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The Bellingham Bells fell 3-1 to the Edmonton Riverhawks in the first game of the 2024 West Coast League Playoff. The Divisional Series opened with a 1-0 lead for the Bells but three unanswered runs scored with the help of two errors on the Bells defense to lead to a game one win for Edmonton.
Devyn Hernandez was the starting pitcher tonight for Bellingham. Hernandez went four innings deep in his start and exited with a 1-1 scoreline. The Bells tallied the first run of the game on a Jason Shedlock RBI single that scored Logan Degroot who had reached on a single.
Hernandez had his one earned run given up in the fourth inning where he allowed three of his six total hits to the Riverhawks offense. Jacob Gillig took over for the fifth inning and kept the game even 1-1. Lane Simonsen entered the sixth inning and surrendered the lead by giving up two unearned runs. The runs did score with the help of an error on Simonsen who threw a ball past first base on a pickoff attempt for an error. Logan Degroot then lost a ball in right field on a pop fly and the Riverhawks pulled ahead 3-1.
Despite a scoreless two innings from Nick Lewis, the Bells could not tally any runs against the 2023 WCL Pitcher of the Year Halen Knoll. Knoll went seven innings and allowed eight hits but only one walk. From there the Riverhawks bullpen shutdown the Bells by not allowing any hits nor walks combined. Overall the Bells had their eight hits all against Knoll with nine hits allowed by the Bells staff and two errors on the defense. This is a Bells defense that had the least errors of all WCL teams in 2024.
The Bells were led by Anthony Kodama and Degroot who both had two hits tonight. The offensive production came from Shedlock’s 1 for 4 night which included the lone RBI for Bellingham. The Bells only struck out three times at the plate tonight but only drew one walk as well.
Next up is game two of the Divisional Series which will be played at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Wash. Game two is tomorrow, Sunday, and begins at 6:35 p.m. Get your tickets at bellstickets.com as the Bells look to even the series and push the Riverhawks into a winner-take-all Monday matchup in Bellingham.
In the other Divisional Series matchups tonight, the Victoria HarbourCats (#4) picked up a 4-2 win over the Wenatchee AppleSox (#1). In the South the Corvallis Knights (#1) beat the Ridgefield Raptors (#4) by a score of 5-3. The other matchup in the South Division was the Portland Pickles (#2) winning 7-2 over the Bend Elks (#3).
Tonight’s game recap is presented by Everstrong Physical Therapy and Performance.