Playoff Spot on the Line as Bells Open WCL Homestand
With just 15 games remaining for Bellingham in the West Coast League regular season, the Bells are currently in a second-place tie with the Bend Elks for the final playoff spot in the West Division. Tonight, July 24, Bellingham plays host to those very same Elks to open an eight-game WCL homestand.
Bells bench boss Brandon Newell told the Bellingham Herald that “this is the time of the year when we have to buckle down and get tougher mentally,” following a recent road trip in which the Bells lost their final four games.
Bellingham has only reached the playoffs once since joining the WCL (formerly known as the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League) in 2005. In the league’s inaugural season, Bellingham reached the title game but lost in the one-game, winner-take-all championship to the Wenatchee AppleSox. Although the Bells reached the championship game in 2005, they still posted a sub-.500 record at 17-19. Since 2005, the Bells have posted records of 11-31 in 2006, 16-25 in 2007, and 17-25 in 2008.
Now, with just 15 regular season games left, the Bells have already matched their WCL-era win total and sit justin above the .500 mark with a 17- 16 record.
Less than one week ago the Bells were 17-12 and alone in second place after taking two of three games on the road in Bend. Now, back in a tie for the final playoff spot with Bend, Bellingham will host 11 of its final 15 WCL games including six head-to-head meetings with the Elks.
The Bells also play three more games against league-leading Corvallis–a team they are just 2-7 against this season despite holding a 2-1 edge at home over the Knights.
Bellingham also hosts Kitsap twice before playing four against the BlueJackets on the road. So far this season the Bells have a 4-2 advantage against the BlueJackets. The Bells are also 4-2 against Bend this year.
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