Hawks Dominant Opening Day Spoiled By Bells in 9th

2024-05-31

Fresh faces in the lineup and a reliable pair of arms can’t contain the surprise loss with one out to go

By Cody F. Schmidt

It was a last-minute upset in Bellingham, as the Edmonton Riverhawks were bested by the Bells with two outs in the 9th inning. At the time holding onto a 4-3 lead, shortstop #47 William Vasseur dove for a fly ball and while his glove reached, the 2B umpire ruled that the ball touched the ground. Amidst the chaos the Bells were able to send a pair of runners home for a painful walk off win. This all happened two batters after what seemed like a deep fly ball was caught by #10 Demitri Shakotko near the wall, only for it to be ruled a dropped ball as well. With the missed outs the Riverhawks also miss out on their first win of the season after leading since the 2nd.

The Riverhawks got on the board early as #35 Trent Lenihan led off the 2nd with a sharp single to left, then was driven home two batters later by #5 Bryce McFeely. Both knocks blasted past the Bells’ SS to get picked up in the outfield. The Riverhawks struck early enough that McFeely’s RBI was the first run of the year scored across the entire WCL.

The Bells threatened for the first time in the bottom of the 3rd. After 3B #36 Jakob Poturnak made a fantastic charging play to earn the first out, then after a walk and a single, McFeely and #6 Tachi Nakao caught the trailing runner between the bases to successfully pull of a rundown and quiet Bellingham’s momentum.

With one out in the 5th Nakao impressed by blazing an infield hit up the middle, and beat out the throw by racing down the line. The rally continued as Porturnak singled, followed by Vasseur dropping a ball in left-centre to bring Nakao home. Lenihan blasted his second hit of the game for a double and made it a 4-0 ballgame, bringing both runners home.

Picking right back up from where he left off last season #33 Halen Knoll tactfully handled the Bells’ batters through 6.0 innings of work. Working with the lead nearly the whole time, Halen looked comfortable despite a pair of walks and a few wild pitches. Backed up by an active infield, the 2023 WCL Pitcher of the Year was able to toss a quartet of strikeouts including one to cap off a 5-pitch 5th inning. A solo homer was the only run charged to Knoll who still exits his first game with an ERA under 3.0.

Taking over on the mound in the bottom of the 7th is returning Riverhawk #18 Riley Barrett. While he gave up the second Bells run, Barrett was also able to keep his 2023 momentum and limit the damage in his 2.0 relief innings with a single strike out and earned run.

The only new arm sent out in relief was #13 Kai Fyke who pitched the 9th inning, running into trouble with the three earned runs that sent the Bells ahead. The series with the Bells continues tomorrow night, as the Riverhawks will try and turn around tonight’s result.

It’s less than a week until the Hawks’ June 7 Home Opener, the first of nine straight home games! It will be a thrilling home opener including a spectacular Indigenous Peoples performances and a dazzling display by Uncle John’s Fireworks after the game. That’s just the start of a packed promo schedule, which includes tons of fun theme nights and wacky promotions. Swifties, wrestlers, fire breathing dragons, dogs and more - you never know what you might see! Check out the full promotion schedule here. Get your tickets now for the home opener and every other game this season at tickets.gohawks.ca