The Bears claimed a playoff spot in the 2012 Northwest League playoffs with an 8-4 win against the Boise Hawks Wednesday at Memorial Stadium in Boise, Idaho. This is the first time the Bears have won the first half of a Northwest League season. The Bears return to postseason play for the first time since 2010.

The Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Danny Poma reached on a walk and moved to third on a single by Kevin Medrano. Poma came home on a wild pitch and Medrano eventually scored on a single from Shaun Cooper. The Hawks scored the next four runs and led 4-2 after three innings. Cooper led off the fourth inning with a single and scored on a Steven Rodriguez sacrifice fly. Medrano plated Poma in the fifth, as the two reached on back-to-back singles and Poma advanced to second base after his hit thanks to a balk. In the sixth inning the Bears took the lead again when Medrano drove in two runs with a single. Yakima added two runs in the seventh on RBI-singles by Mark Ginther and Josh Parr.

All 10 of the Bears hits were singles. Medrano went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Cooper ended the night 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and a pair of runs scored. Parr finished 2-for-4.

Bears starting pitcher Alex Carreras earned his league-leading fifth win of the season thanks to all the offensive support. The lefty gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings. The bullpen combined to toss four shutout innings, allowing only three hits. Jose Jose and RJ Hively each pitched one inning, while Victor Acosta tossed two.

The Bears are now 20-13 and a loss for Tri-City Wednesday means the Dust Devils could finish with no more than 19 wins in the first half of the season. The Bears return home Monday for the start of a five-game series against the Everett Aquasox. First pitch at Yakima County Stadium is scheduled for 7:05. Southpaw's Daniel Watts of the Bears and Steve Ewing of the Aquasox are the probable starting pitchers.