In a 19-0 victory, the Bellingham Bells defeated the Cascade Collegiate League Showcase Team for their first non-league win of 2024. The Bells won off on 13 hits and their seventh shutout win of the season. Although the win and stats won’t officially count for West Coast League standings, tonight’s game was a display of talent by both sides for fans to enjoy at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash.

Justin Vose made his first career start as a Bellingham Bell after pitching in seven starts for California State University, Northridge, this spring. The Bells started their scoring with three runs in the second, one run in the third and four runs in the fourth. Vose exited his start after four innings with five strikeouts and no walks or runs allowed.

The Bells extended their 8-0 lead with six runs in the fifth inning. Edmonds College pitcher and former Sehome Mariner, Jacob Gillig, earned the win by pitching the fifth and sixth innings. The Bells would score again with five runs in the seventh to grab their lead of 19-0. The seventh was pitched by Sax Matson. In the eighth Josh Flaugher, who was recently announced an All-Star, threw one inning. Ryan Heppner would finish the shutout with a scoreless ninth inning. 

The Bells pitching staff would not allow a single walk while only allowing four hits to the CCL Showcase Team. Offensively the Bells found most of their scoring via the walk and hit-by-pitch but Gavin Long found production with two RBIs and Roman Martin, who started at third base, continued to swing the bat well after being announced as an All-Star selection. Martin had two RBIs and a double tonight. Another All-Star, Jacob Mejia, had a pair of RBIs but would exit early for Conner Smith to get a try at first base. Jason Shedlock and Anthony Kodama both had two hits and two RBIs. The catchers Danny Witter and Jeremiah Robbins combined for two hits and three RBIs while Bryce Johnson had a single and an RBI.

The Bells continue their non-league play with two games, tomorrow and Thursday, against the Northwest Star Nighthawks. The game starts at 6:35 p.m. and the Bells look to take advantage of the non-league schedule to experiment with their lineups and pitchers. 

Tonight we saw Kaikea Harrison play shortstop for the first time this season with Roman Martin also making his first start at third base in 2024. We saw Danny Witters catch for the first time at home this year with bullpen catcher Jeremiah Robbins seeing some playing time by subbing in for Witters mid-game. Conner Smith played first base for the first time this year and moves like that are ones that you can only mess with during non-league games. The fun environment of winning and trying new things led to a great Bells victory, 19-0.

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