Red-hot Elks stay sizzling with third straight sweep
Bend native Kaleb Karpstein scored two of the Elks three runs to extend the team’s longest win streak since 2021. (Sage Young)
Bend, OR - The scorching hot Elks kept their win streak ablaze, pushing past Yakima Valley 3-1 Sunday to earn their ninth consecutive victory and third sweep in a row.
Bend's (22-11, 19-11) pitching staff twirled with a perfect pearl once again, going eight innings of scoreless baseball for the second straight game.
A combined effort from the Elks rotation of Ethan Lay, Andrew Harbour, Jake Wakefield, and AJ Frausto limited the Pippins (15-18, 15-18) to just nine base runners and five hits.
Bend's blistering bats which had stolen the show over the past few games now became the complimentary piece to the Elks phenomenal pitching.
Despite having five multi-run rallies over the first couple of games, Bend only scored singular runs in the second, fifth, and eighth.
Tyler Peterson accounted for three of the Elks' six hits and provided their lone RBI. The second-year Elk star has now recorded 11 straight games with a hit, the longest by any Bend player this season.
Kaleb Karpstein scored both of the Elks' other runs, first on a diversion created by Jace Miller that allowed him to come down the line to score while he later scrapped across another run on a wild pitch.
Karpstein had an outstanding series, reaching in nine of his 11 at-bats, accumulating four hits, and scoring five runs.
Bend outscored Yakima Valley 32 to 11 while outhitting the Pippins 38-13.
The Elks completely dominated on all fronts and will look to carry their strong momentum of nine wins into its longest road trip of the summer with back-to-back away series against the Cowlitz Black Bears and Portland Pickles. Bend begins its six-game roadie Tuesday at David Story Field against Cowlitz at 6:35 p.m. You can tune into all the action on the Black Bears live stream or listen to the "Voice of the Elks" Blake Niemann on the Elks Radio Network.
