Sports - Sports News

POSTED: Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

WCL BASEBALL: Haver pitches Bells past Kelowna

BELLINGHAM - In his first appearance at Joe Martin Field, right-handed pitcher J.D. Haver gave Bellingham six strong innings to pace the Bells to a series-clinching 4-1 victory over Kelowna.

Haver threw just six pitches in first inning to retire the side and surrendered just two hits through is first four innings on the mound. He pitched into a fifth-inning jam, but after a quick conversation on the mound with head coach Brandon Newell, Haver got Kelowna's Michael Aldrete to ground into the inning's final out.

"I was able to throw first-pitch strikes and stay ahead in the count for most of the night," Haver said in a press release. "I just kept attacking the strike zone and it paid off. I felt good from the start and even after we fell behind the guys were able to get me the lead. After that I kind of just got in a rhythm."

Aside from a pair of walks, Haver's only mistake on the night came in the second inning when he left a full-count pitch hanging over the plate for Ryan Jenkins. Jenkins made solid contact for a home run as the ball inched its way over the left-field wall.

"J.D. looked sharp in his first outing of the year on the road, but unfortunately the stats sheet didn't reflect that," Newell said in a press release. "He's got some great movement on his pitches and uses the corners very effectively. Hopefully he can carry this type of performance into his next start."

After falling behind on Jenkins' home run, the Bells responded with a run in the home half of the second as Brady Locker drove in Kevin Whitehead. Bellingham took the lead in the third after the Falcons extended the inning with a two-out error. Chris Amezquita scored the Bells' second unearned run of the contest when Chris O'Neil walked Mark Purser.

Bellingham padded its lead with two more runs in the fourth. The Bells scored the game's final runs on RBI doubles by Craig Hertler and Amezquita. Locker scored the innings first run after a leadoff single - Amezquita's double drove in Hertler.

The Bells wrap up their three-game series against Kelowna (10-7) on Thursday, July 2, and will be looking for their first series sweep of the season. Thursday is also College Night at the ballpark and students can receive discounted tickets by presenting a valid college ID at the Bells ticket window.

KELOWNA 1, BELLINGHAM 4

Kelowna ab r h bi Bellingham ab r h bi

Tanaka cf 2 0 0 0 Richter ss 3 0 1 0

Wade ph/cf 1 0 0 0 Hertler 2b 3 1 1 1

Aldrete ss 4 0 0 0 Claussen lf 4 0 0 0

Mihaylo rf 4 0 0 0 Amezquita 3b 4 1 1 1

Jenkins c 4 1 1 1 Whitehead c 3 1 2 0

Gilmer 3b 3 0 1 0 Hennigs 1b 3 0 0 0

Mayo 3b 1 0 0 0 Purser rf 3 0 0 1

McColl lf 4 0 4 0 Brett dh 4 0 0 0

Jemmett 2b 3 0 0 0 Locker cf 4 1 2 1

Johnson 1b 4 0 0 0

Rak dh 2 0 1 0

Totals 32 1 7 1 Totals 31 4 7 4

Kelowna 010 000 000 - 1 7 2

Bellingham 011 200 00x - 4 7 0

E - Gilmer 2(7). DP - Bells 1. LOB - Falcons 7; Bells 9. 2B - McColl(2); Hertler(1);

Amezquita(3). HR - Jenkins(1). HBP - Richter; Hertler; Whitehead; Hennigs. SH -

Jemmett(2); Richter(2).

Kelowna IP H R ER BB SO

O'Neil 4.0 6 4 2 1 0

Lind 3.0 1 0 0 0 3

Powers 1.0 0 0 0 0 0

Bellingham IP H R ER BB SO

Haver 6.0 5 1 1 2 5

Foster 2.0 1 0 0 0 0

Harvey 1.0 1 0 0 0 1

Win - Haver (1-1). Loss - O'Neil (2-2). Save - Harvey (2).

HBP - by O'Neil (Richter); by O'Neil (Hennigs); by O'Neil (Whitehead); by Lind

(Hertler).

Time: 2:04