5-1 win finishes a sweep over NorthPaws

The Bellingham Bells beat the Kamloops NorthPaws 5-1 to finish a three-game series sweep and improve to 12-6 overall. The Bells have now swept back-to-back opponents and with six straight wins they travel to Victoria to play the HarbourCats for three games on Vancouver Island.

Will Franklin started the game for his fifth start of the season. Franklin went four innings with five strikeouts to one walk. He allowed four hits and one earned run against him. The loss went to Kamloops pitcher Kolby Lukinchuk who threw five innings with three earned runs against him.

The NorthPaws did hold a 1-0 lead after the second inning where three hits drove in one run for the visitors. In the third inning the Bells scored three runs as debuting catcher Colton Bower walked and Jason Shedlock walked. Nate Kirkpatrick drove in the two runners on his first triple of the season. Jacob Mejia would score Kirkpatrick on an RBI single to give the Bells a 3-1 lead exiting the frame.

The bullpen would do its job holding the NorthPaws to zero runs for the rest of the game. Nick Lewis made his first home appearance for one inning of relief where he gave up a singular hit. Matt Molina would follow with a no-hit sixth inning and hand the ball to Lane Simonsen for two scoreless innings. The final inning was pitched by Ryan Heppner who took us home with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth inning.

The Bells added some cushion in the seventh inning in the form of two runs. Bower was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the frame. Anthony Kodama put a ball in play with a bunt and relief pitcher Jaden Bitter threw the ball into right field on an error that allowed Bower to score and Kodama to go to second base. Kodama was moved over to third base by Jason Shedlock’s sacrifice bunt. Nate Kirkpatrick then hit a ball to the shortstop Madden Ocko who tried to throw out Kodama who advanced home safely on the fielder’s choice. The Bells exited the seventh up 5-1.

Kirkpatrick led the way with his bat once again on a 2 for 4 day with a run and a triple that brought in two RBI. Kodama, Shedlock, Mejia and Trent Mallonee all had one hit as the Bells totaled six hits in the game. Mejia had an RBI in his 1 for 4 day and extended his on-base streak to ten games.

The Bellingham Bells secured back-to-back sweeps and are hot with six straight wins for a 12-6 overall record. The Bells have 9 games left in their first half of the season with all nine games coming against threatening North Division teams. The Bells are trying to make a push for an automatic playoff berth if they can be the top team in the North Division after 27 games. 

Tomorrow night’s game against the Victoria HarbourCats begins a three-game series on Vancouver Island. First pitch for Friday, June 21, is at 6:30 p.m. at Wilson’s Group Stadium in Victoria, British Columbia. Watch the Bells on the West Coast League’s live streaming site as they will play their next six games on the road. The Bells will be back home June 28 to begin a three-game series against the Wenatchee AppleSox.

Tonight’s game recap is presented by Everstrong Physical Therapy and Performance.

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