The Kelowna Falcons bats were silenced on Thursday night as they dropped the series finale of their three-game set to the Bellingham Bells by a 3-1 score at Joe Martin Field.
In a series that was decided by the arms on the mound, the final was no different with five different pitchers for the Bells toeing the rubber and not allowing the Falcons much when it came to offence.
The same can be said about Kelowna’s pitching staff, which starting with Gabe Smith, who threw four innings but had some trouble in the opening inning that ended up deciding the game.
The Bells sent seven men to the plate, taking the lead on an RBI single from Jordan Vujovich and jumped ahead 1-0. Back-to-back RBI groundouts from Derek Marshall and Logan Stevens pushes the home side ahead by a 3-0 score after the opening inning came to an end.
Matthew Henckel started for the Bells, tossing two innings of scoreless ball before the Falcons found the scoreboard in the 3rd inning to cut the deficit to 3-1. After a Jake Fischer single to lead off the inning, Austen Butler was able to drive him home from third on an RBI groundout for his second run batted in of the season.
Smith gave way to Wyatt Hummel after four innings of work, allowing three runs (two of them earned) and two hits as Hummel came in a worked out of a jam before settling into a nice groove. The West Kelowna, BC product threw the final four innings of play and surrendered no runs with just one hit getting across under his watch.
Bellingham continued to stymie Kelowna’s bats, limiting them to no hits through to the end of the game after the Falcons had pressed early in the game. The trio of Will Dennis, Eric Anderson and Jimmy Chatfield closed the door from there, with Chatfield earning the save and helping the Bells to a 3-1 victory and a series win over the Falcons.
The Falcons (1-2) return to action on Friday night in the home opener at Elks Stadium as they host the Ridgefield Raptors (1-2) for a 6:35 PM first pitch.