Former Bellingham Bells ace and 2011 first-team all-WCL starting pitcher Adrian Sampson of the Seattle Mariners made his big league debut yesterday at Fenway Park vs. the mighty Red Sox.

A product of Bellevue College, Sampson nearly went five innings in the Mariners 6-2 loss at Boston.

Sampson was masterful back in the summer of 2011, as the Bells’ right-hander posted the league’s fifth lowest ERA at 1.71 and recorded 71 strikeouts, second most in the WCL. He went 4-4 for Bellingham over 9 starts and started the 2011 WCL All-Star Game for the East at Goss Stadium in Corvallis.

ABOUT THE WEST COAST LEAGUE

The West Coast League is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. The 12-year-old, 11-team, professionally operated wood-bat league located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest features pro prospects from major conferences across the nation and an unparalleled history out west of great fan and player experiences in addition to the best summer weather in North America. In 2015, 59 players with WCL experience were selected in the MLB June draft, and more than 200 WCL alums appeared in affiliated professional baseball including 25 in the major leagues, such as home-run leader Chris Davis (Baltimore), NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Matt Duffy (San Francisco) and rising star pitchers Matt Andriese (Tampa Bay) and Josh Osich (San Francisco). Overall member attendance exceeded 400,000 in 2015. The 2016 54-game campaign opens tonight.