The Portland Pickles (4-3) stifled the Bells (5-8) by a final score of 4-0 on Friday at Joe Martin Field. Bellingham finished with seven hits and one error, and the Pickles had six and zero.

RHP Brody Jessee (3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 3 K) allowed a baserunner in each of his innings but exited with the game tied 0-0. He was a flamethrower in his Bells debut, with his fastball maxing out at 96.1 MPH. Zack Simon (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) was pegged with the loss. He is now 0-2 on the season with a 2.53 ERA. Carter Parcher (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) and Greg Blackman (2.o IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) also made relief appearances. The Pickles scored on an RBI single in the 4th, and an RBI single paired with an error in the outfield in the 7th.

Despite not scoring any runs, the Bells certainly made it interesting. Trailing 3-0, the first two runners of the 9th inning reached on a walk and a hit by pitch. SS Riley Parker struck out swinging, but 3B AJ Davis loaded the bases with just one out. However, the next two Bells struck out to end the game. Bellingham bats were plagued by good pitching all game, and the team struck out 15 times.

Davis and Parker each went 2-4, the only Bells with multiple hits. The top of the order of OF Emilio Corona, 2B Yugo Hamakawa and OF Daniel Gernon each recorded a single. DH Grayson Sterling went 0-2 with two walks. Bellingham left a total of 10 runners on base. After tonight, the team is slashing .232/.341/.322, and ranks 6th in the WCL in each of those categories.

Bellingham will be back in action tomorrow night against the Portland Pickles for game two. Highly-touted UCLA-commit Thatcher Hurd will be on the mound to make his first appearance as a Bell, and the team will be looking to snap their two-game losing streak. Get your tickets now at www.bellstickets.com.