Hawks Kick Off Road Trip With 8-6 Win Against Bellingham

2025-07-09

Edmonton takes game one over Bellingham with 11 hits

By Larry Read

BELLINGHAM, WA—

The Edmonton Riverhawks launched their final road swing before the West Coast League all-star break on the right foot. The Riverhawks opened a three-game set at Joe Martin Stadium by beating the host Bellingham Bells 8-5. Edmonton improves to 3-1 in the second half of the WCL season while Bellingham falls to 3-4.

The Riverhawks scored two runs in the top of the first and were up 4-0 after two and a half innings before Bellingham tallied three times in the bottom of the third to make it a 4-3 contest.

But Edmonton responded with a run in the fourth and three more in the top of the sixth inning to lead 8-3. The Bells added two runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to three.

The Riverhawks scored eight runs on 11 hits and committed two errors. Bellingham’s six runs came on 10 hits with two errors.

Recapping the scoring: #48 Max Stagg hit a single to left field which brought in #6 Robert Phelps and #13 Grant Yzermans. Phelps had singled to start the game and Yzermans had walked.

In the top of the third, #35 Trent Lenihan hit a two out single to left field and scored on an RBI single off the bat of # 23 Tyree Reed to make it 3-0 visitors. The Riverhawks widened their lead to four when #32 Jason Green walked and scored on a single to centerfield by #36 Mitchell Middlemiss. Reed and Middlemiss were both 1-4 with a run batted in.

Bellingham scored three runs on three hits in the bottom of the third inning to cut the Riverhawks lead to 4-3.

Edmonton restored their two-run advantage in the fourth when #1 Shiryu Sato led the inning off with a single and scored when Stagg hit a two out double to right field. That made the score 5-3. Sato was 2-3 with two runs scored.

In the sixth inning, Stagg again was the main producer. He hit a one out triple which scored Sato and Phelps (who had walked and singled respectively) to up the count to 7-3. Stagg would later score when Lenihan hit into a fielder’s choice. Stagg led the Riverhawks offensively, going 3-5 with five runs batted in and one run scored. Lenihan wound up going 1-4 with a run batted in and a run scored. Phelps was 3-5 with two runs scored for Edmonton.

The Bells never gave up and cut the deficit to two in the bottom of the ninth inning. #22 Rob Jacobsen singled to left field with one out, advanced to third on a single from #7 Andrew Lamb. He would score on a two out sac fly to center from # 3 Noah Meffert. Jacobsen was 2-5 with two runs scored and a run batted in. Meffert was 1-4 with two runs batted in for Bellingham. Lamb wound up 3-5 with a run batted in as well for the Bells. #9 Aiden Aguayo was 2-4 with a run scored and a run batted in.

#55 Carson Latimer started on the mound for the Riverhawks. He went five innings, giving up four hits, three runs, striking out seven and walking one in the 22 batters he faced. He was one of four Edmonton pitchers in the contest. He got the win, his second decision of the year in his fourth start.

#21 Myles Chamberlain came into the game in the eighth inning and earned the save. He surrendered a run, two hits and struck out two. It is his first save of 2025.

# 34 Preston Watkins was the first of five Bells pitchers utilized in this one. He went three innings, giving up four runs on six hits, striking out four and walking two while facing 17 batters. Watkins is now 2-1 on the year and was making his third start of the year in his seventh appearance.

The two teams will continue their series on Wednesday night with a 6:35 PM PST start time. #31 Riley Barrett (1-0 ) is the scheduled starter for the Riverhawks against #17 Cal Young (0-1).

After this victory, Edmonton is 3-4 vs Bellingham in head-to-head action in 2025.

The Riverhawks don’t have a home game until Friday July 18th when they open up a three game set against the Kamloops NorthPaws. It will be Star Wars Night!Blast off to a galaxy far, far away as the ballpark transforms into a Star Wars spectacular!

Join the Riverhawks for lightsaber training, character meet-and-greets, and a ceremonial first pitch from a real-life astronaut. The Force (and fun) will be strong all night long!

Keep an eye out for our limited-edition Riverhawks Star Wars jerseys—worn on-field and then up for grabs in a charity auction supporting the Edmonton Space & Science Foundation which operates TELUS World of Science- Edmonton. Weekly Promo: that night will be: Firework Friday w/ Uncle John’s Fireworks!

Head over to tickets.gohawks.ca to grab yourself a seat. Follow along with the game at @RiverhawksGames on X and keep up with everything happening with the Hawks on Instagram, Facebook, @EdmRiverhawks, and TikTok. See all the latest news at riverhawksbaseball.com.

EXTRA INNINGS: Four members of the Riverhawks were selected to the West Coast League North Division all-star squad. # 32 Josh Green, #6 Robert Phelps, # 35 Trent Lenihan and #48 Max Stagg will be back at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham for the July 16th contest.

Last season, The North Division won the game 3-2 in dramatic fashion with a two run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning.