Bellingham blasts 18 hits, crushes Corvallis 16-1

Corey Davis had two hits and an RBI for the Knights in a 16-1 loss to Bellingham in the opener of their three-game series at Joe Martin Field.

Bellingham rocked Corvallis starter Kyle Hart for seven runs in two-plus innings and coasted from that point. Hart was 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA before Monday's loss. It ended a three-game winning streak for the Knights, who swept Kelowna this past weekend.

Bellingham (18-16) strengthened its hold on second place in the East Division with its fourth win in a row; it swept at Walla Walla over the weekend. The Bells are 13-3 in their last 16 games and have moved 4.5 games ahead of Kelowna in the battle for the East Division�s second playoff spot behind Wenatchee.

The Bells touched Hart for four runs in the first inning on a bases-loaded single by Jerry McClanahan and a three-run double by Michael Aquino. They knocked him out in the third inning and Aquino greeted reliever Chris Mendoza with a two-run homer to cap a five-run outburst.

Bellingham then battered Eric Young for three runs in the fourth to really put the game out of reach, and added insult to injury with four runs off Sebastian Santos in the eighth. The Bells 16 runs and 18 hits were season highs. Bellingham also used a different pitcher in every inning, the first time in the Knights' history an opponent has used a pitcher an inning.

The series resumes at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday. The projected starters are Max Beatty (4-1, 2.78) for the Knights and Richie Ochoa (2-1, 0.75) for the Bells.