Bells in the Bigs, Big Apple Edition
New York Mets and New York Yankees
From the city of Angels to the Big Apple, this week’s Bells in the Bigs looks at two former Bells who are playing for Major League organizations that play 10 miles apart in New York.
Right-handed pitcher Justin Courtney pitched for the Bells in 2015. He appeared in eight games including two starts and registered a 2.81 ERA.
After four years at the University of Maine, Cortney signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and began his career with the California League single-A Inland Empire 66ers.
He played 22 games with the 66ers, had a 3-1 record and posted 46 strikeouts over 40 innings. At the end of the 2021 season, he was released from the 66’ers and one month later was assigned to the Florida Complex League (FCL) Mets.
Courtney is scheduled to begin the 2022 season with the FCL Mets.
Catcher Chase Illig has been in the minor leagues for two seasons, both in the New York Yankees organization.
Illig was a Bell for most of the 2017 season and was a West Coast League All-Star. He batted .347 and raked 15 home runs in 47 games.
Illig was selected in the 29th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees and began his minor league career with the FCL Yankees. He was moved to the single-A short season affiliate Staten Island Yankees by the end of 2019.
He appeared in 24 games and batted .246 in his first season and started the 2021 campaign with the single-high-A affiliate Hudson Valley Renegades.
Illig advanced to the double-A affiliate Somerset Patriots after two games with the Renegades. After 11 games with Somerset, Illig was moved up to the triple-A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Illig is slated to start the 2022 season with the RailRiders.
It’s Game Time!
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An extra-inning win on Friday
The Bellingham Bells won the first game against the Kamloops Northpaws with a 14-12 victory in 11 innings Friday, July 11 at Norbrock Stadium in Kamloops, British Columbia. The Bells utilized a gutsy sacrifice bunt play to score two runners in the final inning and earn the win.
A dominant win to close the home stand
The Bellingham Bells took the final game of their six-game home stand with a 3-0 win over the Edmonton Riverhawks Thursday, July 10 at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash. Three pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts while allowing three hits and walks to the Riverhawks.
Riverhawks rally to win series vs Bells
The Bellingham Bells were on the wrong side of a comeback in their 5-4 loss to the Edmonton Riverhawks Wednesday, July 9 at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash. The Riverhawks scored three runs in the eighth inning to earn a series win after back-to-back wins over the Bells.
Edmonton outlasts Bellingham on Tuesday
The Bellingham Bells began their three-game series against the Edmonton Riverhawks with a 8-6 loss Tuesday, July 8 at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash. Edmonton got out to an early lead against WCL All-Star Preston Watkins and never looked back.
Bullpen dominates Port Angeles to win series
The Bellingham Bells earned a series win over the Port Angeles Lefties with a 7-0 shutout win Sunday, July 6 at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash. Seven pitchers combined to only allowed two hits to the Lefties and struck out seven in the dominant win.
Bells hold off Lefties for 20th win
The Bellingham Bells tied their three-game series against the Port Angeles Lefties with an 8-6 win Saturday, July 5 at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash. The two North Division squads go head-to-head in a rubber match tomorrow, Sunday July 6 in a 1:35 p.m. day game.
