Elks Epic Rally Robbed by Ridgefield Walk-Off
Luca Dipaolo and several other Elks powered a late offensive rally that left the Bend at the mercy of the Raptors’ walk-off. (Andrew Green)
Ridgefield, WA. - For the second time in three days, the Bend Elks got walked off by the Ridgefield Raptors in heartbreaking fashion, falling 6-5 Thursday in a thrilling season finale against the Raptors, who completed its second straight series win over the Elks.
After climbing back from a four-run deficit to take the one-run lead with three outs to get, everything that could go wrong went wrong for the Elks. On the first pitch of the ninth, Ty Schwaiger left one over the plate for pinch hitter Andy Allensen, and he didn't miss, launching one over the right field fence to tie the game at five apiece. Schwaiger walked two batters beyond that point, putting runners on first and second with one out. Joey Wong then turned to Jackson Peters, who plunked Jacob Sharp to load the bases for another pinch hitter Jack Salmon. Salmon came through with another clutch hit off the bench with a base knock up the middle to complete the Raptors' second walk-off of the Elks in as many days.
Bend went scoreless through the first five innings, causing them to have to work out of a four-to-nothing hole. They finally cracked through in the sixth on a two-RBI single from Ethan Thomas to cut the deficit in half. The Elks struck life at the dish again in the eighth, started by a leadoff double from Ruben Cedillo, who later came around to score on a passed ball. Fast forward to later in the inning, and the Elks had the bases loaded with two outs for Niko Rosell, who was playing in just his second game over the past two weeks. Rosell embraced the pressure and ripped a base hit up the middle to bring home two runs and give the Elks the 5-4 lead.
The Yavapai College duo of Thomas and Rosell were the stars of the series. Thomas led the way with a series-high seven hits spanned across three straight multi-hit games. Rosell delivered when it mattered most for the Elks, recording two RBI hits in games two and three to give his team the lead. Rosell finished with a team-high three hits in the series finale. An honorable mention goes to Luca Dipaolo, who also shined with two multi-hit games in the series, which included back-to-back doubles on Thursday.
Bend (11-14, 8-13) rounds off its first-half schedule with a six-game homestand against the Walla Walla Sweets and Yakima Valley Pippins, who are each at the bottom of the WCL South standings. The Elks take on the Walla Walla first beginning Friday at 6:35 p.m. at Vince Genna Stadium.
