Bizarre ending extends Bend’s win streak

Josh Wakefield’s had a unique bases clearing double that cause late game craziness. (Sage Young)

Bend, OR - In a bizarre finish, Bend bested Ridgefield 11-6, running away with series victory and the Elks third straight win.

Leading 7-5 in the eighth with two outs, Josh Wakefield appeared to have a hit routine fly ball to end the inning.

But suddenly the ball got lost in the lights, causing the Elks to circle the bases,scoring three runs amidst the chaos.

Then, on the very next pitch, Vinny Salvione hit one right back to Raptors center fielder Dasan Harris, who once again lost the baseball in the night sky. Salvione slid into second with an odd RBI double to top off a wild sixth-run rally that turned a game that was tied at the start of the inning into a hot mess by the end of it.

The Elks pitching staff entered the contest on a streak of 21 straight scoreless innings pitched.

However, the streak was short-lived into Saturday as the Raptors scraped across a run in the second and later parlayed that into four more unanswered runs to overtake the Elks 5-3 heading into the seventh inning stretch.

Yet with one swing, the Elks pulled back even on Andrew Guidara's two-run blast to right field that laid the groundwork for the late-game madness. The round-tripper marked Guidara's first of his collegiate summer ball career and Bend's sixth this summer, leading the WCL south in the long ball category.

The Elks will look to set a new season-long win streak with a sweep on Sunday at Vince Genna Stadium. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. Get your tickets now!