The Bellingham Bells and Corvallis Knights advanced to the West Coast League Championship Series with wins last night to earn Divisional Series sweeps.

The Bells, led by shortstop Chase Strumpf, beat Victoria 12-1 at Royal Athletic Park to earn a berth in the WCLCS for the second time in three years. Strumpf, an incoming freshman at UCLA, blasted a two-run homer in the first inning and a three-run blast in the second. The Bells faced Corvallis in the 2014 WCLCS, and prevailed two games to one to capture their first league title.

Corvallis earned a rematch with the Bells by beating Yakima Valley at home 7-3 before a crowd of 1,679. WCL Pitcher of the Week for Aug. 1-7 Chris Burkholder of Dartmouth tossed three scoreless inning of relief to earn the save and Oregon State senior-to-be outfielder Kyle Nobach went 3-for-5 to lead the Knights offense.

The Knights are appearing in their 8th WCLCS since relocating to Corvallis in 2007.

Game one of the WCLCS is slated for Saturday, August 13 at Joe Martin Field. First pitch is 7:05 pm.

Games two and three are scheduled for Monday, August 15 and Tuesday, August 16 (if necessary). Start times are set for 6:40 pm.