Falcons kick off post season

Photo: Trevor Miller

For the third time in four years, the Kelowna Falcons will get a taste of playoff baseball.

The Falcons, who finished with the second best record in the West Coast League's North Division, had to wait until late in the night Wednesday to squeak into the playoffs after Victoria fell to the Portland Pickles.

Kelowna opens up the best-of-three North Division final tonight at Elk Stadium against the Bellingham Bells.

The second and, if necessary third game, will b e played Saturday and Sunday in Bellingham.

The Falcons and Bells split their six games over the course of the regular season.

The teams split a pair of games at Elk Stadium to open the season and four games played in Bellingham. The Falcons were the home team in one of those in the Washington State city after the final game of the season-opening series was rained out.

The Bells finished the season 35-19, while the Falcons were seven games back with a 28-26 mark.

Bellingham is the more rested of the two, not having played since a 4-2 win over the Falcons last Sunday. Kelowna, meantime, finished with back-to-back drubbings of Wenatchee, 15-1 and 11-3 Tuesday and Wednesday.

Jared Akin gets the ball for the Falcons in tonight's opener. Akin, 4-4 on the season, tossed a seven inning gem against the Bells last Saturday, holding Bellingham to two hits and one earned run in a 5-1 victory.

Justin Armbruester (2-1, 1.37 ERA), will get the start for the Bells. The Falcons saw him just once during the regular season, when he pitched three and two-thirds innings during the season opener back on June 1.

First pitch is at 6:35.

The winner of this series will face the winner of the South Division tussle between the expansion Portland Pickles and Corvallis Knights.