BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Summer baseball is back in Bellingham.

The Bellingham Bells are ringing in the new season at Joe Martin Field on Friday, May 31, in a three-game series against the Edmonton Riverhawks. 

The Bells are one of 16 teams made up of college players from across the country that will battle it out in the West Coast League (WCL) this summer.

They are coming off a season where they fell in the WCL divisional championship in a tight 7-6 loss to the Victoria Harbourcats. It was a disappointing end to a largely successful season that saw the Bells win the first half of the season and finish with a 35-18 record, good for fourth in the league. They went on to sweep the Kelowna Falcons in the first round of the WCL playoffs. 

The Bells are back this year with an assortment of fresh faces, including a new-look coaching staff. Head Coach Bob Ralston is entering his first season with the team after a brief stint as an assistant coach at St. Mary’s College. 

Ralston has a deep resume under his belt. As a player, he earned All-American honors at the University of Arizona before spending seven years with minor league affiliates for the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics. Since then, he’s coached at a variety of levels from high school to the minor leagues, where he was the manager for a minor league affiliate with the Chicago Cubs.

“I want to help develop the players and help them get better,” Ralston said. “That’s the reason why I’m here, to give them my knowledge and share from my past 30-plus years of coaching and playing.’

Head Pitching Coach Steve Ward and Assistant Coach Riley Parker round out the new additions to the coaching staff. Notably, Parker is coming off three years as a player in the WCL that includes two seasons with the Bells.

The coaching lineup is solidified by Associate Head Coach Haydan Hastings, who has no shortage of experience with the Bells. Hastings stepped in as interim head coach in 2022, when he helped guide the Bells to a WCL championship game appearance.

“He’s a god-send for me because he knows the ropes,” Ralston said. “He’s well-respected, he’s somebody I can ask questions to and learn all the little stuff that is getting thrown at me at the last second.”

Taking a look at the players’ side, Bells fans will be excited to see a familiar name back on the team. Starting pitcher Ryan Beitel is returning for his fourth season as the anchor of the pitching staff. He says he’s making an effort to take more of a leadership role in the clubhouse.

“[I’m] just trying to help the new guys out; how to operate, how to go to the gym, get their rehab stuff,” Beitel said. “I know Bellingham, so even just like helping guys with directions and stuff like that.”

Bells play-by-play broadcaster Zen Hill says Beitel made a compelling case for WCL Pitcher of the Year last season. Beitel’s bid was hampered by the fact that he only threw 39 innings. Still, he made good use of those nine starts, going 5-1 with 38 strikeouts and a 1.60 ERA.

“He’s going to be our rock,” Hill said of Beitel. “Every year is a new year for West Coast League baseball –  the turnover rate for rosters is huge –  but we have a good set of returners, so having a lot of pitching that’s going to return for us is key.”

This year’s Bells roster is also flanked by a quartet hailing from Whatcom County. Marques Brown out of Deming and Eli Knowlton out of Bellingham are both back on the mound after brief appearances with the team last year. They’re joined by Bellingham-native Bryce Johnson, who will be in the outfield after finishing his sophomore season at Skagit Valley College. 

Most notably, however, is possibly the Bells’ biggest addition over the offseason. Lynden senior pitcher Lane Simonsen will join the team fresh off of leading the Lions to a third-place finish in the 2A state tournament just a week before Opening Day.

The University of Washington commit adds another arm to Bells team that is frequently defined by its strong pitching. Perfect Game ranks Simonsen as the No. 2 right-handed pitcher in Washington’s Class of 2024.

Adding to the excitement of the new season is the announcement that the Bells will host the 2024 WCL All-Star Game. The two-day event will showcase the best players across all 16 WCL teams. It includes several events, including a skills challenge, before the game takes place on July 17.

“We’re really pushing to make this a different tier of event,” Morrell said. “This is our signature event for this summer, and this is our signature event for probably this decade.”

Until then, the Bells will work on repeating as first-half champions. First pitch for Opening Day is at 6:35 p.m. on Friday, May 31. You can find tickets on the Bells’ website.