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The Bellingham Bells beat the Kamloops NorthPaws 7-0 on Wednesday, July 31, at Norbrock Stadium in Kamloops, British Columbia. Lathan Haywood pitched a quality start in his six innings where he allowed just two hits and no walks but one hit-by-pitch. The Bells evened their road series against the NorthPaws and will play the rubber game at 6:35 p.m., tomorrow night.

Three runs scored in the very first inning for a hot start to this North Division matchup in the Bells favor. After Gavin Long and Roman Martin reached, Nate Kirkpatrick hit his fourth home run of the season on a three-run bomb to open the game for the Bells.

The Bells added to their 3-0 lead with a run coming in the top of the third inning. Martin was hit by a pitch to open the frame and Kirkpatrick singled behind him. Jacob Mejia drove in Martin on a single to put the Bells ahead 4-0.

The lead continued to grow in the fourth inning when Martin hit an RBI single that scored Colton Bower who had led off the inning with a walk. Two extra insurance runs were added in the fifth inning when Jorge Olivera doubled and Logan Degroot tripled. Degroot scored from third on a balk and the Bells led 7-0.

The starter Lathan Haywood earned his first quality start of the season by going six innings and only allowing two hits, both which came in the second inning. Jack Svinth would have the job of keeping the game a shutout in a seventh inning where the Bells had a 7-0 lead. Svinth would keep it scoreless as he allowed only one hit while striking out one. Nic Peterson came in to make the shutout a sure thing for the final two innings where he gave up one hit and struck out two.

The three arms tonight allowed just four hits and no walks to the NothPaws while striking out seven batters in the league leading ninth shutout of the season. The offense tallied seven runs for the second time this road trip off of 13 hits, four for extra bases.

The offense was led by Kirkpatrick who went 3 for 5 including a three-run home run in the first inning. Degroot went 2 for 4 at the plate with an RBI triple. Long had a 2 for 5 night with a run scored. Martin was 1 for 2 at the plate as he drew two walks and scored two runs while driving in one as well. Anthony Kodama provided a spark at the bottom of the order by going 3 for 5 tonight.

Tomorrow night the Bells and NorthPaws play to determine the series winner at Kamloops. The Bells are 12-8 in the second half of the season, tied for the North Division lead with Victoria, and are 29-18 overall which is the second best record in the North Division for the entire season. Next up for the Bells is a crucial series at Joe Martin Field against the Victoria Harbourcats that could lead to determining the second half winner in the North Division. Come root on your Bellingham Bells this weekend at Joe Martin Field for the three games against the Harbourcats.

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