Elks Take One in the City of Roses
The Elks take the field as the sun sets over Walker Stadium in Portland on Saturday, July 31, 2021. (Noah Wolf)
Noah Wolf, director of media relations
noahwolf51 (at) gmail (dot) com
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Elks six-game winning streak came to an end in Portland. After the Elks won the first game of the series with the Pickles, Portland took the final two games to win the series.
July 30, 2021 Elks Use Longball to Take Down Portland Bend 7, Portland 2
In the first 36 games of the West Coast League season, the Elks hit a total of nine home runs. No more than one in a game, and never in two games in a row.
That all changed Friday night.
The Elks hit two home runs at Walker Stadium, and hit a longball for the second straight game, as Bend defeated the Portland Pickles, 7-2.
The Pickles (21-16, 6-7 second half) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on a home run of their own, but Bend responded in the very next half inning.
Collin Montez (Washington St.) led off the second inning with a double, and Austin Hauck (Hofstra) followed that up with a single. After Montez scored on a balk, Bennett Thompson (U. Oregon) clubbed his first homer of the season, a two-run shot to give the Elks a 3-1 lead.
Bend would never trail after that.
Aidan Welch (Seattle U.) would pad the Elks lead in the sixth inning, clubbing a two-run shot of his own to put the Elks ahead 5-1. That was the first home run of the summer for Welch.
After Portland pushed a run across the board in the bottom of the sixth, the Elks (18-19, 8-5) would score a run on one hit in each of the seventh and ninth innings to win the game, 7-2.
Bend had a great pitching performance from Blake Leaverton (Seattle U.), who entered the game in the first inning after the Elks' starter made an unplanned exit. Leaverton tossed 6.2 innings of one-run baseball, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out five and earning the win.
July 31, 2021 Elks Start Hot, but Fall Short to Portland Portland 7, Bend 4
The Elks have done their fair share of winning lately.
But in their three most recent losses, there has been a common thread: blown leads.
Bend led by three Saturday night, but couldn't finish the game, as the Portland Pickles came surging back with seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to defeat the Elks, 7-4, at Walker Stadium.
The Elks (18-20, 8-6 second half) took their lead initially when Chase Matheny (S.C. Upstate) smacked a two-run single in the third inning. Bend extended that lead to 3-0 with a solo home run from Aidan Welch (Seattle U.), his second home run in as many games.
Early on, the Pickles (22-16, 6-7) couldn't touch Bend starter Dillon Holliday. The Dixie State right-hander pitched into the seventh inning, allowing three hits and one earned run in six innings of work, punching out eight Portland batters. Holliday came out of the game without allowing a run, but the one runner he left on base scored in the seventh inning.
August 1, 2021 Elks Drop Another Heartbreaker, Losing Series in Portland Portland 3, Bend 1
After the first inning Sunday night in Portland, the Elks held a 1-0 lead.
That would be all the offense that Bend could muster.
For the second straight night, the Elks gave up the lead in the late innings and dropped a close contest with the Portland Pickles, 3-1.
Portland (23-16, 8-7 second half) secured the series win by holding the Elks to just two hits over the course of the contest, one in the first inning and one in the second. Aidan Welch (Seattle U.) and Gavin Logan (Oregon St.) were the only hitters to get a base knock in the game.
The Elks (18-21, 8-7) were kept in the game thanks to a great start by Matt Dallas (U. Oregon), though he ultimately took the loss. Dallas pitched into the seventh inning, and tossed six scoreless innings, but gave up three runs (two earned) in the seventh to take the loss.
Performance of the series: Dillon Holliday (Dixie State) tossed six innings of one-run baseball, allowing just three hits on Saturday night but taking a tough no-decision.
Player of the series: Aidan Welch (Seattle U.) was the only player with a hit in every game of the three-game set, and his hits in the first two games of the series were both home runs, his first of the summer.
Play of the series: On Friday night, with the game tied at one in the second inning and two outs, Bennett Thompson (U. Oregon) blasted a two-run shot to give the Elks a 3-1 lead. After that, they would never trail, defeating Portland 7-2.
Up next: Bend has the day off Monday before a six-game homestand next week, starting with a three-game series against the Walla Walla Sweets (14-28, 5-13). First pitch on Tuesday at Vince Genna Stadium at 6:35 p.m.