Scoring eight runs in the first inning and a near-perfect game on the mound led to Bellingham baseball defeating Nooksack Valley, 10-0, in five innings Tuesday, April 1 at Bellingham High School.
“It has been a little rough in the beginning of the season, but we brought the bats,” Bellingham pitcher Alden Scott said. “We have been shut out for the last couple of games, so it was good to get some runs.”
Scott began the Bayhawks’ eight-run first inning with a walk. Joe Harward followed a couple of batters later with an RBI single, while Kai Nelson picked up a single and later scored on a passed ball. Eli Goodbuffalo and Ben Leonard also hit RBI singles, Nelson hit a two-run single and Paxton Fisher had a two-run double.
On the mound, Scott allowed just one hit and struck out 14 of the 16 Nooksack Valley batters he faced in five innings, forced one to ground out and allowed a single to Colby Martin.
Gallery: Alden Scott’s 14 strikeouts lifts Bellingham baseball past NV
I felt really good, especially during the end,” Scott said. “I got in the flow of things and was just throwing. I could have had some more first pitch strikes, but I went out there and competed.”
In the bottom of the third inning, Goodbuffalo and Leonard scored on a Nelson single. Scott retired three straight batters in the bottom of the fifth inning to secure the mercy rule victory.
Bellingham (2-6) will play at Mount Baker High at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 3. Nooksack Valley (2-5) will host Lynden at 6:30 p.m. on April 3.
“We got to stay humble,” Scott said. “If you get ahead of yourself, that is when baseball will humble you. We just got to come back on Thursday against Mount Baker and wipe the mindset and go out and compete.”
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
