Elks Lackluster Bats against Poor Walla Walla Pitching Lead to Series Loss

Jake Hoskins snapping his nine-game hit streak game highlighted a rough night at the dish for the Elks. (Andrew Green)

Walla Walla, WA. - For the second straight game, the Bend Elks had a lackluster showing at the plate, managing just two runs and six hits against the worst pitching staff in the West Coast League, resulting in a 6-2 embarrassing series loss to the Walla Walla Sweets.

Ryan Christiansen seemed to give the Elks a spark to work with by smashing his team-leading fifth homer of the summer to give Bend the early 2-0 advantage. However, that would be the only runs the Elks could scrap together, going scoreless over the final eight innings, failing to poke through against Sweets starter Zachary Hangas (3-2), who nearly threw his second straight complete game going 8.1 innings, giving up six hits, two earned runs, and three walks while striking out four batters. In his last outing, Hangas completed the first complete game for Walla Walla since 2015 on the road in a 2-1 win over the Springfield Drifters.

Although Hangas had a stellar outing, Simon Lemke, who, like Hangas, where's No. 11, kept the Elks notched with the Sweets for the bulk of the game in his first start of the season, outside of allowing two runs in the second, Lemke was dominant, retiring 12 of the 13 batters he faced in the four other innings he worked, striking out three batters in the process.

Bend deployed Gus Rogers from the bullpen in the sixth, and he struggled to replicate Lemke's success, giving up a four-spot to the Sweets, who created enough separation to secure the win. To Rogers's defense, only two of the runs he allowed were earned due to a Jake Hoskins throwing error. Rogers started the inning with two walks, setting up Aiden Espinoza for an RBI single. Hayden Diggs then forced the error by Hoskins, allowing Cayden Wotipka to score. Following the error, Puukani De Sa produced an RBI groundout, and Leo Rivera drove in a run on a two-out double. Jackson Bolander came in to get the final out and finished out the rest of the game for the Elks, allowing the Sweets to tack on an extra run due to Bolander's own mistake of a wild pitch.

Each team only had one player with multiple hits. Wotipka went two for three with two runs and an RBI for the Sweets, while Tyler Peterson had two base knocks. Unfortunately, Jake Hoskins had his nine-game hit streak snapped, ending a stretch of 14 hits for the Elks Shortstop.

Bend, whose playoff chances are slimming by the game, will look to dodge the sweep against Walla Walla and get the juices flowing again before a crucial series at home against the defending six-time West Coast League Champion Corvallis Knights. The series finale at Borkleske Stadium gets underway at 6:35 p.m.