The Bellingham Bells beat the Edmonton Riverhawks 7-4 Tuesday night in Joe Martin Field in the first league game for the Bells in nearly a week. Both teams went back and forth until the sixth inning, when the Bells broke the game open thanks to a three-run double by Elijah Hainline.

Hainline drew a leadoff walk in the first, then scored on an infield single from Teo Banks to put the Bells up 1-0 early. In the second, Hawks second baseman Will Rogers launched a two-run homer to left field to take a one run lead. 

The Bells evened the score back up in the third, when Jack Van Remortel reached first on a throwing error by the Hawks shortstop to score Daniel Gernon from second. The Hawks regained the lead in the sixth, after putting runners on the corners for DH Emiliano Gonzalez, who scored Kelly Corl on an RBI groundout to second. 

The Bells responded in the bottom of the inning by loading the bases for Gernon, who drew a four-pitch walk to score Gavin Schulz. Afterwards, Elijah Hainline drilled a bases-clearing double to left, then scored on an RBI groundout by Kyle Parkman to cap off a five-run sixth inning for the Bells.

Cameron Dayton sealed the game with a strikeout to complete three innings with no earned runs allowed to get the save, his second of the season.

Austyn Coleman (3-2) threw six innings to start the game for the Bells, allowing three runs on four hits with five strikeouts in earning the win. Coleman last pitched in their impressive 3-0 win in Corvallis, where he tossed 6.1 scoreless innings of one-hit ball against a strong Knights offense. He entered today’s game ranking second among pitchers in the WCL in batting average against (BAA) at .167.

Hainline finished 1-3 with 3 RBI and a pair of runs to lead the Bells. Meanwhile, Schulz extended his on-base streak to nine, going 2-4 from the plate with a double and a run. The Bells rebounded from dropping their previous two games, both non-league affairs. Their coach, Adam Geaslen, appreciated getting the win in a game that counted towards the standings.

“I felt the energy again, both from the fans, from the players, just the whole atmosphere,” Geaslen said after the game. “The switch was flipped back on.”

With the win, the Bells improve to 18-6 on the season, holding a steady four game lead over the second place Kamloops NorthPaws. The Riverhawks fall to 11-16, sitting at sixth place in the North Division. The teams will meet again tomorrow for the second of their three game series in Bellingham.