Post from the Coast: The WCL on OSC
by Bruce Baskin
August 18, 2014 - West Coast League (WCL)
BELLINGHAM TOPS CORVALLIS, 4-1, TO TIE WCL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Third baseman Dallas Carroll (Utah) went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs while reliever Dan Ludwig (Belmont) hurled 5.1 scoreless innings to help the Bellingham Bells beat Corvallis, 4-1, Sunday night at home in the West Coast League championship series. The best-of-3 set is now tied at a game apiece after the Knights won Game One on Friday in Oregon.
The Bells jumped on Corvallis P Chris Bishop (Pacific Lutheran) for two runs in the bottom of the first inning when 2B Dustin Breshears (Gonzaga) and Carroll led off the game with singles. Breshears eventually scored on a groundout to second by DH Danny Miller (Chico St) while Carroll passed the tollbooth on a Bishop wild pitch to CF Jack Klein (Stanford) to make it 2-0.
Corvallis got one run back in the top of the fourth when CF Grant Melker (San Diego) singled in RF Scott Quinlan (UC Santa Barbara) from third off Bells starting P Ryan McMonigle (Concordia), cutting Bellingham's lead in half.
The Bells effectively put the game away in the eighth when Carroll stroked a leadoff double, followed by a 1B Scott Heath (Maine) walk and a Miller single to load the bases for Klein, who walked to push Carroll across with his second run to raise the score to 3-1. One out later, C Eric Webber (Georgetown) lofted a sacrifice fly to Quinlan in right to send in Heath to give Bellingham a 4-1a dvantage.
By then, Ludwig had already tossed four-plus shutout frames and after allowing a leadoff double to DH Tim Rausch (Western Oregon), he retired the next three Knight batters in succession, with 1B Dalton Kelly (Oregon) striking out swinging to end the game. Ludwig finished with five whiffs and no walks to get the win while running his postseason streak to nine innings without allowing a run over three appearances. Bishop, who settled down to blank the Bells between the second and sixth frames, absorbed the loss.
The game was played at Bellingham's jam-packed Joe Martin Field, where 2,683 spectators squeezed into the 2,100-seat ballpark. The Bells averaged 1,331 fans over 27 regular season openings, fifth in the WCL, but had a turnout of 2,435 for last Wednesday's playoff game against Yakima Valley after drawing 5,867 for their last two regular season home games before embarking on a ten-game road trip (and going 5-5) to end the schedule.
Game Three to decide the WCL pennant is slated for Monday at 7:05PM in Bellingham. Corvallis is trying for their second straight flag (and fourth overall) while the Bells seek their first league title after an eight-year absence in the title series.
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West Coast League Stories from August 18, 2014
- Post from the Coast: The WCL on OSC - OSC Original by Bruce Baskin
- Post from the Coast: The WCL on OSC - OSC Original by Bruce Baskin
- Post from the Coast: The WCL on OSC - OSC Original by Bruce Baskin
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