The Bellingham Bells defeated the Highline Bears by a final score of 19-0 on Friday night. The victory was Bellingham’s largest score differential and most runs scored on the year.

Bellingham kicked off the game with a six-run 1st inning and never looked back. Daniel Gernon and Yugo Hamakawa each reached to lead off, and Bennett Lee scored Gernon on an RBI single. The hit extended Lee’s hitting streak to 6 games, and he is batting .481 over that span. Cole Hinkelman then came to the plate and unleashed a mammoth 424-ft moonshot over the right-field fence. It was the longest home run tracked at Joe Martin this year. The Bells added two more runs on an RBI single from Malakhi Knight and an RBI fielder’s choice from Emilio Corona.

They kept the ball rolling in the 2nd, adding five more runs. Hamakawa led off with a double and was scored on an RBI single from Bennett Lee. Hinkelman and Charlie Saum reached to load the bases, and they all came in to score on a bases-loaded walk, RBI single and sacrifice fly. Alex Lambeau, who drew the walk, was scored on an RBI single by Emilio Corona. After two, the Bells led 11-0.

Not satisfied yet, Bellingham scored four more in the bottom of the 3rd. Hamakawa led off with a single, and the next two batters reached to load the bases once again. Hamakawa scored on an error by the pitcher, and AJ Davis was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score another run. Lambeau scored another on a double play, and Knight pitched in with another RBI single.

The scoring continued into the 4th, where Yugo Hamakawa shot a line-drive home run over the right field wall for his first home run of the year. Daniel Gernon added an RBI single in the 5th, and Cody Schrier scored the final two runs on an RBI double later that inning.

All told, the Bells scored 19 runs off of 16 hits and four walks. They struck out 10 times and left seven runners on base. Lee, Corona and Lambeau each notched two hits, and Hamakawa, and Knight each had three. This was Bennett Lee’s fourth time recording multiple hits in his last three games. Hinkelman and Knight led the way with 3 RBI’s each, and Lee, Schrier and Corona each had two. Hamakawa also scored four runs, and was named Player of the Game for his effective night.

The pitching was just as good tonight, and the team took a no-hitter into the 8th inning. Trevor Barth (4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K) started off the game with three perfect innings and left with a 16-0 lead. He was relieved by James Spickelmier (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K), who only allowed one baserunners in two quality innings. Connor Portugal (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K) struck out the side in the 7th, and allowed the first base hit of the game to lead off the 8th. He bounced back nicely to continue the shutout, and earned the win. Josiah George (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K) locked it down in the 9th to complete the 2-hit shutout. In total, Bellingham collected 16 strikeouts and walked three batters.

This was the second time in four games that the Bells have scored 18+ runs (18-0 W @ Portland on August 3rd). Over this span, Bellingham has out-scored their opponents 46-6. They will look to keep the hot streak going tomorrow against Highline, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 PM. You can get tickets for Bellingham’s penultimate home game at www.bellstickets.com