The Bellingham Bells completed their six-game, season-opening home stand Thursday night, winning two of three games against the visiting Cowlitz Black Bears June 6–8 at Joe Martin Stadium.
Bellingham, now 5-1 overall on the season, moved into second place in the West Coast League North Division behind only the Victoria HarbourCats (6-0). The Bells swept the Edmonton Riverhawks in their first three-game series of the season.
“I thought we played really well,” Bells coach Jim Clem said of his team’s play against the Black Bears. “Even the one game we lost, it was a one-run game, so those don’t always go your way. But, we’ve been on the right end of a lot of them already. I feel real good about where we’re at.”
The Bells head to Serauxmen Stadium in Nanaimo, British Columbia, for a three-game series with the Nanaimo NightOwls (3-3) from June 9–11. Game times can be found on the Bellingham Bells website.
Here’s a recap of how the Bells fared in their three-game series versus Cowlitz.
Elliot scores winning run in top of ninth, Cowlitz takes game 1
The Black Bears’ Chase Elliot scored a go-ahead, unearned run for Cowlitz in the top of the ninth inning and held on to beat the Bells 4-3 in the series opener on June 6.
Bellingham, which led 3-1 heading into the sixth inning, suffered its first loss of the season despite matching Cowlitz with 10 hits.
The Bells tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly from outfielder Coleman Schmidt that scored outfielder Brady Reynolds.
Bellingham catcher Garner Christensen hit a bases-loaded RBI single on the next at-bat, scoring infielder Yohann Dessureault, and giving the Bells their first lead of the game, 2-1.
Bells outfielder Andrew Valdez added another run in the bottom of the fifth via a sacrifice fly to score infielder Wyatt Hall, but the Black Bears rallied in the eighth to tie the game at 3-3.
Elliot scored in the top of the ninth for Cowlitz, and Bellingham left one on base at the game’s end.
Christensen went 2-for-4 batting for the Bells, adding an RBI. Hall also finished the game 2 for 4 at the plate for Bellingham. On the mound, right-handed pitcher Jack Erdman pitched 4.1 innings and allowed three hits and no earned runs while striking out two batters.
Cowlitz right-handed pitcher Nick Silvia was credited the win after throwing two innings and allowing two hits and no earned runs while striking out three.
Bells bounce back, earn one-run game 2 win
Bellingham’s defense held strong after the Bells went up 3-0 in the third inning but were blanked the remaining five, earning a 3-2 win over the Black Bears on June 7.
The Bells’ three-run burst in the bottom of the third was ignited by a solo home run from infielder Cole Yoshida — the team’s first homer of the season.
First baseman Cole Williams hit a two-out single three batters later, scoring Reynolds to extend Bellingham’s lead to 2-0. Third baseman Nate Kirkpatrick repeated that effort on the Bells’ next at-bat to score Williams, but Kirkpatrick was put out to end the inning.
Cowlitz didn’t respond until the top of the fifth, and Bellingham managed to only surrender two runs despite allowing the Black Bears to load the diamond.
Neither team mustered any offense over the final four innings, and the Bells earned the bounce-back victory.
Right-handed pitcher Nathan Van Beek earned the win for Bellingham, pitching four innings and allowing six hits, two earned runs and a walk while striking out one. Right-hander Carter Parcher, a Lynden High School alum, also pitched three innings and allowed just two hits and no earned runs or walks.
“The pitching staff … collectively, they’ve all pitched well,” Clem said. “We’re using four guys a game, and we haven’t given up many runs.”
The Bells had just four hits — spread across four batters — to Cowlitz’s six, and Yoshida’s home run proved the difference. The Black Bears struggled to drive in runs, leaving six on base in the game.
Bells win series with shutout in game 3
Bellingham maintained its momentum into the final game of the series, beating Cowlitz 5-0.
The Bells took a 3-0 lead into the third inning before adding two more runs over the final seven frames.
The Black Bears out-hit the Bells for the second-straight game, 5-4, but Bellingham’s defense backed up its pitching once again. A full box score for game 3 was not available prior to publication.
