Recent addition in the outfield Easton Amundson went 2-4 in the Bellingham Bells’ 9-2 loss to the Edmonton Riverhawks Friday night, extending his hit streak to nine games. Amundson has safely hit in all nine games he’s played with the Bells, starting from July 13. He leads the team in batting average at .463, in addition to three home runs and nine RBIs.
Edmonton got off to an early start with two runs in the first coming off a sac fly and an RBI double by Emiliano Gonzalez. They added one more in the second on a solo homer by Brett Grupe, his first of the season.
Jaidon Matthews hit an RBI single to score Amundson in the third, then Chandler Tuupo followed it by stealing home to bring it within one. The Riverhawks ran away with the game in the sixth inning with a six-run flurry highlighted by a 2-run double by Clayton Loranger to settle the game at 9-2. The Bells would not score again after their two runs in the third.
Hawks hurler Riley Barrett (3-4) picked up the win, tossing six innings with two runs allowed and six K’s. Shane Spencer (2-2) took the loss for the Bells after giving up seven runs, five of them earned. Despite the off outing, Spencer’s ERA still sits at an impressive 2.01 after allowing his first earned run of the season.
Bellingham falls to 29-16, 10-9 in the second half, while the Riverhawks improve to 22-23, tied for first in the North Division in the second half with a record of 11-8. The Bells and Hawks will rematch Saturday night in the second of the three game series, with the Bells looking to even things up with Cody Delvecchio making his fifh start of the season.