Bellevue College baseball, coming off two consecutive NWAC Championship berths and a pre-season ranking of sixth in the conference, traveled to McMinnville, Oregon for a four game set against Linfield University and Mount Hood CC. The Bulldogs went 3-1 overall for the weekend.
On Sat. Feb. 15, the Bulldogs opened the season against Linfield, an NCAA division III university, and were saddled with a 4-0 loss. Linfield, playing the game as an exhibition under NCAA rules, played many of their key players as a tune up for their season opener next weekend. The Wildcats’ starting pitcher, Zach Johnson held down the Bulldogs allowing one hit in four innings of work. Bellevue’s Tristan Aasland was in sharp form through the first two innings, matching Johnson in a pitchers’ duel, but fell behind in the count in the third and put two consecutive runners on to start the third and surrendered two runs. The Wildcats plated two more runs off Bellevue middle reliever Harris Smajic before freshman Ty Estey came in and threw three scoreless innings. Collectively, Aasland, Smajic, and Estey punched out 11 Wildcat hitters in an overall effective performance.
In game two, Bellevue jumped out 5-0 over Mount Hood in the second inning, cruising to a 10-4 win. Caden Kennelly, Noah Fields, and Brandon McKinley had consecutive doubles in the big inning. Kennelly added another RBI in the four-run fourth to set the tone for the ‘dogs. Dylan Skolfield threw three and two-thirds innings without a walk in the win. Tahvo Latvala made his college debut and threw a perfect ninth, striking out the side. Kennelly’s four RBI’s and McKinley’s three hits led the BC offensive attack.
On Sun. Feb. 16, the Bulldogs swept Mount Hood by scores of 6-1 and 4-1. In the opener, starter Terry Hayes Jr. and first reliever out of the pen Mason Goodson each struck out five and gave up zero earned runs in spinning a two-hitter along with JT Rican and Drew Welk. Noah Fields hit Bellevue’s first home run of the year; a two-run shot over the left field wall to plate Kennelly to spot BC an early 2-0 lead. Kennelly continued to swing a hot bat with three hits in the game while Fields and McKinley each had two.
In the weekend finale, Gibby Marshall-Inman was dominating in his first start of the year fanning six in three and a third innings while giving up only one hit. Kennelly again came up big at the plate with the key two-RBI single to secure the win for the ‘dogs.
The Bulldogs will head to Longview for a four-game set against Lower Columbia this Sat. and Sun. Feb. 22-23. First pitch on Saturday is set for 2 p.m.
Last Updated February 16, 2025
