The Bellingham Bells earned their third series sweep of the season, winning all three games against the Victoria HarbourCats June 23–25 at Joe Martin Stadium.
The sweep strengthened Bellingham’s hold on first place in the West Coast League North Division, and the Bells (15-3) now lead the second-place Wenatchee AppleSox (14-4) by one game.
Bellingham entered the series with just a half-game lead over Victoria (14-7), which now falls 2.5 games behind the Bells in the division standings. The Bells also hold the top record in the WCL and have outscored their opponents 70-35 through 18 games.
Next up for Bellingham is a road series at the Edmonton Riverhawks’ Re/Max Field from June 27–29 with all games beginning at 7:05 p.m. The Bells swept the Riverhawks in both teams’ first series of the season in early June.
Here’s what happened in the Bells’ series with Victoria.
West scores walk-off run in 11th inning, Bells take game 1
Bellingham came out on the right side of history in its first extra-inning thriller of the 2023 season, defeating Victoria 2-1 on Friday, June 23.
Each team notched a run in the first inning before going scoreless the ensuing nine, entering the 11th inning tied 1-1.
The Bells put out each of Victoria’s first three batters in the 11th, once again earning themselves a chance to put the contest to bed. Bellingham center fielder Dean West got the bottom of the inning started with a single, bringing right fielder Max Hartman up to bat with no outs.
West stole second base after the first pitch. The second led to an error by Victoria’s catcher that allowed Hartman to reach first and West to round third and drive in the game’s winning run. It was the HarbourCats’ only error of the game, and a costly one.
Bellingham stunningly won the game after being outhit by Victoria 9-4 entering the 11th inning. The Bells’ stellar defense forced the HarbourCats to leave 11 runners stranded in the game.
Right-handed pitcher James Trimble earned the win for Bellingham, pitching three innings and allowing two hits, no runs and one walk while striking out one.
West finished the game 2-for-5 batting with a run scored, while left fielder Andrew Valdez went 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.
Bells shutout Victoria after first inning in game 2 win
The Bells surrendered three first-inning runs before scoring six unanswered over the final eight, defeating Victoria 6-3 on Saturday, June 24.
All of Victoria’s runs came on the same play in the first inning. Center fielder Michael Crossland hit a two-out, bases-loaded double that scored three HarbourCats, giving Victoria a 3-0 lead early.
The Bells mustered a response in the bottom of the third when first baseman Daryl Ruiz drove in second baseman Anthony Kodama with a line-drive single to left field, trimming Victoria’s lead to 3-1.
Bellingham’s next offensive spurt came in the bottom of the sixth — a three-run sequence that gave the Bells their first lead of the game, 4-3. Kodama, Ruiz and Valdez all drove in runners in the inning.
While its defense held, Bellingham tacked on two more runs in the seventh. Third baseman Riley Parker and shortstop Ty Saunders were walked in as Victoria walked five Bells batters in the seventh inning alone.
The HarbourCats outhit the Bells again, 6-5, but Bellingham’s timely offense alongside its often-impenetrable defense was the difference.
Right-handed pitcher Tomas Urbina earned the win for the Bells, pitching 2.1 innings and allowing two hits, no runs and one walk while striking out two.
Valdez went 2-for-4 batting with two RBIs, while Kodama went 1 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Saunders finished the game 1 for 2 with two runs scored.
2-run fourth inning powers Bells to series sweep in game 3
In another low-scoring affair with both teams’ runs confined to one inning, Bellingham preserved the sweep of Victoria with a 2-1 win on Sunday, June 25.
All three of the game’s runs came in the fourth inning, sparked by HarbourCats catcher Russell Young’s double that scored designated hitter Tripp Clark.
Hartman tied the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the fourth despite a double play by Victoria that put out Valdez and left fielder Coleman Schmidt.
Three batters later, Parker hit a two-out single that scored first baseman Yohann Dessureault to give Bellingham the lead. Victoria compiled five hits over the final five innings — outhitting the Bells again, 7-3 — but it left four on base over those frames as well.
Trevin Hope, the 2022 WCL Pitcher of the Year, made his season debut for the Bells, pitching three innings and allowing one hit, no runs and one walk while striking out four.
Parker finished the game 1-for-1 batting with an RBI. Valdez and Hartman each went 1 for 4 in the game.
