Opening Victory
- Updated: June 4, 2019
BELLINGHAM, WA..- The Kelowna Falcons used a terrific relief effort from Connor Hurley to propel them to a come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the Bellingham Bells on Tuesday night at Joe Martin Field.
Pitching was the name of the game in the early going as both starters had their arms going. Jonathan Clark kept things efficient with four innings of scoreless ball, throwing under 40 pitches while a trio of Bells pitchers kept the Falcons bats under wraps with a 0-0 game heading into the 5th.
The Bells were first to strike after getting a pair on base and Jack Machtolf coming through with a sacrifice fly to give Bellingham a 1-0 lead before they doubled their advantage in the 6th inning to take a 2-0 lead.
With a runner on third and two outs, Sam Swenson was able to find his way through to the outfield with a hard-hit base knock that gave Bellingham a 2-0 lead, but the lead wouldn’t last long.
Matt Voelzke led off the 7th frame with a walk and brought the reigning West Coast League MVP to the plate as Trent Tingelstad delivered a two-run home-run over the right field fence to get the game on even terms and tie it up at 2-2.
Connor Hurley continued his strong relief effort, getting the game into the late stages all knotted up including striking out the side with a pair of base runners left on in the 8th inning to preserve a 2-2 game while the Falcons had a chance of their own in the 9th inning to get ahead for the first time, stranding runners on the corners before heading into the 10th frame with the game evened at 2-2.
Kelowna would gather their first lead of the game, and season, in the top half of the extra inning with help in large part from a one-out triple off the bat of Tyler Grissom, who went 3-for-4 on the night. After a James Shimashita walk, Matt Voelzke chopped a ball down the first base line that was collected for the out but not before a run scored to give the Falcons a 3-2 advantage.
Moments later, with two out in the inning, a wild pitch from Eric Anderson allowed Shimashita to score from third base and give Kelowna a two-run cushion into the bottom of the 10th inning where Voelzke shut the door for the save, turning a game-ending 1-4-3 double play to help the Falcons to a season opening 4-2 victory over the Bells.
The Falcons continue their season-opening trip in Bellingham for a 6:35 PM first pitch against the Bells on Wednesday night. The game can be heard with a FREE live audio stream at mixlr.com/kelowna_falcons with the Voice of the Falcons, Trevor Miller.
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