The Bells fell to the Bend Elks by a final score of 8-6 in the 11-inning series finale. The game was tied four times and saw four lead changes.

Bellingham’s bats woke up for the second game in a row, this time to a tune of two home runs. The scoring kicked off for the Bells in the first inning, where Emilio Corona led off with a double and came around to score on a Daniel Gernon groundout. Ty Saunders blasted a solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd, his second of the year, to give the Bells a 2-0 lead. After the Elks scored two in the top of the 4th, Kyle Green gave Bellingham the lead again with a 2-run HR in the bottom of the inning. The Elks scored two in the 6th and two in the 7th to take a 6-4 lead, and Grayson Sterling tied the game in the bottom of the 7th with a 2-out, 2-RBI double.

Bend out-hit Bellingham 11-6. Emilio Corona and Ty Saunders each had two-hit games, with the other two hits belonging to Green and Sterling. Yugo Hamakawa had a nice day at the plate as well, officially going 0-2 but drawing three walks and scoring once in the process. In the last five games, Hamakawa has walked eight times and leads the team in on-base percentage (.429).

JD Callahan took the mound to start the game for Bellingham, his second appearance of the summer. He struck out four in 4.0 innings, allowing two earned runs off of two hits and a walk. Both runs came in to score in the top of the 4th on an RBI groundout and a wild pitch. Carter Parcher (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) pitched a perfect 5th in relief, leaving the game with the Bells leading 4-2.

Connor Portugal (0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) allowed two runs on three straight singles in the 6th, and was relieved mid-inning by Zack Simon (2.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K), who recorded the final two outs. Simon gave up the lead and allowed two unearned runs in the 7th off of a walk, a hit by pitch and an error in the outfield. Noah Ferguson (2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) pitched a scoreless 9th and 10th, but allowed a single and a double to the first two batters of the 11th. He was relieved by Justin Tucker (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K), who allowed both runs to score. All told, the Elks left 10 runners on base and the Bells left six.

With the loss, Bellingham falls to 7-11 on the year. They currently sit tied for 4th place in the WCL North with the Port Angeles Lefties (4-8). The Bells have three nonconference opponents due up next, with a game against the Redmond Dudes, followed by two against the Cascade Collegiate League. Redmond comes to town tomorrow, Friday, June 25th, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 PM. Get your tickets now at www.bellstickets.com.