The Bellingham Bells defeated the NW Star Nighthawks on Tuesday, July 20th by a final score of 6-0. The Bells out-hit the Nighthawks 6-2 and did not commit an error.
RHP Joey Dixon was terrific on the mound, tossing six scoreless innings. He started off the game with four straight 1-2-3 innings, only allowing two hits. Four runners reached in that time, but each were retired on the basepaths. He only got into trouble in the 6th, where an inning-ending, over-the-shoulder grab by Yugo Hamakawa extinguished a bases-loaded threat.
The scoring opened in the bottom of the 2nd inning on a 3-run homer to center field by Malakhi Knight, scoring Luis Aviles and AJ Davis. The long bomb was his second HR of the summer, and he blasted it 103 MPH off the bat. Cole Hinkelman added to the lead in the 3rd with a home run of his own, a leadoff moonshot that snuck inside the right field foul pole.
Emilio Corona added to his team-leading RBI count (20) with a bases-loaded sac fly in the 5th, scoring AJ Davis. Malakhi Knight also on a broken play on the basepath. All told, the Bells drew seven walks and left seven runners on base, while striking out nine times.
The Bells’ relievers did their job well, completing Dixon’s scoreless start. David Gibons (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) made his Bells debut, and Kai Francis (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) and Carter Parcher (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K) were lights-out in the win. The Nighthawks left six runners on base, and were struck out 13 times.
The Bells will face the NW Star Nighthawks again tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 21st. You can get tickets now at www.bellstickets.com