BELLINGHAM 2 VICTORIA 1
These Bells have been chiming this season.
But they were nearly muffled Monday in Bellingham as pitcher Mikey Wright of the Victoria HarbourCats, a product of San Jose State, was in command of his stuff against the best team in the West Coast League.
The Bells (24-6), however, still prevailed 2-1. That was despite Wright’s three-hitter with eight strikeouts and only two walks over eight innings. That’s what you call the hard-luck way to lose a baseball game. But the Bells will do that to you.
In a showdown of the mound, winner Zach Johnson handcuffed Victoria batters with a three-hitter and no runs allowed over seven innings.
Victoria (13-18) eventually outhit Bellingham 6-3, but to no avail on the scoreboard. Oakland A’s draft pick Hunter Mercado-Hood had two hits for the HarbourCats with the RBI.
The Bells and HarbourCats conclude their set tonight and Wednesday in Bellingham before Victoria opens a three-game homestand starting Thursday against Klamath Falls.
Meanwhile, the HarbourCats announced that pitcher Alex Garcia (1-2 with a 3.14 ERA) has left the team for family reasons and outfielder Devin Carter for academic reasons.
FOUL TIPS: The WCL released its list of 203 league alumni who are playing pro baseball in 2014, including 20 in MLB. The HarbourCats have landed two players on the list — catcher/first-baseman Alex Real (.241 batting average with the Minnesota Twins rookie league affiliate Elizabethton Twins) and pitcher and hometown Victoria product Nick Pivetta (11-5 with a 3.90 ERA with the Single-A Washington Nationals-affiliate Hagerstown Suns).
