The Yakima Valley Pippins came up short in the late innings Wednesday night as the Bellingham Bells tied their three-game series at one apiece, winning 5-4 at Yakima County Stadium.

The Bells got a quick score in the first inning with a home run from Dallas Cornell.

Trailing 1-0, the Pippins answered in the third with sacrifice flies from Laz Villa and Justin Jacobs that gave the Pippins a 2-1 lead.

But Bells came up big in the fourth inning as they got three more runs off two doubles and another huge HR from Colby Woodmansee. Leading 4-2, the Bells tacked on one more run in the seventh inning with a single from Lou Della Fera.

A late-inning Yakima rally put two more runs on the board, however. Justin Jacobs got an RBI single, then Reid Martinez hit an RBI groundout to pull the Pips within 5-4. Yakima held off any more Bells scores, but couldn't produce any more themselves.

The loss drops the Pippins to 22-16, two games ahead of the second-place Wenatchee AppleSox in the West Coast League's East Division.

The Pippins host the Bells for the rubber game of the series at 7:05 tonight. Pregame coverage starts at 6:55 p.m. on 1460 ESPN Yakima.

More From 1460 ESPN