The Bellingham Bells lost in 10 innings, 8-7, on June 13 against the Wenatchee AppleSox at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium. The Bells fell to 6-6 and lost the series 2-1 against the AppleSox. The Bells now travel to Kelowna to play the Falcons this weekend.
The high scoring contest began in the very first inning where an error by second baseman Antonio Gianni allowed Gabe Henderson, who led off with a double, to score and give the Bells a 1-0 lead.
The AppleSox answered right back in the bottom half of the first inning with two runs against Bells starting pitcher Will Franklin. The Bells tied it 2-2 in the top of the second inning with another Henderson double that scored Bryce Johnson, who reached with a single earlier in the inning.
Wenatchee scored twice right away again in the bottom of the second inning. The Bells evened the score at 3-3 in the top of the third inning with a solo home run from Jacob Mejia, his second home run of the season.
Franklin would allow his fourth earned run of the game in the fifth inning. Franklin would finish five innings with four hits and three walks allowed with two strikeouts. He would receive a no decision in the start and his ERA sits at 3.85.
Two runs were scored in the sixth inning by the Bells on a two RBI single from Jason Shedlock that scored Conner Smith and Anthony Kodama who were both on base thanks to walks. Wenatchee would immediately answer once again with the help of two errors by the Bells corner outfielders.
In the bottom of the eighth, the AppleSox furthered their lead with a singular run against Chris Foster. The Bells, trailing 7-5 would not go down easily. A ninth inning rally saw Nate Kirkpatrick lead off with a single. Mejia followed with a double and the tying runs were in scoring position. Kaikea Harrison struck out and Smith followed with a walk to load the bases. Kodama would strike out for out number two.
Lewis and Clark College commit Bryce Johnson had the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth. The Bells needed two runs to hopefully extend the game. Johnson got a clutch base hit to score Kirkpatrick and Mejia, tying the game at 7-7. After a scoreless ninth tossed by Foster, the Bells would force their second extra innings game of the season.
In extra innings the AppleSox would walk it off in the 10th thanks to an Aidan Dougherty double off of Ryan Heppner. Heppner would receive the loss in his fourth appearance of the season. The Bells lost the series despite 13 hits in tonight’s game. Three errors today by the defense resulted in three runs scoring against the Bells.
The Bells were highlighted by Mejia’s 3 for 3 performance with a home run, two doubles, two walks and two runs scored. Trent Mallonee, Henderson, Kirkpatrick, and Johnson all had two-hit days with Henderson picking up two doubles and Mallonee having one double. Johnson and Shedlock led the team with two RBI each.
The team looks to bounce back in a three-game weekend series at Kelowna against the Falcons. The Bells will be back at Joe Martin Field for three games against the Kamloops NorthPaws Tuesday thru Thursday. Get your tickets at bellstickets.com and watch every Bells game on the WCL’s live streaming site. Listen to every home game on the Bells Mixlr page.
Tonight’s game recap is presented by Everstrong Physical Therapy and Performance.