Black Bears Blow Out Bend 16-5 in Series Opener

Despite having a crowd of 2,833 behind them, the Bend Elks couldn’t overcome the power of the Black Bears. (Andrew Green)

Bend, OR.- The Bend Elks got blown out by the Cowlitz Black Bear Tuesday, surrendering its most runs against an opponent this season as the Black Bears mauled the Elks 16-5.

Cowlitz jumped out to a 4-0 lead racking up 15 hits while taking advantage of 10 walks from Elks pitchers to complete the dominant victory. The Black Bears scored four runs in the second, fifth, and eighth innings. The common theme among those crooked innings was that they all began with a leadoff walk.

Beyond those opening free passes, Cowlitz capitalized when it had runners in scoring position going ten for 17 in such scenarios. Aj Singer, LeTrey McCollum, and Ely Kennel all had multi-hit games, each recording a trio of RBIs.

The Elks only mustered two runs through the first seven innings on an RBI double from Elijah Jackson in the second and a Trey Nelson sac-fly in the fourth. Bend got its lone crooked number from a two-out, three-run rally in the eighth. Braeden Terry worked an RBI walk, and Maddox Molony followed suit with a two-run single. Yet, the hole was too deep for the Elks to climb out of as Bend dropped the opening game of the series.

Bend (17-18, 14-17) will attempt to correct its mistakes and even the series with Cowlitz (17-17, 17-16) Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Vince Genna Stadium.