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The Bellingham Bells overcame the Nanaimo NightOwls by scoring three runs in the ninth inning to win 7-5 and earn the series win on Vancouver Island. The Bells, now 11-7 in the second half of the season, are leading the North Division for the number two seed in the West Coast League Playoffs. 

Today’s game was started by the 2024 WCL All-Star Josh Flaugher. Flaugher would have a clean first two innings but in the third inning he surrendered two runs. Then in the fourth he would allow another two runs while only obtaining one out and would be taken out of the start down 4-0. Devyn Hernandez finished that fourth inning and would go on to pitch the next three for Bellingham.

In the top of the fifth inning the Bells put up their own crooked number with three runs in the frame. Trent Mallonee drove in one run on a single to get the scoring started. Gavin Long grounded out with a runner scoring from third. Mallonee would score when Roman Martin was caught in a rundown. Exiting the fifth inning the Bells still trailed 4-3.

The game tying run was in the seventh inning after Mallonee led off the inning with a single. After a Long single and a Nate Kirkpatrick walk the bases were loaded for Jacob Mejia. Mejia flew out to center field for a sacrifice fly that evened the game.

Devyn Hernandez would finish the seventh inning scoreless, making his final line 3.2 innings with no hits and walks allowed with five strikeouts. Lane Simonsen entered for the eighth inning and allowed the go-ahead run to score for Nanaimo in an inning where he allowed two hits and one walk. 

Simonsen would earn the win as in the ninth inning the Bells trailed 5-4 but rallied for three runs with only one out needed by the NightOwls to escape. With two outs there were runners on the corners for Logan Degroot. Degroot singled to score Long, tying the game, and sent Kirkpatrick to third base as the winning run. Jason Shedlock delivered a big time hit when he drove in both Degroot and Kirkpatrick on his third double of the season.

The ninth inning was closed by Nick Lewis who gave up no hits and no walks. Lewis received his second save of the season and is pitching an 0.45 ERA. The Bells finished a 7-5 win with 10 hits on offense and the bullpen only allowed two hits and a walk which all came against Simonsen in the eighth inning.

The offense was led by Shedlock who went 2 for 4 with the two RBI double that sent in the winning runs for the Bells. Degroot also picked up two hits, drove in one and scored one himself. Kirkpatrick went 2 for 3 and was walked twice while scoring one run. The leadoff man, Trent Mallonee, had a 2 for 5 performance with two runs scored and one RBI. Long extended his hitting streak to seven games in a 1 for 4 day where he drove in a run and scored once. Roman Martin also had one hit today.

The Bells now travel to Kamloops to play the NorthPaws for three games at the start of next week. The series begins Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. at Norbrock Stadium, a stadium where the last time the Bells were there they lost a three-game series 2-1. From June 4-6 the Bells lost a road series against Kamloops but swept the NorthPaws in three games from June 18-20 at Joe Martin Field. That makes the Bells overall season record against the falcons 4-2 ahead of their three games in Kamloops next week.

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