All good things must come to an end — including the Bellingham Bells’ win streak they rode all the way to 10 games last week.
A loss to the Corvallis Knights snapped the team’s winning ways, but it was the only blemish in a week where they posted a 5-1 record to improve to 15-5 overall before a three-game series against the Bend Elks June 27–29.
Bellingham’s win streak looked like it was in jeopardy June 21 against the Port Angeles Lefties. The Bells and Lefties were tied at 1-1 headed to the bottom of the ninth inning. Third baseman Christopher Campos came up clutch for the Bells with a walk-off single that brought Gavin Schulz home for the 2-1 win.
Ryan Scott was the winning pitcher with one scoreless inning pitched. At the time, it brought Bellingham’s winning streak to seven in a row.
The Bellingham Bells’ Cole Hage makes a leaping catch to rob a home run as the Bells beat the Port Angeles Lefties 2-1 at Joe Martin Field on June 21. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
In the second game of the series, the Bells scored six runs across the first five innings, putting themselves out in front 6-0. Cole Hage recorded an RBI single to push the first run across. Hage got the job done again in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI double after a run scored on an error earlier in the inning.
A double from Schulz in the sixth cleared the bases and gave Bellingham control of the game with a 6-0 lead.
Port Angeles’s comeback bid late in the game fell short as the Bells won 6-5 and pushed the winning streak to eight.
Ryan Beitel pitched 2 1/3 innings, striking out three and allowing one run to earn the pitching win. Campos recorded the save as he struck out two and allowed two runs in one inning pitched.
The series finale on June 23 saw the Bells and Lefties once again playing in a tight battle. Bellingham got a much-needed seventh-inning outburst from its offense to blow the game open after the two teams were knotted at 3-3.
Trevin Hope keeps an eye on the strike zone as he delivers a pitch. Hope struck out eight batters as the Bells beat the Port Angeles Lefties 2-1 at Joe Martin Field on June 21. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
The Bells scored four runs in the seventh and the pitching crew sat down the Lefties to lock down Bellingham’s ninth-straight win.
Teo Banks hit in the go-ahead run for the Bells with an RBI single that put them up 4-3. Insurance runs came courtesy of Jack Van Remortel who drew a walk with the bases loaded, followed by a two-run double from Jacob Schroeder that brought the lead to 7-3.
The win gave the Bells their third-straight series sweep, setting up a huge road series against South Division leader Corvallis Knights.
Against Corvallis, Bellingham won the first game of the series, pushing its win streak to 10, with a close 8-7 victory in 11 innings.
Daniel Gernon drives in a run as the Bellingham Bells beat the Port Angeles Lefties 2-1 on June 21. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
Bellingham was leading 7-1 early, but Corvallis slowly crept its way back into the game, scoring a run or two in just about every inning.
The Knights scored two in the bottom of the ninth to tie things up and send the game to extra innings, but Hage scored the winning run from first on an error by the Corvallis infield after a single from Schulz.
Corvallis evened things up in the series the next night with an 8-4 win, but Bellingham bounced back in the rubber match with a 3-0 win to take the series.
The Bells will return home for a seven-game homestand beginning July 1 following their series against the Bend Elks.
