The Bellingham Bells defeated the Nanaimo NightOwls 6-5 in walk-off fashion on Sunday, July 14, at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash. Nate Kirkpatrick came to the plate after the Bells tied it 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth. Kirkpatrick sent Trent Mallonee home on an opposite field base hit for the fifth walk-off at Joe Martin Field this season.

After Ryan Heppner pitched a scoreless top of the ninth inning it was 5-2, NightOwls leading. Logan Degroot reached to lead off the bottom of the ninth on an error by Nanaimo. Gavin Long hit a double to put runners on second and third base. After a Kaikea Harrison walk, the bases were loaded for the Mallonee at the top of the order. Mallonee would battle through an at-bat and eventually pick up his second RBI single of the day by driving in Degroot. Roman Martin came through with a two RBI single to tie the game 5-5 and place Mallonee at third, the winning run. Then Kirkpatrick walked it off and earned a series win over the NightOwls at Joe Martin Field.

The game was started by Caleb Cassie who would only see two innings after surrendering a season high, five runs, all which came in the second inning. The Bells bullpen had the job of shutting things down and they did. Seven zeros were put up by Nick Lewis, Devyn Hernandez and Ryan Heppner. Lewis came in from the third to the fifth inning and struck out three while only allowing a single hit in that span. Hernandez made his best appearance of the year from the sixth to the eighth by pitching three no-hit innings where he faced the minimum of nine batters in that time. Heppner threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning to set up the comeback victory.

The offense also chipped runs off in the third inning, thanks to an RBI single by Mallonee, and in the eighth inning, thanks to a fielder’s choice from Jacob Mejia where Nanaimo’s catcher was not touching home plate on the force out attempt. Overall the offense had six hits, four coming in the ninth inning. 

Kirkpatrick was the hero with his only hit in a 1 for 3 day at the plate being the walk-off single. Roman Martin came up big right before Kirkpatrick with two RBI in the ninth as part of a 1 for 5 day at the plate. Mallonee reached safely all five times he came to the plate with a 2 for 2 day including two RBIs, a stolen base, and two walks as well as a hit-by-pitch. Mejia tallied the other RBI of the game but went 0 for 4 today. Degroot had one hit and scored the first run in the ninth. Gavin Long had a clutch double in the ninth inning as part of a 1 for 3 day including two runs scored. Kaikea Harrison showed his discipline by walking in the eighth and ninth innings to earn two runs scored.

The Bellingham Bells improved to 5-4 in the second half of the 2024 West Coast League season and 22-14 overall. The Bells are tied with Wenatchee and Kelowna for the lead in the second half standings. Next up is the Community Champions Game on Tuesday, July 16, at Joe Martin Field. The WCL All-Star Game is on Wednesday, July 17, at Joe Martin Field where tickets are still on sale. The All-Star Game will feature seven Bellingham Bells and you can read more on them here. If you can’t make it in person, tune into MLB Network for a 6:30 p.m. start time this Wednesday for the first WCL All-Star Game since 2019. The Bells will be back in action July 18 against the Cascade Collegiate League Showcase Team for a non-league matchup beginning at 6:35 p.m. on Thursday night.

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