Kelowna Falcons

Falcons Rally For Sixth Straight Win

The Kelowna Falcons (11-6) rallied back from a one-run deficit in the top of the 9th to stun the Bellingham Bells (10-7) by a score of 6-5.

The Falcons are the hottest team in the West Coast League and currently own a six-game winning streak dating back to June 15th against the Cowlitz Black Bears.

The Falcons were led by starter Cal Hehnke who pitched five innings and allowed and two runs, with both of those being earned. He also walked a pair while striking out four. Kelowna had a whole bunch of arms at their disposal and dipped into their bullpen as the game went on.

Ryan Smith, Andrew Alvarez, Brandon Marklund and Shea Barry all followed Hehnke, with Barry taking the win in his first appearance as a Falcon.

Kelowna opened the scoring in the fourth inning for the second game in a row. They put up three runs coming courtesy of Bryce Steckler, Matt Voelzke and Alex McGarry. Bellingham answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth to make it 3-2.

Kelowna put some quality at-bats together and Ian Dawkins singled home Tom Lampkin Jr. to give the Falcons a two-run cushion. The Bells continued their push and tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with another pair of runs.

Bellingham then hit a solo shot over the right-field fence in the bottom of the eighth to give the Bells a 5-4 lead. The Falcons weren’t intent on going quietly however and put their rally caps on in the top of the ninth.

The batters displayed some great patience and were able to not only tie the game but to take the lead. It was 6-5 Kelowna when Shea Barry stepped back on the mound for his second inning of work. The University of California Santa Barbara product shut the down on the Bells and preserved the win for the Falcons.

Bryan Donohue, the Falcons head coach, was happy with what he saw from his club tonight. He said, “It was just a good game from the start. We knew we had so many bodies who could come out of the bullpen and help us. That’s what this team can be. The next guy comes up and they know what they have to do.”

Donohue also had high praise for Barry, the pitcher was closed out the game and secured the Falcons their sixth win in a row. He said, “I like how Barry came back in in the ninth and just closed the door on the Bells. They went three up and three down. We didn’t need anymore drama in that game.”

Donohue also had great insight on the Falcons top of the ninth rally, which eventually won the Falcons the game. He said, “That offensive rally was started by a hell of an at-bat from Lampkin to draw a walk. Then Davis Todischuk comes up and plays team ball  to get the bunt down. We come right back up and tie it and then kept on creating from there. That’s a never say die attitude. To come up with a two-spot there with our backs against the wall shows a lot about how focused these guys are and how competetive they are at the plate.

Falcons Play by Play and Recap provided by Anthony Fusco.

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