BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A 13th-inning, run-scoring wild pitch by the Bells gave the Bend a 3-2 victory and sole possession of second place in the West Coast League’s West Division on Friday, July 24, at Joe Martin Field.

After relief pitcher Brandon Foster loaded the bases in the 13th inning, Mitch Ludtke came in to pitch and threw a wild pitch over the head of Bend’s Peter Levine to plate Lucas Hileman for the eventual game-winner.

Bellingham pitching had looked solid for most of the night as the first three Bells pitchers combined to strike out 13 batters through the first 11 innings. In all, five Bellingham pitchers struck out 16 batters including nine by starter Tyrell Poggemeyer.

Poggemeyer allowed two runs and five hits in his seven innings of work before Garrett DeRooy pitched a perfect eighth inning for the Bells with one strikeout. Seth Harvey tossed three scoreless innings and allowed Bend’s first hit since the second inning while also striking out three batters.

Foster was tagged with the loss after giving up one run in his 1 1/3 innings of work.

The Bells were able to erase the early deficit with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the first, but left 18 runners stranded on base throughout the 13-inning contest.

In the first, Sam Richter led off the inning with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Patrick Classen two batters later. Chris Amezquita also scored in the first on Danny Hennigs’ first hit of the night.

Hennigs, Rhett Fenton and Brady Locker all finished with two hits in the game as the Bells were held scoreless through the final 12 frames.

Bellingham and Bend continue their series on Saturday, July 25, with game two of the three-game set. While the Elks have taken a one game lead in the standings, both teams are still battling for the final playoff spot in the West Division. First pitch for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m.