Elks Snap Cowlitz's Record Win Streak to Spoil Fireworks Night

Elks Saturday starter Kaden Hogan kept Cowlitz quiet early to keep the Elks in the game late. (Andrew Green)

Longview, WA. - The Bend Elks survived a strong five-run late-inning comeback effort Saturday by the Cowlitz Black Bears, who had their franchise-record 10-game win streak come to a halt as the Elks evened the series with a 6-5 win.

Bend rolled to a six-to-nothing lead, with all of their runs coming across the middle innings. The scoring spree kicked off in the fourth when Ryan Christiansen slashed an RBI double, followed by a Trey Nelson sac fly and a one-run single by James Williams. Avery Ortiz added a couple more in the fifth on a towering two-run shot to left. The Elks added their sixth and final run in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Elijah Rogalski. In the meantime, Cowlitz struggled to put any tallies on the scoreboard, thanks to the masterful pitching by Kaden Hogan (3-0). In his final outing of the summer, the U.C. Davis right-hander tossed eight strikeouts over five scoreless innings, retiring 15 of the 18 Black Bears he faced.

Yet, soon after Hogan was replaced, the Elks bullpen began to break. Braeden Munger would post one final goose egg against Cowlitz in the sixth but would lose control in the next frame, walking three batters that scored three runs, including one that scored on a balk from Munger. Shane Buchanan came in and did his job as the fireman to get the final two outs of the inning. Unfortunately, Bend's free pass frenzy carried over into the eighth when Ryan Morrison walked a pair of batters which turned into a couple of runs as a result of a throwing error by Masayuki Kawashima from the second that shortened Bend's once-six-run cushion to just a slim one-run lead. Thankfully for Bend, Ethan Krupp shut down the Black Bears' power securing the final four outs, two of which were K's, giving Krupp surprisingly his first save of the summer.

Both pitching staffs showed out on the hill, with Bend posting 11 strikeouts while Cowlitz worked a combined 14 punchouts. Each dugout finished with less than eight hits, with Avery Ortiz accounting for three of the Elks' seven knocks. It was the second time over the last three games in which Ortiz finished with a trio of hits.

The Elks finish off their season with a rubber match against Cowlitz Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at David Story Field.