In a 14-13 walk-off victory the Bells took game three against the Edmonton Riverhawks thanks to Jorge Olivera’s walk-off single in the ninth on June 2.
It was an offensive shootout on a rainy day at Joe Martin Field. The game was delayed 30 minutes in the top of the fourth due to rain in Bellingham. Heading into the delay the Bells led 7-2.
The Bells would battle through back and forth offensive innings by each side. The bulk of scoring came through walks due to wild pitching amongst the wet conditions. The two teams walked 21 total batters in the game.
Starting pitcher Sheldon Egger only got to throw 3 1/3 innings in his start. Due to the rain delay, Everett Swaim took over when play resumed.
The Riverhawks put up three runs against Swaim to make the score 7-5. After some errors and timely hitting it was 9-6 with the Bells leading.
The Riverhawks scored three in the top of the seventh thanks to a Jakob Poturnak’s two RBI single and a McFeely single.
Entering the seventh inning stretch tied 9-9, Trent Mallonee took the lead back with his RBI double, it was his second hit of the game going 2 for 5 overall.
The Riverhawks struck again with four runs in the top of the eighth against Chris Foster. After a scoreless bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth it was 13-10 going to the bottom of the ninth.
The Bells rallied and showed their grit once again. Bret Housel led off with a walk. After a Mallonee lineout, Anthony Kodama singled. Jason Shedlock delivered his only hit of the day to load the bases.
Jacob Mejia drove in a run and a wild pitch scored Kodama. It was 13-12 when Nate Kirkpatrick tied it with a single, scoring Shedlock.
The game was in Jorge Olivera’s hands and he came through. The right fielder from San Juan, Puerto Rico grounded a ball to right field, Mejia touched home and the Bells had their second walk-off of the season.
The Bells won 14-13 and won their opening series of the 2024 season two games to one loss. The team hits the road against Kamloops and the Northpaws Tuesday to Thursday and will be back June 7 to play the Ridgefield Raptors in a three-game series.
Tonight’s game recap is sponsored by Everstrong Physical Therapy and Performance.