Austyn Coleman threw 6.1 innings of one-hit ball to lead the Bellingham Bells over the Corvallis Knights 3-0 Sunday afternoon in the aptly-named Coleman Field in Corvallis. Corvallis had never been shut-out this season previous to today’s game, and suffered just their third loss, with two of those coming this past weekend against the Bells. With the win, the Bells won a significant series against the Knights in a battle between the West Coast League’s two top teams.

The Bells came out strong, drawing three walks to load the bases in the first inning. The Knights made an early pitching change, bringing Neil Feist in for starter Nathan DeSchryver (1-1), who took the loss. Promptly after the substitution, Gavin Schulz hit an RBI single to drive in Josh Trujillo and Teo Banks, putting the Bells up 2-0.

In the second inning, Elijah Hainline reached first on a single before advancing to second on a wild pitch. From there, Trujillo hit a single to score Hainline and increase the lead to three, and there would be no further scoring from there on.

Trujillo had a nice night from the plate, going 2-4 with a walk, a run and an RBI. He played his tenth game this season with the Bells as a late addition to the team, and has been hitting .292 with an impressive OBP of .455 as he’s slowly etched his way into the two-hole in their lineup. Hainline and Jack Van Remortel each chipped in with two hits.

After Coleman (2-2) was taken out in the seventh, Wesley Moore and Ryan Beitel finished the Knights off, with all three pitchers allowing a combined total of three hits. Even more impressive, the Bells walked just one batter on the Knights the entire game.

After the game, Coleman said he felt right at home when asked about the 95-degree weather in Corvallis. He also said that he didn’t mind getting the call to leave the game when his pitch count reached 75 in the seventh inning.

With the win, the Bells improve to 15-5, holding their steady 3.5 game lead over the second-place Kamloops NorthPaws in the North Division. The Knights fall to 12-3, with the Bend Elks growing closer at just one game behind in the South. The Bells travel to Bend tomorrow to play the Elks, who own the third-best record in the WCL at 14-7.