The Lakewood Cougars will square off against the Bellingham Bayhawks at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Lakewood will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more runs each matchup than the last.
Having struggled with five losses in a row, Lakewood turned things around against Sequim on Saturday. They came out on top against the Wolves by a score of 7-4.
Tejay Hoiland made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Hoiland was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-4. That stolen base was his first of the season.
Chase Sharpe
In other pitching news, Chase Sharpe looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Lakewood: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most two earned runs, but 0-5 otherwise.
Back at the plate, Aiden Jones was incredible, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Drew Egger, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Bellingham had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Saturday. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured an 8-7 W against Marysville Getchell. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Bayhawks have posted since April 24, 2024.
Like Lakewood, Bellingham also got a great game from a two-way player: Eric Helfield. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over five innings pitched. Helfield was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with three RBI and one triple.
Helfield wasn't the only one making solid contact as five players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Alden Scott, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances. Scott is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last five games he's played. Another was Eli Goodbuffalo, who scored a run while going 2-for-4.
Bellingham always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .514. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .514 or higher in four consecutive games.
Bellingham's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-5. The home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.7 runs on average over those games. As for Lakewood, their win bumped their record up to 2-6.
Lakewood couldn't quite get it done against Bellingham in their previous meeting back in May of 2024 as they fell 5-2. Will the Cougars have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
