioles’ top hitter was Larry Falk who singled twice.

Roundtree (W) and D. Lowes                                                        
G. Falk (L), R. Jackman (7), Gies (9), Fallis (9) and Lang

(August 15)  Another slugfest defined the second game of the North Division finals except, in this fracas, it was the Binscarth Orioles who came out on top, hammering the McAuley Blazers 15 to 13, a result which squared the semi-final showdown at a game each. About the only thing the hitters didn’t own in this offensive joust was the sun, which checked out after eight innings, prompting an early finish. There were a total of 28 hits and five home runs in the skirmish as the pitchers from both squads took it on the chin. Chuck Lang with a three-run tater along with Dale Gies and Gerry Falk cracking back-to-back dingers, with Gies’ blast a grand salami, highlighted the four-ply power of the winning nine. For the Blazers, Hansom Roundtree with a second grand slam in two games, which complemented a two-run four-master by Barry "Sam" Jamieson, kept the verdict in doubt. Larry Falk collected three hits for the O’s, one of them a double. McAuley’s Terry Lynd also had three safeties while Roundtree finished with five RBI’s.      

Enerson, Leduchowski (W) (4) and Lang                                   
Liefl, Zimmerman (2), S. Jamieson (L) (3) and D. Lowes

(August 17)  The Binscarth Orioles exploded for eight fifth-inning runs to overpower the McAuley Blazers 9 to 5. With the win, the O’s gained the upper-hand in the best-of-five series. Winning pitcher Garth Neville and losing slabster John Liefl were locked in a 1 – 1 hurler’s duel until the Orioles ended all doubt with their eighth-stanza explosion during which they sent 12 batters to the plate. Consecutive home runs by Gord Leduchowski, a two-run shot, and Chuck Lang, a solo blast, marked the beginning of the end for Liefl and the Blazers. Binscarth out slugged the McAuley nine by a 12 to 10 margin during the contest in which Dale Gies launched the first circuit-blast for the O’s, a bases-empty smash in the fourth. Not to be totally outdone in the power department, the Blazers had four-baggers from Barry "Sam" Jamieson and Ron Zimmerman who both finished the game with three hits to their credit. Rob Jackman, Reg Parton, Rod Fallis and Gies of the winners all managed to clip the orb for a pair of safeties.
  
Liefl (L) and D. Lowes                            
Neville (W) and Lang                                  

(August 18)  With a third straight victory, a 10 to 4 conquest, the Binscarth Orioles wrapped up their series with the McAuley Blazers and will advance to represent the North Division in the MSBL finals. A five-run outburst in the sixth inning snapped a 4 – 4 tie and sent to O’s on to victory. They added a singleton in the seventh before the game was called because of darkness. Binscarth had a 9 to 6 margin in base knocks in this game four of the series. Winning flinger Larry Falk got off to a bad start and was lit up for all four McAuley counters in the opening canto on the strength of three hits, two walks and a throwing error. After that frame, however, he tightened up and was touched for just three singles, blanking the losers on the scoreboard, although walking six more Blazers. Handsom Roundtree went the distance for the vanquished nine and was clipped with the defeat. Rob Jackman had a two-run double and a single for the victors. 

L. Falk (W) and Lang
Roundtree (L) and D. Lowes

SOUTH DIVISION

(August 14)  The Hamiota Red Sox upset the powerful Riverside Canucks 4 to 2 as the South Division finals got underway. Ron Ramsey tossed a seven-hitter for the visitors, out-duelling import Todd Jensen. Out-swatting the pennant-winning Canucks by a 9 to 7 margin, the Sox were led at the dish by Dave Marabella, Ramsey, Brent Montague and Russ Shaw who each picked up two hits while Danny Cassils and Mark Fisher poled a pair of hits apiece for the vanquished nine.

R. Ramsey (W) and Labossiere
Jensen (L) and Gullett

(August 15)  After being uncharacteristically silent for the first game and the first three innings of game two, the bats of the Riverside Canucks came to life and put up 19 runs over a four-inning span, in the process crushing the Hamiota Red Sox 19 to 8. Mercifully, for the Red Sox, had the sun not gone down after seven innings and the umpires called the game, the onslaught might have been even worse. Thanks to a four-run first inning, Hamiota pitcher Dave Marabella was cruising along with a 5 to 0 lead after three innings before the roof fell in. The Canucks got three in the fourth, two in the fifth, eight in the sixth when they sent 12 men to the plate and, with lots of ammunition left, six more in the seventh. The Riverside rout left the series tied at a game apiece. Reliever Ron Seafoot, who took over from starter Grant Everard in the fifth with Hamiota ahead 6 to 5, earned the victory. Danny Cassils banged out four hits to lead the Canucks’ 18-hit attack while Craig Bell launched a grand-slam homer to go along with a pair of singles. Russ Shaw, snapping out of a season-long slump, collected three singles to pace Hamiota.

Everard, R. Seafoot (W) (5) and Gullett                               
Marabella (L), Coulson (6), Knight (7) and Labossiere

(August 17)  The Riverside Canucks used the home-run ball ball to decision the Hamiota Red Sox 5 to 4 and grab a two games-to-one lead in the South Division finals. With the game tied 2 – 2 after seven innings, Craig Bell and Bruce Gullett got to Hamiota pitcher Dennis Anderson for round-trippers and a 5 to 2 lead. The Red Sox didn’t fold, however, and narrowed the deficit to one run in the ninth on Wes Coulson’s two-run single. Summoned to the hill after starter and winner Larry Thomas issued a two-out infield hit to keep the rally alive, reliever Ron Seafoot ended proceedings by whiffing Mel Smith. Danny Cassils, with a pair of singles, was the only Riverside batter with more than one hit. A trio of Red Sox’ swatters, Cliff McKague, Mike Labossiere and Coulson, each singled twice.

Anderson (L) and Labossiere
Thomas (W), R. Seafoot (9) and Gullett                   

(August 18)  The upstart Hamiota Red Sox needed a three-run rally in the ninth inning to upend the pennant-winning Riverside Canucks 8 to 7 and force a payoff game in the best-of-five South Division finals. A fat 5 to 0 first-inning cushion fashioned by the Sox for Ron Ramsey disintegrated as the Canucks persevered and made it 5 – 5 in the eighth. Riverside then went ahead for the first time in the top-of-the ninth by putting up a deuce. Not to be outdone, the pesky Crimson Hose caught fire in their half of the canto, parlaying three walks, two hits and a sacrifice fly by Cliff McKague into a three-spot to cop the walkoff triumph and tie the series. Ellis Woods nailed the apple for four safeties to pace the winners at the dish. Mark Fisher was best with the lumber for Riverside, cuffing the horsehide for three hits including a double. 

Everard, R. Seafoot (L) (9) and Gullett
R. Ramsey (W) and Labossiere

(August 20)  For the second time in the 1978 MSBL playoffs, Craig Bell drove in six runs as the Riverside Canucks punched their ticket to the league finals by crushing the Hamiota Red Sox 15 to 1 in the showdown match of the South Division series. Bell continued his hot hand of late, pounding the pill for four base knocks. Included in his quartet of safe swats were a two-run second-inning homer, two doubles and a single. From the second inning on when the Canucks plated a trey, the onslaught continued as the victors clipped the orb for 16 base hits. Todd Jensen, who tossed a complete-game eight-hitter for Riverside, picked up the easy win. Shortstop Dale Hunter drove in four runs for the victors by clubbing a two-run tater to go along with a double and single. His keystone combo partner, Bob Williamson, also homered for the hosts, delivering a blast with the bases clean. Rounding out the hitting accomplishments of the Canuck swatsmiths were Mark Hunter and Cliff Seafoot with three one-baggers each.

Marabella (L), Anderson (6) and Labossiere
Jensen (W) and Gullett                                                   

MSBL FINALS  (best-of-five series)

(August 22)  Seeking their second consecutive MSBL championship, the Binscarth Orioles got off on the right foot as they rode the run-producing bat of catcher Chuck Lang to hand the Riverside Canucks an 8 to 2 pasting. Leading the 14-hit Binscarth attack against losing moundsman Larry Thomas, Lang drove in five runs with two doubles and two singles. The Canucks managed just five hits off the slants of winning pitcher Gerry Falk who fanned nine. Falk and Gord Leduchowski joined Lang as having a field day at the platter, both raking Thomas for a double and two singles.

G. Falk (W) and Lang
Thomas (L) and Gullett

(August 24)  An acute case of wildness on the part of Binscarth starting pitcher Rod Enerson opened the door for the Riverside Canucks to mount a seven-run, third-inning eruption as the South Division champions coasted to a 13 to 6 mauling of the hosting Orioles. Four walks and a hit batter forced in a pair of counters to start the third and led to the replacement of Enerson. Once stopgap reliever, Gord Leduchowski, took to the hill, the Canuck swatsmiths found the groove and began to tee off with regularity, sending five more base-runners across the pan before the third out was made. A three-run homer by rookie Dale Hunter capped the outburst. The O’s never fully recovered and when Enerson returned to the mound in the fourth, the Riverside hitters never took their foot off the gas pedal as they lit him up for an additional half-dozen markers over the final six frames, including another homer by Hunter, a two-run shot, and a two-run blast by Mark Fisher. Bruce Gullett and Danny Cassils accounted for two Canuck RBI’s each with a double and single apiece. Meanwhile lefty Ron Seafoot was rolling along to his third playoff win in spite of giving up a dozen hits and walking four.

R. Seafoot (W) and Gullett                                                            
Enerson (L), Leduchowski (3), Enerson (4) and Lang

(August 25)  A darkness-shortened 5 to 1 victory propelled the Riverside Canucks into the driver’s seat in their best-of-five series with the Binscarth Orioles. Five-and-a-half innings of baseball was all the two combatants were able to play before the descending sun prompted the umpiring crew to terminate things. Victorious moundsman Todd Jensen limited the Orioles to five hits although he was noticeably tiring as the game progressed. The Canucks scored twice in the second panel, once in the third and then chased Binscarth starter Larry Falk in the fourth with another two-run output. Craig Bell and Dale Hunter paced the hosts’ nine-hit offense with two safeties apiece, one of them a double by Bell. Reg Parton singled and doubled for the Birds.

L. Falk (L), Leduchowski (4) and Lang
Jensen (W) and Gullett

(August 27)  With their season on the line, the Binscarth Orioles responded with a 6 to 1 triumph over the Riverside Canucks to force a sudden-death, fifth-game showdown for the MSBL crown. Veteran right-hander Garth Neville got the call to take the hill for the O’s and he faced the challenge head on, limiting the hard-hitting Canucks to just five safeties. The visitors broke Neville’s shutout bid in the fifth inning, but by that time the Orioles already had four runs of their own and control of the game. Most of the Binscarth offense was supplied by Gord Leduchowski, Chuck Lang and Reg Parton. The Birds scored once against losing hurler Grant Everard in the opening salvo after Leduchowski doubled and crossed the plate on a single by Lang. In the second, Leduchowski singled, went to second on a throwing error by right-fielder Craig Bell, and came around to score on another one-bagger by Lang. Reg Parton put the hosts into a 4 to 0 lead in the fourth with a two-run homer. Everard, who yielded 11 hits in a route-going effort, then served up a solo homer to Lang in the fifth. With his two singles and a tater, Lang finished with three RBI’s while Leduchowski doubled twice and singled. Parton also drilled a one-bagger to go along with his dinger. Danny Cassils collected a pair of singles for the vanquished nine.

Everard (L) and Gullett
Neville (W) and Lang   
        
(August 30)  A roster-thin Binscarth Orioles nine were easy prey for the Riverside Canucks in the final game of the 1978 MSBL playoffs, falling 14 to 1 to the new champions. With two of their regulars on the shelf with health issues, another first-stringer out-of-town because of work and starting pitcher Gerry Falk stepping gingerly on an injured knee, the orange and black were as much the victims of dwindling numbers and thin ranks as they were victims of the Canucks. The Birds were hoping a hobbled Falk could somehow nullify the Riverside bats but he just couldn’t. Nevertheless, the powerful Canucks’ squad deserved to win and are worthy champions. They had a significant 13 to 4 margin in base hits and were disciplined enough in the batter’s box to draw six walks. Falk held Riverside scoreless for the first four innings but he needed a pair of double plays to do so. It was only a matter of time before the Canucks got something serious going and that time was the fifth inning. Before the dust had settled upon completion of that canto, Falk had been given the hook, the winners had put up a five-spot and the rout had begun. Winning flinger Todd Jansen, meanwhile, was motoring along with little difficulty, piling up 11 punchouts along the way. The Canucks’ Mark Fisher was the game’s most prominent swatsmith, collecting two doubles, a single, three RBI’s and two walks.       

G. Falk (L), Neville (5) and Lang
Jensen (W) and Gullett

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SOUTH-WEST BASEBALL LEAGUE

Deloraine Royals
Lyleton Leafs
Melita Beavers
Tilston
Waskada Orioles

Final Standings
Deloraine    12 - 0 - 0 - 24
Melita        5 - 7 - 0 - 10
Waskada       5 - 7 - 0 - 10
Lyleton       4 - 7 - 1 -  9
Tilston       3 - 8 - 1 -  7

PLAYOFFS

(July 12)   The Deloraine Royals and Lyleton Leafs battled to a 6-6, 11-inning, draw in the opening game of their best-of-three semi-final series. Lyleton had scored in the top of the ninth to knot the count. Doug Minor led the Leafs with three hits while Bob Caldwell and Dale McKinnon had two apiece for the Royals. Bob McNish allowed eight hits and fanned 11 in going the distance for the Leafs while Caldwell and Wayne Coxworth shared the mound duties  for the Royals.

B.McNish and xxx
B.Caldwell, W.Coxworth and xxx

(July 18)   The ejection of two Lyleton players Tuesday resulted in a victory by Deloraine by forfeit and forced a fourth game in their semi-final series. Royals got credit for an 8-7 victory after the first game ended in a tie and Lyleton won the second game.  With the Leafs batting in the seventh inning Archie Heinrichs hit a fly ball which umpire Brian Franklin ruled was caught by outfielder Jim Bonar. In protesting the call, Rod and Ian Murray of Lyleton were ejected leaving the team with just eight players. Lyle Franklin was the winning hurler with Bob McNish taking the loss. Don Williams paced the Royals with a double and two singles. Rod Murray and Carey Murray cracked home runs for the losers.

(July 20)  Deloraine Royals blanked Lyleton 7-0 in the deciding game of their semi-final series.

(July 26)  Waskada Orioles slammed four home runs Wednesday in crushing the Deloraine Royals 32-3 in the opening game of the South West League final series., It was Waskada's first win over the Royals this season after three regular season defeats. First inning circuit clouts by Hugh Newton and winning pitcher Doug Hooper helped the visitors to a 4-0 lead which proved to be just a beginning. The Orioles clobbered five Royals' hurlers for 27 hits. Tim Palmer slammed two four-baggers and a single for the winners while Newton and Hooper each added three hits to their home run clouts. Wayne Coxworth was best for Deloraine with a home run, double and single. Hooper scattered nine hits and fanned eight in going the route for the win.

Hooper (W) and xxx
L.Franklin (L), Bonar, N.Franklin, J.Johnston, Coxworth and xxx

(August 4)   After being embarrassed 32-3 in the first game of the final, Deloraine Royals rebounded with a 13-3 victory over Waskada to even the best-of-three series at a game apiece. Bob Caldwell got the pitching win in besting the Orioles Doug Hooper.

(August 7)   Wayne Coxworth's two-run double highlighted a six-run Deloraine uprising in the fifth inning Monday to send the Royals on to a 10-6 victory over Waskada for the South West Baseball League championship. Coxworth added a solo homer in the eighth. Coxworth and Bruce Stephens each finished with three hits for the Royals. Tim Palmer had the lone extra-base hit for the Orioles, a solo homer in the fifth. Coxworth earned the pitching win hurling into the sixth inning. Doug Hooper took the loss. Deloraine moves on to the Manitoba Intermediate playoffs.

Hooper (L) and xxx
Coxworth (W), Caldwell (6) and xxx

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EASTERN MANITOBA BASEBALL LEAGUE

On its last legs, this eight-team circuit was virtually ignored coverage-wise by the Winnipeg Free Press although in the newspapers of some of the smaller adjacent communities, publicity was decent but sparse.

Carman Goldeyes
Giroux Athletics
Legion #141
Portage la Prairie Cougars
River East Raiders
Springfield Indians
St. Boniface Native Sons
Sundown Hawks

(June 1)  It took four extra innings for the hosting Carman Goldeyes to subdue the stubborn Giroux Athletics 4 to 3 in the first of back-to-back encounters. Trailing 2 – 0 as they came to bat in the final inning of regulation play, the Goldeyes sent the game into overtime when third baseman Brian Coates connected for a two-run single. Giroux went ahead once more on a solo dinger by starting heaver Brian Seidler in the top of the first bonus round. However, a pinch-hit single by Ron Legace in the Carman half of the frame deadlocked the score once more. Two innings later, Henry Lemoine of the Goldeyes scored the deciding tally from third base on a wild pitch by A’s reliever Wayne Seidler.

(June 2)  Locking horns once more, this time in Giroux, the Carman Goldeyes rode the superb one-hit pitching of Gord Salinger/Selinger to blank the Athletics 1 to 0. Rory MacDonald, with a fifth-inning triple, was the lone Giroux batter to dent Salinger’s armour. Roy Seidler was the losing chucker.

(June 6)  Scoring six times in the fifth frame to break open a 3 – 3 ball game, the hometown Giroux Athletics bounced the Sundown Hawks 9 to s. Dennis Thompson had three hits for the winners and drove in three runs. Teammate Brian Sim registered two base raps. Barry Coffin, with relief help from Wayne Seidler, garnered the pitching win.

(June 8)  Playing at Portage la Prairie, the Giroux Athletics jumped into a 6 – 1 lead and then struggled to hold on for a 7 to 5 victory over the Cougars. Brian Seidler picked up the win while Carl Watson was tagged with the loss.

(June 13)  The Sundown Hawks blew an third-inning 8 to 2 lead and fell 9 to 8 to the hosting Portage la Prairie Cougars. Two walks, three hits and a Sundown error allowed the Cougars to make up a four-run deficit and tie the game in the ninth and send the contest into overtime where the momentum of the Portage nine carried them to victory. 

(June 13)  The St. Boniface Native Sons remained the only undefeated team in the EMBL when they edged past the Giroux Athletics 7 to 5. The Sons had only three hits in the tilt but took full advantage of seven fielding miscues by the A’s to annex the verdict. Don Maskiw was the winning tosser but needed relief help from Doug Harrison in the final two frames to preserve victory. Giroux’s Roy Seidler was tagged with the loss.

(June 15)  Two walks and three bases hits in the sixth inning off the slants of losing hurler Eric Lister propelled the Carman Goldeyes to three runs and a 5 to 2 conquest of the Sundown Hawks. Sundown, on the strength of a pair of RBI-singles by Gene Happychuk, had battled back from a first-inning deficit to knot the count at 2 – 2.

(June 15)  Barry Coffin and Brian Seidler combined their pitching efforts in leading the Giroux Athletics to a 6 to 0 conquest of the River East Raiders. Coffin, the winning chucker, hit a two-run circuit-clout for the A’s while teammates Wayne Seidler and Brian Sim each nailed a triple and drove in two runs. River East’s Joe Carriere was the loser.

(June 15)  Gil Moar pitched the Portage la Prairie Cougars to a 7 to 3 victory over the Springfield Indians. Stan Asham and Bob Calder went three-for-four at the plate for the winners.

(June 15)    St. Boniface Native Sons extended their winning streak to eight games Thursday with a 5-2 decision over Legion 141 in Eastern Manitoba action. Doug Freeth recorded his third win of the season in pitching for the Sons. Jim Werth and Jim Foubister each had two hits for the winners.

(June 20)  The Giroux Athletics tallied seven times in the fifth inning on their way to an 11 to 6 win over Legion #141. Barry Coffin pitched two innings of relief in support of winning heaver Brian Seidler and also had three RBI’s for the victorious Athletics.

(June 20)  The Springfield Indians shaded the Sundown Hawks 3 to 2, cashing in on errors and the inconsistent five-hit batting attack presented by the Hawks in doing so. Fred Olynyk was the losing pitcher.

(June 22)  Wayne Seidler threw the second no-hitter of the EMBL season as the Giroux Athletics blanked the Springfield Chiefs 10 to 0. Seidler gave up three walks and struck out nine. Earlier this year, St. Boniface’s Doug Freeth fashioned a no-hitter against Sundown.

(June 22)  Legion #141 came up with three consecutive hits in the eighth inning to score a pair of markers, wiping out a 3 – 2 deficit, en route to slipping past the Sundown Hawks 3 to 2. Eric Lister, in relief of starter Taras Happychuk, suffered the loss.

(June 27)  Bob Calder hit a home run and a stand-up double to pace the Portage la Prairie Cougars to a 4 to 1 EMBL victory over Legion #141. Winning pitcher Gil Moar struck out five and gave up three bases-on-balls.

(June 29)  Behind the four-hit pitching of Barry Coffin, the Giroux Athletics whitewashed the Portage la Prairie Cougars 5 to 0. Coffin fanned five and walked one on the way to his third victory. The A’s blew out of the gate with five consecutive hits and four runs off losing chucker Carl Watson in the opening canto. Wayne Seidler, Maurice Chaput and Brian Seidler each collected two hits for the winners.

STANDINGS              W      L      Pts.
St. Boniface           9      3       18
Carman                 8      2       16
Giroux                 8      4       16
Portage la Prairie     6      6       12
Legion #141            5      7       10
Sundown                4      7        8
Springfield            4      9        8
River East             1      9        2     

(July 6)  Don Briscoe no-hit Giroux in pitching the St. Boniface Native Sons to a 10 to 0 thumping of the Athletics. The game lasted only five innings as per the league’s 10-run mercy rule. Barry Coffin suffered the loss.

(July 11)  The Giroux Athletics built up an 8 – 0 lead by the fourth inning and then held off a steady Legion #141 attack for an 8 to 6 win in Winnipeg. Winning pitcher Wayne Seidler had two hits including a bases-clearing double in the first inning. Brian Seidler was three-for-four. Les Lisowski was the losing pitcher.

(July 13)  The visiting Springfield Indians took a brief 1 – 0 lead, after Al Edie tripled and scored on an infield groundout, but were no match to the surging Giroux Athletics who whipped them 9 to 1. Roy Seidler secured the pitching win over Springfield’s Phil Hudson. Wayne Seidler stroked three safeties for the A’s while George Overd had a brace of hits with three RBI’s.

STANDINGS               W      L      Pts.
Carman                 15      2      30
St. Boniface           13      4      26
Giroux                 10      7      20
Legion #141             9      9      18
Portage la Prairie      8      8      16
Sundown                 7      8      14
Springfield             5     15      10
River East              1     14       2  

(August 8)  The Giroux Athletics assured themselves of at least a third-place finish in the EMBL when they downed the Sundown Hawks 8 to 3. Wayne Seidler struck out ten and walked four in securing the pitching win. Brian Seidler slugged a two-run homer for the winners. The Bjornson brothers, Kim and Terry, were hot with the bat for Sundown as they each launched a four-ply clout. Losing hurler Rick Bozak gave up six hits and fanned an equal number of Giroux batters.

NO FINAL STANDINGS NOR PLAYOFF COVERAGE LOCATED

(August 12-13)  Manitoba intermediate baseball final series

(August 25-27)  Western Canada senior B/intermediate A baseball championship tournament

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INTERLAKE BASEBALL LEAGUE

NORTH DIVISION
Ashern
Eriksdale
Inwood Royals 
Lundar
St. Laurent Rams
Oak Point Eagles

SOUTH DIVISION
Balmoral Orioles
Grosse Isle Blue Jays
St. Laurent Clubs
Stonewall Jays
Teulon Cardinals
Warren 

SOUTH DIVISION
FINAL STANDINGS           W     L    Pts.
St. Laurent Clubs        18     2    36
Teulon Cardinals         12     8    24
Warren                    9    11   18
Stonewall Jays            8    12    16
Balmoral Orioles          7    13    14
Grosse Isle Blue Jays     6    14    12

NORTH DIVISION 
The Inwood Royals ended up with 9 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties for 20 points to end up in a three-way tie with Lundar and the St. Laurent Rams. By virtue of their superior record against these two opponents, the Royals were awarded first place in the North Division. 

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

(July 26)  The Oak Point Eagles bounced the division-winning Inwood Royals 13 to 10 in the opener of their North Division semi-final series. The winning pitcher was Brian Chartrand who turned in a complete-game performance on the hillock, striking out 12 while allowing nine hits and eight walks. Southpaw Dave Yarish was the losing hurler, He also went the route, fanning five while yielding 11 hits and an equal number of bases-on-balls. Randy Hordal led the eagles offensively with a brace of doubles and a single. Larry Thornsteinson belted a home run and John Delaronde delivered two singles. Bruce Swanson was best with the baton for the vanquished Royals, collecting a pair of singles and a two-bagger.

(August 2 & 4)  The South Division pennant-winning St. Laurent Clubs ousted the Stonewall Jays from the playoffs, sweeping the series by scores of 4 to 1 and 12 to 4.

DIVISIONAL FINALS
SOUTH DIVISION

(August 9 & 11)  With convincing 16 to 1 and 9 to 1 victories over the Teulon Cardinals, the St. Laurent Clubs annexed the South Division playoff title.

NORTH-SOUTH FINALS  (best-of-three series)

(August 16)  Before a large home crowd, the St. Laurent Clubs grabbed the opener of the Interlake League north-south finals by clipping the Lundar Royals 9 to 4.

(August 18)  The St. Laurent Cubs of the South Division won the Interlake Baseball League championship for the second year in a row, disposing of the North Division titlists, the Inwood Royals, 7 to 4 to capture the league finals in two-straight games.    

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SANTA CLARA BASEBALL LEAGUE

Austin Kernals
Carberry Royals
Cypress River Comets
Glenboro Canucks
Holland Athletics

FINAL STANDINGS             W     L    T   Pts.
Holland Athletics*          8     4    0    16
Carberry Royals             8     4    0    16
Cypress River Comets        7     4    1    15
Glenboro Canucks            5     6    1    11
Austin Kernals              1    11    0     2

*Holland Athletics declared as 1978 pennant winners on basis of winning season series with Carberry 

PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS  Glenboro vs Holland & Carberry vs Cypress River  (best-of-three series)

(July 26)  The pennant-winning Holland Athletics bounced the visiting Glenboro Canucks 5 to 0 to take a one-game lead in their semi-final series. Winning pitcher Dave McCartney handcuffed the Canucks on just three hits. Glenboro starter Gerald Coates was tagged with the loss.

(August 2)  The homestanding Glenboro Canucks squared their playoff series with the Holland Athletics, stopping the visitors 5 to 3. Gerald Barr earned the pitching win. Laurie DePape, on the hill for the pennant winners gave up just four hits but was tagged with the loss.

(August 4)  The Holland Athletics took the rubber match in their semi-final series with the Glenboro Canucks, blanking the invaders 3 to 0 behind the five-hit hurling of Dave McCartney. Ron Vertz was the complete-game loser.  The Athletics now move on to meet the Carberry Royals in the SCBL finals. 

No results of the Holland-Carberry final series were uncovered      

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MANITOBA JUNIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE

Carman Goldeyes : 
Charleswood Chiefs :
Elmwood Giants : 
Gateway Braves :
Legion #141 Veterans : 
River East Raiders :            
Springfield Indians : 
St. Boniface Legionnaires : 
St. James A’s : 
Transcona Jaycees : 

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MANITOBA QUALIFYING TOURNAMENTS FOR WESTERN CANADA INTERMEDIATE BASEBALL FINALS

Two elimination tournaments, held in Carberry and Giroux over the same weekend, were staged to determine the pair of finalists who would then battle it out in a best-of-three series to decide a Manitoba representative at the western Canada intermediate championships.

GIROUX ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT

Carman Goldeyes  (Eastern Manitoba Baseball League)
Interlake Baseball League All-Stars
Border Baseball League All-Stars
Giroux Athletics (host)

(July 28-30)  Giroux Tournament

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CARBERRY ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT

(July 28-30)  Carberry Tournament

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MANITOBA INTERMEDIATE BASEBALL FINAL SERIES

Carman Goldeyes vs Eastern Manitoba Baseball League All-Stars  (best-of-three series)

(August 12-13)  Don Maskiw of the St. Boniface Native Sons pitched 17 innings on Sunday to pace the Eastern Manitoba Baseball League All-Stars to 10 to 2 and 2 to 1 victories over the Carman Goldeyes in the Manitoba intermediate baseball championship series. Carman, a member of the same eight-team circuit, captured the opening game of the best-of-three series on Saturday by a narrow 3 to 2 margin.

Maskiw gave up five hits in winning Sunday’s first game while Ray Smith, his clubmate with St. Boniface, hit a two-run homer for the All-Stars. Rob Medoff of the Goldeyes suffered the mound defeat. 

In the rubber match Sunday, Maskiw allowed only three Carman safeties in coping the hurling verdict over Gord Selinger, who was nicked for five base raps.

The Stars will now represent Manitoba at the western Canadian intermediate championship tournament slated for Nanaimo B.C. August 25-27.

 

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