There was dominant pitching by both the Wenatchee AppleSox and the Bellingham Bells. The Bells though lost 2-0 at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium, June 12, in Wenatchee, Wash. 

The Bellingham Bells put up five hits in the game but were unable to bring any runners across against the AppleSox. AppleSox starter Garrett Ahern had six strikeouts in four innings. Middle reliever Andrew Monson earned the win with a one hit fifth with two strikeouts.

Caleb Cassie earned his second loss of the season in four innings where he allowed the two runs on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts. The right-handed pitcher out of Queens College now has 12 strikeouts in eight innings.

Both runs for Wenatchee were scored in the bottom of the third inning. The scoring began on a Kade Benavidez double that scored Aidan Dougherty who reached with a single. Antonio Gianni grounded out to score Hartman who had reached on a walk.

The Bells biggest chances came in the third and fifth innings. In the third, Conner Smith led off with a single and Gabe Henderson followed with a single of his own. With runners on first and second the Bells would strike out three times in a row to end the frame.

In the fifth the Bells had Smith, who reached on a walk, on second and Danny Witters, who reached on a single, on first with two outs. Trent Mallonee flew out and the Bells left runners stranded again. In total the Bells left five runners on base.

Smith led the way going 1 for 2 with a walk. Mallonee, Henderson, Witters, and Jacob Mejia all had one hit in the game. The Bells bullpen consisted of Will Anderson, Nathan Van Beek, and Lane Simonsen. The pen went on to throw a combined five innings with Anderson surrendering the only hit in those five innings. As a staff the Bells struck out 13 batters, a season high.

With the loss the Bells fell to 6-5 and the AppleSox improved to 8-3 and sit atop the North Division in the West Coast League.

The Bells will look to take the rubber match tomorrow at Wenatchee. The team will then play the Kelowna Falcons in a three-game series starting Friday and return home Tuesday to begin a three-game series against Kamloops.

Get your tickets to every Bellingham Bells home game at bellstickets.com. Watch every Bells game on the WCL’s live streaming site and listen to every home game on the Bells Mixlr site.

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