The Bellingham Bells kicked off the second half of the West Coast League season with a 3-3 record after finishing the first half of the season in third place at 17-10.
The Bells were swept by the Bend Elks in a three-game series, dropping the final game 11-4 on Thursday, July 4. The Bells rebounded by sweeping the Port Angeles Lefties to kickstart a three-game winning streak.
Bellingham sits fourth in the North Division behind the Nanaimo Nightowls, Kamloops Northpaws and Wenatchee Applesox.
Bats come alive during winning streak
During Bellingham’s loss to Bend on July 4, the Bells totaled 11 hits and stranded seven runners on base. Nate Kirkpatrick led the team with three hits, while Tom Poole racked up two hits, one run and drove in three of the team’s four RBIs.
In the first game against the Lefties, Poole picked up another hit and RBI in a 6-0 victory on the road. Kirkpatrick drove in one run and Anthony Kodama brought in two runs with an outfield single.
Bellingham looked sluggish in its second matchup against the Lefties. The Bells were trailing 3-2 with one out in the top of the ninth before Roman Martin became the hero with a three-run home run to earn the 5-3 victory. He finished with three hits and four RBIs.
In the final game of the series Sunday, July 7, Bellingham trailed 8-3 after three innings until the bats woke up late and the Bells came back for an 11-8 win. Martin and Colton Bower had two RBIs each while Jacob Mejia picked up three RBIs.
Pitching survives a few rough innings
Bellingham had three innings the last four games where the defense allowed three or more runs, including two against Bend.
Every Bells’ pitcher against the Elks pitched two innings or less, and five out of the six hurlers allowed at least two hits and a run scored. Bellingham allowed six runs in the bottom of the third inning during the third game against the Lefties on July 7. Everett Swaim struggled with six earned runs allowed off four hits.
However, the pitching remained solid throughout the rest of the games. Tyler Van Dyke pitched a 6-0 shutout win in the series opener against Port Angeles Friday, July 5, going five innings with seven strikeouts. Caleb Cassie pitched six innings and allowed one run on seven hits.
Local watch
Lynden alum Lane Simonsen pitched twice against Port Angeles, throwing 2.2 innings with zero hits allowed, four walks, two strikeouts and zero earned runs. His ERA dropped to 2.91 through 12.1 innings pitched this season with 13 strikeouts.
What’s next
The Bellingham Bells play the NW Star Nighthawks at Joe Martin Stadium July 10–11 in a two-game non-conference series. Neither of these outcomes affects their standings in the WCL. Afterward, the Bells face the Nightowls at home July 12–14 before hosting the 2024 WCL All-Star Game. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, July 17.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
