The Bellingham Bells defeated the Northwest Star Nighthawks 8-7 on July 11 at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash. Gavin Long hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning to give the Bells their one run lead that would stand for the rest of the game to lead to a sweep of the Nighthawks in a brief two-game non-league series.

The game started with Ethan Unruh on the bump who struggled with his command and would only throw the first inning. Unruh allowed four runs to score on six walks and one hit in the first inning. All nine batters saw an at-bat in the first inning for the Nighthawks.

The Bells would have to go to Peter Storjohann in the second inning who started his outing with a 1-2-3 second inning. In the bottom of the second the Bells scored two on a two RBI single from Anthony Kodama. Storjohann would surrender one run in the top of the third inning but the Bells answered with a run of their own in the third. That run came on a sacrifice fly from Kaikea Harrison that scored Roman Martin who reached on a single. Martin stole second and third base to put himself in a position to score on the sacrifice. The score of 5-3, with the Nighthawks leading, would stand until the bottom of the fifth inning. 

Storjohann finished four relief innings with three strikeouts to three walks with three hits allowed and one earned run scored against him.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Bells scored three runs thanks to RBI singles from Gabe Hederson and Kaikea Harrison and the other run scored when Harrison got into a rundown that allowed Henderson to head home from third base and score. The Bells took their first lead of the game up 6-5 exiting the fifth.

The sixth inning was pitched by Everett Swaim who would allow two runs to score on three hits and a walk in that frame. Trailing 7-6, the Bells had Jeremiah Robbins reach after he was hit by a pitch and Gavin Long would drill a home run over the right field wall to give the Bells their eventual winning lead of 8-7. 

Swaim came back out for the seventh and eighth innings and was able to get through them scoreless. He finished his three innings with three strikeouts, one walk, four hits given up and two earned runs allowed, earning the win. Matt Molina entered for the ninth and got his first save of the season.

The Bells were led by Gavin Long’s 3 for 4 night including the winning two-run home run. Roman Martin went 2 for 5 with two runs scored. Anthony Kodama drove in two runs on his lone hit of the night in the leadoff spot. Gabe Henderson and Kaikea Harrison both had RBI singles. Conner Smith in his first full game at first base had a hit and two walks. Overall the Bells had 10 hits in their 8-7 win tonight.

Tomorrow night the Bells take on the Nanaimo NightOwls in game one of a three-game series this weekend at Joe Martin Field. The Bells return to league play riding a hot six-game winnings streak including three straight league wins against Port Angeles last weekend. Get your tickets at bellstickets.com and come out for our Salute to Service Weekend, featuring a US Navy EA-18G flyover on Friday night.

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