The Bellingham Bells fell to the Ridgefield Raptors in the series finale by a final score of 8-5. Ridgefield won via a walk-off 3-run HR off the bat of Kody Darcy in the 10th.
Rigefield kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the 1st with a 2-run HR by Coby Morales. Bellingham answered back in the top of the 2nd with a 2-run shot from Grayson Sterling, scoring Charlie Saum. The homer was Sterling’s first of the summer.
The Bells scored again via the long ball in the top of the 3rd, with Cole Hinkelman blasting a solo HR – his first of the summer – to give the Bells a 3-2 lead. Ridgefield jumped back ahead in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring two runs on two hits.
Ty Saunders was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the 4th. He stole second base with two outs, and Daniel Gernon scored him on an RBI triple. Yugo Hamakawa promptly scored Gernon on an RBI single. Bellingham scored all five runs on Raptors starter Brock Gillis (3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). They were held hitless from that point on.
Bells starter JD Callahan was tagged for 4 earned runs through 3.1 innings pitched. He allowed four hits and struck out four. Kai Francis (2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) pitched the middle innings well.
Hunter Alberini finished the 6th and was on the mound for the 7th when the Raptors tied it back up. Alberini allowed the first two to reach but put the next two batters down via strikeout. He then walked the bases loaded and allowed an RBI single. He bounced back with a strikeout to end the inning.
The score held at 5-5 until the bottom of the 10th inning. Noah Ferguson (1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) walked the first batter, and intentionally walked Coby Morales. With two outs, Kody Darcy put one in the seats to seal the win for Ridgefield.
Ridgefield (13-8) pulls to within 2 games of the WCL South-leading Corvallis Knights (15-6). Bellingham (8-13) falls to last place in the WCL North, trailing the leading Yakima Valley Pippins (11-7) by 4.5 games. The Bells will be back in Bellingham tomorrow, Friday, July 2nd, to take on the Port Angeles Lefties.