After winning eight of 11 games, the Bellingham Bells hot streak has cooled down in the last week.
The Bells won the first two games of a three-game series with the Wenatchee Applesox June 28-30, but have now lost three in a row after taking a 3-2 loss to the Bend Elks on Wednesday, July 3 at Joe Martin Stadium.
The Bells now have back-to-back losses to the Elks and will look to come away with a win in the final game of the series Thursday, July 4.
Bellingham, which is 5-5 in its last 10 games, sits in third place in the West Coast League’s North Division with a 17-12 record. The Bells are two games behind the division-leading Edmonton Riverhawks with six games remaining in the first half of the season.
Offense, defense struggle to work together
Against Wenatchee, the Bells scratched out consecutive 1-0 wins to take the series victory. In the first game, the Bells earned their first extra-innings win of the year with a walk-off in the 11th inning. In the second game, the Bells overcame just three total hits with a fielder’s-choice RBI from Jason Shedlock in the eighth inning.
Nate Kirkpatrick’s hot bat — which included a 12-game hit streak — finally came to an end as he has failed to reach base safely the last three games.
During the two wins over Wenatchee, Bells’ pitchers dominated. In Game 1, Tyler Van Dyke threw six scoreless innings with four strikeouts, while Nic Peterson and Lane Simonsen combined to throw five scoreless innings with three hits and a strikeout.
In Game 2, Caleb Cassie pitched five scoreless innings while striking out five with three hits. Four relievers combined for zero earned runs and three hits.
The bats came alive in the last three games, all losses: 11-8 to Wenatchee on Sunday, June 30, a 6-4 loss to Bend on Tuesday, July 2 and a 3-2 loss to the Elks on July 3.
In the series opener against Bend on Tuesday, Jacob Meija crushed a two-run homer in the first inning, and is now tied for the league lead with four home runs this season. He has three hits and five RBIs the past three games, while Colton Bower has three hits and two RBIs.
Local watch
Marques Brown has not seen much time on the mound this summer. However, the Deming native has been a reliable option in the bullpen, pitching five innings with one earned run allowed and four strikeouts.
What’s Next
Bellingham finishes its three-game series against the Bend Elks at 4:35 p.m. Thursday at Joe Martin Stadium. Afterward, the Bells finish their first half of the season on the road against the Port Angeles Lefties from July 5–7.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
