Elks Sweep Portland, Moving into Three-Way Tie for WCL Playoffs
Daniel Garcia smiles during a win over the Portland Pickles on August 6 at Vince Genna Stadium. (Reid Madariaga)
Noah Wolf, director of media relations
noahwolf51 (at) gmail (dot) com
BEND, Ore. - The Elks got their third home series sweep in a row, taking all three games from the Portland Pickles in the final home series of the year.
August 6, 2021 Elks Ride Rollercoaster to Win over Portland Bend 14, Portland 9
BEND, Ore. - For most teams, giving up the lead in the top of the seventh inning would be demoralizing.
The Elks didn't count themselves out, though.
After allowing four runs in the top of the seventh inning, the Elks scored five of their own in the bottom of the frame, defeating the Portland Pickles 14-9 in the series opening game Friday night at Vince Genna Stadium.
The Pickles (24-19, 9-10 second half) got off to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Bend struck back with a run in the bottom of the frame. Sam Linscott (Lewis-Clark St.) hit a triple, and Aidan Welch (Seattle U.) drove him home with a groundout.
Bend (22-21, 11-7) would give up another run in the second inning, and Portland held a lead for a couple innings.
The Elks would take the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring four runs in the frame. Linscott and Collin Montez (Washington St.) both had two-run singles in the inning.
The fifth inning would provide some insurance for the Elks, scoring two runs on just one hit. Peter Mendazona (U. Nevada) had a run-scoring hit in the frame, while Welch drove in a run on a bases-loaded walk.
Both teams would trade runs in the sixth inning, then the Pickles would retake the lead with four runs in the top of the seventh inning.
The Elks responded immediately with five runs in the second half of the same inning, and would not trail after that. Bend notched five hits in the inning, all singles, utilizing the small-ball approach to get the victory.
August 7, 2021 Bend Clinches Series Win, Taking Down Portland Bend 6, Portland 2
The Elks have done a lot of scoring in bunches lately, but Saturday night, the Elks spread out the scoring.
Both approaches are working.
Bend scored six runs, spread out over five different frames, taking down the Portland Pickles at Vince Genna Stadium, 6-2, to claim the series victory.
The Elks (23-21, 12-7 second half) got out to an early 1-0 lead, scoring in the first inning for the sixth-straight game. Aidan Welch (Seattle U.) smacked a double to drive in a run.
Bend had their only multi-run inning of the night in the third, scoring two. Welch led off the frame with a double, and the Elks loaded the bases before Austin Hauck (Hofstra) drove in a run on a groundout, and Daniel Garcia (Grand Canyon) hit a sacrifice fly. Bend led 3-0 at the time.
Meanwhile, the Pickles (24-20, 9-11) couldn't touch the Elks starter. Dillon Holliday (Dixie St.) tossed six innings of scoreless baseball before allowing two runs in the seventh. His final line read 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits and four walks while striking out four. He earned his third run of the season.
Bend would score another run in each of the fourth and fifth innings, with an RBI double from Sam Linscott (Lewis-Clark St.) and a run-scoring single from Bennett Thompson (U. Oregon). The final run for Bend scored in the seventh inning, on just one run in the frame.
Hayden Hattenbach (UC Santa Barbara) slammed the door on the mound, coming into the game with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, the tying run on first. He induced a groundout to end the inning, and tossed two more innings of scoreless ball, allowing just one hit and punching out three to earn the save.
August 8, 2021 Elks Sweep Portland, Move Into Three-Way Tie for Playoffs Bend 7, Portland 6
It wasn't an elimination game, but with a loss on Sunday night, the Elks would have been two games out of the playoffs with three games to play.
Luckily, they didn't lose.
The Elks completed a comeback win over the Portland Pickles, 7-6, at Vince Genna Stadium, moving into a three-way tie for the last playoff spot in the West Coast League South.
Bend, Portland, and Ridgefield all have an overall record of 24-21, with three games to play. The Raptors own the tiebreaker against the other two teams, and Bend owns the tiebreaker with Portland. If the teams remain tied after the final three games of the season, Ridgefield will earn the playoff spot.
Portland (24-21, 9-12 second half) got out to an early 5-0 lead, with a run in the second and four in the third. The Elks knew what was at stake, though, and did not go down without a fight.
Bend (24-21, 14-7) scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning, starting with a sacrifice fly from Austin Hauck (Hofstra). After that, Daniel Garcia (Grand Canyon) had a two-out RBI single and the Elks scored another run on an error in the inning. Bend still trailed, 5-3.
The Elks would tie the game in the fifth inning, on an RBI groundout from Omar Veloz (Cal. St. Fullerton) and a single from Sam Linscott (Lewis-Clark St.), with the momentum clearly in their favor.
As the Elks offense flourished, the previously prolific Pickles were held scoreless for five innings, as Eli Ankeney (Grand Canyon) tossed a brilliant relief appearance. Ankeney spun five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out five and earning his first win of the summer.
To take the lead, Veloz led off the seventh inning with a solo home run, his first of the WCL season. The Elks scored another unearned run in the inning on a Linscott sacrifice fly, to give Bend an insurance run and a 7-5 lead.
Portland scored a run in the ninth inning, but that's all that Charlie Adamson (UC Santa Barbara) allowed in the final two frames, earning the save in a 7-6 win for Bend.
Performance of the series: Bend’s starter came out of Sunday’s game after just two innings of work, and the Elks trailed 5-0 at that point. Eli Ankeney (Grand Canyon) came in and spun five scoreless innings of relief, making the Bend bullpen day more bearable and keeping the Elks in the game. He earned the win as the Elks pulled off the comeback, 7-6 over Bend.
Player of the series: Sam Linscott (Lewis-Clark St.) had two three-hit games in the first two games, then drove in two runs in the final game. He went 7-for-13 over the course of the series, driving in five runs and scoring three with a double and a triple and no strikeouts.
Play of the series: The Elks were working on a comeback in game three, tied with the Pickles at 5 in the seventh. Omar Veloz (Cal. St. Fullerton) smacked a home run on the first pitch of the inning to give the Elks a lead they would not relinquish and secure the series sweep.
Up next: The Elks now travel to Corvallis (36-9, 18-3), who have already clinched their playoff berth, for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.