On July 9th only four outs stood between Matt Stabelfeld and a no-hitter. The Bellingham Bells’ 21-year-old left-hander was cruising towards a no-no until he gave up a two-out eighth-inning single to the Kitsap Blue Jackets’ Doug Buser of Oklahoma, a 2008 WCCBL All-Star.

Stabelfeld’s near masterpiece came at venerable Joe Martin Field in Bellingham. It was the Lewis-Clark State College product’s first win of the season. The southpaw from Turlock, California was 2-1 in 15 games this spring at L-C State.

The Bells defeated the BlueJackets 5-0, as Stabelfeld ended up going 8 innings, allowing just one hit, while walking five and fanning four.

Brett Nicholas of the Kelowna Falcons, a 19-year-old left-handed hitting catcher/first baseman from Gonzaga, hit .500 for the week to earn West Coast Collegiate Baseball League Player of the Week honors.

Nicholas hit safely in all six of the Falcons’ games, including a 4-hit performance Saturday night at Kitsap. The Phoenix, Arizona-native knocked in 5 runs, including a 3-RBI game July 2 against Spokane. The Falcons went 2-4 for the week, with both wins coming at home over the RiverHawks. Read the rest of this entry »