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WCL Bellingham Bells

Bells Walk It off in the 12th

June 10, 2016 - West Coast League (WCL)
Bellingham Bells News Release


The Bells outlasted the Corvallis Knights via a walkoff sacrifice fly from Landon Riker in the bottom of the 12th inning Thursday night. The marathon game seemed as if it would never end but the Bells struck the final blow of the night to salvage the final game of the three game set from the Corvallis Knights.

The game started off in exciting fashion in the top of the 1st. After reaching on a controversial fielder's choice the Knight's left fielder Taylor Travess stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. The next at bat Travess broke for home and was controversially called safe, giving the Knights their first run of the game on a straight steal of home.

The Bells would answer in the bottom of the first with a run of their own. Shane Hanon lead the inning off with an infield single and two batters later Danny Casals ripped a double over the left fielders head, allowing Hanon to motor home all the way from first.

The next two innings would go smoothly for both starters, Payton Mackin for the Bells, and Jacob Wong for the Knights. In the top of the 4th a leadoff walk to Cody Hawken would lead to an RBI groundout from Andrew Reichenbach allowing the Knights to take the lead 2-1. But the Bells immediately came back in the bottom of the inning with a run of their own as a two out walk to second baseman Landon Packard lead to an RBI single from the next batter Brock Anderson, after Packard stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher.

The Knights then manufactured a run in the top of the 5th to take the lead 3-2. And after the fifth both starters were out of the game and it turned into a battle of the bullpens. The trio of Jeff Gelinas, Henry Stellwagen and Josh Zavisubin would end up combining for 7.2 scoreless innings in relief for the Bells tonight, proving to be a big factor in the win.

In the bottom of the ninth the Bells came up to the plate still down 3-2, but a clutch line drive single from Ben Welch gave the Bells life with one out. Two wild pitches and a strike out later Welch was on third base with two outs and Brock Anderson coming to the plate. With the count at 3-2 Chase Kaplan the Corvallis closer uncorked one more wild pitch allowing Welch to score and tie the game sending it to extra innings.

The game would end up going to the bottom of the 12th still tied and the Bells sniffing their first home win of 2016. Matt DiLeo who came in for Brock Anderson after he appeared to injure his hand in the bottom of the 9th lead the inning off by getting hit by a pitch, and it was just the spark the Bells needed. After Dileo stole second Griffin Mueller advanced him to third with a bunt, setting the stage for Landon Riker to be the hero. He would come through when the Bells needed it most with a sacrifice fly to center field to walk it off in extras. Riker spoke on the confidence boost he received from the walk off sac fly after the game saying, "It's a big confidence boost 100% as I go forward this summer and it feels great to come through in a big moment." Head Coach Mike Gange also spoke on the win after the game, "it's great to get a win, but it's a long season and we are going to have to grind it out every night to get where we want to be."

The Bells take the field again tomorrow Friday June 10th for the first game of their weekend series against the Bend Elks at 7:05. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:35 on 930 AM KBAI with Tom Prizeman at 6:35. To purchase tickets visit http://bellinghambells.com/home/ or call (367) 527-1035.

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West Coast League Stories from June 10, 2016


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